Chickens!!

[Kathyp]

Anyone notice that raising chickens and selling eggs is getting to be like "save the bees"?   

Seems like everyone is into chickens now and with the price of feed I am surprised.  I wonder how long it will last now that egg prices are going back down?

[gww]

Seen a guy I didn't know at the feed store and he told me his daughter sold two old hens at an auction and they brought $27 each.  Chickens were never a good ideal the way I do it with feed for them and every other animal out 24/7.  Not good not matter the feed cost or cost of eggs.  Bees are so much better.
Cheers
gww

[Ben Framed]

Chickens are running high here too. I agree with you both concerning the price of feed. I remember when the homestead movement was moving toward goats a few years ago and the price of goats shot up as well. We will see how the price of chickens fair .....

I recently seen a short video about a city in Belgium which said each family received 3 chickens which immediately reduced the amount of garbage by many tons the first month at the local landfill. Thought I did not put a pencil to it, it seemed like the numbers didn't quite add up on the amount of saved poundage of refuge from being deposited at that local landfill.

Phillip

[Michael Bush]

Chickens caught on worldwide in the first place for one reason:  They turn garbage into food.  If you are going to buy grain to feed them you should raise quail.  Quail will make more pounds of eggs per pound of grain.

[Acebird]

Backyard farms are not economically sound.  They are great if you like pets and fresh vegetables.

[Michael Bush]

>Backyard farms are not economically sound.

That depends on how you go about it.  If you treat it like a hobby and buy lots of things, then no.  If you use what you have on hand and do it frugally you can feed a family six months out of the year on a small garden here in Nebraska and all year around in Florida.  If you feed your chickens garbage and let them forage, they are pretty cheap.

[Acebird]

If you feed your chickens garbage and let them forage, they are pretty cheap.

They only do that in the Keys and every other predator finds the eggs first.

[Kathyp]

mine free range a good part of the year.  I'm not saving any money keeping chickens, but I do like the fresh eggs and if the SHTF, they are reasonably cheap to keep source of protein if you turn them out all year. 

Bet hedging   

RRs used to be 50 or 60  cents for chicks and you could pick up 4 month old hens for 5 dollars. Scratch was cheap.  Now there are dozens of fuzzy feet/head breeds and "they are so cute!!".   But do they lay well because they don't look like good eating?  IDK, but they are cute 

[Ben Framed]

Now there are dozens of fuzzy feet/head breeds and "they are so cute!!".   But do they lay well because they don't look like good eating?  IDK, but they are cute 

lol
Some even lay blue eggs! But the eggs are smaller than the 'good ole' tried and true Rhode Island Red and Dominique type chickens, is my understanding.

[Kathyp]

I have some easter eggers and they lay well with good size eggs.  Nice hard shells too.  This year I added some Brahmas because I was looking for big breeds.  I am impressed with their personality, but they are not yet laying.  I never really liked Rhode Island Reds for personality and they were the most likely to draw blood when I reached under them 

I also ended up with one black Moran this year because the lady thought she was a he, but she's not.  Had to get a new rooster elsewhere because our old one finally died.  Had him over 10 years and he was a nice guy. 

Anyway, I got cute even though that was not the goal.   

[Michael Bush]

>Some even lay blue eggs! But the eggs are smaller than the 'good ole' tried and true Rhode Island Red and Dominique type chickens, is my understanding.

Same size as the rest.

[BeeMaster2]

Kathy,
We used the to have about a hundred Rhode Island Reds. Now we have none. They are larger and are pretty good layers but they are so heavy that the minute you turn them loose they are easy prey. They seldom survive the night and are always gone in a few days. Our Jungle Foul mix chickens not only survive, they raise a lot of young that make it to adulthood. The reason we got them is because they breed so well that they were a problem at a friend?s farm and was starting to shoot them to get the numbers down. My brother and I went there at sundown and caught them with nets where they were roosting.
Jim Altmiller

[Ben Framed]

>Some even lay blue eggs! But the eggs are smaller than the 'good ole' tried and true Rhode Island Red and Dominique type chickens, is my understanding.

