FARMING YOUR OWN CHICKENS in SMITHTOWN (2009, loft, condo)

[thebobs]

Great hens Kelly.

Caption for your dog looking at them from outside the cage:

"Will one of you please please throw the ball for me??? Pretty please???

[Giznot]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

I spend much more money than most people, but my chickens are truly pets & I spoil them. Depending on how much you invest in your coop (I've seen people spend thousands on small backyard coops), the payoff with eggs can take up to a couple of years. I usually buy 50lb bags of organic feed for about $22 it usually lasts about 6 weeks, I also feed them veggies(mostly stuff I grow) and our leftovers. you need hay for the nests & pine shavings for the coop floor, I spend approx $30 per month on that stuff.
When you get started with chicks you need about $50 worth of supplies to brood them. People that are looking for a more economical way can spend much less by not investing as much in predator proofing, using non-organic feed and not being as concerned about the health or longevity of the birds.
We average 40 eggs per week 8 months per year. The winter months production goes way down and can stop completely.
Hope that helps, if you have more questions, let me know!
Check out backyardchickens.com for more info.

Can the chicken feed be made at home? I heard you need oyster shell powder for the egg shells etc... I spend about $3.75 for range free organic eggs at Stop & Shop. Even with the feed what about supplementing the grain with flour or corn meal? What kind of table scraps do you give?

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

I spend much more money than most people, but my chickens are truly pets & I spoil them. Depending on how much you invest in your coop (I've seen people spend thousands on small backyard coops), the payoff with eggs can take up to a couple of years. I usually buy 50lb bags of organic feed for about $22 it usually lasts about 6 weeks, I also feed them veggies(mostly stuff I grow) and our leftovers. you need hay for the nests & pine shavings for the coop floor, I spend approx $30 per month on that stuff.
When you get started with chicks you need about $50 worth of supplies to brood them. People that are looking for a more economical way can spend much less by not investing as much in predator proofing, using non-organic feed and not being as concerned about the health or longevity of the birds.
We average 40 eggs per week 8 months per year. The winter months production goes way down and can stop completely.
Hope that helps, if you have more questions, let me know!
Check out backyardchickens.com for more info.

When all was said and done, we joked that our eggs cost several hundred dollars each.

Electric was run out to the coop and we had a light on a timer to help simulate daytime when days grew shorter. Laying certainly slowed down quite a lot, but didn't stop completely.

[KellyFG]

Originally Posted by Giznot

Can the chicken feed be made at home? I heard you need oyster shell powder for the egg shells etc... I spend about $3.75 for range free organic eggs at Stop & Shop. Even with the feed what about supplementing the grain with flour or corn meal? What kind of table scraps do you give?

Our chickens eat just about everything but carrots, potato skin & peppers. They love pasta, seafood and cheese. They even eat leftover chicken
The oyster shells are about $10 a bag that lasts several months. you can crush & bake egg shells and give them back to the chickens for calcium as well. I supplement their food with wheat germ to up the omega 3 in their diet. I also add oats on occasion. I focus on a high protein diet. I limit the scratch or corn that they eat, but they do get as a snack. You probably could create your own chicken feed if you wanted to.

As for the time it takes to care for them, I go out every morning close to sunrise & spend about 5 minutes letting them out, making sure they look look ok & giving fresh feed & water to the hens & my rabbit. At sunset I go out & count their heads in the coop, collect the eggs & lock the coop door. I takes me 20 minutes to clean the coop completely. i do it about once a week in the summer, once a month in the winter. I rake the run everyday in the summer, it takes about 5 minutes. I try to spend an hour or so with them each week, holding each one inspecting them for mites or other problems & generally caring for them.

[KellyFG]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

When all was said and done, we joked that our eggs cost several hundred dollars each.

Electric was run out to the coop and we had a light on a timer to help simulate daytime when days grew shorter. Laying certainly slowed down quite a lot, but didn't stop completely.

LOL, we have said the same thing. we have electric & running water too. I have decided not to supplement the daylight, I'm ok with giving them a break for the winter. The only time they all stopped laying completely at the same time was during the last hard moult. It last about 3 weeks.

[KellyFG]

Originally Posted by thebobs

Great hens Kelly.

Caption for your dog looking at them from outside the cage:

"Will one of you please please throw the ball for me??? Pretty please???

thats funny!

[Gue]

Thanks Kelly! Lots of great info & ideas!

Looks like any pet you have is well taken care of!

[lialleycat]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

When they are young cats are a big threat, now that my girls are grown they range in weight from 6 lbs to 10 lbs, cats don't consider them good targets.
Bantams are always at risk with cats though.
Our dog protects the chickens, he thinks they are his babies.

We got our girls when they were three days old & kept them in a big empty box, this is Jack watching over them


This is Jack watching over them when they first started to go outside at a few weeks old


I believe you can train a well behaved animal how to resist the urge to kill.

Is Jack a Border Collie? If so, the breed was developed to resist it's kill instinct and be a protector instead.

I was thinking of getting a great pyrenees as a house pet and protector of the outside animals. My friend had the most wonderful one as the protector of her horses.

[KellyFG]

Originally Posted by lialleycat

Is Jack a Border Collie? If so, the breed was developed to resist it's kill instinct and be a protector instead.

Jack is some sort of spaniel mix, we believe he's part springer or britanny spaniel and part pit bull or other large terrier. I don't think he's got any collie even though he has the right markings. When his hair is long he looks like a spaniel, when he's buzzed he looks like a pit bull mix. He came from the north shore animal league so we'll never know

[thebobs]

Originally Posted by KellyFG

Jack is some sort of spaniel mix, we believe he's part springer or britanny spaniel and part pit bull or other large terrier. I don't think he's got any collie even though he has the right markings. When his hair is long he looks like a spaniel, when he's buzzed he looks like a pit bull mix. He came from the north shore animal league so we'll never know

Doesn't matter what his actual breed is. He looks cute and well behaved.