2008 was our first year raising chickens. Because we could not decide on a breed, for meat we ordered 25 mixed hatchery-choice heavies and 25 mixed hatchery-choice (cockerals) from McMurrays. For eggs we ordered one each of nine different kinds of hens.
We received 69 chicks--all alive. McMurrays did a fabulous job of including a wide variety and doubled up on some of the females. I think we ended up with about 25 different breed/varieties.
We started slaughtering at 9 weeks--as soon as a couple of mean ones got to 3 pounds live weight. After that, we slaughtered four at a time whenever I wanted fresh chicken (ate one, froze three). Almost all males were slaughtered by 5 to 6 months old. One rooster was slaughtered at 8 months. Five chicks died, one ran away from home.
We have kept one rooster (just because I liked him) and 11 hens.
We fed commercial feed, supplemented with worms, slugs, bugs, nettles, weeds, kitchen scraps, etc.
Costs, not including buildings, amounted to about $2.50 per pound (carcass weight, including giblets, but not including feet) for the meat birds. We ended up with about 150 pounds of meat in the freezer. I don't remember how many we ate fresh.
Rough estimate on hens--approximately $6 per bird to egg laying age.
Right now, we are spending about $.70 per day on feed and misc. and getting an average of 8 to 9 eggs per day.
Cons of raising chickens--1) very, very time consuming (partly by choice--I did not have to cut grass, weeds, etc. or dig worms for them, I chose to); 2) was more expensive than buying free-range, "organic" chicken; 3) kept me home all summer (not necessarily a bad thing--I avoided lots of in-law gatherings); 4) slaughtering was somewhat difficult, but since we started out with the idea that they would be meat, we deliberately kept our emotional distance.
Pros of raising chickens--1) the flavor of the meat/eggs is fantastic. I was totally blown away by how tasty the meat/eggs were compared to store-bought Cornish Xs/eggs. Even the 8-month old rooster which I made into coq au vin was absolutely exquisite--not tough at all; 2) entertainment value--unbelievably funny antics; 3) fertilizer 4) garbage disposal 5) feathers for craft use 6) feet make great soup stock 7) educational experience for kids (and us) 8) exercise and fresh air.
Will I do this again? Absolutely. McMurrays catalog came yesterday and I am grinning from ear to ear, trying to decide what to order. They are TOO MUCH FUN!!!
If you just want to try some, but don't want to spend a lot for a building, etc., just set up a spot in your garage. If you aren't enamored by a few months, you can always slaughter and eat them or sell/give them away and you will not have spent a lot of money.
But I bet you'll be building a coop.
Carol in Minnesota
