Why have a backyard flock when you can buy Extra Large Eggs for 73 cents per dozen?

[gtaus]

The chickens eat up the dirt, poop it out, and I'm having it made into an arthritis cream, as an new treatment.

And you know it must be working good because it smells so bad!!!

First off, what Walmart sells extra large eggs for only 73 cents!!!??? That's incredible!!
Where are you located?

I live in northern Minnesota. Any of our big box stores sell a dozen large eggs for less than $1.00 per dozen. Maybe we just live close to chicken farms?

- You can sell eggs/meat to make $. People would be willing to pay MORE (than 75 cents ) when they know that the eggs came from a backyard coop!

When my hens were younger and putting out lots of eggs, we were selling our extras for $2.00 per dozen. For almost organic eggs, that is a good price. I don't know all the classifications of egg these days, but cage free used to be a thing. Maybe my eggs would fall under that classification. Anyway, selling the extra eggs paid for all the feed bills and some left over. I don't need the egg money, but it was nice to know that the chickens more or less paid for themselves.

Of course, the amount of compost I have made with them far exceeds the income from selling the eggs. I used to pay about $5.00 per bag for compost, and this year alone I maybe sifted about 40 bags of compost for the gardens. Lots of compost left in the run for the next harvest. So even when the egg production drops, I still get lots of compost.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

1. TICK CONTROL. That was the number one reason I got chickens. When I moved to Missouri, ticks weren't even on my mind. We didn't have them in New Mexico. When I realized I'd moved into Tick Central, I said, "Chickens, or I'm leaving!" So we got chickens.

2. Everything Else: Eggs (and yes, the texture and flavor is superior), meat, beauty, fun, variety, their personalities, poop, company, the neat noises they make, and the happy way I feel when I watch them. Chicken therapy, I guess. I mean, what's not to love? Try and get all that for 73c out of an egg carton. (I think eggs cost more than that around here, too. I have people standing in line to pay $2/doz for my eggs.)

Chickens in your own backyard are more than just producers of eggs. Chickens are an experience.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

Lots of good points. With my current flock of 3 year old laying hens, I am to the point where I have to consider the meat option. I only get about 1 egg per day from my 8 hens for the past few months. So, at this point, it costs me more in feed cost than I would ever get back in egg production. I might not carry them over for the winter. In any case, I'll have to replace them next spring with new chicks. But I bought dual purpose breeds knowing that at some time they might end up on the table. Next flock I will plan on replacing them after 2 years. My chickens are not my pets, but I was hoping that their egg production would be worth keeping them a bit longer than what I am seeing.

Not all chickens lay the same. You might want to look into the breed Death layers.

 

[gtaus]

1. TICK CONTROL. That was the number one reason I got chickens.

Never heard of that one. I know Guinea Hens are supposed to be very good for tick control, but chickens? I'll take your word for it, though.

 

[Isadora]

Never heard of that one. I know Guinea Hens are supposed to be very good for tick control, but chickens? I'll take your word for it, though.

Guineas are definitely superior for tick control, but chickens eat them too.

 

[Folly's place]

And guineas SCREECH!

 

[Isadora]

And guineas SCREECH!

Not my innocent angels

 

[allenw]

Family tradition.

Bad habit.

I don't know just like having a few chickens around.

 

[gtaus]

Not all chickens lay the same. You might want to look into the breed Death layers.

I thought you were just kidding, but I looked up the breed and Deathlayers is the common name of the Westfalische Totleger. So that is a real bird breed, although I have never heard of them. Anyway, on the website, you can order them for $74 for 9 hatchiling eggs, or min 8 chicks at $55.00 each!

No wonder they are called Deathlayers. Dear Wife would have my head if I paid $440.00 and only got 8 chicks in the mail!

 

[gtaus]

And guineas SCREECH!

I watched a homesteading YouTube video of a couple that had Guinea hens. They hated them and said they would never get them again because they made so much noise. And as to tick control, their Guinea hens spent most of their time in their neighbors lot instead of their own, so they did not do much for tick control where needed for the couple around their house. All the time the video was filming, the Guinea hens were screaming in the background. Kind of funny.