I just got my new 2013 Myers Hatchery catalog. I just told Kevin I would not have any more chickens after this flock except for a few for us for eggs. I make no money keeping chickens just to have eggs to sell. All the money i make goes into a jar in the fridge just to go buy grain. A few extra bucks would be nice for spending, but that doesn't happen. The cost of the chicks is getting outrageous. Look up the catalog to see them all...http://www.meyerhatchery.com The rare maran collection chicks are $9.66 ea The blue americauna and partridge pendesenca chicks are $20.00 each that is a 1-3 day old chick. limit 2. You will need to feed it until it is approximately 20 weeks old before it lays an egg. Umm, a dozen eggs at the store is less than $2.00 I know farm eggs taste much better, but this is just too much money for chicks. It is really fun to see different breeds and have a mixed flock, but there is no guarantee that your chick will even live a week once you get it home. You are out the $$$ and chances are you can't get a replacement chick for the exact breed you had. I know prices are going up, which is to be expected, but this is way out of a normal price range for a chick.
Carolyn, we will be refreshing our little flock in the spring of 2013. Probably more Black Australorps, since they do so well with our Texas heat, and they are so docile. Our hens are pets that give us eggs, so the cost of feed doesn't get figured in. You are right, though, the cost of eggs from an "egg factory" is so low that keeping hens just for eggs is not economical. We are fortunate in that Ideal Poultry is just a half-hour down the road from us, so I go pick up our chicks. Black Australorp pullets are $2.49 each in batches of fewer than two dozen. Prices of other breeds are reasonable, also. http://www.ideal-poultry.com We get so much pleasure from sharing our farm eggs, and laughing at the ladies, that the cost is just part of our "entertainment budget."
City slicker questions: If you buy pullets and a male gets into the group does he become lunch/dinner? How many roosters to a barnyard? If you have more than one rooster do they fight often? Jerry
Very reasonable questions, Jerry. A rooster is to be the "watch dog" of the flock. He is supposed to protect the flock from predators such as foxes, coyotes, dogs, etc,AND hawks. He will warn of a hawk or even go at one if he sees it swooping in, same with a predator animal. I had one last year that went head to head with our disaster dog. He wasn't afraid of the dog at all, of course the dog was restrained, but he was more than willing to take a chicken for his dinner if the opportunity arose. (The rooster I have now is almost worthless)! So they really do have to be the sentinel at all times of daylight hours. A rooster is imperative if you plan on hatching chicks otherwise you can make due without one. A rooster can be of service to about 10 hens. The fertility of the eggs becomes low and the eggs are wasted if they don't hatch. So if you have a large flock you just need to maintain the ratio. I have had 3 roosters at a time before, yes, they do fight on occasion and have their own order established just as the hens have their own pecking order. If I have a rooster in a batch I either send him off to the Amish for dinner or let him hang around the yard and earn his keep helping to keep watch over the yard. Usually it takes about 15, or so, weeks to see that it is a rooster and not a hen. I am not interested in eating a chicken that old.
Yes, I can see what you mean, Carolyn. One must make those kinds of hard decisions now and then. It is case where economics plays the lead role. Economically, I agree that you are making the correct decision here. I have to do the same (but on a much smaller scale), with seeds, flowering plants and trees. Sometimes these companies just price themselves right out of the market. In these difficult economic times raising prices is not helpful to anyone.
Until this next year we had one rooster to match like hens. We kept them isolated, that way we hatched new ones in Spring and grow them all Summer and grow our own stock. This year we are thinking of letting them graze in a fenced in area in the yard and letting them mix up. We would get rid of the roosters, or not. We are just talking about that.
Jerry, once in a while you get a rooster with an attitude. Our first batch of chicks had one rooster--Cyrus. He was mean with a capital M! He constantly tried to attack me, and even though I tried counseling, intervention, and even tough love, I decided Cyrus was going to take a cab. Luckily there was a guy down the road who was looking for a rooster for his flock. I gave him Cyrus and told him about Cyrus' behavioral problems. He didn't care--just wanted a rooster. Roosters are not necessary for egg production, so we are roosterless, and plan to stay that way!
Pfffft--My grandparents had a mean rooster. Gad! He would attack my grandfather every time he would see him. He did not attack my grandmother at all. He would not usually attack me, but he would often run at me in a sort of mock charge, but stop short. Occasionally my grandad would come in with a wound from the "spurs" that that big rooster had. My grandparents tolerated the behaviour of this barnyard terror because he was just mean enough to keep away various pests and he did a good job with the hens. When it was time to kill a chook for eating, planning was always called-for to be sure that the cock was not around, or closed-up in the chicken house, for he would REALLY go a bit mad. Actually, I told my grandad that that protective behaviour was noble in a way. He just sort of nodded, but did not say anything.
I have one mean rooster. You know Sjoerd, you never see a mean hen.....it's all about hormones....SEXXXX
