It has never been more advantageous than now, with the rising
price of eggs, to be able to keep backyard chickens. I am rather fortunate that our city allows
residents to keep small flocks of hens in their yards. Roosters are banned because they are noisy
and crow. Fortunately roosters are not
necessary for egg production.
I happen to be one of those nutty people who loves chickens. We consider them pets first with the added
bonus that they give back. Our four
girls lay close to two dozen eggs a week and we are able to easily sell our
surplus eggs. Right now I charge $3 a
dozen.
Chickens can be pretty self sufficient when it comes to their
expenses. Anyone with a little skill and
a few tools can build a coop inexpensively and quite often wood can be had for
free. Shipping pallets are an excellent
source of wood for building a coop and many companies are all too happy to get
rid of them.
Our coop was constructed mostly from the leftover boards after we
replaced our fence. I did buy a sheet of
OSB plywood for the floor and ceiling, a pressure treated 4 X 4 and a roll of
chicken wire. I scrounged up a pile of 2
X 3s from a friend's scrap woodpile to frame in the coop and pen area. I had a coffee can full of hinges and latches
I had collected over the years so I didn't need to purchase any hardware. I also had enough screws in my miscellaneous
can of fasteners to get the job done.
I opted to purchase simple feeders and have even made a couple out
of empty gallon milk jugs. Pelletized
feed is readily available at our local Zamzows feed store and we supplement
their diet with scratch grains, dandelion greens and our kitchen scraps. Whenever I make a salad, which I do quite
often, they always get one too made out of the trimmings. We also planted them their own row of lettuce
in the garden this summer. Since
chickens can be messy eaters I routinely remove the feeders from the coop and
allow the hens to scratch and pick at the ground so they will clean up all
their spilled food. This saves us a lot
of money and pretty much eliminates any waste.
A few times a week I let the ladies out of the coop to scratch for
bugs and have some fun. Chickens are
wonderful at pest control and have pretty much eliminated our ant and earwig
problem by keeping the critters in check.
Keeping the coop and pen area clean takes me very little
time. I employ the deep litter method
which simply means we put a thick layer of pine bedding in their nests, along
the floor and under the roost.
Occasionally I do a little poop scooping to tidy things up and add the
manure to our compost bin. I add extra pine
bedding as it is needed, which surprisingly, isn't all that often. About every six weeks I rake the pen area
outside and add that to the compost bin as well.
Twice a year I do a deep clean and remove all the litter down to
the wood floor and begin again. It takes
me very little time and I don't mind doing it a bit. Especially as the pine shavings absorb
moisture and keep odors to a minimum, which we all appreciate.
Although there is an initial upfront investment in the beginning
eventually they are able to contribute enough to their upkeep that it all evens
out. By selling the extra eggs we easily
make enough to purchase all of their food and any other supplies they
need. They may even make a little extra.
The bonus for us is hours of entertainment as chickens are really
funny to watch and interact with. Not to
mention the delicious farm fresh eggs we get to eat every day.
i do believe that your chickens have the cutest coop ever. Our town does not allow us to keep "farm animals". What I wouldn't give to have fresh eggs again.
ReplyDeleteHave a great week.
Vanessa B
Thank you. Our ladies sure seem to enjoy it. I wish I could share our eggs with you. They are so good. :)
DeleteLove your chicken coop.. and know it is nice to have chickens right now..with the price of eggs steadily going up..
ReplyDeleteThank you. It looks pretty cute in our yard.
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