OT: Chickens - Pros vs Cons (Now with bees!)

[RU4Real]

I'm pondering a chicken coop. We've actually been thinking about it for years, but now with the price of eggs as crazy as it is maybe now is the time to start planning seriously.

Anyone have experience?

 

[Knight Shift]

I'm pondering a chicken coop. We've actually been thinking about it for years, but now with the price of eggs as crazy as it is maybe now is the time to start planning seriously.

Anyone have experience?

We had them as kids in the neighborhood I am in now, and we had a house on the river before owning a house on the river was a status symbol. It was a blast. The one small downside is the chicken poop. We collected it in a pan and used it as fertilizer for the garden. This was necessary to pay the unholy property taxes that eventually forced my parents to sell that place.

A question is how would your neighbors feel about it?

Have you or @koleszar (doubtful bc he has has own egg source) buy from Stephan Green Egg Farm in Howell?

 

[e5fdny]

We had them as kids in the neighborhood I am in now, and we had a house on the river before owning a house on the river was a status symbol. It was a blast. The one small downside is the chicken poop. We collected it in a pan and used it as fertilizer for the garden. This was necessary to pay the unholy property taxes that eventually forced my parents to sell that place.

A question is how would your neighbors feel about it?

Have you or @koleszar (doubtful bc he has has own egg source) buy from Stephan Green Egg Farm in Howell?

Pretty sure my Wife has been going there now and then.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Everyone out here around me has them. We often get our eggs from them. Most folks are charging between $4-$5 so not cheap at all. BEFORE inflation. Guy I bowl with brings em every week for $3 but that is tough for him now. One thing to keep in mind that the prices are going up because the prices to own and feed the chickens is too.

 

[DJ Spanky]

Would this be the kind of chicken coop that @mildone would be interested in?

 

[Morrischiano2]

When I see threads like this, it confirms my suspicions that we will never be big NIL players.

 

[RU4Real]

We had them as kids in the neighborhood I am in now, and we had a house on the river before owning a house on the river was a status symbol. It was a blast. The one small downside is the chicken poop. We collected it in a pan and used it as fertilizer for the garden. This was necessary to pay the unholy property taxes that eventually forced my parents to sell that place.

A question is how would your neighbors feel about it?

Have you or @koleszar (doubtful bc he has has own egg source) buy from Stephan Green Egg Farm in Howell?

I'm not sure the neighbors would have any reason to care.

Chicken **** is great for the garden, so that's a plus, as you point out.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Would this be the kind of chicken coop that @mildone would be interested in?

I think that's an excellent question. So... uh... would it?

My other question is, are eggs expensive? I don't eat them on their own and really only use them to dip chicken into (I know - that's both ironic and morbid from a chicken's point of view) when breading chicken, or add to a meatball mix, or very occasionally, when my doc ain't looking, make pancakes or french-toast.

My point being, I'm guessing I don't go through enough to make the expense of having chickens worth the savings for eggs. But, because I have no clue what they should and do cost, I don't actually know.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Chicken **** is great for the garden, so that's a plus, as you point out.

I'll try to remember that for the next time someone calls me it.

 

[RUPete]

Everyone out here around me has them. We often get our eggs from them. Most folks are charging between $4-$5 so not cheap at all. BEFORE inflation. Guy I bowl with brings em every week for $3 but that is tough for him now. One thing to keep in mind that the prices are going up because the prices to own and feed the chickens is too.

I was going to ask, but you answered my question about the ancillary costs rising. My sister and brother-in-law have them and produce eggs but I haven't talked to them about it too much.

 

[RU4Real]

I was going to ask, but you answered my question about the ancillary costs rising. My sister and brother-in-law have them and produce eggs but I haven't talked to them about it too much.

I don't expect it to be a big money saving thing.

High quality eggs in the supermarket are currently running $7 to $8 / dozen. Figure the quick start route of a coop ($500) and a few started pullets ($30 each) plus straw and feed, you're probably looking at $750 the first year to collect 300 eggs from the 3 aforementioned pullets, which should start laying 2 - 3 months after acquiring them. It's a losing proposition in Year 1 and probably about breakeven after that.

