A note of caution when raising chickens for eggs ... They are not cost effective and they are probably going to be the most expensive eggs you'll ever eat.
Eggs are pretty expensive here. For 36 store bought eggs its over $5. We buy 3 cartons of 36 eggs which comes to around $18 or so. Thats 96 eggs at $18. Those eggs last us about 3 weeks, so not quite a full month. With 5 hens laying eggs for 1 month we got 62 eggs. That was after only getting 0 - 2 eggs for the first 2 weeks of having the chickens because they were new and getting used to the lay of the land. After they got used to it we got 5 eggs, every day from 5 chickens, which, if we had been getting 5 per day at the beginning would have ended up being around 143 eggs for the first month. The chickens are self sustaining as far as breeding. You have a rooster and hen then you get chickens. The feed here cost $15 dollars for a 50lb bag of layer pellets plus $10 for a 30lb bag of grit, which, after 2 months isn't even close to being empty. With 5 chickens I went through 1 bag of layer pellets in 1 1/2 months. That adds up to $15 every 1 1/2 months for 142 eggs vs $18 for every 3 weeks for 96 eggs. If you factor in the meat after the bird stops laying it just keeps getting better.
Not meaning to argue the point or anything really, I just didn't want anyone who might be new to the forums to worry about any money issues with home grown eggs.
Eggs are pretty expensive here. For 36 store bought eggs its over $5. We buy 3 cartons of 36 eggs which comes to around $18 or so. Thats 96 eggs at $18. Those eggs last us about 3 weeks, so not quite a full month. With 5 hens laying eggs for 1 month we got 62 eggs. That was after only getting 0 - 2 eggs for the first 2 weeks of having the chickens because they were new and getting used to the lay of the land. After they got used to it we got 5 eggs, every day from 5 chickens, which, if we had been getting 5 per day at the beginning would have ended up being around 143 eggs for the first month. The chickens are self sustaining as far as breeding. You have a rooster and hen then you get chickens. The feed here cost $15 dollars for a 50lb bag of layer pellets plus $10 for a 30lb bag of grit, which, after 2 months isn't even close to being empty. With 5 chickens I went through 1 bag of layer pellets in 1 1/2 months. That adds up to $15 every 1 1/2 months for 142 eggs vs $18 for every 3 weeks for 96 eggs. If you factor in the meat after the bird stops laying it just keeps getting better.
Not meaning to argue the point or anything really, I just didn't want anyone who might be new to the forums to worry about any money issues with home grown eggs.
