How many hens for a 4 person household?/Potential oversupply??

[Ma Delos Pollitos]

They are no more consistent than the ones you have. And when you get them you will have no idea what they will grow up to look like as they are all hybrids.

You would have a lot of eggs. Far more than you currently consume. In your first year. But next year, it would drop off and you would have nearly nothing during the short days of winter. Then production would kick back up in late January or so depending on your location.

Hens lay larger but fewer eggs each year as they age. And they stop laying when they molt and during the winter or lay at a much reduced rate. The only way you're going to have eggs year-round is if you replace your 18 to 24 month old hens with new pullets every year. You can do that by getting a rooster and hatching your own eggs or by purchasing new sexed chicks.


These include bedding, dewormer, medication when they are injured or sick, lice/mite treatment or preventative care, oyster shell, quality feed purchased in small volume at retail prices not wholesale by the ton, electricity if you have to keep water and nest boxes from freezing during winter.

You will never produce eggs at a price lower than what you can purchase them for in the supermarket. That's not the main reason why most of backyard chicken keepers have them. They want a food source that they control, where they know that the animals are being treated kindly and humanely. I will never recoup the cost of my setup in my birds. I currently eat the most expensive eggs I've ever eaten in my life.

However I have the lowest cost therapy and stress relief too. And I enjoy the hobby immensely.

Yes yes yes!!! I must've spent $600 building thir coop only to turn into just a run and let them free range when we're home. Plus the monthly feed and medication when needed. It's just I and my young son, and our bully. We have 4 hens, only 3 lay as 1 is a late bloomer, and we collect 17-19 eggs a week. Our layers are a sebright, tiny eggs, an EE, and a Rhode Island Red. We usually go through a dozen eggs a week. I share eggs with neighbors whenever I feel I have an overload or cater to our bully with scrambled eggs for bfast

 

[EmmaDonovan]

We have a dozen hens about 18 months old. We get 8-10 eggs per day, that's enough for two adults and two dogs plus extras. I think it's pretty hard to have too many eggs. You can always give them to family, friends, and neighbors.

Another option is to put extra eggs in a blender and pour them into ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop them into freezer bags. They'll keep that way for several months and you'll always have eggs on hand for scrambled eggs and baking. We use XL ice cube trays, each space holds two blended eggs. $10 at Amazon.

 

[Ma Delos Pollitos]

We have a dozen hens about 18 months old. We get 8-10 eggs per day, that's enough for two adults and two dogs plus extras. I think it's pretty hard to have too many eggs. You can always give them to family, friends, and neighbors.

Another option is to put extra eggs in a blender and pour them into ice cube trays. Once frozen, pop them into freezer bags. They'll keep that way for several months and you'll always have eggs on hand for scrambled eggs and baking. We use XL ice cube trays, each space holds two blended eggs. $10 at Amazon.

I had no idea that eggs could be frozen! Do you separate the egg whites?

 

[EmmaDonovan]

I had no idea that eggs could be frozen! Do you separate the egg whites?

No, I just put them in the blender whole and blend them then freeze them. They last about six months in the freezer, after that they start to desiccate. Until then they're perfectly good for scrambled eggs or any baking that calls for whole eggs.

 

[Ma Delos Pollitos]

No, I just put them in the blender whole and blend them then freeze them. They last about six months in the freezer, after that they start to desiccate. Until then they're perfectly good for scrambled eggs or any baking that calls for whole eggs.

I may just have to try this! Thx for the tip!

 

[SJsChickies]

My first year we had 3 red Sexlinks and got 18-20 eggs a week. It was great. If you want a decent amount of eggs with a small amount of chickens, hybrids are the way to go! We went through 50lbs of food every 6-8 weeks, bedding maybe every 2 months and didn’t have an any medical issues till they were a year old. Nothing crazy, just 2 with bumble foot. That wasn’t too costly to treat, just time consuming!

 

[CraziChknLady]

They will 100% go broody. I battle breaking my two bantam hens every single year, multiple times to stop their broodiness. I have a little Seabright out there who's being quite tenacious to this day.

This breed is also well known for going broody. But as opposed to the bantams, they can actually cover a decent amount of chicks to hatch. Although bantams do make excellent mothers, they can only cover about 3 LF eggs/chicks. So you can't get a lot of production from them.

My bantys last year and part of this year( before the culling) were broody like clockwork. Actually works great when you want them to raise chicks. Which I look forward to as a bonus as I have never had any incubators.

 

[akroberts1085]

I have EE, RIR, BSL and a mixed up bunch of whatever was provided to the lady I got some of them from. I also have a White leghorn. My wl, lays everyday. My RIR girls are molting but it's fall so I'm okay with that. The bsl's, I don't recommend to anyone because mine are PITA. The rest of them are okay. My girls I named Cheeks and H#@$er Witch are a serious handful. I have 11 chickens and 3 ducks.

 

[CraziChknLady]

I have EE, RIR, BSL and a mixed up bunch of whatever was provided to the lady I got some of them from. I also have a White leghorn. My wl, lays everyday. My RIR girls are molting but it's fall so I'm okay with that. The bsl's, I don't recommend to anyone because mine are PITA. The rest of them are okay. My girls I named Cheeks and H#@$er Witch are a serious handful. I have 11 chickens and 3 ducks.

What's bsl's?

 

[SJsChickies]

What's bsl's?

Black sexlink