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Every week, people usually spend $3 on eggs. Now that may not sound like much but it adds up! So, my family and I have decided that we are going to get chickens. Chicken feed costs $15 for a fifty pound bag. That lasts two months.
Also we are getting four chickens, which will give us 20 eggs a week! And all we'll have to pay is $15 every two months. I don't know about you, but we are sticking with fresh, organic, CHEAP eggs.Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Mother Earth News has done testing on free range chicken eggs vs. the normal store bought eggs and the differences are remarkable. Their new chicken and egg page has test results and information on raising chickens. Basically free range chickens are chickens that are allowed to walk around, peck, eat grass, weeds and insects plus chicken feed as opposed to those that spend their lives in a tiny pen.
How many of you out there have your own chickens?It makes sense and very interesting. I don't have chickens, merely eat them, but this is very fascinating.
I use to raise a lot of poultry,chickens ,ducks,pheasants,once a few geese.My chickens had the run of the farm.Raised both laying hens and broilers.
Had a coop when I was a child living on some land. Now a suburbanite and have a handful of pullets. Lots of cheap fun.
Two RIRs and two EEs.
Check out these photos.
Last year was a devastating year for our family. We lost all 6 of our chickens to raccoons over the course of a few months. Two of them were almost 6 years old and another was more like a pet dog than a chicken to us. After a lot of contemplation we decided to try again, after extensive fortification of our coop. These are our 5 new girls, exploring outside for the first time!
We have 1 black sex link, 1 amber sex link, 1 gold laced wyandotte, 1 silver laced wyandotte, and 1 Ameraucana (Easter Egger). I really enjoy raising chickens from chicks, because you have the chance to really bond with them.
Backyard chickens can lay a variety of colored eggs depending on their breed. The colors are fun to see, but can also alert you to a health issue such as exposure to too much heat. Even before your hen has heat stroke she may begin to lay eggs of a different color.
This page documents the growth and development of backyard pet chickens over a six week period. This is a page about chicks week-by-week (weeks 1-6).
Prior to bringing home your new chicks you will want to get all of your supplies and set out their brooder box. Then the fun begins. This is a page about getting ready to raise chicks.
Giving your brooder chicks the opportunity to roost will give them a head start for life in the chicken coop. This is a page about how to build a brooder box perch for chicks.
Hens do not lay eggs year around, there are breaks during the colder months. Older girls also eventually stop laying. If none of these apply, you may want to check with a vet to make sure your hen is not ill or egg bound.
This is a page about caring for chickens. When growing poultry for meat or eggs in your own backyard, you want to make it an enjoyable experience for your birds and your family.
This page is about predator proofing a chicken coop. Making sure your birds are safe from uninvited visitors will keep your hen house secure.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
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Do you break-even raising chickens for eggs? What are the important things I need to know? My partner wants to also eat them for meat, but I know I will fall in love with them. Does anyone have any experience in this? I am thinking of getting 4 or 5 "Silkies" a small ornamental chicken (see photo below). Would 4 small chickens be too many eggs for 2 adults?
By Cyinda from the Seattle-Tacoma area
There is a wonderful website dedicated to chicken raising. The posters there are friendly and knowledgeable. The address is backyardchickens.com. Hope to see you there! (05/19/2010)
By Cheryl
I raised chickens in Portland, after visiting my ex's family in Seattle area, and seeing their 3 hens. I got 3 one day old chicks (store said they liked company and there is always chance of one or two not making it). All made it and in their 21st week, began laying. I averaged 2-3 eggs per day and usually had plenty for our family of 5 at the time. If you have friends you can always give away. I didn't find their feed expensive, and as near as I could figure, cost was equal to store cost, around $1/1.25 a dozen.
But the quality and the beauty of the eggs! I'd never had a fresh egg and I couldn't believe it. The yolks were gorgeous (probably because I let them out in yard with plenty of grass to peck at as well as all the dandelions they could eat). The taste is great. I made
You are going to have to have 2 birds at a minimum, 3 is better, and four is fine I think. They are wonderful pets. Mine bonded very well with me, and would perch on my arm, and nestle under my "wings" when I sat on the garden bench. They loved the compost pile, which was well established with earthworms and I would put them in it when there was fresh produce
scraps for them to eat, and when I got around to it, I'd dig in it for them and they'd scratch at the worms and make this chicken purring sound of absolute happiness.
