The chicken housing and run was all made up by recycling pallets and wire we already had, so the initial outlay was just for the 5 hens, which only cost us $18 each back then.
Our flock has changed in a number of ways. We started by keeping the Isa Browns, who are wonderful layers. They kept us with eggs, even through winter, but then we found that egg quality deteriorated by the end of the second year, which sometimes affected the health of our hens as well (becoming egg bound).
Then, we happened to have an Isa Brown go broody (a very RARE occurance), so we made the most of it and put some fertilised eggs under her. Those eggs were from Australorps, and the two surviving chicks which hatched from that clutch are now still with us.
Our first Australorps, hatched December 2009.
Here's where our hen keeping became a little more economical, although also experimental in that first trial year. It now costs up to $25 for a pullet, but only $5 per fertilised egg. We learned a lot with our first lot of chicks, and since then have only put confirmed fertilised eggs under any broody hens, close to the time of hatching to minimise the risk of losing any.
Of the various breeds we've had here, I find I have a preference for the White Sussex and Australorps now. The Isa Browns like to boss the other breeds (yep, don't keep Isa Browns with other breeds). They are also quite adventurous. I don't know how many times we'd find they'd managed to 'climb' over the fence ( .. we had one who, despite having her wings clipped, could get a foot hold on the fencing and flutter up and over). One bird regularly decided regularly venture into the neighbour's backyard, which became a nuisance as she was an elderly invalid.
The other side of the coin, though, is that Australorps and White Sussex go off the lay in winter. They also aren't regular layers, so the no. of eggs collected per day vary. Three months without a regular supply of eggs, but still having to keep up the feed, and an irregular no. of eggs coming in, has caused us to think through the economics of keeping hens. As of the beginning of November, I've started keeping a tally of eggs coming in, eggs sold and feed costs. Here's what the figures are looking like so far:
Feed - $15 / 20kg bag. The hens go through 1 1/2 bags per month. Total = $22.50
No. eggs collected over last 3 weeks with 10 hens = 116; averages 39 eggs / week.
Eggs sold: 6doz @ $4/doz = $24 ... averages to 2doz a week = $8, therefore $32 return a month.
If we only get 9 months of regular eggs collected per month, then I can expect $288 a year income. With feed costing $22.50 for 12months = $270 ..... hmm, I'll have $18 left for a few fertilised eggs this summer. Yep, we're kind of just breaking even.
I HOPE we'll have a better egg yield now that it's warming up. The notebook will definitely be used daily to record what's happening and see if it's a better economical choice to go back to Isa Browns.
5 comments:
When I was keeping chooks we got rescued battery hens. Cost to us, zilch. They layed so well even through winter we had a huge surplus of eggs, far more than we could ever use. However they were also well past their best laying days so in the end we were feeding them for no return. Not that I minded but that's how it was. We also mulched the pen ~ expensive that. Half a dozen chooks can reduce 3 hay bales to a pile of dust in a matter of days. That used to get cleaned out & put on the veggie garden. Another plus is they will eat just about anything going so all the scraps went in a bucket as extra feed. I want to keep them again. Overall I thought them worth the effort.
I do think they're well the effort, definitely! The eggs are so much yummier!
My husband and I are always amazed at how quickly they turn a pile of weeds into dust, too. We keep the longer bits of grass cutting for the bottom of the coop, and the rest gets scattered around the run. They only took 2 weeks to finish off what would have been a small trailer load, had we decided to take the scraps to the tip.
We want chooks someday too! Thanks for sharing that info. Do you also factor in the savings due to you not having to purchase eggs?
Liz
Hello Liz,
I hadn't factored in any savings for not having to purchase eggs. We use about a dozen a week. Store bought organic, free-range eggs are over $5/doz, so we would save significantly.
:) Catherine
Thought I'd add ... the produce store is having a special on chook feed this week. Was $15/20kg bag, now $11.50. I plan to buy several to keep us in stock for a while and save more. :)
Post a Comment