Anyone who has their own backyard chicken coop.
How much it cost to buy feed, medicine etc.. per week/month and how much eggs and chickens do you have?
Is it cost effective ie cheaper than buying your own eggs store bought eggs (if u don't buy the free range types) minus the cost of looking after the chickens?
Where did u get your feed from?
Is it cost effective vs buying store bought?
What i mean is paying $25 per 2 months, is cheaper than buying the store bought eggs for 2 months?
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Do u have some pics of your coop?
Was it home built and how much it cost to build?
What feed do you buy? and what other food you give it?
What do u do about bird lice and worms? How you treat it?
Do u buy any diatomaceous earth? I read it suppose to help with bird lice, worms and good for bird baths etc..
So the family no longer wants to keep chickens, what is the reason for stopping? Couldn't you breed newer chicks to replace the dead ones?
Do u breed new chicks? How do u bypass the no roosters rule?
Chickens are cheap to have and can also be quite good pets if you pick the right one. I grew up with them and we recently got two at our place that run around the small yard all day. We get one egg per hen per day. I wouldn't bother getting them if they had to be locked up in a coop all day, and only get enough for your area otherwise they will eat every single blade of grass.
We just build a DIY shelter out of mostly scrap bits of wood plus a few bits of wood we bought. They just need a shelter with a perch and somewhere to lay eggs. The perch is a 1 inch diameter bamboo stalk which I cut from some a bamboo stand I found growing. The laying box is an old mower catcher, but they prefer to lay in some long grass instead. We got a bit of fencing stuff from a garage sale to secure the yard boundaries. Put in some straw down for them to crap on, we put that in the garden and replace it with some clean straw.
Our chooks mostly eat our scraps and a lot of grass. For extras (or if you don't have scraps or they wreck all the grass), get some mixed grains with and mix in some laying pellets so it lasts longer. You can get those from rural supply stores. It shouldn't cost much but will probably vary depending on how rural your area is (I think a city would probably be more expensive). Also get some shell grit to strengthen their eggs, we put it in some plain yoghurt because they won't touch it otherwise.
For egg production, the Black Rock breed (black with a little bit of red-brown on their front) produces well and is supposed to be friendly (ours isn't that friendly) but is supposedly less susceptible to getting egg-bound. The Isa Brown breed (mostly red-brown but with a fair bit of white throughout) lays well and is extremely friendly breed, but is susceptible to getting egg-bound. Those two are hybrids and the cheapest breeds, there are tons of other types that are usually more expensive and showy.
Buy them at point-of-lay (about 5-6 months old) so you know you aren't getting a rooster. Once you choose the breed, choose the individual. I wait outside the pen at the store, most of them will try and get far away from you, but hopefully one will be interested and come towards you. They are the fun ones and will settle in easily.
Research and treat symptoms as they arise. Most treatments should be easy to obtain from rural supply stores.
how do u worm and treat the lice?
What scraps do u feed them?
Do u buy any feed?
Can u post of pics of your chickens and coop?
We had some chickens for a few years. Sadly, a dog got into the chook pen and killed them not long before our last holiday. I haven't replaced them yet, but I will at some point.
We have four kids in our family, and we eat a fair number of eggs, and, importantly, generate a large amount of kitchen scraps.
Our scraps were the main food for our 4 chooks. We bought some grain from the farm supply store for $25 for 20kg as well, but mainly used that as a supplement if we ate out or for some other reason didn't produce many scraps.
I found a 20kg feed bag lasted us a couple of months, maybe 3.
I also sometimes grabbed a box of scraps from the fruit market bins as well. Our local one is happy for you to take as much old leafy veg or whatever.
Financially, the hens cost around $12 each, but that required a bit of hunting, more usual pricing is closer to $20 I believe.
Add in $100 for feed per year. In exchange they produced about 5 eggs each per week. So about 86 dozen per year. Maybe a bit less in winter. And you will only keep that up for a few years. Our oldest girls had dropped down to 2 or 3 a week by the end.
We had no vet bills The only trouble we had was a mite that infected their feet. Youtube showed how to eradicate by spraying their feet with WD40.
We buy free range eggs, so financially it worked out positive, but not dramatically so. If you grew a bit of silverbeet/kale or other food for them you could skip probably half the grain bill.
Besides the straight financial concerns, it does cramp your style a bit if you want to go on holidays. One year we travelled for 3 weeks so I paid a friends kid $40 to feed them every day/collect the eggs.
If we were just going for a weekend I rigged up a feeder and waterer to keep them ok for a few days, but you can't really go longer than that because you need to collect the eggs - if you don't they might start eating them - a real problem I that has no solution, as far as I know.
I like having chooks, but it is another chore each day compared to just buying eggs once a week. And you need to be able to cope with living things - which get sick, or die, or spray shit around. And what do you do when they get old and stop laying regularly? People who buy meat wrapped in plastic from Coles so it isn't 'icky' might find it a bit earthy, but I reckon after owning chooks you would be reluctant to buy caged eggs.
thanks for the informative post and the cost calculations.
