I cry fowl. Bawk bawk!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Wife keeps 5 hens. No roosters. We found a blood spot in a yolk once, think the hen went up the road and got knocked up.

They live in shabby conditions. A house the size of a tardis with access to a 12x15 foot outdoor pen made of chicken wire and 2x4s. We let them loose at 4pm and they find their way home at dark; we have to lock them up at night for protection from raccoons/ fishers/ whatever. If we let them loose any earlier they run out of bugs from our own yard and roam.

They get hardware store "layer pellets" that aren't certified organic or anything, but are still better than what egg farm hens get. Plus the bugs and leftovers. My vending guy threw out a dozen bags of cool ranch doritoes that were past date; the hens loved those!

My yolks are a brighter yellow, more nutrition, than store bought ones. Hard to go back.
 
How many eggs do yor five hens lay on an average day? And what breed of hens do you have? The blood spot could have just been picked up in the oviduct and the hen may not have had a fling with your neighbor's rooster.
grin.gif
 
I'd say 2-3 eggs a day in summer. We have various "vintages" of hens. We've had Buff Orptingtons, Barred Rocks, Rhode Island Reds and a bunch of others. Used to have these "feather foot" things that were freaks. Wife used to get them from Murry McMurry Hatchery, mail order, but they have a min order of 25 so they keep each other warm in the mail. Now we get them free from friends who know we have hens and ask if we want a couple more.

The flaw is when they stop laying at about age 4, they act exactly the same. If I go out there with the axe, I sometimes cull a producing bird. Some autumns when production is low I've killed the lot of them and started over in spring. Your warmer climate won't have as bad of a winter slow-down.
 
I thought about keeping chickens a year or so ago, ran the numbers and decided against it.

We don't eat a lot of eggs but I get local free range eggs when we need them
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
The flaw is when they stop laying at about age 4, they act exactly the same. If I go out there with the axe, I sometimes cull a producing bird.

Was that by accident, or as a warning to the rest of them that their positions aren't secure?
wink.gif
 
Originally Posted By: Andy636
Originally Posted By: RazorsEdge
We buy 6-7 dozen eggs every week.

We eat a very high protein diet,along with veggies and carbs.
We goto the gym 4-5 days a week,so yeah it all gets put to good use.
grin2.gif



If I was you I would get my LDL tested ASAP.

Why? The cholesterol in eggs doesn't raise "your" cholesterol. And neither does protein.
 
Do the math. The price of a dozen eggs has gone up a buck a dozen (more or less). So is all this work worth $200 bucks a year? if you eat 2 doz. eggs/week?????

And bear in mind. In a year this problem will probably gone. And unless you are extremely dedicated...you will have spent many times this amount and lots of time and will probably throw up your hands in a year.

I love eggs, but I use one whole egg and the same amount of eggwhite every day. Even if the free range eggs are better I am happy with the present taste.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
Do the math. The price of a dozen eggs has gone up a buck a dozen (more or less). So is all this work worth $200 bucks a year? if you eat 2 doz. eggs/week?????

And bear in mind. In a year this problem will probably gone. And unless you are extremely dedicated...you will have spent many times this amount and lots of time and will probably throw up your hands in a year.

I love eggs, but I use one whole egg and the same amount of eggwhite every day. Even if the free range eggs are better I am happy with the present taste.




Al, you're right- the numbers don't lie. However if you factor in meat production as well the offset isn't nearly as great. Plus some people prefer knowing where their food is coming from and benefiting from the healthier products.

We'd do it too if we weren't afraid of them becoming pets instead of dinner.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
Do the math. The price of a dozen eggs has gone up a buck a dozen (more or less). So is all this work worth $200 bucks a year? if you eat 2 doz. eggs/week?????

And bear in mind. In a year this problem will probably gone. And unless you are extremely dedicated...you will have spent many times this amount and lots of time and will probably throw up your hands in a year.

I love eggs, but I use one whole egg and the same amount of eggwhite every day. Even if the free range eggs are better I am happy with the present taste.


