Raising chickens. Advice, comments, do's and don'ts wanted.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

13 minutes ago, pullstart said:

Just add meat and gravy if ya got it.

 

Don't forget the fried taters!  ( In lard if you please! )

Edited July 1, 2021 by Jeff-C175

[ebinmaine 67,487]

Getting. Hungry....

[Pullstart 62,863]

I’ve never introduced chicks into a flock before, so this’ll be a new experience for the farm!  For 25 cents a piece, it is worth the experiment!
 

 

[Pullstart 62,863]

One of our friends just posted two smaller chicken coops for sale on Marketplace.  We told ‘em we are interested and they said we can have ‘em!  We can hook the coops together and it’ll be a three room chicken house!

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

15 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

three room chicken house!

 

Be careful!  Snoop-Don might just move in!  

 

I tried to start a chicken farm once... I failed miserably.  I think I planted them too deep.

 

 

[Snoopy11 5,714]

2 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

Be careful!  Snoop-Don might just move in!

Snoop is supposed to have a dog house... but... I'll take it! How much for rent, Kevin?

 

Don

[ebinmaine 67,487]

On 5/21/2022 at 2:57 PM, Jeff-C175 said:

I tried to start a chicken farm once... I failed miserably.  I think I planted them too deep.

I. 

Oh. 

Just. 

Oh my.  

 

 

[Pullstart 62,863]

I got just the place in the center of the Chicken Strip Mall!

 

 

[PWL216 889]

We’ve  been raising chickens for about 10 years and have had several breeds. To me, Buff Orpington are the best. A very gentle bird and a good producer of large eggs. My six chickens are young so we’re getting one egg a day from each. That slows down as they get older, but I had an 8 year old chicken that laid eggs almost to the end. As far as how many to get, 6 to 10 is a good number of birds to start with. As chicks, you’ll pay ~$3 each. As pullets you’ll pay ~$15 each. I have a coop that I built mostly with scrap wood. It has 6 roosting boxes, they use 2. I’ve had as many as 12 birds in my coop. For a pen, I found a used dog kennel for $100. It’s much quicker and easier than building your own. To store the food we have two 10Gal metal barrels inside a Rubbermaid trash bin. It keeps everything dry and has plenty of storage for hay and treats as well. For a feeder we use a 5gal bucket and installed some spouts we found online as well as a screw top lid to be able to quickly add food or clean it. For water we use a galvanized container and set it on a hot plate made to keep water from freezing in the winter.  We go thru a 40lb bag of food (~$15) every ~3 weeks. 

 

My costs:

* Coop - Build primarily with used material, $250

* Pen - $100

* Feeder Bucket, Spots, Lid - $50

*Water Container & Heater - $100

* Monthly Feed & Treats (mealy worms, corn) - $40

* Hay ~$15 a month.

* Optional (and you will want this eventually ) - Automatic Door Opener - I paid $300

* Optional - Coop heat, either lights or mats. I paid $15 for a light and $50 for the mat.

 

I give them water every morning, treats late afternoon when I collect the eggs, add food to the bucket each week, and clean the coop once a month. 

I’m sure I missed something but hopefully this helps.

 

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

Whatever you do, don't get a leghorn rooster.  They’re nasty. And if you feed them eggshells for calcium, the shells should be well crushed so the chickens don’t learn to recognize them and start cannibalizing their eggs.

 

Oh, and you have fisher cats up there in ME.  If you can keep them out you’re doing well.

Edited May 22, 2022 by EB-80/8inPA

[ebinmaine 67,487]

56 minutes ago, EB-80/8inPA said:

you have fisher cats up there in ME.  If you can keep them out you’re doing well.

Yepp. 

And...

Bobcats. 

Raccoons. 

Martins. 

Skunks. 

Bears. 

Red tail hawks. 

Broad-winged hawks. 

Great horned owls. 

Barred owls. 

 

 

Our particular coop and run has a foot of strong wire below the ground. Completely surrounded above ground with other wire. No free ranging here because of excess predation possibilities. 

