How Are you managing?????

[Clay In Iowa]

3 years ago when I started raising chickens a 40 pound bag of feed was $6.99 .... yesterday at the same store it was $11.99 ON SALE !!!!!!

If I didn't know the eggs are better, the chickens treated better and the experience an overall good one... I'd be done ..

My birds are just shy of free range. They have about 15,000 square feet to roam in. They have a massive mulberry tree, 6 wild plumbs and more to eat from when the fruit is rip. I feed them cucumber, zucchini, water melon, tomatoes, apples, and cantaloupe from the garden... but it's not really enough. at $11.99 a bag for feed my eggs would still cost $6.00 (or more) a dozen.

What are you doing to bring the costs down?

 

[train2110]

We sell just enough eggs to help cover the cost of feed and such.

 

[aoxa]

Wow... That's pretty pricey! I don't know how, but 40 lbs of feed is still lasting me (11 hens) - and it's been 2 months!

 

[ThePigeonKid]

I pay $11.99 for 50 lbs of chicken food & $16.00 for 50 lbs of duck food.

 

[ECBW]

I guess it depends on the efficiency of your flock.

My area is $15 for 50lb bag. This lasts me about 1 month. At this time, I am getting about 3 dozens per week as return. I think the birds are more than paying for their own keep.

Efficiency is why farmer cull their birds after 1 year.

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
In that case... my birds SUCK... lol

I'm burning through far more than that and at their peak production I get a dozen a day from 31 hens...

which is why nearly all of them are headed to freezer camp and I'm looking into better egg laying replacements.

 

[Beekissed]

Here's a similar thread with good ideas:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=579603

 

[darin367]

ONLY 12 EGGS A DAY FROM 31 HENS...... time for a check,,,is this normal for your breed... if not you need to check your set up, food etc..... i have 13 hens, 3 rir, 3 barred rcks, 2 australorps, the rest mixed breeds of those and i get 10-12 eggs a day..... if i had to feed 31 hens for 12 eggs everyday some of the non layers would be my dinner.....

 

[Clay In Iowa]

Quote:
It's on the low side of normal for them.. On a really good day I'll get 18... but when you average it it works out to be about 12 a day during peak laying.. then there's the 1 or 2 eggs a day when they all decide to molt at once.... Like now...

I do have some low egg producing Buckeys in the mix. Normal is 2-3 eggs a week but they are are the table.

I'm basically looking at starting over with better egg layers.. many of the strains I got were bred more for show and not for eggs. This time around econimcs dictates I get egg layers... that will actually forage.

C.

 

[Beekissed]

I've found that the thriftiest and most productive flocks are comprised of simple, old standby breeds: Black Aussies, White Rocks, New Hamps, RIR, White Leghorns. Thrifty on feed, good at foraging, reproduce themselves well without being excessively broody, hardy and consistent egg laying over many years.