Official BYC Poll: How Important Is It That You Get Eggs From Your Chickens?

[HeatherKellyB]

I should also add that other people (my family) seem to think more of my chickens because of their egg laying. They always ask about the eggs and then I get the opportunity to chat chicken, which is one of my favorite subjects. I feel like if they didn't lay, my family members or anyone that doesn't have a flock of their own, would dismiss their significance and importance. This may sound silly, especially to someone without chickens or someone that sees their flock as strictly livestock (which I fully respect) but I thought I'd toss it out there.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

I should also add that other people (my family) seem to think more of my chickens because of their egg laying. They always ask about the eggs and then I get the opportunity to chat chicken, which is one of my favorite subjects. I feel like if they didn't lay, my family members or anyone that doesn't have a flock of their own, would dismiss their significance and importance. This may sound silly, especially to someone without chickens or someone that sees their flock as strictly livestock (which I fully respect) but I thought I'd toss it out there.

I love my chickens (they’re pets to me) and I’ve had a similar experience. My family seems to look more forward to their eggs. (That being said, they love, support, and care for both me and the chickens.)

I just remember this time when my Welsummer, Seoirse, died (coyote attack), a family member said “I’m going to miss her eggs.”

They were beautiful, dark brown, but still...

 

[HeatherKellyB]

I'd buy duck eggs any day. Chicken math or ducks? Or both?

Maybe my chickens just take the spotlight as far as the eggs go and I should mention the duck eggs to anyone who'll listen. I suffer from serious chicken math but it's switched to duck math this year and I'm suffering from that pretty bad right now
I still love my chickens but there are no vacancies in any of my coops. I just purchased everything for another 2 duck houses

 

[Brooks_]

I just purchased everything for another 2 duck houses

You have my full support.

 

[ChicKittyHouse]

I originally got chickens for pest control when I did a cat fenced back yard. A woman I knew gave me 2 hens and a rooster....I fell in love! I currently have 23 laying hens and very large Welsummer rooster named JarJar Binks. One hen has 6 babies, 2 are sharing 15, and another is on eggs! I do love the eggs, eat them every day. I sell enough to pay for their needs and a little left over for cat food. I love crossing different breeds to see if I can get new egg colors!! I tell people that my chickens will never end up in a pot because you shouldn't eat spoiled meat!! I enjoy making their lives happy.

 

[Imse]

We have always had chickens for the sole purpose of being self sufficient with eggs, no matter breed.

We do have a heritage breed, swedish hedemora, the most local breed for us living on the Norwegian side of the border. We do have them both for eggs and to support the keep of the breed.

We eat the roosters that we don't keep, but that is most foremost because people actually don't need more roosters .

We do have extra light during winter , during winter the sun can be up less than 6 hours , so we start their day at 7-6 am . And our winter coop only has west facing window.

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I started keeping silkies as pets. Eggs are just a bonus

 

[Tashua]

I got them originally for eggs, and I like the eggs. When I add to the flock, I will add breeds that lay well. But I'm not going to buy production breeds, or cull any birds that are past their laying prime. I sort of like spending time with them, and also indulging neighbors with fresh eggs and looking in nest boxes and finding eggs!

DITTO here

 

[Drukkar]

I just enjoy being surrounded by animals. But, what sold the idea of keeping chickens to the family was a weekly basket of fresh rainbow colored free range eggs. Not to mention the added benefit of keeping insects in check in the garden + the cheap fertilizer. How that's going: I've searched high and low for specific breeds locally like Ameraucana's, Aracauna's, Black Copper Marans, Orpington's (of any color), etc, but people who have them either aren't selling chicks, or 2-3 year old pairs are being sold for over 300 USD on auctioning sites.

I'm limiting myself to finding sellers who aren't trying to retire off of me. With that in mind I ended up driving to the northern border of Kuwait, which had me closer to Basra, Iraq than my own house back in the city, where I purchased 5 little chooks from a farm: 4 Giant Brahma's and a breed they call "Boom" locally (which basically is a bearded Columbian colored chicken with a pea comb that lays white eggs). Not the best laying breeds, however, they will definitely be an interesting mix of different looking and sized hens.

 

[Skyleen13]

For me my chickens eggs are very important. I don’t use any lighting out in their coop & my 2 broody hens I allow to go broody when they want & hatch a few eggs for me. However, the thing is I have to have at least 2 eggs a day for my personal health. I have really bad allergies and asthma & one of my allergies is to either the hormones they give the hens in production store bought eggs or what they use to clean the eggs with. My doctor & I can’t narrow it down to which one it is but it makes me very sick if I eat store bought eggs. No matter what kind or brand they are they make me sick if I eat them. Then 3 years ago one of my coworkers brought in some of her eggs from her little flock & asked me to give them a try. I had told her of my struggles with eggs & she said that her eggs wouldn’t make me sick. She did warn me that they weren’t cleaned but I didn’t care. I’m not squeamish about cleaning some poop off of eggs before eating them. I took them home & tried one & BAM! NO REACTION! I actually cried while eating that egg. My husband thought I had lost it. From that point on I only got eggs from my coworkers who raised chickens themselves. Then i started my own flock & I can’t get enough of my gals. I love them all. I may have originally only got them for their eggs but now they’ve become so much more. I still count on the eggs & ive definitely got a couple birds that are more pets then not but I love them all. Once I got my 1st chick I got bit by the big hard & just can’t stop. Crazy chicken lady I’m proud to be!