Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[bestpractice]

Thank you, Fred. I apoligize for that error. Since there isn't has has not been any kind of commercial poulty raising industry down here, the extrmems of heat and humidity here are just not suitable for it, i wasunaware there might be such sources where there is such industry. I don't know how widespread across the country that is, areas of large commercial poultry industry, where such birds might accessable like that, but would just assume that's available in a relativley few parts of the country, to few potential buyers like that.
Yes, the $12-$15 ranges seems pretty much standard down here, usually the most common and popular heavy layers or dual breeds, mostly old stand-bys, but also some of the newer production breeds, though not the really commerical layers, price range usually depending on how many you buy. But generally small farm raisers, and limited times of the year, not when out heat starts to get extreme.

For current market price: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams...Data&page=PYMarketNewsReportsOrganic&acct=pmn Click on a date to get the real world prices of organic poultry.

There are "hobby" prices, and "designer" prices which will vary depending on what the consumer is willing to pay, but this is the real world price of organic poultry.

 

[Cass]

I'm getting chicks this weekend. Not sure how many yet, but it's BROODER TIME.

I'm a silly woman who loves the lil' peeps so I keep them close...meaning in my house...on the enclosed back porch....depending on time of year I don't have to have extra heat during the sunny daylight hours after the second week, which is a plus in my mind.

My best "tip" for brooding multiple age/size chicks is a piece of hardware cloth cut to fit the middle of the brooder so the chicks can see each other. After a couple of weeks I pulled the hardware cloth out and let them mix together (under supervision). The littlest ones tucked themselves under the wings of the biggests ones and I never put the hardware cloth divider back in....made "integration" so much easier when I had to put them in the coop. (which I do much younger than most people cuz I have a mixed flock of LF and Banties so the LF are the size of the banties at about 5 weeks of age. I also have an upside down laundry basket fastened to the back wall of my coop so low only the small ones can get under it and the same arrangement with a milk crate out in the run)

 

[JenellYB]

If we get done with brooding, something I'd kinda like to hear some ideas about.
For those that may maintain a small egg flock, small business selling eggs locally, even a just a sideline part time income, what do you find practical?
What size flock is minimal to be worth while? How do costs/expences to egg sales, profitablity, break down for you? Do you raise you own hens from chicks or buy pol? What operating/managementsystem works best and most efficiently? Feeding? How do you sell/market your eggs? That kind of thing.
I used to always have enough extra eggs to have some to sell and barter, over what my family needed, but never really as a little business enterprise itself?

 

[Beekissed]

I'm with you, just sell what my family doesn't eat but it is still enough to defray feed costs.

 

[bestpractice]

If we get done with brooding, something I'd kinda like to hear some ideas about.
For those that may maintain a small egg flock, small business selling eggs locally, even a just a sideline part time income, what do you find practical?
What size flock is minimal to be worth while? How do costs/expences to egg sales, profitablity, break down for you? Do you raise you own hens from chicks or buy pol? What operating/managementsystem works best and most efficiently? Feeding? How do you sell/market your eggs? That kind of thing.
I used to always have enough extra eggs to have some to sell and barter, over what my family needed, but never really as a little business enterprise itself?

There is a lot of great information on selling eggs. You don't have to be certified organic if you sell under a certain dollar amount. I've been talking with a number of people who sell their eggs in a number of different ways; people come to their farm/home, farmers market, and co-ops. Some get $5.00 a dozen! Most are getting around $3.00 a dozen. Every state has different licensing requirements, but where I live the license cost is only 10, or 15 bucks -- I would have to look to give you the exact amount. You need refrigeration, and new egg cartons -- at least in my state. Will gladly provide a lot of links and information. I've also been talking to people about how to reduce their feed cost. There are some really cool ideas.

 

[Young Farmer]

That is what my goal is. How many chickens are needed to produce enough eggs to keep my chickens sefl suffcient?