But regardless of the expense, I would have the satisfaction of not putting anymore money in the pockets of Big Egg.

 

[RU-Hunter]

Just need to be mindful of the food chain and keeping the hawks and fox away. They are constantly after the chickens. If they are always fenced in, you don't need to worry. All you really need to provide is shelter, feed and water and preventing the water from freezing in the winter. A productive chicken might get you an egg per day or slightly less. If you allow the chickens to range, they are good at eating ticks.

 

[RUPete]

I don't expect it to be a big money saving thing.

High quality eggs in the supermarket are currently running $7 to $8 / dozen. Figure the quick start route of a coop ($500) and a few started pullets ($30 each) plus straw and feed, you're probably looking at $750 the first year to collect 300 eggs from the 3 aforementioned pullets, which should start laying 2 - 3 months after acquiring them. It's a losing proposition in Year 1 and probably about breakeven after that.

But regardless of the expense, I would have the satisfaction of not putting anymore money in the pockets of Big Egg.

True. I guess it just depends on how much time you want to commit. I'm not sure how much of a PITA chickens are to care for. I know that just having a pet is a big commitment. Totally worth it, but a commitment nonetheless.

 

[DHajekRC84]

Just need to be mindful of the food chain and keeping the hawks and fox away. They are constantly after the chickens. If they are always fenced in, you don't need to worry. All you really need to provide is shelter, feed and water and preventing the water from freezing in the winter. A productive chicken might get you an egg per day or slightly less. If you allow the chickens to range, they are good at eating ticks.

keep the coop out of the flood zone (if any) as well. My friend came home last year when we had the big flood to find his whole flock standing as close to top as possible with poor little heads up against the roof.

 

[CERU00]

I don't expect it to be a big money saving thing.

High quality eggs in the supermarket are currently running $7 to $8 / dozen. Figure the quick start route of a coop ($500) and a few started pullets ($30 each) plus straw and feed, you're probably looking at $750 the first year to collect 300 eggs from the 3 aforementioned pullets, which should start laying 2 - 3 months after acquiring them. It's a losing proposition in Year 1 and probably about breakeven after that.

But regardless of the expense, I would have the satisfaction of not putting anymore money in the pockets of Big Egg.

I was a day away from pulling the trigger on a small coop and 4 hens... even picked out the breeds (Americana and Plymonth rock). But then the wife have me a dissaproving look and I decided to punt it until I can convince her. My neighbor got 5 birds (ended up with 1 rooster because of lack of precision is determining sex as chicks). After 3 months the rooster has learned how to crow so looks like he may be having chicken dinner soon before the neighbors start complaining. Anyway, I figured I would be satisfied if I could break even in year 2.

 

[RutHut_rivals]

Pro - increases agility.

 

[e5fdny]

I don't expect it to be a big money saving thing.

High quality eggs in the supermarket are currently running $7 to $8 / dozen. Figure the quick start route of a coop ($500) and a few started pullets ($30 each) plus straw and feed, you're probably looking at $750 the first year to collect 300 eggs from the 3 aforementioned pullets, which should start laying 2 - 3 months after acquiring them. It's a losing proposition in Year 1 and probably about breakeven after that.

But regardless of the expense, I would have the satisfaction of not putting any more money in the pockets of Big Egg.

It does seem though they are a lot smaller when you do it this way.

 

[RULoyal]

Can also reduce food waste - "A flock of four backyard chickens would be expected to consume approximately 332.8 pounds of household food scraps per year, about as much as the average food wasted by each person in the U.S. each year."

 

[mdk02]

Do any of you have zoning issues on this?

BTW - A major reason for these prices is a virus the caused the death of about 50,000,000 hens over the last 6 months. I believe it was 12,000,000 in December alone. When they are replaced the price of eggs is going to drop. Probably not all the way back given inflation, but significantly from where they are now.

