Getting chickens in moderation

[jkm]

I got four chicks last june, two barreds and two buffs. They started laying in mid october and layed hard all winter. 3-4 four eggs a day. I live out side portland and we had a cold rainy winter.

I calculate over 90 eggs a month for eight months.

next time I get chickens I will get five, then I can sell a few more eggs to cover costs. We eat a lot fo eggs, souffles, cookies cake, one in my sisters smoothie everyday....
I will get all buffies, the barreds are very noisy for an urban enviroment.


I did costs this weekend,
organic feed 20$ for fifty lbs, lasts 5-6 months.
scratch corn 11$ for fifty lbs,,, some goes into the birdfeeders for the doves,
two bales of pine shavings for coop and run 14$.

basic cost is 11 -12 $ a month for four birds.

eggs from chcikens on farms are now 4 -6$ a dozen

running the numbers, I spend about 1.50 a dozen.
I sell two doz a month 3$, and it goes in the feed cash baggie.

I bought a good coop from a local builder after fussing with my crummy coop all winter.
it paid for itself in a week, so easy to clean and maintain, chciken chores are 5 -7 minutes a day.
I will be totally in the black in about six months.

recoomend, get a good coop!
four or five buffies, no bareds if you have close neighbors, mine scream a lot.
buy fifty lbs of feed and get 25 lb storage containers with tight lids.

it been a fun learning curve year!!!

jkm

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
My guess is with your current idea of 6 hens, at peak laying on year one and two, you'll be getting about 2.5 dozen to 3 dozen a week, and then down to maybe 1.5-2 for years 3 and 4. Plenty if you just want a dozen! By then you might get sick of eating 2 dozen a week yourself anyways! LOL

But you know you can't just have 6 if you are on here!!!

 

[greyfields]

I was told moderation was needed here.

 

[chcknrs]

 

[Guitartists]

Moderation???? What's THAT!???

I think it should be one of those "filtered" words here on the BYC!!!

 

[Dilly]

Come on now at least I am trying to moderate my addiction. I am doing this without drugs even.

Don't encourage the newly addicted....

 

[chcknrs]

But Dilly, that's the rules. Once we become full-fledged addicts, we MUST enable, so that someday the whole world will have back yard chickens!!!!!

Besides, chickens are so good for your mental health. So just get started, order what you want, but make room for more!

 

[chickenannie]

Quote:

 

[eggzettera]

I would go with 6 to start, you may end up with some roo's I bought 4 "sexed" chicks from the feed store - 3 roo's

- serious. Went back & got 3 more.....1 just up & died on me....so you see, just cause you get 6 doesn't mean you will have 6 hens in 2 years......

 

[CritterHill]

Oh no. I just read this thread and... I think I may have ordered too many chicks!

I have 11 chicks arriving in less than a week. But they are polish, so not as many eggs right?

My husband said get 3 chicks. I ordered 11 and am not divorced yet

My reasoning was that we have lots of predators and I suspect there will be some trial and error as far as predator proofing the coop at first. And with two little kids, I figured more chicks means less possibility they will get too attached to any one if we have some losses, right?

Or maybe this was all a big excuse to triple my order?