How we breed our chicks, if councils don't let ppl keep roosters?
I prefer to do this, to replenish old chickens.
What do you do with old/sick, not as productive chickens?
If you get to know other chook owners you might consider borrowing a rooster. Not all councils ban them.
How do you handle uneconomic livestock? The same way farmers do. You euthanase them, and eat the well ones.
I think it is cheaper buying eggs but having your own chooks is so rewarding. Chooks are great pets.
Avoid chook houses made out of wood, as these cant be properly cleaned to remove lice/mites. I use a galvanise iron house from Bunnings. Cleaning is a little overrated. Keep their laying box clean and scrape down the roosts. Clean the house if it does not smell right and especially if the chickens look off. Most well designed houses have poo trays that you can remove empty and return.
Worming is required every few months. Look for worms in the poo, but you may not always see them, you may notice more food being eaten.
yeah, i want to to build it out of wood, cos it is easier to get wood and nails.
but metal would last better, though it have rust issues.
Can u post of images of your coop?
http://www.bunnings.com.au/qiq-fix-1-5-x-0-8-x-1-5m-zinc-fow…
No rust if galvanised.
I added a laying box on the side like here:
http://smg.photobucket.com/user/wranch/media/Coops/2-22-065.…
I think wood is a bad choice, if you care for your chickens. While it is cheap, easy to make, it rots, gets covered in shit that can't be cleaned off, it holds the moisture and is bad for bugs.
Start right for a better outcome.
This is my first attempt. http://tinypic.com/m/99fhp4/4 When we moved house I altered it and now have the nest boxes down the bottom. I currently have four Isa Browns and get heaps of eggs. They taste nicer than regular eggs and I just love having poached eggs a couple of times a week. Never really had worms or lice in my chooks,but I do treat for worms anyway. Just pour the medicine into their water. Chooks cost about $20 for one ready to lay and feed is about $20 per bag. I have pellets available all the time and they get any scraps we have except pasta and bread. You really need to compare the price to what the supermarkets charge for free range or at least barn laid because that's what your chooks are laying. But it definitely works out better value and you make use of all the kitchen scraps you have been chucking out.
nice pic,
can you post some more pics of the internals, and door shut.
Interesting design, most of the ones I see on youtube are a bit more complicated.
what medicine do u use and how much it cost?
Can you tell me what scraps you feed them?
ie anything - meat, fruits, vegs, rice?
But u avoid pasta and bread… Why?
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No point in comparing to the free range, because our family don't buy free range.
I tried it once (aldi free range) and couldn't tell much of a difference.
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Yes, some online ads selling ready to lay eggs for about $25 to $35.
The only problem is how to I know those chickens are not near of their most productive egg years?
If I get a young chick, then I would know for certain, but like others said we won't know if it is a rooster.
Just go to a proper chook farm and they will sell you everything you need. The medicine isn't very dear. Maybe $12. Young chooks are easy to spot as there red comb is usually very short unlike an older chook. I go to Laymore Farms at Vineyard. http://www.startlocal.com.au/miningagric/poultryeggfarme/nsw…
I don't feed my chooks pasta or bread because I believe it makes them fat. Fat chooks have loose bum muscles and can end up with a prolapse. This is not very nice and usually means the chook has to be killed.
For the record, we fed ours plenty of bread and pasta and this wasn't an issue.
It is possible to sex quite young chicks.
How?
Do u think it is better to buy young chicks or ready to lay ones?
I am just concern they might sell me old ready to lay chicken.
@tyler.durden: Easy to check? :)
I buy ready to lay chickens, between $10-$20ea. I have 4x young and 2x old chickens. 5x are Isa Browns (Apparently best layers), and one is a massive black and white spotty chicken that lays the smallest eggs of the bunch. I believe these Isa Browns have been bred for their output, so make sure you give them lots of shell grit/egg shells otherwise they become calcium deficient. Expect less eggs after a couple of years.
They live in two areas, the coop is in a 3x3m area that is fully enclosed due to foxes. It extends to an additional area that is 3x8m. I don't close up the smaller room any more as I haven't seen a fox in years.
I've got another metre high fenced area that extends 3x20m. I'm going to take that down and put up a much bigger fence, as my dog jumps the fence and harasses the chickens. One chicken is no longer.
I feed them food scraps (including bread, pasta, chicken), grass, lettuce and I have some hanging baskets with nasturtiums that they can jump and get, mixed poultry seed and eggshells and shell grit. 40kg of poultry mix usually lasts a few months.
I've never given them medicine, never seen ticks or any thing on them. They're friendly chickens - and I visually inspect them sometimes.
If they're in an area where they can climb/fly away, clip one of the wings - doesn't need to be much - check the feathers. With brown/white chickens, you can see where the blood gets to.