 

[mildone_rivals]

Do any of you have zoning issues on this?

BTW - A major reason for these prices is a virus the caused the death of about 50,000,000 hens over the last 6 months. I believe it was 12,000,000 in December alone. When they are replaced the price of eggs is going to drop. Probably not all the way back given inflation, but significantly from where they are now.

What were they? And what are they now?

 

[RU4Real]

Do any of you have zoning issues on this?

BTW - A major reason for these prices is a virus the caused the death of about 50,000,000 hens over the last 6 months. I believe it was 12,000,000 in December alone. When they are replaced the price of eggs is going to drop. Probably not all the way back given inflation, but significantly from where they are now.

No zoning issues. Practically everyone around us has chickens.

 

[mdk02]

And what are they now?

Fertilizer

 

[krup]

I'm not sure the neighbors would have any reason to care.

Chicken **** is great for the garden, so that's a plus, as you point out.

I am on a big piece of property so I am not very close to my neighbors, but I would probably care if I was closer and they had a rooster that caused me sleep issues.

I can hear my neighbors rooster, but for some reason it only crows mid morning when I am long awake anyway.

 

[tom1944]

Several neighbors have them

They eat everything that is on the ground

One neighbor has netting over the area they roam. It keeps the hawks away

 

[RUPete]

Several neighbors have them

They eat everything that is on the ground

One neighbor has netting over the area they roam. It keeps the hawks away

I like this. This post is written almost like a haiku.

 

[RU4Real]

I am on a big piece of property so I am not very close to my neighbors, but I would probably care if I was closer and they had a rooster that caused me sleep issues.

I can hear my neighbors rooster, but for some reason it only crows mid morning when I am long awake anyway.

I'm looking to get hens for egg laying, not roosters.

 

[rurichdog]

Do any of you have zoning issues on this?

BTW - A major reason for these prices is a virus the caused the death of about 50,000,000 hens over the last 6 months. I believe it was 12,000,000 in December alone. When they are replaced the price of eggs is going to drop. Probably not all the way back given inflation, but significantly from where they are now.

Check your local ordnances. The wife and I looked into getting chickens when we first moved in to our house & found the spider, tick, & cricket convention being held in our backyard. Hamilton (Mercer) restricts chickens by only permitting a coop if it is a certain distance from all borders of your property. The requirements effectively limits legal chicken ownership to a handful of properties.

 

[ScarletDog]

Usually the neighbors don't like all the extra traffic you bring in. My buddy Frank used to have a chicken house back in Manville. Neighbors hated it.

 

[koleszar]

I'm pondering a chicken coop. We've actually been thinking about it for years, but now with the price of eggs as crazy as it is maybe now is the time to start planning seriously.

Anyone have experience?

Pretty easy to care for. Our 50 do free range so it's even easier.

-You can make a self-feeder out of 4" schedule 40. I have six tubes, a bag of feed a week and you're done there.
-Check water daily.
- Make sure your chicken coop has big doors for easy access. Winter time it's usually once every two weeks to clean, summertime even longer. Have a cart and snow shovel put it into mulch pile.
-Don't get one of those stupid automatic doors for the chicken coop, chickens know when it's time to go out or come in.
-Roosters get the axe, we have one named Lucky. He's lucky because he was the only Rooster who didn't crow.
-Have a sick bird axe it, it could wipe out your whole flock. These are chickens not your pet dog. just buy another one.
-Don't overcrowd, if not free ranging they will peck at each other to serious injury or death.
-You will never throw food out again. Have scraps, bread about to go bad leftovers you're going to throw out give it to your little Raptors they're not vegetarians and will eat anything except kale.
-The eggs will last weeks in your garage, the film which protects the embryo has not been washed off.

The eggs are far superior to anything you get in the store. You're not pumping artificial light to make them lay more. Also, the Free Range/ brown eggs in the store are a waste of money. They don't free range and the brown color just comes from a certain type of chicken.

