Chickens

[PistolBob]

We used to mail order all of our chickens from this place:

McMurray's

Good birds and they guarantee them.

 

[bigus_D]

I have been reading my encyclopedia of country living. Not sure why I didn't go to that resource earlier. It is ALWAYS on the mark with WHATEVER I want to learn about when it comes to... wait for it... country living. Also went to the library for some extra reference material. Need to finalize coop plans and get to building. I'm confident I can build my coop over a weekend, so my goal now is to finalize plans this weekend, gather materials next week, and complete by the next weekend. Then I'll be ready to order my chicks.

Also, looked at the chicken supplies at Tractor Supply today. Got a feel for cost of feed, litter/scratch, waterring buckets, feed buckets, etc. The Encyclopedia of Country Living also suggested mail order... Looked at a couple of sites. Have also been looking at craigs list, but am leery.

I'm thinking about 5-10 egg layers. Here is my coop inspiration (of the moment) Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

 

[grunt soldier]

thats a very serious coop. i hope your some type of contractor lol. 10 egg layers is a lot. thats will be 10 eggs a day, 70 eggs a week and 280 eggs a month. well really a bit less but still a lot of eggs.

 

[454puttna]

that's more than enough of a coop, the problem with raising it off the ground is it'll be colder in the winter. plus if you build a portable building (no posts in ground) you'll avoid am increase on your assesment by the tax guy. I have 10 chickens now, all brown eggers in a 10by10 coopmahal made from left overs, I laid 4 pressure treated posts down and built off that. plus laid chiken wire over posts to keep varmints out.

 

[RichardR]

Yup, I also built my coop as a moveable "non-permanent" structure to avoid any potential permit & tax hassles.

 

[bigus_D]

The first coop I saw that I liked was this one: Raising BackYard Chickens, Build a Chicken Coop, Pictures of Breeds

My target was five hens, but I figured why not go just a little bigger. I agree, 10 might be too much.

I hadn't considered how the tax man would look at it. I built a shed out here, and when I requested a permit, the permit office told me not to worry about it (despite the fact that my building size fell with the range to require one)... The actual quote once he saw my address, "Oh ****, you're way out there... nobody cares what you are doing out there. We'll just take care of it later if somebody complains." I guess I always figured the tax man was looking at permit filing to know if a review was required. Do they really drive around and inspect everybody's property?

Regarding keeping varmints out, I've been reading that you need to bury the chicken wire 12" deep, to keep out diggers. How do you accommodate for this with a portable coop?

 

[RichardR]

Well my coop is only portable in the sense that it's not attached to the ground in any way.

But I didn't bother to bury fencing around my chicken run, my coop is secured at night so even if a digger dug under & into the run, the chickens would still be safe inside of the coop.

& I'm not worried about the run/coop being raided during the day, my dogs are extremely territorial & would make short work of any would-be intruders.

 

[454puttna]

Mine is only portable because i have a tractor and pull it with logging chains, I wont be moving in again probably it was just easier to build it in the garage and drag it out. Regarding the chicken wire, I laid the posts on the garage floor, used 2x4's for floor joists, laid chicken wire over the 2x4 frame stapled it in place , then layed OSB floor on top of wired 2x4 floor. I laid vinyl flooring over OSB for easy clean up. Then using a air nailer I nailed the hell out of it (loads of fun). Then just framed up some simple walls for about a 4/12 pitch for run off, framed door, windows, made a 2x2 hatch on the back to scoop out the mess for compost and capped it with an old 12x12 pole barn door leaving a nice overhang.

 

[bigus_D]

I'd suggest waiting until you have everything ready, you'll need a brooder for chicks &/or a coop for adult birds, feeder/waterer, a bag of feed, nesting boxes, heat-lamp, stuff like that.

Taking into account all of these supplies, the cost thereof, the cost of feed, the number of eggs, the amount of feed per chicken to required to yield eggs, etc... it gets pretty tight to be saving money with chickens.

Estimates based on reading / research / no experience:
lbs feed per dozen eggs: 5
cost of 50 lbs feed: $15
cost per dozen eggs: $1.5

What do the cost at the store? About $2.00?

And that's just operating costs. How long to cover startup up (supplies above, coop, etc). At a savings of $0.50/dozen it will take a WHILE to make up the costs.

I might be off in my estimates... And, anyhow, it isn't really about saving money, right? I was just surprised at how tight the numbers came out for me. Then again, all natural, organic, pesticide free, anti-biotic free, home grown eggs don't cost $2.00/dozen, they are all marked up... I also didn't realize that hens are only good for a year or two. Sounds like they will keep laying for up to 10 years, but at GREATLY dimensioned rates. A plan for replenishing the flock will need to be put in place.


My reading material for today has been "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens." I checked out a couple from the library. I'm realizing I will need reference material as I move forward. Anybody have a good reference book they'd recommend?

 

[PistolBob]

When we had chickens, we rotated them into the freezer before they turned three years old, usually.

