Egg shortage

[2busy]

We just started getting eggs from our chickens a few days ago. They're just shy of 17 weeks. There's no way to justify the cost of the eggs from your own chickens. They're outrageously expensive. But it's not really about the cost for us. It's about having our own source of food without relying on anyone else. It's about how the fresh eggs are so much better tasting and better nutritionally than store-bought eggs. It's about the satisfaction of doing for yourself. Not only that, but chickens are just fun to have around. Several of ours are tame enough to let me pet them and hold them. I have one that runs to me like a puppy dog every time I come outside. She follows me around like my shadow and just chats away.

I'm not nearly as fond of the guineas. We started with 12 and we're down to 7. 1 just died, 1 was killed by a snake (when it was just a few weeks old), 2 disappeared and never came home...don't remember what happened to number 5.

One of the guineas was attacked by 1 or more of the others. She had some pretty good wounds on the side of her breast area and on her back. I didn't think she'd make it. We separated her from the other guineas and she healed up just fine, apparently. She's back to roaming with the others and everyone seems to be getting along.

Guineas and turkeys invent ways to die.

 

[THAT Gurl]

I'd have a chat with the vet ... But oral antibiotics are probably gonna be what they tell you to do. Along with keeping her penned up by herself and keeping the bedding clean clean clean ...

 

[THAT Gurl]

I love my fresh eggs. They are well worth any trouble my girls create for me from time to time.

My chicks do not have a fan BUT they do have a big bush to get under and it is amazing the temperature change from under that bush to outside, even in the shade of a building. Something that provides DEEP shade is the key.

Plus as I've said before turning a sprinkler on lowers the ambient air temp so they can cool off that way too. They don't get in the water, just hang around right outside the radius of the sprinkler.

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

I let mine out around noon-ish. They'll find cool shady places to sit in the hot part of the day. I keep fresh water out for them in a few places so they're never far from a drink. They put themselves to bed at night...I just secure the coop. The guineas don't seem to care how hot it gets.

 

[ForsakenConservative]

OK Corgi said……

“There's no way to justify the cost of the eggs from your own chickens. They're outrageously expensive. But it's not really about the cost for us. It's about having our own source of food without relying on anyone else. It's about how the fresh eggs are so much better tasting and better nutritionally than store-bought eggs. It's about the satisfaction of doing for yourself. Not only that, but chickens are just fun to have around. Several of ours are tame enough to let me pet them and hold them. I have one that runs to me like a puppy dog every time I come outside. She follows me around like my shadow and just chats away.”

That was awfully similar to the argument I made for building AR’s!

 

[Ready_fire_aim]

. There's no way to justify the cost of the eggs from your own chickens. They're outrageously expensive. But it's not really about the cost for us. It's about having our own source of food without relying on anyone else. It's about how the fresh eggs are so much better tasting and better nutritionally than store-bought eggs. It's about the satisfaction of doing for yourself.

What we found is that if ya can carry enough hens to sell a few dozen per week, and find a few steady buyers, you can cover feed costs/minor expenses… and basically have your own eggs “free”

As far as work taking care of hens goes, it’s not much more difficult to keep 12 hens vs 7 hens for example. If you can find buyers the extra eggs are good

 

[OK Corgi Rancher]

We started out with 12 chicks. We're down to 11 but they're starting to lay. I don't see it as work taking care of them. It's a morning routine I've come to like.

 

[Fade2blue]

I took the hen to 405 vets up in Edmond who debrided the wound and prescribed oral antibiotics with a dropper. It wasn't deep enough to hit the air sac but too big to stitch. It looks like it's closing up but will take a while. She won't eat food with medicine on it like dogs or cats will. It's like getting a 2 yr old to eat vegetables.
Found a co-worker with 10 acres to take the rooster for his flock.