Do any of you guys keep chickens? By DrRocco (Read 732 times)

[DrRocco]

When I bought this "starter home" in town, it was to be a temporary thing...just a year or two.  You guys know how life happens and things change.  7 years later, we're still here.  I was raised on a farm, and like most of you, without video games and iPods.  That crap is rotting the brains of my kids.  I'm doing my best to find stuff for them to do outdoors here.  We have a giant garden.  There's really only so much you can do with that.  I just found out today that the city lifted its restrictions raising chickens in town.  To me, it sounds like a great opportunity for me to teach my kids all sorts of things.  There's only one problem...I've never raised poultry.

I've been looking into it, and it seems pretty easy.  Build a coop...feed hens...eat eggs...clean poop...fertilize garden...eat chicken.

Do any of you guys have experience and/or advice on backyard chicken keeping?

[cyborg]

How big is your backyard? Did you ever slaughter a chicken then pluck it?,,, be aware and be prepared,, it's gruesome at best,,,

[cyborg]

Go to backyardchickens.com

[twowheeler]

Man there are too many KFCs around for that

[rks]

Back yard chickens is a great site, all kinds of info....We've had chickens years ago, when the kids were young ( in their 40's now) and got back into them when I retired back in January 2010. It is a labor of love, and cheaper to just buy eggs at the store, but some of us just enjoy having chickens around...that being said, our 16 chickens are free range, we have 34 acres...keeping them in town would be a horse of a different color...but more and more people are doing it. Check out that web site, and if you're willing to deal with the mess they manufacture, then go for it...Bob

link

[JR]

Apr 23, 2014 7:21:41 GMT -6 rks said:

Back yard chickens is a great site, all kinds of info....We've had chickens years ago, when the kids were young ( in their 40's now) and got back into them when I retired back in January 2010. It is a labor of love, and cheaper to just buy eggs at the store, but some of us just enjoy having chickens around...that being said, our 16 chickens are free range, we have 34 acres...keeping them in town would be a horse of a different color...but more and more people are doing it. Check out that web site, and if you're willing to deal with the mess they manufacture, then go for it...Bob

link

No sir I disagree with the cheaper in the store thing. I'll take some pics of my chickens today, Rhode Island Reds and Domineckers.

Let's figure. I have presently a family of 5 and use appx one 18 egg carton a week, sometimes less sometimes more.

I bought my chicks from Strombergs, delivered in the mail, 25 total for $45 and have raised them from chicks to layers now at 9 months old.

I buy laying pellets and have my chickens set up on a feed and free range system and I average one 50lb bag of pellets every 4 to 5 weeks, less in the summer more in the winter, bag of feed with tax is $13.25.

At Walmart a 18 carton of eggs in my area size medium is $5 without tax. I use a carton a week = $260 a year of eggs I don't buy.

With 23 laying hens, got two roosters, I now get on the average of 19 to 23 eggs a day. I have people standing in line to buy my excess eggs that I sell for $4 a dozen or $5 for 18, I sell at least 5 cartons a week sometimes as many as 7 on a average of $25 to $30 a week. We both know they slow down some in winter time but I can easily say I'm on course to sell $1k plus in excess eggs.

Chickens $45

Yearly feed appx $160

Pen, coop and laying boxes cost $300

In my pocket this year counting eggs I do not buy for my family, easily over $1500.

Now if you don't use many eggs, can't/don't sell them then yes it's cheaper to buy in the store.

JR

[rks]

Maybe I'm out of touch when it comes to food prices, and need to go shopping more often...the last time I bought eggs they were less than $2 a dozen (like $1.79/ $1.89). We use a dozen and a half a week, the rest are given to daughters, neighbors, and the like. Some of our hens will be 4 years old next month, others turn 3 about the same time...don't lay like they once did....I know...put um in the stew pot.....well ours all have names...when they see me walk toward the coop, they'll run 100 yards to catch me and beg for some scratch grain, the wife calls me the Pied Piper the way they follow me around. Cooking them is not going to happen. Then, the breeds I have are not high production birds to start with, save one or two California Whites the rest, Lakenvelders and Golden Campines, kinda like blue eyed blonde's, nice to look at, but not the most sensible choice. Another misc. expense I have is the heat lamp in winter (1 with temps below 20*, 2 with single digits or lower), as cold as this winter was, we never had frozen water in the coop or frost bitten combs or wattles.

Then, around here, ya need a good rifle, and ammunition, to keep the meat eaters at bay. Fox - 5 or 6 (lost count), raccoons - 2, skunk - 1, opossum -1. The skunk and opossum were eating eggs in the coop (middle of the afternoon). Two of the foxes had chickens by the neck, the others hadn't quite caught them yet. I won't admit to dispatching any birds of prey, but we do have hawks here, and I do own a shot gun.