I get 3-6 eggs a day, way too many. We give them away to friends/family. Always need egg containers! The eggs sometimes have fecal matter on them, it's best not to clean with water, as the egg shells are porous and bacteria can get inside the egg. Best just to scrap anything off - some people use sandpaper. You need to warn people that some eggs may be a bit shitty. Keeping the coop clean with lots of hay and regularly taking the eggs usually means clean eggs.
Garlic in the water helps against bacteria growing in their drinking water.
Disclaimer: All of the above are experiences only. I do not have scientific evidence any of the above is true, just my interpretation of the truth.
can you post some images of your coop?
Why you just keep buying ready to lay chickens instead of breeding your own chicks?
How much does the poultry feed cost you? and how many kg?
So u mix it with their own eggshells?
@tyler.durden: If you already have chickens, then a chicken needs to be broody and you need to slip fertilized eggs in. The mother will protect the chicks. If you just put chicks in with established chickens, it's likely the chickens will kill the chicks. There is a pecking order and they instinctively protect their own area/food. Chickens will live for about 5 years. After about 2 or 3 years you'll see less eggs.
25KG Layer Pellets $22, 40KG Poultry Mix $31, 2KG Shell grit $8
Though I don't give them too many laying pellets, same as shell grit. I just chuck 200-300gm of shell grit in a corner once in a while. They'll eat it when they need it. I get the lettuce scraps from Woolies/Coles. All up is probably $10/pm.
I crumble the eggshells with the food scraps. You don't want them to be whole, so they don't realize it's their eggs (otherwise they'll break the eggs). You may need to teach them how to eat snails(by smashing the snails shell, otherwise they leave the snails alone). Chickens will continuously eat (Like BigTed mentions below). They'll always ask for food, feel their crop if you want to know if they're hungry. Don't be scared to not feed them if they ask. The more they eat, the more they poo.
I'm at work, so can't take any photos. It's about 1m off the ground with a ladder up to it. The ladder is inclined about 20°, starting towards the coop about a metre, and then 90° turn running parallel to the coop. It has a small closable door (always open) for them to get inside. Inside there is a big area with two long perches for them. There are two egg boxes with side access for them lay eggs. I'd say the coop all up is 1x1x2m. The ladder is about a foot wide, solid wood with small amount of wood for grip every 6" or so. I didn't make it, but have modified it slightly.
Under the coop, I have a hay bale for when I need to add/replenish the hay from in the coop. When the hale bale gets loose, they spread it throughout the run, and I'll buy a new one. I can't remember how much it is, but something like $8 every 6 months.
Treat them like pets, not a food source. They're friendly (once they realize you're the hand that feeds them). So if you're just doing it to save money, I'd suggest against it. They're very social animals. The eggs are a bonus.
Edited stuff.
I think that is very unlikely. The breeders want to sell as quick as possible, it costs them extra food to keep a chicken longer.
Otherwise, you can buy pullets, which usually look less than full grown, but much bigger than chicks.
Not always..
They could be tricky, and give u a ready to lay chicken that has been laying eggs for them for a while now..
So it is no longer producing as much as a young one…
then they keep their younger ones as their new egg layers…
ie. They sell us the old egg layers to us then keep the newer egg layers for themselves..
and thus they keep repeating this cycle.
It's like they sell us their old wheels and then replace their car with newer wheels.
Thus they can get rid of old stock, while still getting more eggs, which they could sell as well.
@tyler.durden: you can tell between old and young chooks. Younger have a smaller crown, usually see down, or messy feathers. They weigh a lot less. Ask the seller too, you can judge if they're lying, deceitful by their mannerisms.
Wow, I go through WAY more feed than you guys.
I have 4 hens and they are going through a 20kg bag every couple weeks!
How do you feed?
We fed ours on kitchen scraps plus a box of green offcuts/damaged veges from the bin at the fruit market we visit once a week. There are 4 kids in our family, who waste more food than I would like.
Tony Yugoslav want answers about chicken farm fu@#ken
Chickens are such funny animals, my mum had 3 as pets, and they each had their own personality.
They loved any leftovers from the kitchen (but I always thought it was a bit creepy when they ate something with leftover chicken in it).
I have several PDF books on chooks. One is on building coops I think. If you want them, PM me an email address.
i am thinking of getting some chooks. i'm eating 3 eggs per day. also i'm after grass/grub fed eggs rather than grain fed eggs. what age is the best? chicks or hens ready to lay.
Point of lay.
We had chooks for most of my childhood. Feed would be something like $25 for 20kg or so, and would be gone in about 2 months amongst 8 chocks. Ours never really got sick, they just died too quick to take to the vet :(
In the first two years we got 6-8 eggs a day, and past the three year mark we got 3-4 eggs/week. The lifespan on the average ISA Brown hen is around three years, although we have one that is pushing almost six years and is the last one left (she still lays the occasional egg).
The cost isn't much, but be prepared to shovel shit and do lots of cleaning. They are rather high maintenance pets.