Backyard Chickens!
- Thread starter doublejj
- Start date
Much like growing, that first "egg" is a little pricey, but extra tastey!
Next thing you will be kickin it with a compost heap and solar water heater!
Good luck with the new hobby!
I'm also a fan of wild turkey. Preferably 100 proof.
Next thing you will be kickin it with a compost heap and solar water heater!
Good luck with the new hobby!
I'm also a fan of wild turkey. Preferably 100 proof.
There's a way to determine the sex of chicks, so that the roosters can be culled- you hold the chick in your hand and gently squeeze it. Hens will have poop come out, roosters won't.
Even if you have all hens, they will still be rockus at times, but they are sooo much easier to have around than the roosters.
It's really a touchy subject where I live, a majority of the population has grown up having chickens in the yard, so they're used to it. It's "outsiders" like me that the chickens drive nuts, and the locals just can't understand what our problem is!
The feral birds have overpopulated several residential areas, and are now running in the streets. People refuse to deal with them, opting for the live and let live philosophy. The Humane Society, Animal Control and the Dept. of Health won't lift a finger to help, but God forbid you shoot one off your property, and a well meaning neighbor calls popo...
got four of em myself, raised from day old chicks.
absolutely a fun experience and can't beat the freshest eggs.
even though we dont have roosters, every morning at 6 you still get woken up by the bitches wanting out of the coop. Hens can make a ruckus.
Mine turn into little thugs when unsupervised and sneak into my fenced garden beds somehow. I hate caging everything excessively but apparently it must be done.
absolutely a fun experience and can't beat the freshest eggs.
even though we dont have roosters, every morning at 6 you still get woken up by the bitches wanting out of the coop. Hens can make a ruckus.
Mine turn into little thugs when unsupervised and sneak into my fenced garden beds somehow. I hate caging everything excessively but apparently it must be done.
i been thinking of getting some myself. they loosened up the laws here now . i am torn between a beehive or a few chickens.maybe both. the local organic nursery here has hives and baby chicks.their peeping makes me wanna take a few home everytime i visit.i dont care about them waking me up in the morn . my doves already do that .
joedogsong
Member
Was gonna get chickens but my neighbor put a refrigerator in their driveway and started selling eggs out of it for $3.00 a dozen. No fuss, no mess, and the cheapest best protein. Was away and bought some store eggs...no color no taste...
Thanks neighbor!
Thanks neighbor!
My grampa left us with several enduring little pearls of wisdom. One of my favorites and oft quoted by myself and other family members is... 'chickens are the only animal in the world that can shit on the ceiling'... I told my friend who just got 10 hens for their new house... about a week later, I heard him say that to a friend, so now it's going to circulate into another clan...
mgk
I wish I could do that. In CA I think ya need a license to sell eggs.
I've been thinkin about starting a lil neighborhood CSA too though, I wonder if I could put a few eggs in w/o raisin a fuss.
S
SeaMaiden
Well that's the problem right there. In Puerto Rico if you can catch that chicken, you can do whatever you want with it. I grew up hearing my grandmother talk about all the times my grandfather would come home with a chicken he'd caught on his way home. They'd kill it, pluck and cook it that night.
I mean, that's like having pigs you can't eat. They ain't fer milkin'!
Actually, I believe that you can sell them via the agricultural 'farm stand' law. The state has a law that says that you can legally sell any produce from your property *on* your property without a permit (for selling the produce itself) being required. We have lots of folks with signs by the road offering fresh eggs. There's an 'honesty stand' down the road a ways from here selling kiwis, someone's got kiwi vines growing well nearby (don't produce the best fruit, but the price can't be beaten with a stick! $1/bag, usually has about 2lbs of kiwis in it).
In fact, if I understand the law correctly, no city or county can force permitting in this scenario. So, when my friends and sisters and I would go gathering avocados, lemons and oranges from our and neighboring properties and sell them in front of our house, we weren't just being entrepreneurial, we were actively practicing the rights the ag law is supposed to guarantee us. The city of Oakland's permitting process therefore is, as I understand it, illegal. But then, according to the city of Oakland you're supposed to get a permit to have a home office.