You can pressure cook a big old fat hen though, and it'll make some delicious stock and perfect for dumplings or noodles.

Mom always loved to gnaw on the chicken feet, she'd peel off the yellow tough skin, then egg batter and flour them and fry them up crunchy. Made me wonder about her at times....she also made sure the egg sacks got in the noodles too...very rich and tasty.

She came from a poor hillbilly family of 9 kids, so when they had a chicken dinner on Sunday, none of it got wasted. Livers, gizzards, feet, neck, back, tail...you name it.

 

[PistolBob]

Big Gus...organic brown eggs at the store are between $5 and $7 a dozen.

 

[grunt soldier]

Taking into account all of these supplies, the cost thereof, the cost of feed, the number of eggs, the amount of feed per chicken to required to yield eggs, etc... it gets pretty tight to be saving money with chickens.

Estimates based on reading / research / no experience:
lbs feed per dozen eggs: 5
cost of 50 lbs feed: $15
cost per dozen eggs: $1.5

What do the cost at the store? About $2.00?

And that's just operating costs. How long to cover startup up (supplies above, coop, etc). At a savings of $0.50/dozen it will take a WHILE to make up the costs.

I might be off in my estimates... And, anyhow, it isn't really about saving money, right? I was just surprised at how tight the numbers came out for me. Then again, all natural, organic, pesticide free, anti-biotic free, home grown eggs don't cost $2.00/dozen, they are all marked up... I also didn't realize that hens are only good for a year or two. Sounds like they will keep laying for up to 10 years, but at GREATLY dimensioned rates. A plan for replenishing the flock will need to be put in place.


My reading material for today has been "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens." I checked out a couple from the library. I'm realizing I will need reference material as I move forward. Anybody have a good reference book they'd recommend?

honestly if your doing it to save a bunch of money your doing it for the wrong reason. this is a survival and disaster forums right? the price of a chicken is always having food. if you have 5-7 chickens every day you have food no matter what happens in the world. if the world really gets crazy you let one of them get broody and sit on her eggs. and you don't have to go crazy on the feed. once they know where to roost, let them free range. i got 8 birds and go through about 1 bag of feed a month to every 2 months. my birds free range all day. they are rarely in the coop eating the food. they love bugs, berries, fruits, veggies, ect ect. mulberry trees are a good source for them. table scraps are a good way to supplement the food costs.

if you have a garden then pull the bugs off the plants and feed them to the chickens. i pull 2 tomatoes off the plants everyday and they love em. they keep the bugs off all my potatoes, peppers, green beans, watermelons, cantaloupes and the keeps them fed. plus when the stored no longer have fertilizer for your garden, your coop has the best stuff made, chicken **** is like crack to your plants they have a lot of benefits, like self sufficiency, they taste way better than store bought, and lots of other good stuff, but saying you a bunch of money isn't one imo.

 

[bigus_D]

Yea... I realize it's not about the money. I had just assumed the $ would work out different.

So, I've got to have a rooster to keep the flock going, right... Otherwise the eggs are all steril. I'm thinking the fertilized eggs eat just the same as sterile eggs. Right? Also, As I understand, one can determine which eggs to brood and hatch by candle...? Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about.

My garden is currently potitioned a ways away from where i was planning to have the chickens. Maybe I need to reorganize.

( on a side note, this year is my first with a garden. Tomatoes,hot peppers, lettuce, bell peppers, onion, cucumbers, herbs, brussel sprouts, failed brocholi, and a strawberry patch... Next year will be bigger and better. ... AND, the math already works out pretty well when it comes to cost return on the garden

 

[PistolBob]

One cautionary note on using chicken manure for fertilizer in the garden....it's extremely high in nitrogen and you can burn up your whole garden with it if you are not careful. We used to put our chicken manure in the compost pile and let it age 6-12 months with the other stuff to let it cool off a wee bit. It's GREAT stuff, but be careful about applying fresh from the hen house, straight to the garden. You can mix fresh chicken manure with compost (6 parts compost to one part manure) and use that in a pinch but we always found aging it a bit worked out the best.

My little nephew used to love to come over and spend the day catching grasshoppers in a coffee can...and then he'd take them to the chickens and watch them go crazy over getting a feast of grasshoppers. They also loved to eat leftover crickets from fishing trips.

One other thing...my brother used to buy a high protein, cheap dry dog food, and would grind it into a granular consistency and would mix it with his chicken feed (cracked corn, grit, etc) and boy did that make the chickens meaty and the eggs were beautiful.

 

[grunt soldier]

Yea... I realize it's not about the money. I had just assumed the $ would work out different.

So, I've got to have a rooster to keep the flock going, right... Otherwise the eggs are all steril. I'm thinking the fertilized eggs eat just the same as sterile eggs. Right? Also, As I understand, one can determine which eggs to brood and hatch by candle...? Obviously I don't know what I'm talking about.

My garden is currently potitioned a ways away from where i was planning to have the chickens. Maybe I need to reorganize.

