Bob Blosl's Heritage Large Fowl Thread

[Lacy Blues]

We have a one income family with two teenaged kiddos so what I make on egg sales (not that much after all) is spending money for me that I don't have to account for. So, to me, it is definitely worth it. If I sell 6 dozen eggs, I can buy a bag of feed or I can save up for a little while and buy some (factory seconds) insulation for my coop roof. If I'm lucky enough to be able to sell some birds, then its a little more in my pocket. I don't try to keep track of the expenses or charge myself for cleaning and packaging eggs. I sell my larger eggs to customers, and the medium and small eggs get hard boiled and given back to the birds. We actually eat some of them too.

Its mostly pleasure for me... or at least it was. I have too many birds this year and it has become WORK so I'm getting ready to scale back so that I can appreciate my birds again.

 

[Robert Blosl]

Even if you have a the high production egg layers its very hard to make a profit with folks that have Standard Breed Birds if they sell eggs and chicks at a good price and make it simple to ship and sell some birds as breeders if they got good stock they could break even. The cost to go to shows is recreation and should not be a business expense. Most of the folks do it for pleasure it has been a fascinating few posts on the subject . bob

 

[galanie]

• I love quality birds. Chickens especially!!
• I believe in the SOP--aka 'poultry bible'
• Feathers are so amazingly beautiful!!
• Eggs are amazing---essential to baking and cooking plus nutritious and beautiful!
• Good Chicken stock/broth is hard to beat in the universal culinary realm...historically significant as well. Chicken soup is perhaps some of the most widely held 'comfort food'...and how about crispy fried chicken or buffalo wings?? up there with Filet or ribeye for me!
• As Scott has mentioned before...nothing beats ' chicken T.V.' either with morning coffee/tea or evening cocktails--that much better

X 2000! I want quality stock, and I've come to realize that quality is severely lacking in most people's birds (hatchery stock). Yes, you can have a productive flock and yet have good quality birds. Some pay attention to that and I'm just thrilled to have a few.

 

[galanie]

.. I sell my larger eggs to customers, and the medium and small eggs get hard boiled and given back to the birds.  We actually eat some of them too.

I actually have a customer that prefers the small eggs because those are what her grandson likes. So I'm lucky as I can be because 3 of mine (mutts and hatchery stock) lay small to medium eggs.

 

[Fentress]

LOL, I'm glad you're feeling better Mr. Blosl!

I'm wondering if anyone has ever calculated the cost of raising egg laying chicks for 5 months which lay 6 eggs a week only to have them lay for 2 years then discarded vs raising a chick 5 months which lay 4 eggs a week and last 6+ years? I mean, those 5 months of feeding with no productivity? Hummm maybe I can answer my own question:

5 mo. no eggs at 4/wk = 86 eggs
6 years 4 eggs / week = 1248 eggs
total eggs laid 1162
total eggs per year = ~ 180 eggs from birth / per year total for all the feed they eat

5 mo, no eggs at 6/wk = 129 eggs
2 years 6 eggs /week = 619 eggs laid
total eggs laid = 490
total eggs per year = 245 eggs from birth

I'm trying to incorporate the cost of feeding 'em into the equation here in a round about way. I guess the big egg producing facilities do make more by going through a bunch of birds. But for someone like myself, a healthy bird, laying moderately for a long period of time is worthwhile. But it looks like, if I were selling eggs, I would definitely lose the edge

I think the general consensus with the members of APPPA (American Pastured Poultry Producers Association) is use Red Sex Links ( or other hybrid) and do not keep past the first molt.Raising a new batch of chicks is cheaper than keeping the hens. The people who use heritage breeds have a market for hen carcasses, which most people can not seem to develop/find. Hybrid carcasses are not marketable. They love their spreadsheets, if you want more detailed information, they could help. Membership is $60 per year.

mark

 

[catdaddyfro]

LOL, I'm glad you're feeling better Mr. Blosl!