You can't buy equal quality eggs in a grocery store, as keeping chickens on grass doesn't seem to be commercially viable here. The ones that get close are $6-7-8/dozen. In theory anyways, all the good stuff that's in eggs from hens on grass is better for you, but in a sample of one, better eggs is probably not going to change your health measurably.
I average about 3-4 of our eggs a day, as its a quick, cheap, and easy way to get some good stuff into me, and not be hungry before lunch time.
Also once your committed to having some animals and doing chores everyday, care for a dozen chickens is a bucket of water and a half bucket of feed everyday, and visiting the usual laying spots. 5 minutes or less and much less hassle than an indoor dog.
 
Originally Posted By: Garak
Originally Posted By: eljefino
The flaw is when they stop laying at about age 4, they act exactly the same. If I go out there with the axe, I sometimes cull a producing bird.

Was that by accident, or as a warning to the rest of them that their positions aren't secure?
wink.gif



I like to imagine it's both.
wink.gif


I haven't had to lately; when the time comes they just ball up with their little claw feet pointed to the sky. Their talons are sharp enough that they poke through a hefty bag once rigor sets in.
 
a couple easters ago, my sister, long with her hubby and kids, got 8 barred rock chicks. all turned out to be hens. they average 8 eggs per day. some times one doesn't lay, some days a hen lays 2...

they get layer crumbles (buy 50Lb bags at either TSC, or Rural King when they are on sale, though their last Rural King bag came with a couple rodents that moved into her car temporarily.) as well as bugs(they LOVE Japanese beetles), produce scraps, etc.

when her hubby built their coop. he WAY over built it. when dad suggested they could probably sell it for $1000, the response was " that may not cover the costs"
he built it pretty much to building code. walls are at least 3 inches thick fully insulated(a regular 100w incandescent light bulb keeps it heated), a couple double paned windows, handy little ladder/ramp down to the ground. and lined with the kind of white board normally used in shower/tubs/wet environs. they could hose it out if needed. cleans up real easily.

when they first built it, my nephew said he wanted to live in it.
 
Last edited:
From the folks I know keeping chickens is a chore/hobby more then a money saver. There are lots of folks who keep chickens nearby and sell excess eggs $4-5/dozen which I buy or get free ones occasionally from sis in law.

However life is not all about economics.

My wife raises honey bees and we eat maybe 2 lbs/year of the 60-90 year she produces in her hive. Its a hobby.
 
It will be a short term issue. The farmers will be able to ramp production back up, it'll take a while.

I get my eggs from the local university. They sell them for $4.50 for a flat (2 1/2 dozen), brown or white. They sell all sorts of meat and eggs, that they've raised.

Plus, since they're super fresh, they last a lot longer in the refrigerator, than the eggs do from the store.
 
Yikes! While reading this thread I had a strong whiff of chicken poop! A childhood memory. We had a small farm during the 2nd. World war. We raised and sold produce and live chickens and eggs. We used sawdust for bedding. In the spring the coop was cleaned and the droppings-sawdust mix was used for fertilizer to grow watermelons and sweet corn.
 
Originally Posted By: BRZED
dishdude said:
Peg Bundy's Mother - I smell fowl.

Al Bundy - You certainly do!


Trying to come up with an inoffensive Ted Bundy joke. Not going well. [/quote Al Bundy.
Click to expand...
 
Originally Posted By: BRZED
I hope chickens eat scorpions!
They eat little lizards and the tiny garden frogs.
 
Originally Posted By: Andy636
Originally Posted By: RazorsEdge
We buy 6-7 dozen eggs every week.

We eat a very high protein diet,along with veggies and carbs.
We goto the gym 4-5 days a week,so yeah it all gets put to good use.
grin2.gif



If I was you I would get my LDL tested ASAP.


I've been going to a gym for 10 years. Weight training + cardio 4-5 days a week,plus I get a physical once a year.

Yup,I'm good.
cheers3.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top