 

 We've been 3 years so far. 

Knock on wood... No issues yet.  

 

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

1 hour ago, ebinmaine said:

We've been 3 years so far. 

Knock on wood... No issues yet.  

Another post I landed on page #1 in a time warp.  Hadn’t done that in a while…

[JoeM 7,874]

Got a couple neighbors raising chickens for eggs. besides the normal flying predators, they talk a lot about keep out the weasels. I suppose it got something to do with fence hole size. 

 

They got me spoiled..... can't hardly look at a store bought egg.

 

 

[ebinmaine 67,487]

8 minutes ago, JoeM said:

.. can't hardly look at a store bought egg.

YES. 

 

[Pullstart 62,863]

20 minutes ago, JoeM said:

store bought egg

We currently have 18 dozen eggs in stock.  All are brown or green/blue.  I can tell you, store bought white eggs are still best for Easter Egg coloring!

 

With the extra 10 birds, I really need to get a roadside stand put together!

[JoeM 7,874]

1 minute ago, Pullstart said:

I really need to get a roadside stand put together!

The one neighbor goes to the flea market once a week in the morning. I think she does other stuff too, does real well, especially now that the store bought ones prices are up. We kind of get the overflow. 

[lynnmor 7,306]

7 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

We currently have 18 dozen eggs in stock.  All are brown or green/blue.  I can tell you, store bought white eggs are still best for Easter Egg coloring!

 

 

My daughter has chickens providing me with eggs, since they are a variety of colors there is no need color Easter eggs. 

[Pullstart 62,863]

8 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

 

My daughter has chickens providing me with eggs, since they are a variety of colors there is no need color Easter eggs. 

Kids still enjoy it… 

[Achto 27,571]

45 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

With the extra 10 birds, I really need to get a roadside stand put together!

 

Most people by me just put an "Eggs For Sale" sign at the end of their driveway. People will stop in.

[Achto 27,571]

48 minutes ago, Pullstart said:

 I can tell you, store bought white eggs are still best for Easter Egg coloring!

 

Aged store bought eggs peal much better than fresh eggs after they're boiled as well.

[ebinmaine 67,487]

52 minutes ago, Achto said:

 

Aged store bought eggs peal much better than fresh eggs after they're boiled as well.

Absolutely true. Trina is careful to use a slightly older set if she wants to make hard boiled eggs.

 

[Snoopy11 5,714]

4 hours ago, Pullstart said:

With the extra 10 birds, I really need to get a roadside stand put together!

Or just send them to me... as if... I won't have 12-a-day of my own here shortly...

 

 

Don

[Achto 27,571]

Here is a fact that a lot of people don't know.

 

An unwashed egg will keep for up to 2 weeks on your kitchen counter at room temperature. When the chicken lays an egg it is coated in a protective layer known as "bloom". This keeps bacteria from entering the egg and causing it to spoil. Once an egg has been washed it must be kept in a refrigerator at temperature around 45 degrees or less to keep bacteria from growing inside the egg. Refrigerated, eggs will keep up to 3 months. 

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

My chicken raising friend stores raw eggs in lime water (they last a loooong time that way).  This was how the old timers did it way back before Mr. Carrier walked the earth.  1 ounce pickling lime per quart, or so.  Hard to believe but true!

[EB-80/8inPA 1,641]

1 hour ago, Achto said:

Here is a fact that a lot of people don't know.

 

An unwashed egg will keep for up to 2 weeks on your kitchen counter at room temperature. When the chicken lays an egg it is coated in a protective layer known as "bloom". This keeps bacteria from entering the egg and causing it to spoil. Once an egg has been washed it must be kept in a refrigerator at temperature around 45 degrees or less to keep bacteria from growing inside the egg. Refrigerated, eggs will keep up to 3 months. 

For realz.  I got a about a dozen dirty eggs on my counter right now dontcha know.  I eat them and I’m not dead (yet).

I wash them before I crack them though.  That just seems like good sense.

Edited May 24, 2022 by EB-80/8inPA