 

[iReC89]

chicken as a service has arrived - spoiler. Not cheaper then expensive eggs, but might be a good way to try it out.

http://www.rentthechicken.com/p/eastern-pa-new-jersey-and-surrounding.html

 

[SkilletHead2]

We've had chickens for a couple of years now. Breed called "Highline" down here. Moms Skillethead loves animals and takes care of them. They lay an egg every day, so we get about 20 per week, and give some away to local friends and family.

The eggs are fantastic. Fresh eggs are much easier to poach than older eggs. Apparently the white tends to disintegrate over time. If you crack a fresh egg, you'll see that the white actually is contained just like the yolk is. Then there is a bit of additional white that isn't part of that containment. The contained part will poach great, with just a little bit of the white dissipating.

They are a bit of a bother to take care of, but Moms is retired and loves taking care of them.

Now, the ones we had only lay for about two years, and they had basically stopped laying about two weeks ago. So the options were to basically have them as "pets" or to send them off to "freezer camp." I thought for sure they would become pets, but my wife had the gardener "take care" of them. She's a born and raised Jersey girl paisan, so I'm thinking those genes came out in this decision.

We are going to Antarctica on a cruise in February, but as soon as we are back, we'll get a new set of chickens. We free range our chickens, so finding where they've decided to pick for a new laying area every two weeks or so is a real version of an Easter egg hunt!

Hope this is helpful.

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

Pretty easy to care for. Our 50 do free range so it's even easier.

-You can make a self-feeder out of 4" schedule 40. I have six tubes, a bag of feed a week and you're done there.
-Check water daily.
- Make sure your chicken coop has big doors for easy access. Winter time it's usually once every two weeks to clean, summertime even longer. Have a cart and snow shovel put it into mulch pile.
-Don't get one of those stupid automatic doo inrs for the chicken coop, chickens know when it's time to go out or come in.
-Roosters get the axe, we have one Lucky. He's lucky because he was the only Rooster who didn't crow.
-Have a sick bird axe it, it could wipe out your whole flock. These are chickens not your pet dog. just buy another one.
-Don't overcrowd, if not free ranging they will peck at each other to serious injury or death.
-You will never throw food out again. Have scraps, bread about to go bad leftovers you're going to throw out give it to your little Raptors they're not vegetarians and will eat anything except kale.
-The eggs will last weeks in your garage, the film which protects the embryo has not been washed off.

The eggs are far superior to anything you get in the store. You're not pumping artificial light to make them lay more. Also, the Free Range/ brown eggs in the store are a waste of money. They don't free range and the brown color just comes from a certain type of chicken.

Lol....mine devour Kale, but barely touch apples and won't go near an orange. Funny little characters aren't they?

Plant comfrey. Easy to grow perennial, good for the soil, nutritious, and the girls love it. Sunflowers too. They'll eat the whole plant

If you're going to have free range layers, you should cut off pesticide, herbicides, fungicides and any synthetic fertilizer to your lawn. They eat a TON of grass, and any other plants in the lawn.

Easy to care for. So fun to watch, especially during the spring/summer as they move through the lawn like marauding barbarians in search of an insect, grub, or worm. Each bird has their own personality and they 100% can recognize different humans. Some can be so lovable, others, ********, but that's ok too. Biggest concern for us is hawks and falcons. Luckily we have a terrier who's transformed into a shepherd.

And you're not going to come out ahead dollar wise unless you have a big operation.

And hens are plenty noisy too. Some breeds more than others.

Pine shavings are much better than straw or hay. More absorbent and better at reducing odor.

Feed can be fermented. Lactobacillus fermentation, not yeast. Fermentation increases the nutrient density of the feed, hens will eat less as a result which cuts down costs. Poop is less funky with fermented feed as well.

Can't find a better price than Azure Standard for bulk, organic, non GMO grains.

 

[ScarletteK80]

Pullet is the term for a female teenage chicken, while a male teenage chicken is called a cockerel. Between 5-7 weeks, you should be able to begin visually distinguishing males from females. Compared to pullets, the combs and wattles of cockerels often develop earlier and are usually larger.
Had to look the word up, LMAO.

