[PickyPrincess]

Do any of you all keep chickens? It appears my lifelong dream of having a few chickens is up next on the list of projects my husband wants to complete.

The feed store owner told us a while back he would help get us set up when ready but I was looking to see if y'all had any first-hand experience with chickens.

 

[Wooleybooger]

No but I could here even inside the city limits if I'd fence the yard. I won't, not yet anyway but that is under consideration and depends on some other conditions being met.

 

[Shane R]

I considered getting some laying hens last year but I was told I'd need a heat lamp set-up to winter them. I then thought maybe I'd just butcher the hens when winter came and get new layers each spring. I need to do a bit more research on that. Overall, it seemed to me that ducks may be less maintenance and somewhat heartier.

I used to do odd jobs for this fellow who had a 20 acre hobby farm. He had ducks, turkeys, geese, and chickens and would give me a mixed box of eggs when he paid me each week. I don't mind any of them.

 

[Wooleybooger]

My knowledge of chickens is limited to visiting my cousins in the country. It was always "Watch out for that ** rooster, the **** thing will spur you".

 

[Wooleybooger]

I see folks on other forums whining about the price of eggs. I think that in the last 4 years we've bought 1 dz. eggs. We don't use many eggs unless baking or I make a frittata. However 3 years ago I dehydrated 8 dz eggs that had been in the frig for months, all the result of coupons for a free dozen eggs. Last Sunday I stopped at Kroger and got another dozen - free with coupon. Checked the frig when I got home. Gad, 6 dozen all from coupons for free eggs. Don't ask my why they are sending me such coupons I've no idea.
Yes eggs have gotten expensive $3.69/$4.19 at Kroger depending on size.

 

[PickyPrincess]

I recently found out that the little health food store by me carries eggs and surprisingly enough, they're cheaper than HEB.

I pick up a flat of 30 every Saturday morning. They are a very small store and eggs are delivered only on Friday, and if you don't get them by Saturday, you'll have to wait another week.

@Shane R mentioned duck eggs and I hadn't thought of ducks instead of chickens, so I might have to do some research and see which are easier to care for and get eggs from. I knew someone that had a pet duck but they were a bit odd to begin with.

 

[Colbyt]

Grew up on a farm and we had chickens. Don't want to rain on your dream parade but:

You may want to do it for the fun of it but in normal times you can buy eggs cheaper than you buy feed for the chickens.

Research how much layer mash is, how much a laying hen eats and figure at best 1 egg per day per hen. If you choose to free range and not feed them mash eggs become a seasonal item in your household. Actually without a rooster you won't get any eggs cause the chicken is not laying those eggs for you.

 

[Roll_Bones]

My friend provides us with enough fresh eggs we don't have to buy them. Like Wooley we rarely use eggs.
The fresh gift we get eggs have a much bigger and an almost orange colored yoke. Its so orange it effects the color of things I use them for.
Not long ago I got a little stomach discomfort after having them as breakfast for dinner. My wife she did too.
They do not refrigerate the eggs. And like them I thought it was unnecessary. But I read they should be refrigerated immediately after removing them from the chickens.
Any thoughts on this?

 

[Steve-o]

They do not refrigerate the eggs. And like them I thought it was unnecessary.

One of the big surprises for an American visiting England is seeing eggs in the grocery section, plain as day. They are not refrigerated there and the residents have been buying them that way for years. The difference is that in the US eggs are washed of a protective coating that then makes them require refrigeration to keep longer. So if you're getting eggs from your own chickens and not washing them until you use them, you should be good without refrigeration.

 

[Wooleybooger]

I think Steve-o has the correct answer. I vaguely recall hearing the same thing. You can however keep them so long in the frig that even in a carton they will evaporate/dry out so yes the shells are porous. Voice of experience.

 

[mouser868]

When I was a kid, grandma and grandpa kept chickens. They had a brooder house that had individual places for the hens to lay and sit on their eggs. They had an area that was fenced with chicken wire outside the brooder house to allow the chickens to go outside and not worry about foxes and such nonsense. They also let them run around the fenced in area some when they were outside. In the Winter they had heat lamps set up so there'd be some heat inside the brooder house. The only real purpose a rooster serves, is if you want to allow the eggs to hatch, the hens will lay eggs without a rooster. You'll of course have to have chicken feed, but also it's a good idea to have something like oyster shells that you can get in the feed store. That helps with the eggshells.