Same size as the rest.

> Same size as the rest.


So What Breeds of Chickens Lay Blue Eggs?
There are four predominant breeds of chickens that lay blue eggs:
Araucana,
Ameraucana,
Cream Legbar
Easter Egger Chicken:


Araucana

The Ultimate Guide to Ameraucana Chickens - Mile Four
araucana egg size from www.thehappychickencoop.com
Mar 17, 2022 ? Even though hens are smaller, their eggs are medium-sized and perfect for your Easter basket
Showing results for what size eggs Ameraucana
Search instead for what size egge Ameraucana


Ameraucana
QuickChicken Facts
Origin   USA
Rate of Lay/yr.   180 - 200 eggs
Egg size   Medium
Egg Color   Blue (and sometimes green)



Cream Legbar:
 Eggs, Height, Size and Raising Tips
https://cs-tf.com ? cream-legbar
cream legbar egg size from cs-tf.com
Jan 26, 2023 ? Their eggs are big, especially considering the size of the hen. An average dozen weighs around 25 oz., classifying these eggs as ?large? by USDA ...


Easter Egger Chicken:
Appearance, Size, Eggs, Raising ...
https://cs-tf.com ? easter-egger-chicken
5 days ago ? The eggs themselves are usually extra large. This means that the Easter Egger chicken keepers can expect to obtain about 200 to 280 extra large ...
Size: Medium
Weight: Rooster: 5.5 to 7.5 pounds (2.5-3.5 kg) ...
Breed Type: Egg-laying
Temperament: Docile and Friendly

Search Results
Rhode Island Red/Egg size
Extra Large

[The15thMember]

Kathy,
We used the to have about a hundred Rhode Island Reds. Now we have none. They are larger and are pretty good layers but they are so heavy that the minute you turn them loose they are easy prey. They seldom survive the night and are always gone in a few days. Our Jungle Foul mix chickens not only survive, they raise a lot of young that make it to adulthood. The reason we got them is because they breed so well that they were a problem at a friend?s farm and was starting to shoot them to get the numbers down. My brother and I went there at sundown and caught them with nets where they were roosting.
Jim Altmiller

Our Rhode Island Reds haven't lasted for us either.  We had a handful of hens and a rooster, and none of them are still alive today, when chickens of different breeds hatched the same time as them are.  We've had much better luck with Wyandottes and Orpingtons. 

>Some even lay blue eggs! But the eggs are smaller than the 'good ole' tried and true Rhode Island Red and Dominique type chickens, is my understanding.

Same size as the rest.

Showing results for what size eggs Ameraucana
Search instead for what size egge Ameraucana

Search Results
Featured snippet from the web
Medium
Quick Ameraucana Chicken Facts
Origin   USA
Rate of Lay/yr.   180 - 200 eggs
Egg size   Medium
Egg Color   Blue (and sometimes green)

Search Results
Rhode Island Red/Egg size
Extra Large

We just got some multi-colored eggs from a lady who bought one of my sister's goat kids, and they weren't noticeably smaller than large egg layers' eggs.  We also never noticed a significant difference between the Rhodey's eggs and the other breeds.  We do however have certain individual chickens that lay smaller or larger eggs, but we haven't noticed it to vary much breed to breed. 

I have some easter eggers and they lay well with good size eggs.  Nice hard shells too.  This year I added some Brahmas because I was looking for big breeds.  I am impressed with their personality, but they are not yet laying.  I never really liked Rhode Island Reds for personality and they were the most likely to draw blood when I reached under them 

I also ended up with one black Moran this year because the lady thought she was a he, but she's not.  Had to get a new rooster elsewhere because our old one finally died.  Had him over 10 years and he was a nice guy. 

Anyway, I got cute even though that was not the goal.   

You know something I have heard about silkies, which are the top of the house as far as useless and cute goes, is that they are phenomenal brooders.  I know several people who use silkie hens to hatch their chicks, because they are apparently great mothers. 

