Is It Time To Buy Your Own Chickens To Get Eggs?
With the price of eggs going through the roof, and that is of course if you can find them in your local grocery store. You have probably seen empty grocery shelves where you usually had no problem finding dozens of different brands and styles of eggs. Maybe it’s time to buy your own chickens?
Why the shortage?
It turns out that because of the Avian Flu or H5N1 over 13 million egg laying hens have been killed and that number continues to rise causing the price of eggs to rise as well. The price of eggs have soared to astronomical numbers that would have seemed impossible just a few short months ago.
At first inflation was the reason for the high cost of eggs to the price point that had never been seen in modern America. So what was already high last year has shot up so high that people are paying as much as 10 dollars and more.
Experts in the egg industry say that it would take at least another six months for egg prices to begin to decline. It takes that long for the henhouses to raise chicks to be old enough to lay eggs as hens
Is it time to get your own chickens?
It has been a growing fad over the last few years to buy your own chickens and build a henhouse or shack and have your own eggs. It sounds like a great idea to be independent when it comes to raising chickens and getting the fruits of your labor, eggs.
I had a chance to speak with long time listener of the show, Jason Dino, and his wife Dawn, who own chickens about the pros and cons of getting your own layers.
Dawn says she made the decision to start with a half a dozen chickens during COVID-19 as a hobby during the lockdown. She says she got what is called “chicken fever” that’s when you get so into it that you start buying more and more chickens. At one point they owned over 30, and that does not include the geese that they bought as well. Apparently geese, keep predators away, and I thought they were just there to annoy us on golf courses, who knew? They also lay gigantic eggs.
Both Dawn and Dino highly recommend getting chickens, but to start small like they did with perhaps five or six. They built a coop that keeps the chickens safe from predators which are numerous. Did you know that it’s not only foxes and coyotes that like chickens? Even skunks and weasels have a taste for chicken.
They both feel that the pros of owning chickens and having their own eggs is worth the extra work that it takes to maintain a chicken coop. Some of the cons of owning your own chickens is the added labor because chickens need to be looked into every day. Of course you will need to feed them and be sure to collect your eggs every day. There is the matter of chicken manure that you will need to deal with and they say it can get very stinky on a hot summer day.
Overall the Dino’s thoroughly enjoy their chickens and even name them which by the way, assures them that they will not be on the dinner plate ever. Dawn says chickens can lay eggs for 4 to 5 years and afterwards they let them retire around the yard and enjoy the rest of their years .
It’s a break even situation
If you are getting your own chickens, because you think it will save you money, they say you should think again. Because there are expenses to owning your own chickens. Everything from the chicken feed to the building of a coop and maintaining one. Dawn says it’s a break even situation and is happy with that because she knows exactly where her eggs come from, happy well fed hens.
Another benefit of owning your own chickens is they will eat your table scraps, your leftover vegetables, of course. Sometimes they have an abundance of eggs and give them to friends although they know that these days they could probably sell their fresh eggs for upwards of five dollars a dozen.
I can attest that their eggs are delicious too! On more than one occasion Dawn has sent Jason in with a dozen eggs for each of us on the show. So the bottom line is, they highly recommend if you have the time and space and the willingness to give it a try.
Jason adds that he finds having the chickens around the yard brings him a form of relaxation and serenity. For a guy who spends his days driving big dump trucks up he can definitely use some downtime.
We hope this helps if you are at the point where you think it’s time to have your own egg supply. If you have any questions, I can hook you up with my friends, Jason and Dan, they have learned from the ground up the ends and outs of chicken farming.