 

[koleszar]

Lol....mine devour Kale, but barely touch apples and won't go near an orange. Funny little characters aren't they?

Plant comfrey. Easy to grow perennial, good for the soil, nutritious, and the girls love it. Sunflowers too. They'll eat the whole plant

If you're going to have free range layers, you should cut off pesticide, herbicides, fungicides and any synthetic fertilizer to your lawn. They eat a lot of grass.

Easy to care for. So fun to watch, especially during the spring/summer as they move through the lawn like marauding barbarians in search of an insect, grub, or worm. Each bird has their own personality and they 100% can recognize different humans. Some can be so lovable, others, ********, but that's ok too. Biggest concern for us is hawks and falcons. Luckily we have a terrier who's transformed into a shepherd.

And you're not going to come out ahead dollar wise unless you have a big operation.

And hens are plenty noisy too. Some breeds more than others

-Kale is the only thing I've ever seen my pigs and chickens turn their noses up at.
-In the Summer and Fall months when I open up the chicken run(I have a 20' x 40") it's a race to the fruit orchard to see if any fruit has dropped.
- Yes, when hens are laying it's quite boisterous, but they never lay at the crack *** of dawn or at night.
-Hawks would get us pretty good during migrating season. The Great Pyrenees took care of that, foxes and raccoons.
-Pesticides and such you know my practices from the lawn board

The biggest thing for me
-I have found great joy in not ever wasting food again. Any meat leftovers go to my little Raptors. Vegetables fruits and breads go to first come first serve between the chickens and pigs.

 

[wisr01]

One neighbor has netting over the area they roam. It keeps the hawks away

This

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

-Kale is the only thing I've ever seen my pigs and chickens turn their noses up at.
-In the Summer and Fall months when I open up the chicken run(I have a 20' x 40") it's a race to the fruit orchard to see if any fruit has dropped.
- Yes, when hens are laying it's quite boisterous, but they never lay at the crack *** of dawn or at night.
-Hawks would get us pretty good during migrating season. The Great Pyrenees took care of that, foxes and raccoons.
-Pesticides and such you know my practices from the lawn board

The biggest thing for me
-I have found great joy in not ever wasting food again. Any meat leftovers go to my little Raptors. Vegetables fruits and breads go to first come first serve between the chickens and pigs.

100% on eliminating food waste.

I have a retirement fantasy of doing pasture broilers, Joel Salatin style. One day.....

 

[tom1944]

-Kale is the only thing I've ever seen my pigs and chickens turn their noses up at.
-In the Summer and Fall months when I open up the chicken run(I have a 20' x 40") it's a race to the fruit orchard to see if any fruit has dropped.
- Yes, when hens are laying it's quite boisterous, but they never lay at the crack *** of dawn or at night.
-Hawks would get us pretty good during migrating season. The Great Pyrenees took care of that, foxes and raccoons.
-Pesticides and such you know my practices from the lawn board

The biggest thing for me
-I have found great joy in not ever wasting food again. Any meat leftovers go to my little Raptors. Vegetables fruits and breads go to first come first serve between the chickens and pigs.

I read an article that chickens should be placed at all landfills

 

[BellyFullOfWhiteDogCrap]

I read an article that chickens should be placed at all landfills

I don't know if I'd want to eat eggs from landfill birds. There can be some nasty stuff there.

But, a "food waste" landfill is a thing. My man here keeps 600 layers and doesn't spend a cent on feed

 

[Rufaninga]

When I see threads like this, it confirms my suspicions that we will never be big NIL players.

We just need more chickens. Maybe keep them at the RAC in the off season, then off to the butcher's to pay for new recruits NIL

 

[tom1944]

I don't know if I'd want to eat eggs from landfill birds. There can be some nasty stuff there.

But, a "food waste" landfill is a thing. My man here keeps 600 layers and doesn't spend a cent on feed

I lived in NJ long enough not to worry about chemicals in my food