This picture is a bit deceiving unless you realize that the eggs are in one of the small, plastic containers used for fresh berries. Yes, the eggs are small, but that is typical of a hen's first eggs. Small doesn't diminish the excitement we felt when finding two eggs in nest boxes and one on the ground yesterday. Just think back to the days you hunted Easter eggs...it's a bit like that.
These are our first fresh eggs since last Fall when a bobcat got into the chicken house one night and killed all 35+ chickens! It was a sad day! I have loved chickens for almost 20 years now. If at some point Verne and I have a smaller home and less acreage, we will still have a chicken house and chickens. Should we live in a condo with a postage-stamp back yard, we will still have a few chickens in a back-yard hutch. Should we some day end up in an assisted-living environment, I will find a way to have a chicken!
After the tragedy, I pledged to replace my hens with baby chicks the first of February when they became available from Murray-McMurray. I did just that and received 32 chicks at the post office on February 2nd. I would normally wait until early Spring when the weather begins to warm. However, we were expecting a visit from Lara and family in March and her boys love the chickens. I figured they'd be ready at that time to move from the brooder to a larger (but still heated) home in the watering troughs (without the water, of course). Actually, by March they needed a larger area and we ended up putting them in one of the chicken rooms with both heat lamps and a heater running 24-hours a day. By the first of May we were able to turn off the heater and give them a second room as they'd outgrown the 100 square foot room they were in.
Sounding a bit pricey? You have no idea! First, there's the cost of the chickens. I like an assortment, including rare (and pricey) breeds as well as the good layers. I didn't mention above, but we had a mishap and lost about 75% of the first shipment. The final cost of the chicks and replacements was close to $200. Next, there is the special feed they require for their first six months. Being "special" means it also is pricey. Then there is the fact I bought them in February...the coldest time of year in our part of the country...and ran the heater for about three months non-stop. I don't even want to consider the additional utility charges. Oh, I almost forgot...there is the depreciation on the 600 foot wing we added to the side of the barn (Verne calls it the Taj Mahal) in order to house the hens and the fencing (both chain-link and electrical) that provides ample room for the birds to free-range. The good news is, we'll soon be able to change their feed from Chick Start to Lay Pellets, slightly less expensive, but at about two bags per month another $40 (month after month after month). But then, we'll also be buying Scratch as their daily treat and bags of Cedar Chips to fill the nest boxes. Bottom Line...raising chickens to have fresh eggs = Big Bucks! We've already invested about $20 per chicken and as you can see, that's just the beginning.
The White Leghorns are the earliest layers. It will be another 4-6 weeks before the brown layers (Black Austraulorps, Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, to name a few) and blue-green layers (Auaucanas) come on line. By August we'll have an abundance of fresh white, brown, and blue-green eggs...far more than we can use. I'll be contacting my former chicken customers and hope to receive a commitment for weekly deliveries at $3/dozen. What we can't sell, we'll give to the local food bank. I'm sure as you read this, you're thinking, "Is it possible these two people were once CPA's...just do the math! This is crazy!" I agree. That's why I'm pointing it out before you do. It is crazy! What can I say...I'm crazy in love with chickens! Here's a few of them...
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