that first $500 egg!

[SNJchickens]

One of our 4 pullets has begun to lay! This is our first experience with chickens. We started with 4 one month old ladies back in May 2012. On December 13th the Barnavelder/Cochin cross laid her first egg: that wonderful $500 egg! She has been laying every other day since then. Each egg is a perfect brown egg just slightly smaller than a "grocery store" large size egg.

Pumpkin's eggs are delicious!! With 3 eggs to date the cost-per-egg is falling rapidly.

Just hoping the Spangled Hamburg girls start to lay soon.

 

[sourland]

from West central NJ and congratulations on the egg. One of the first rules is "Never try to figure the cost of your eggs."

 

[1muttsfan]

Even after several years, I think my eggs are still likely over $5 each

 

[SNJchickens]

Actually, the $500 figure was a standing joke between my husband and myself. Neither of us knew anything about chickens but I had always wanted to have a backyard flock (if you can call 4 girls a flock.) We are enjoying them as we let them roam the yard andwe care for them. Since we purchased our girls, each time we had to purchase a dozen eggs my husband would point out the price of eggs with a wry smile and a laugh, then say he was awaiting "that first $500 egg" from one of our girls.

I bought my small coop second hand from a Craigslist advertisement. My husband built the small, solid run and we added an inexpensive portable run using step-in fence posts and 50 feet of plastic fencing with netting across the top. The girls can only free-range when we are outdoors with them to make the hawks stay away. Otherwise, they must content themselves with the 2 run areas.

I hope to add 2 Buff Orpington girls in the Spring to complete our little flock.

 

[SNJchickens]

There is more to a backyard flock than the cost per egg. That's for certain.

As for how many chickens is too many? I think there are too many when you name them, "One, Two, Three, Four.......!!!!!"

 

[brendachicken]

That funny our family has same joke. It wasn't five hundred at first but it close now.