Here we go, California Agricultural Code 47000-47003.
And an article from UCDavis regarding some rule changes to what can be sold at a farm stand and other features of that farm stand that local officials may control or are required to control (parking at larger stands, for example, or dining areas may require permitting and inspection by local officials).
There may already be a CSA near you, as I recently discovered, and they may offer options to become a producer as well as a member. Mine is here: www.mlharvest.com
nice info!
I
Iron_Lion
Im going to get some chickens next summer. All my neighbors have them and they've grown on me. They let theirs roam the neighborhood freely, pretty crazy. We dont have any regulations here, it seems like having chickens is really gaining popularity as I drive around I see more and more yards with chicken coops.
Im going to keep mine in my yard, thinking about building a potable pen so they can shit all over my yard and eat the bugs. I just want them for eggs, slaughtering chickens just doesn't seem practical with the amount of chicken we eat.
Im going to keep mine in my yard, thinking about building a potable pen so they can shit all over my yard and eat the bugs. I just want them for eggs, slaughtering chickens just doesn't seem practical with the amount of chicken we eat.
Dick~n~Dirt
Member
What do you do with turkey eggs? Here they are just thrown into the yard for the chickens and ducks to eat. The duck eggs are great for baking and chicken eggs are great for all kinds of stuff!
Really ? Grew up eating turkey eggs, same as chicken only bigger !! Mmm wish i had some right now to do up a omelet !!
greeenman707
Member
my pops has had hens and rooster ever since i remember. and yes they are a pain in the ass. but after years of listening to them crow and all the roucus, you get used to them. eggs are yummy. a few years ago the task force raided him and killed all his roosters. fuckn pigs searched his home, put him in jail and deported a friend that was visiting. After spending a few hours in jail he came home and ordered more. he loves his rooster. According to the Porkyies, they was fighting roosters.
l337purpl3
Member
Is it cheaper to buy eggs or have you own chickens for eggs? has anyone tried breaking it down on cost?
It's like growing your own veggies. If you figure in everything, you can prob buy them cheaper, but they won't be as good.
Besides, chickens are part of our 'emergency plan', for when/if the store don't have any.
You can feed them just about anythng.
Your own freerange organic eggs are the best you'll ever taste!
Sometimes you get what you pay for
doublejj
Besides, chickens are part of our 'emergency plan', for when/if the store don't have any.
You can feed them just about anythng.
Your own freerange organic eggs are the best you'll ever taste!
Sometimes you get what you pay for
doublejj
l337purpl3
Member
A friend of mine asked me if I wanted to reserve a turkey(freerange/organic) for thanksgiving at $6.25 a lb. I was shocked at the price. I am curious about the taste compared to say butterball
S
SeaMaiden
I learned something new and important a few weeks ago about the terminology used for animal products. Free range is not necessarily what we think it is, what we imagine.
http://www.pbs.org/food/features/the-lexicon-of-sustainability-the-story-of-an-egg/
I really enjoyed this video. Pastured is the term to look for if you're not going to raise them yourself.
And to answer the question, generally yes, buying is cheaper than growing your own, BUT with some caveats. As JJ mentioned, your own eggs will pretty much always be better just because they're fresher. But if you feed your chickies good foods, if you allow them to pasture, if you 'slop' them like pigs (good quality human foods, not spoiled, just leftover), then the eggs will cost less and be even better.
http://www.pbs.org/food/features/the-lexicon-of-sustainability-the-story-of-an-egg/
I really enjoyed this video. Pastured is the term to look for if you're not going to raise them yourself.
And to answer the question, generally yes, buying is cheaper than growing your own, BUT with some caveats. As JJ mentioned, your own eggs will pretty much always be better just because they're fresher. But if you feed your chickies good foods, if you allow them to pasture, if you 'slop' them like pigs (good quality human foods, not spoiled, just leftover), then the eggs will cost less and be even better.
What SeaMaiden said, pluss,,, no added hormones, antibiotics, steroids and the like.
And free fertilizer too!
Even if it is on the ceiling.
And free fertilizer too!
Even if it is on the ceiling.