 

[Beekissed]

I kept a flock of 30, give or take a few, and the egg sales in peak laying and slightly off peak would be enough to pay for feed and feed for times when egg laying slowed down. Depends on egg prices and feed prices in your area, I would guess.

 

[GardenerGal]

I'm not a commercial poultry producer, but I am a -serious- poultry keeper. I went to an agricultural college and studied poultry science and gamebird management and other ag subjects, and at one time I might have gone into the professional end of poultry keeping or at least cooperative extension work. My grandparents kept chickens for completely pragmatic purposes, because they had to eat and to feed a family. I keep poultry for that reason and because, yes, I enjoy keeping fowl.

There are centuries, no, make that millenia, of poultry keeping methodology and practices. Some methods are more effective than others, but to think that our modern technology is always superior to traditional practices is a fallacy. Medicated feeds, hypersanitized facilities and monoculture may increase quantity of "food output" (i.e. eggs, meat) but it is not a sustainable practice for genetic diversity, disease resistance and ecological viability for the long run. It is only for short-term turn-around product production for profit.

I would rather see hundreds of thousands of backyard flock owners with genetically diverse flocks that are not pumped full of hormones and preemptive antibiotics -- vaccinated, yes, but otherwise allowed to develop natural disease resistance through good genes and good nutrition. Medication is fine within reason and used judiciously, but not if it's pumped prophyllactically into flocks so that "Super germs" can emerge and the birds have no natural resistance to any pathogen.

We would not raise our children in hyper-sanitized bubbles to keep out all pathogens, nor pump them full of hormones to make them grow faster. We wouldn't isolate them from socializing with other children and learning important social skills... while also being exposed to pathogens to which they would develop resistance and immunity. We wouldn't feed them medicated foods; we just wash the fruit under the tap and make sure the meat is thoroughly cooked and try to keep them from eating dirt and poop. We just observe reasonable care and caution in what they are exposed to and what they eat. They thus develop natural resistance, grow normally, and socialize well. Animal/poultry husbandry should be no different.

 

[JenellYB]

I would agree with you totally on that, GardnerGal!

In my inquiry, i really didn't have agribusiness type big commercial egg laying flocks in mind, but the smaller, backyard and small farmstead flock keeper/egg producer. We know there really are a good number people that would prefer fresh, yard eggs, from healthy 'happy' chickens. Whether for flavor, nutrition, humane isseus, whatever. But not everyone CAN keep their own flock to meet their needs. I know there is a niche for small backyard flock keepers selling fresh yard eggs. I've bought them myself. I just don't know much about what makes for a practical, profitable operation of that type.

 

[Cass]

That is what my goal is. How many chickens are needed to produce enough eggs to keep my chickens sefl suffcient?

Have you checked Craig's List for your area to get an idea of what fresh eggs are going for? And how much do you pay for feed? Are you able to cut those feed cost with any free ranging (or back yard foraging)?

My first egg cost me $1200. I will never recover those cost no matter how many eggs I sell, unless I live to be 1000 and that's not likely. Do you have to put up more coop space to add to your flock? If so, can you do it without incurring huge expenses? (Materials free from CL, etc)

How many others are already selling eggs in your area? If there are quite a few others what do you have to offer that they are not offering? (Are your breeds laying colored eggs, are you organic, is your egg size bigger, etc?) Do you have breeds that others will pay bigger bucks for hatching eggs?

Are the people you give eggs to willing to pay for those eggs? Does your state have any requirements for egg sales? Can you meet them without any huge expense? Do you have a social network that will help you "advertise" without anything that can be traced by the government if you can't meet state requirements for egg sales?

Are you able to afford feeding chickens that aren't old enough to lay ? Do you have brooder space to grow your own "replacement" hens? (eat the extra roos, they are yummy)

These are all things that will help determine if you can actually make money selling eggs. In any business venture there is a point where you either have to expand or cut back on customers. Think about what you want to and/or are able to do when that point comes, cuz to be profitable on a regular basis you need to know what you are going to at that point before it happens.