Still think it's cheaper to buy....but I like chickens...Bob

[DrRocco]

Thanks for the input guys. I've been cruising backyardchickens.com for a few days. They do have some good info. While I've never dressed a chicken, I've done so with plenty of other critters, so I'm sure that won't be a problem.

As far as finances are concerned... I can build the coop with scrap. The birds themselves are pretty cheap, so I'll negate those costs. I read on backyardchickens.com that a laying hen eats about 1.5 lbs food/per week. That means a 50 pound bag ($15) should last a month with 8 hens. 8 hens laying nearly daily so lets say maybe 18 dozen eggs per month. Fresh eggs are going for $2 or $3 on Craigslist here, so even if I can only sell half, that's still 9 dozen eggs/month. Maybe I'd get $18 total for the eggs, which pays for the feed for the month.

Obviously, I don't have any experience upon which to base these numbers, just info gleaned from the interwebs. I feel like my numbers are pretty conservative and will put me at least at a break-even financial state.

[JR]

Apr 23, 2014 9:22:18 GMT -6 rks said:

Maybe I'm out of touch when it comes to food prices, and need to go shopping more often...the last time I bought eggs they were less than $2 a dozen (like $1.79/ $1.89). We use a dozen and a half a week, the rest are given to daughters, neighbors, and the like. Some of our hens will be 4 years old next month, others turn 3 about the same time...don't lay like they once did....I know...put um in the stew pot.....well ours all have names...when they see me walk toward the coop, they'll run 100 yards to catch me and beg for some scratch grain, the wife calls me the Pied Piper the way they follow me around. Cooking them is not going to happen. Then, the breeds I have are not high production birds to start with, save one or two California Whites the rest, Lakenvelders and Golden Campines, kinda like blue eyed blonde's, nice to look at, but not the most sensible choice. Another misc. expense I have is the heat lamp in winter (1 with temps below 20*, 2 with single digits or lower), as cold as this winter was, we never had frozen water in the coop or frost bitten combs or wattles.

Then, around here, ya need a good rifle, and ammunition, to keep the meat eaters at bay. Fox - 5 or 6 (lost count), raccoons - 2, skunk - 1, opossum -1. The skunk and opossum were eating eggs in the coop (middle of the afternoon). Two of the foxes had chickens by the neck, the others hadn't quite caught them yet. I won't admit to dispatching any birds of prey, but we do have hawks here, and I do own a shot gun.

Still think it's cheaper to buy....but I like chickens...Bob

Have the same critters, killed a skunk just the other day. Yes "Brown" eggs are a lot higher and the two breeds I have are very good layers, good meat chickens and very easy to raise. Mine will come to me with just me calling them even if one happens to get out of the pen.

I gathered a few eggs just a bit ago when I got through plowing in the garden, took time to pick a few of what I call "my girls" and I can pick both roosters up like a little dog, they have no fear at all.

No I won't put any of these in the pot but will hatch chicks and when they reach a good 3 to 4lb range, in the freezer they will go.

I'm going to get me a few bannies soon.

JR

[cyborg]

When i was a kid we had so many eggs we had eggs for our eggs,,,at dinner i pulled off a major coup,,,we had eggs for dinner almost every nite for 3 weeks,,i was eating slow and mom said "aren't you hungry honey"?,,,i was only like 12 or 13 years old,,,i blurted out I NEVER WANNA SEE ANOTHER FUKIN EGG AS LONG AS I LIVE,,,,it got real quiet around the table,,,i knew i was going to get the strap for that one,,,,everyone at the table exploded with laughter,,,even my dad,,,we all went out for a monster burger at tommies with a gigantic ice cream cone for dessert,,,i had to buy,,i was happy to,,,it was cheap compared to one of my dad's whuppins

[DrRocco]

You got a belly laugh out of me with that one Pete!

[Bashan]

I am STUNNED that JR has chickens....outside of his house. Oh, they're inside, on the couch, well it's actually a cardboard box. But he has a couple trustee Bantams on patrol around the outside of the house and they are buking mean! They are peckers of the worst sort. They carry squawky talkies and are in constant communication with commander codename: Whitemeat (aka JR). Whitemeat is as fowl as they get and you don't want to ruffle his feathers, he prizes his comb over! You will go from the fire into the frying pan in a buking second! Whitemeat lives at the base of Petit Mal Seizure Mountain with his brooding brood of cut throat chickens. Well, actually they're cut throats because Whitemeat decided he needed lunch and...well the breast is unbukable.....buuuuuk. Stay away from the darkmeat side Luke, Whitemeat is as foul as fowl can get!

[JR]

Don't like eggs? dunce2 Man you wouldn't like it here long? Fried, scrambled, omelets, French toast, nog, boiled, poached, raw! Eggs, eggs and more eggs!

JR

[cyborg]

JR,,,how did you tag the skunk without stinking up the place?