Anyone here raise chickens?

[Medmech]

I'm really starting to enjoy this farming thing, I have 23 acres and am putting it to use this year...starting with a larger garden and chickens....

The deal I have is the chickens have to be net zero, meaning zero cost after we peddle a few eggs here and there. Aside from the coup what should I expect for feed cost?

[suginami]

I propose you change your name to Farmer Howie.

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by suginami

I propose you change your name to Farmer Howie.

I'm on my way! Its been a great family activity but I have to refrain from animals that will go to the market because of the kids attachment to the critters.

I've been reading the backyardchickens.com forums and see that there are many other benefits to free range chickens, like keeping snakes away and eating bugs, grubs.

[euronatura]

I am not an expert here. But on one of my best friends' ranch, he decided to get into chickens a little. He had upwards of 25,000 chickens in different stages of fattening. One thing to be careful of is illness. He lost the 25,000 chickens twice to sickness and on top of this had to fumigate all the coups. Read well, cause in a split second one chicken can get sick and then they all get sick and their goes everything!

Iggy

[Medmech]

Originally Posted by euronatura

I am not an expert here. But on one of my best friends' ranch, he decided to get into chickens a little. He had upwards of 25,000 chickens in different stages of fattening. One thing to be careful of is illness. He lost the 25,000 chickens twice to sickness and on top of this had to fumigate all the coups. Read well, cause in a split second one chicken can get sick and then they all get sick and their goes everything!

Iggy

Thanks, I'm looking at a much different scale though...like about 6.

[jaoneill]

Originally Posted by Howitzer

Thanks, I'm looking at a much different scale though...like about 6.

Smart man; six is a good number. It has been 25 years since we have had chickens but when we did it was on a similar scale, providing plenty of eggs for a family of four with a couple of dozen a week left over.

If you have been reading up on it there is probably not a lot to add but FWIW, my preference is white leghorns; small, easy keepers, egg factories. Each chicken will consistently lay a large white egg a day, six of them will eat maybe 20-25 lbs of laying mash a week (much less if they free range). Be certain to provide plenty of fresh water and ground oyster shells.

Good luck,
Jim

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by Howitzer

I'm really starting to enjoy this farming thing, I have 23 acres and am putting it to use this year...starting with a larger garden and chickens....

The deal I have is the chickens have to be net zero, meaning zero cost after we peddle a few eggs here and there. Aside from the coup what should I expect for feed cost?

Forget it. Your cost basis is between you and industrial agriculture. Your overhead per bird is much larger than industrial ag's overhead. That is why chicken-and-egg farmers no longer exist.

Feed costs are ... chickenfeed.

You major cost will be energy. Cold chickens don't produce and soon sicken.

Back in my honeybee, goats and chickens days I also had a year-round garden.

Pick your veggies early in the morning after you milk the goats and before you let the chickens out.

With free-range chickens on a small farm you let the chickens into the garden when seeds have germinated and leave them in until flowers open. Then exclude the chickens because you don't want them pecking fruit & eating bees. After your fruit is all harvested and before you replant, let the chickens & goats in to snack on the gleanings. Chickens will also eat bugs and both will poop everywhere. Then you till & start another garden.

Chickens stay in the coup until after you milk the goats. Feed the milk goats on the milk stand just enough to keep them interested while you milk but feed most of their food in the pen. Then let the chickens into the goat yard and they'll scrap-up spilt food (goats will not eat food off the ground, they are remarkably fastidious animals). Let the goats out into your woodlot to browse until evening. Then call them back and feed them a little food with the chickens scrapping-up. Then open throw some hen scratch into the chicken yard and the chickens will haul-ass into the yard where you close them up for the night.

You and the missus can do it all in about an hour to 2 hours in the morning and about an hour in the evening (unless you milk twice a day, I didn't). A 4 year-old can be taught how to harvest & weed and veggie garden. They're just slow. But heck, you've got time. Enjoy it.

Buy an old book entitled, "5 Acres & Independence." Take from it what looks fun and forget the rest. Get a subscription to "Mother Earth News". When my last kid leaves I'm moving out of town to resume the good life after a 25 year pause....

---chris

[Whiskeydan]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Forget it. Your cost basis is between you and industrial agriculture. Your overhead per bird is much larger than industrial ag's overhead. That is why chicken-and-egg farmers no longer exist.

Feed costs are ... chickenfeed.

You major cost will be energy. Cold chickens don't produce and soon sicken.

Back in my honeybee, goats and chickens days I also had a year-round garden.

Pick your veggies early in the morning after you milk the goats and before you let the chickens out.

With free-range chickens on a small farm you let the chickens into the garden when seeds have germinated and leave them in until flowers open. Then exclude the chickens because you don't want them pecking fruit & eating bees. After your fruit is all harvested and before you replant, let the chickens & goats in to snack on the gleanings. Chickens will also eat bugs and both will poop everywhere. Then you till & start another garden.

Chickens stay in the coup until after you milk the goats. Feed the milk goats on the milk stand just enough to keep them interested while you milk but feed most of their food in the pen. Then let the chickens into the goat yard and they'll scrap-up spilt food (goats will not eat food off the ground, they are remarkably fastidious animals). Let the goats out into your woodlot to browse until evening. Then call them back and feed them a little food with the chickens scrapping-up. Then open throw some hen scratch into the chicken yard and the chickens will haul-ass into the yard where you close them up for the night.

You and the missus can do it all in about an hour to 2 hours in the morning and about an hour in the evening (unless you milk twice a day, I didn't). A 4 year-old can be taught how to harvest & weed and veggie garden. They're just slow. But heck, you've got time. Enjoy it.

Buy an old book entitled, "5 Acres & Independence." Take from it what looks fun and forget the rest. Get a subscription to "Mother Earth News". When my last kid leaves I'm moving out of town to resume the good life after a 25 year pause....

---chris

Permaculture?

[Botnst]

Originally Posted by Whiskeydan

Permaculture?

Hippie culture.

[Matt SD300]

Chickens are very cool....my neighbor has 7 chickens....they lay brown eggs...is been along time since we have eaten a white egg!!....

[Whiskeydan]

Originally Posted by Matt SD300

Chickens are very cool....my neighbor has 7 chickens....they lay brown eggs...is been along time since we have eaten a white egg!!....

I had a few layers a while back and have a tough time eating store bought eggs now.

Nothin' more fun than chickens and a laser pointer.

[Whiskeydan]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Hippie culture.

Labeled.

[t walgamuth]

I love the idea of that five acre farm with chickens goats and a big garden.

I would want a wife who did the work on it though while I tinkered with the old 240d.

I would love the fresh eggs, veggies and milk.

Tom W

[Jordan G]

Originally Posted by Botnst

Buy an old book entitled, "5 Acres & Independence." Take from it what looks fun and forget the rest. Get a subscription to "Mother Earth News". When my last kid leaves I'm moving out of town to resume the good life after a 25 year pause....

---chris

I checked out that book on amazon too....looks pretty good, it's now in the shopping cart. The mixed reviews seem aligned with your suggestion (take what you want/discard the rest)....it seems people expect WAY too much from a book written in 1930 - but many of the core principles probably remain the same. Thanks for the tip B.

[Chad300tdt]

Originally Posted by Jordan G

I checked out that book on amazon too....looks pretty good, it's now in the shopping cart. The mixed reviews seem aligned with your suggestion (take what you want/discard the rest)....it seems people expect WAY too much from a book written in 1930 - but many of the core principles probably remain the same. Thanks for the tip B.

I though it was worth ordering as well. Thanks from me too.