[Ben Framed]

Reagan I was in the processing of editing breed and eggs size 'facts' prior to your quote. I am not saying Rhode Island reds and Dominique Chickens lay larger eggs than 'other' breeds which lay "extra large" eggs.  I am saying it is my understanding they do lay larger eggs than three of the four listed top blue egg laying breed, Edit: with the exception being the Easter Egger Chicken which does lay extra large blue eggs...
 
Now does it matter to the chicken person if their blue egg chicken layers lay a medium USDA graded egg (or large as in one of the breeds)? I really doubt it. 
But 'for the record': Rhode Island reds and Dominique Chickens lay larger eggs, (extra large), than three of the four blue egg layer breeds listed above .. 




Phillip

[The15thMember]

Reagan I was in the processing of editing breed and eggs size 'facts' prior to your quote. I am not saying Rhode Island reds and Dominique Chickens lay larger eggs than 'other' breeds which lay "extra large" eggs.  I am saying it is my understanding they do lay larger eggs than the blue egg layers which three of the four major breeds listed lay USDA medium sized eggs.
 
Now does it matter to the chicken person if their blue egg chicken layers lay a medium USDA graded egg (or large as in one of the breeds)? I really doubt it. 
But 'for the record': Rhode Island reds and Dominique Chickens lay larger eggs, (extra large), than the blue egg layer breeds listed above .. 

Phillip

I understood you.  What I am saying is that we didn't notice any difference in size between our USDA large eggs from our chickens and the USDA medium eggs from the blue and green layers that we were given.  I made a batch of deviled eggs using some of our eggs and some of the colored eggs, and I literally didn't know which eggs were which once I had peeled them, because they weren't any smaller.  I'm sure those breeds do lay smaller eggs on average, but given the variable size of home-raised eggs generally, it was insignificant.     

[gww]

I have owned three of the colored egg layers and their eggs are not the biggest but I would say bigger then my average over thirty birds.  The very biggest eggs are a hassle as they don't fit in the carton well and seem a bit more runny when cracked in the pan.  My chicken most all lay bigger eggs then most I know who have their own chickens and the green ones are big.  I am a black rock, road island red, buff orfington, ect type owner.  I think I have two leggerns.  I do like a few green egg layers cause it is easy to tell when they are the chicken doing the laying and they also lay very well.  I am down to about 25 now and one of my green eggers just died after about ten years and would still go through laying spells up to death.  That she lived ten years was amazing cause she found out trees have bugs under the bark and she would get on the saw mill every time I cut and came close a few time to losing her head earlier.
Cheers
gww

[Ben Framed]

 

I understood you.  What I am saying is that we didn't notice any difference in size between our USDA large eggs from our chickens and the USDA medium eggs from the blue and green layers that we were given.  I made a batch of deviled eggs using some of our eggs and some of the colored eggs, and I literally didn't know which eggs were which once I had peeled them, because they weren't any smaller.  I'm sure those breeds do lay smaller eggs on average, but given the variable size of home-raised eggs generally, it was insignificant.

I most likely didn't understand 'myself' lol.. A good chance the big blue eggs came from the breed which is known for an extra large blue egg. The "Easter Egger Chicken" listed in the top four blue egg layers in reply 12..

[Kathyp]

I have a mix because I took my sons hens when he moved and we had both hatched some mixed breeds.  I have two RR left and they are both old.  One still lays from time to time.  I have a couple of easter eggers.  Good layers and good personalities.  Average size eggs.  My Ameraucana were nice chickens and laid average size eggs.  I have one old one left but she doesn't lay anymore.

I loved the personality of the buff orpingtons, but they didn't seem to live as long.   Got broody easily too.

Anyway, I'm not much of a breed person with any of my critters.  I want nice animals that do what they are supposed to do, like produce eggs 

[gww]

Kathy

Anyway, I'm not much of a breed person with any of my critters.

That is me too as long as it is not a bantee.  However, I am also not the boss and my wife will look though a book for the perfect color and size and ask and not like me take what is handy and cheep.  I agree on the buff.
Cheers
gww