( on a side note, this year is my first with a garden. Tomatoes,hot peppers, lettuce, bell peppers, onion, cucumbers, herbs, brussel sprouts, failed brocholi, and a strawberry patch... Next year will be bigger and better. ... AND, the math already works out pretty well when it comes to cost return on the garden

yes there is no question a garden will give you a huge return on your investment. bell peppers alone will save you (if you eat a lot) at least 100 dollars. i cut them up put them in the vacuum sealer and freeze them. we are getting to be almost out right now from last year. green beans, broccoli, asparagus (which is so easy and comes back every year for up to 30 years) my total garden probably has 40 bucks in it maybe (and its huge) it will easily give me 1k worth of food if not more. its all fresh and will store for a good while.

yes you will need a rooster to sustain the flock in a shtf situation. yes you eat fertile eggs just the same. you may see a little blood spot on the egg and that bothers some folks but thats not every egg. the eggs taste so much better than store bought eggs. and really you will never get the money back out of your coop but the chickens themselves are very cheap and will give you good eggs for a couple years, you will definitely get your money back out of your chickens. any extras you can sell to your friends or family for 2 bucks a dozen and help off set the cost of feed. this is my first year for them but just seeing the crazy prices of food and gas and all the uncertainty going on, i'm glad i have chickens even if i lost my job today with my garden and chickens (though it would get old lol) i would be able to eat no problem and put my money else where.

 

[454puttna]

you only need a rooster if you want to raise more chickens. to lay eggs its not necessary but for shtf you'll want more peeps.

 

[csaws]

yes you can uy laying hens on craigslist but like it was stated above you only know what the people tell you and they could just be trying to pawn off there old birds on you. i've not had mine crazy long but i have 6 hens and 2 roosters (one is about to go in the stew pot lol) only 4 are laying right now but i'm getting 4 eggs a day. and then once every week or so they don't lay. as far as the winter months from all the folks i've talked to you just need either one of the solar sidewalk lights and put it in there at night or put a red heating bulb in there in the winter and run it on a timer for about a hour and you should be good

back yard chickens has some great info but those people treat there chickens like they are pets. taking them to vets and everything else. obsessing over all the little things. just let your chickens do their thing and they will work out most their own problems.

Uhhh this...^^^^

We started our flock with day old chicks from Rural King three years ago and bought more last year from RK, this year we bought hatching eggs and let one of our broody hens do her thing.

If you want old hens that lay minimally then get them from Craigslist or whatever.... personally I would prefer to get them young and know for sure how long I will feed them.... eat them for dinner after year three they are basically worthless after that. I personally would not wait until spring to start raising chicks.... do it now and they will be plenty old enough to live throught winter... come spring they will be laying non stop.

Want more info and things not to do hit me up and ask all the questions you want.

BYC is ok but is full of tight knit groups of a lot of people that keep birds like children.

If anyone wants a rooster let me know, we have a bantam Silkie you can have.

We have the following chickens some are better than others some we will never get again...

Old English Bantam-Great chicken
Golden Laced Wyandottes-naggy, we will not get again
Light Brahma (horrible mother, has actually crushed eggs she should've hatched and killed the two chicks she did hatch, she is no longer allowed to attempt to hatch eggs, great tempermant though)
Ameracuanas-Great chicken
Golden Sebright Bantam-Great chicken
Polish Silkie Bantams- still chicks will let ya know (however they do have don king hairdos)
Rhoade Island Reds-Great chicken
Buff Orpingtons-very protective of her nest

Black Cochins- we killed both of these they were roosters we are looking for Blue cochins now
Sexlinks- the one we had we killed because she went cannibal they were great chickens prior to that
Mille Fluere Duccles- these are what we tried to hatch that the light brahma killed

We will be getting more Mille Fluere Duccles and some Porcelain Duccles too

We buy Nutrena food pellets at Rural King because they have the best and least ingredients

Here is the waterer we are going to build

 

[-ski-]

One consideration about starting now vs. the spring is the winter. I've raised chicken for five years now, and you have to think about how to make sure they've got water and not ice to drink. In general, it's more of a hassle to keep them in the winter than the fall.

I also agree that it's best to have all reasonable parts in place before actually getting the birds. I think it's useful to have lights on timers in the coops, to increase production in the winter. I'm also a fan of portable coops, or "chicken tractors" as I don't like mucking out the droppings. When there's deep snow cover, the coops stay in place, and I use a deep litter system, with about 8 inches of straw in there. The chickens turn the litter and bury the dropping. In the spring I use the litter to grow potatoes in.

As far as chicks vs. adult birds, I've done this both ways. With chicks, you know the history. I've bought some birds off of Craigslist that I regret getting. It seems some sellers are getting rid of the birds because they can't or don't want to take care of them properly. However, most of the birds I see on Craigslist are priced so low that you couldn't buy the feed to get a chick to that size for the price, let alone the work and other expenses.

-ski-

 

[454puttna]

I also prefer the deep liter method, I also spread a light layer of food grade DE (diatamaceous earth) controls mites and odor.