I kept mine in the garden shed at night in an old rabbit cage I had partially disassembled and reconfigured into a perch and nest area with apple crates, extra wire fencing, etc. I locked the door against the neighborhood raccoons, cats, etc. (This was in the city). The first days I had them it was hot, so I brought a smaller cage outside and let them enjoy the air. I told our cat they were ours, and they belonged, just as he did (world's greatest cat) and the dog as well. They protected the birds against cats, and any other pests, the cat ran off a raccoon the first night we had them, as I was preparing the shed for the night. Of course you have to keep them warm by some means for weeks; they will die in a heartbeat if you are lax in that respect.
You will probably have a surplus of eggs, but that's what friends are for, or maybe sell at a Saturday market. (05/19/2010)
By PENNY K
I am 23 years old and grew up on a farm. I remember being 4 or 5 years old the first time I hatched my own chicks in an incubator. My dad had grown up raising them and I grew up on organic chicken eggs. It totally pays off. They are not only healthier, but if you are like me and live out in the middle of nowhere, it beats using gas to go to the store, too.
My daddy made a grinder out of some old wheels and we would make our own feed for the chickens. We would just let them roam around and when they were ready for laying, we had a nice chicken coop that they stayed in. It is an enjoyable experience and yes you do fall in love with them. (05/19/2010)
By Ginn
The most important thing to remember is that salmonella poisoning occurs from contaminates from the shell of the egg. Clean them immediately after gathering. Also, chicken poo can be hazardous as well if not cleaned up once in a while. (05/20/2010)
By dede smith
Four chickens should be about right for two adults. Keep in mind most hens will lay about one every other day for several months. Then they take a break, usually during the winter they won't lay at all. Unless they are in a controlled environment. As for the meat, you probably want a different type of chicken for meat. Go to your local hatchery and get broilers, they grow faster and are meatier than a fancy silkie hen. As for getting attached to them, once you eat the chicken you forget all about it. (05/22/2010)
By booklvr
You will definitely fall in love with silkies. They are very docile and sweet. They are not good meat producers anyway. Country eggs are best for you and if you are a big egg eater you will love them. They aren't always best cost, but the taste is incomparable. Do research on the net for best egg layers and best meat breeds. But you probably will fall in love with any of them. That is a choice you will have to make. Good luck! (05/22/2010)
By Karen Lawson
Silkies lay small eggs, so it really takes two of them to equal the size of an extra-large egg. As for breaking even, it depends on what you feed them. The easy way is to buy pre-mixed mash for them, but it costs the most. It also leaves out a lot of things that chicken do well on. We feed ours whole wheat grains, lawn clippings, kitchen scraps, and oyster shell. Since we live in a grain producing area, we are able to get the wheat (or sometimes corn or oats) free. If all else fails, we watch for grain spills on the highway and sweep it up. It might have a little dirt in it, but that's good for chickens, too. But we draw the line at grain that's gotten dirty from vehicle exhaust. Also, grain that's some bright pastel color, especially hot pink, has been treated for planting and will kill the chickens. (05/22/2010)
By Coreen Hart
Well 4 chickens should be enough. If it is too much you can always sell the eggs. My self and a lot of other people I know buy eggs like this. We normally pay between 2.00 and 3.00 a dozen. People that do this will find that they have a hard time keeping up with demand. I would suggest at sometime getting a rooster if you want to continue eating the eggs you will need more chickens as they only live so long. You will have to check the eggs, but it is not that hard. If you have too many chickens you can also sell them too. Many people are raising their own chickens for eggs and meat now. (06/03/2010)
By Rosemarie
Can I raise two Black Bottom hens together in a cage rather than letting them free-range roam?
We raise our chickens and are getting 8 eggs a day now. It is nothing short of wonderful to know there are plenty of eggs on hand and we are raising some new chicks.