I'm wondering if anyone has ever calculated the cost of raising egg laying chicks for 5 months which lay 6 eggs a week only to have them lay for 2 years then discarded vs raising a chick 5 months which lay 4 eggs a week and last 6+ years? I mean, those 5 months of feeding with no productivity? Hummm maybe I can answer my own question:

5 mo. no eggs at 4/wk = 86 eggs
6 years 4 eggs / week = 1248 eggs
total eggs laid 1162
total eggs per year = ~ 180 eggs from birth / per year total for all the feed they eat

5 mo, no eggs at 6/wk = 129 eggs
2 years 6 eggs /week = 619 eggs laid
total eggs laid = 490
total eggs per year = 245 eggs from birth

I'm trying to incorporate the cost of feeding 'em into the equation here in a round about way. I guess the big egg producing facilities do make more by going through a bunch of birds. But for someone like myself, a healthy bird, laying moderately for a long period of time is worthwhile. But it looks like, if I were selling eggs, I would definitely lose the edge

Sure they do, they get money for those spent hens too "its where chicken McNuggets come from, tastes like they grind up the whole bird in them too guts, feathers, and ALL"

LOL

Jeff

 

[catdaddyfro]

I think the general consensus with the members of APPPA (American Pastured Poultry Producers Association) is use Red Sex Links ( or other hybrid) and do not keep past the first molt.Raising a new batch of chicks is cheaper than keeping the hens. The people who use heritage breeds have a market for hen carcasses, which most people can not seem to develop/find. Hybrid carcasses are not marketable. They love their spreadsheets, if you want more detailed information, they could help. Membership is $60 per year.

mark

LOL I had typed my post way before I got to yours Fentress so I was not contradicting you just merely and jokingly telling where the spent hens go and an about the only thing they are "any good for"< another simple definition of IRONY here

LOL

Your summarization of the poor things(literally) is right on que too.

Jeff

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
Need some help figuring out flock dynamics for this mixed flock of youngsters. I have a cockerel who really thinks he's all that. In the pen are 17 birds. My brood hen , March, ( 3/12/12/) , her daughter from 2/23/13 hatch. Then 6 pullets and 3 cockerels from 4/1/13 and 4/15/13 hatches; 3 pullets and 3 cockerels from 4/28/13 hatch. ( these 15 are all from Junior to May breedings.). All 15 went in the big pen together early last evening. The hen and her daughter are living separate from the others as they have already been living in the pen for a while, they prefer not to "mix". . Everyone else is getting along pretty ok except for this one cockerel who runs around biting anyone in the neck who gets in his way. He has the birds he bothers hiding their necks in the corners of the pen. This boy is from 4/15 hatch. He is bigger and his comb and wattles noticeable more developed than the other cockerels. Now I need to pick the 3 very best trio from this mob to go to another breeder in Nov. What do I do, egt rid of this boy or choose him and put him with 2 the pullets in the small run? Yes, I know the cockerels should be living separate from the pullets at this age but I don't have the facilities for that right now. Will have next month.
Thanks for your help,
Karen

 

[cluck-cluck]

I think the general consensus with the members of APPPA (American Pastured Poultry Producers Association) is use Red Sex Links ( or other hybrid) and do not keep past the first molt.Raising a new batch of chicks is cheaper than keeping the hens. The people who use heritage breeds have a market for hen carcasses, which most people can not seem to develop/find. Hybrid carcasses are not marketable. They love their spreadsheets, if you want more detailed information, they could help. Membership is $60 per year.

mark

Um... no thank you

LOL (edit, I apologized a few posts ahead, as I misunderstood what that association was, sorry)

Sure they do, they get money for those spent hens too "its where chicken McNuggets come from, tastes like they grind up the whole bird in them too guts, feathers, and ALL"

LOL

Jeff

LOL, sounds delish!

Karen, is the cockerel picking only on other cockerels? Believe it or not, when my boys were 14 weeks old, and they were the only boys around, my older pullets started laying fertile eggs. So boys can mature quite quickly.

I suspect that the "bully" will be fine when the competition is gone, so if he is the one you would want to keep, I'm pretty sure he'd calm down. Is he aggressive toward you? Usually the two are not mutually inclusive. But I'm a newb, so you can take my opinions with a grain of salt, I won't be hurt, LOL

 

[Fentress]

LOL I had typed my post way before I got to yours Fentress so I was not contradicting you just merely and jokingly telling where the spent hens go and an about the only thing they are "any good for"< another simple definition of IRONY here

LOL

Your summarization of the poor things(literally) is right on que too.

Jeff

Not a problem, I always enjoy a good laugh. The APPPA is a bunch of hard working people trying to find successful business models to put a healthier, more natural and ethical product on the dinner table. They know a lot about chickens and it is worth the $60 at least for a year or two, especially if you keep chickens on grass.