Agree...we don't do roosters.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1741453816.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1741453816.jpg

This is our hen's Summer Palace. It's 4x12 with a 4x4 "house" on the end. It's a bit dishevelled right now because we moved the hen's to their winter quarters in November. I built it about 5 years ago, before I knew the extent of the predators around here.

We let them out into a 10x10 run during the day. That lasted until I noticed hawks spending a lot of time in the nearby oak tree, then I put a net over it.

I didn't put a locking latch on the laying box until the day I opened it to gather eggs and found a raccoon snoozing in the nest.

I initially had 2"x4" wire fencing around the frame and open on the bottom, which was OK until weasels came up out of the woods and killed every bird. We had 4 hens and a rooster. I miss having a rooster, but they're a pain in the ass. I wrapped every inch of the frame in 1/2" hardware cloth, and they've been secure for 3 years now.

I have a feeder that holds 30 lbs of feed and I have a watering system that holds 5 gallons of water, so daily maintenance is just letting them out in the morning, gathering eggs, and putting them away at night.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1741453816.jpg

This is the winter residence. They have space inside the storage barn that I lock them in every night. We open a hatch and let them outside to get some sun every day. We had a sick hen last summer and I put her in the winter residence to get her away from the others. I forgot to drop the door on the hatch one night and a weasel walked in and killed her.
Raising chickens has been an interesting hobby, and I do get kind of attached to the birds, but it's no way to save money on the price of eggs.

All true.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1741477626.jpg
I love my chickens. They're pets like my dogs. I have 9 hens, the one on the left lays blue eggs

Expensive, labor intensive eggs with a bonus side of H5N1. No thanks. There are things to eat other than eggs.

Anyway, eggs aren’t that expensive even now. Even if you get bent over by your grocer, maybe 50 cents/egg. If you get really, like DP’d, then 75 cents. Back when urban chickens was a thing, my friends were telling me their all-in cost was like $1-2/egg. They then went on and on about how superior the home-raised eggs were. Yeah right.

How many eggs do you eat a week - a dozen maybe? Even if keeping chickens saved you big money on eggs - which it won’t - how can saving the price of a latte per week possibly be worth taking on a new and stinky chore for?

Not chicken related but GP's lawn looks really nice!

Thank you, I've been saying this all along and I think eggs have been under priced for ages. Around here the "always have been high priced" egg brands haven't changed price. I even bought some Farmer's Hen House pasture raised eggs the other day that were on sale for $5.49 a dozen or 46 cents an egg. Zojirushi griddle at work makes a nice breakfast at lunch time.

After our flock was destroyed by the weasels, we bought a couple of dozen eggs at Krogers. They were small, pale, and bland. We switched to buying from a local farmer until our new pullets started laying, because farm-grown eggs are superior to factory eggs in size and flavor and probably freshness. We never get an egg that is as small as a factory "large" size.

It's a hobby for us, not a chore. Hobbies can be expensive, but this one is relatively cheap, lowers our food bill, and we get better quality food. But after 10 years I'm thinking about getting out of the chicken biz when Red and Goldie stop laying. We are lucky enough to live in the country and there are several sources for farm-grown eggs, so getting quality eggs won't be a problem. I will never again buy those pathetic factory eggs at the supermarket if I can avoid it.

Clearly AI generated...:D

Thank you but it IS chicken related. They do their part, i just water it in

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1741536207.jpg
I really enjoy our chickens and I've set it up so they're not such a chore. A water feeder that replenishes itself, an automated little door to the chicken run that opens at 5am and closes at 9pm and a feeder i only fill once a month. I set a water heater pan on bricks in the chicken run for a plastic garbage can to sit in. I cut a 1¼" hole at the bottom for the pellets to dribble out. It can easily hold a 50lb bag of layer pellets.
Kids in the neighborhood just love our chickens. Something primordial? One 9 year old girl asked if they had names. No but you can name them if you want. She points to one of the black hens and says I'm naming this one mother clucker. I spit out a little beer when she said that

https://youtu.be/t3O4AUFxSP4?si=qh-zeCcVMtl45dox

I watch this guy's YouTube channel. He has a lot of neat "how to" videos. His videos are entertaining as well due to his wacky sense of humor, and I like that his family is also involved.

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There a lot of places like this in my area. This stand is on my way home, but the Amish and Mennonites specialize in it: They trust us.

Amazing that is so rare in most other places.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1742238471.jpg

^^^
We have ones like that also...all self-pay.

Less than a mile from me a guy built a 6X8? shed and fills it with fresh flowers in mason jar vases.
I see a sign that says $5 each...with a pay box.
Cars are there almost every time I pass. (in season only)

It is wonderful stuff.

A reminder.

NYC Bodegas selling egg "loosies"


https://nypost.com/wp-content/upload...y=75&strip=all

Lots of places like this all around Vermont, and upstate NY.. And even here on Long Island.. North fork and east end farm stands

^^^ Wow....$11/dozen??

I live near, and know, the owner of Herbruck Poultry....the largest egg producer in the midwest.
I can guarantee that they are doing everything possible to get their coops back online.

The bird flu is a gut-punch to egg producers...nothing they can do but send every bird to the soup company and start over.

this morning, I think my Costco got all the eggs. they are loaded up.