How to keep chickens cheap?

[sean_wonder]

I have 7 hens and we go through a 40 lb bag about every two weeks. They eat less in the summer

Thanks for the info!! Good to know basic math actually 'ADDS UP' in real life

You don't have to buy a minimum of 7, get what you want.

I wish that was the case, but if I buy online from a hatchery the hatchery I'm looking at tells me based on my address my chick minimum is seven

 

[Kat2141]

Thanks for the info!! Good to know basic math actually 'ADDS UP' in real life


I wish that was the case, but if I buy online from a hatchery the hatchery I'm looking at tells me based on my address my chick minimum is seven

My comment about buying only as many as you want was for if you bought from an individual that was just selling from their flock (ie. someone in a Poultry group on Facebook).... not from a hatchery. Where I am, there are always people selling chickens on the local FB groups.

 

[JMotuzick]

Same here local folks on both FB and craigslist selling. Get some pulletts 8-10 weeks already hardened off. I would just get for one breader and then add new chicks next year once you get the hang of things.

 

[sean_wonder]

i'll look in to it, but i don't have facebook nor do i think i'm allowed to have one

 

[oldrooster]

Valiant just do the craigslist then. with permission post that you want or need xyz. also some radio stations in my are (not many) have a radio classified ad program try to find if one (or two) in your area have such a program and again with permission contact and ask for what you want. also see if there is a freecycle group in your area (all free stuff) and look for stuff there.

 

[Walk4dogs]

To keep chickens cheap, stick to production hybrids or leghorns, only get as many as you need, replace them at 18 months mercilessly, feed a balanced feed as much as they want (pellet especially), but you may want to take it away once they've filled up to prevent pests from dining, and free range. Some producers also cull broody birds.

Not really what hobbiests want to hear, but that's how you do it. That's a lot of what I don't do.

Now in regards to that shed, I think you might be able to build better for cheaper. That plastic guy is also going to need a ton of ventilation unless you only intend to get two or three birds. No deep litter in that guy. Find a buddy with scrap wood and tools and build something tight. People also love pallets as building materials. For a reference, my first shed cost was free made of scrap wood in a few hours. My next shed...well, the husband got to that project. It was not cheap. My goat house is a 6x6 shed with a dirt floor and lots of ventilation yet is tight and secure and it was $200 because the husband wanted a real roof on it. It would have been less than $90 otherwise.

I'd also just get a metal feeder from your feed store and build a nipple waterer with a 5 gallon bucket and horizontal nipples. If they're good enough quality and you keep the metal feeder out of the rain and wet they will last for years and years (at least the feeder, I'm still testing my nipple waterer). Hang the feeder in the coop, put the waterer on a cinderblock outside. 2x4 makes an excellent roost. Plastic colored tubs from the hardware store with chicken sized holes make great nest boxes. They can be weighed down with a brick and filled with shavings.

I'd also always remember to lock up the birds at or before dark. Replacing eaten birds is expensive.

That's all I can think of. I'll follow this thread for ideas on what else I'm not doing.

What do you mean by " Replace them mercilessly"? at 18 months?

 

[aart]

What do you mean by " Replace them mercilessly"? at 18 months?

Hybrid layers often drop production drastically at about that age,
so they are culled from the flock and replaced with pullets to keep egg production up.

 

[Acre4Me]

What do you mean by " Replace them mercilessly"? at 18 months?

In addition to what @aart indicated, replacing can mean to sell the older ones as you bring in new ones. You can butcher and stew for soup or broth too. A hybrids layer isn’t very meaty as they were created to make eggs efficiently from feed, not muscle.

So, to maximize you buy hybrid layers, raise to 14-16 weeks when they will start to lay, they should lay through their first winter and through the next summer. Around Aug-Oct sometime they will molt, stop laying through the molt and will resume laying at some point, but production is generally lower.

So, you buy new chicks the next spring (end of year 2 for the first batch), or bring on new chicks the previous spring when the first batch is around a year old for nonstop production.

Remember, this thread is about raising chickens for cheap, not feeding chickens until they die naturally. FWIW, we buy and replace our chickens (selling at auction) frequently, but only this year have we ever bought production hybrids. Usually we have dual purpose heritage types (and still do). We have 4 from our original flock that will stay till they die, but I wouldn’t want to be feeding more than a few “old age” hens as a general rule.