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Which is great, so long as your flock does not get the flu and die. We have had chickens in the past, and while I fully support anyone wanting to do their own

Which is great, so long as your flock does not get the flu and die. We have had chickens in the past, and while I fully support anyone wanting to do their own chickens, the level of effort to keep them clean and healthy, safe from predators, and the labor to take care of them is non-trivial. They were the most expensive and labor-intensive "free eggs" we ever had.

oaththrowaway 2y ago
I have lost 2 flocks of chickens to a combination of raccoons, foxes, and skunks. Interestingly enough none of those could kill my turkeys - they are big enough to fight them off I guess. They don't lay as many eggs though. It is a lot of work, but after my last group was killed off 2 months I have not impressed by store eggs, so I'm planning on re-enforcing my coop so I can get another group of them soon.
- theonething 2y ago
  > I have not impressed by store eggs Curious to know what differences do you discern between store and fresh eggs? Not doubting you, just curious to know.
  - binarymax 2y ago
    Not the author but for me the taste is obvious. It’s like the difference between the cheapest eggs and the pasture raised you get at the store.
    - declan_roberts 2y ago
      Also the yolks are noticeably bigger and darker on the home flock. More yolk has a big impact on flavor.
  - MrLeap 2y ago
    In my experience they taste richer. The yolks are more orange than yellow.
  - latentcall 2y ago
    Backyard chicken eggs for me are much richer and fuller flavor. I also keep Black Copper Marans and those eggs are delicious.
  - bombcar 2y ago
    Go here: https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chicks.html https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chicks.html and click "good/better/best" for egg production. Note the wide variety. When you're doing a backyard chicken coop, you can pick whatever you want, for whatever reason (Rhode Island Red for hardiness, say, or a combo for variety). So not only do you have feed variation, you have breed variation, which can contribute to taste differences. You also have freshness, as you use the eggs within a day or so of laying.
  - oaththrowaway 2y ago
    During the summer I was getting ~9-10 eggs a day, and we probably averaged eating 6 a day - so besides the size and taste, a big thing is that unwashed eggs last a long time.
- joe8756438 2y ago
  i have a simple system for keep my birds safe from land predators. so the birds get a point for each level of protection they receive. each group needs two points to be safe. i mainly raise geese, which are tough, not going to be bothered by a hawk. geese (turkeys similar) start with one point. an electric fence is one point, a fully enclosed coop is one point, night light (.5?), guard animal (.5?). chickens are always inventing ways to die, so they start with 0 (should probably be -1). fingers crossed i haven’t lost any geese to land predators in three years and only one chicken that flew the enclosure. hawks have taken a few chickens, but never when the geese are around.
  - declan_roberts 2y ago
    I know people here who specifically add a "guard goose" to their hen flock for protection. They swear it helps against predators. We have a very reinforced coop and an automatic coop door so we've never had any issues.
    - joe8756438 2y ago
      yeah, they deter aerial predators, but you can’t have too much room for them to roam away from the geese. in my experience you need to have the geese and chickens together within about 200sq feet.
- reginald78 2y ago
  Do skunks hunt chickens? We lost ours when we were a kid to raccoons and weasels. The later being better suited to getting into the coop. Our neighbor's chickens were devoured by black bears twice. They had one wily chicken that managed to escape both events however.
  - oaththrowaway 2y ago
    I've never seen one actually kill a chicken but I killed one a little bit ago that was in there eating a carcass. And that's what I've seen come sniffing around the traps I leave. I've trapped 2 skunks in the last year - only 1 raccoon, and he was able to make an escape. Smartest animals I've had to battle in the wild.
joe8756438 2y ago
yes. i have a flock and the feed alone puts a doz at $3. the labor is somewhat enjoyable and the chickens are incredible child-leftover disposal machines. but when you factor infrastructure and labor youll probably never recoup your “investment” in eggs. for anyone dealing with land predators, get electric poultry net. it’s magic.
- declan_roberts 2y ago
  Is that true even right now in the winter? My hens are basically pensioners at this point. I'm planning on refreshing the flock this spring.
  - GeoAtreides 2y ago
    what will it happen with the old hens?
    - bombcar 2y ago
      Most layers do ok the first year, great the second, and then taper off. If you have old crockpot recipes, they can taste great after egg production drops off. But they can keep laying for quite some time. You can reduce the feed costs by letting them graze (though even a few chickens will lay waste to an average sized backyard if given the chance) and/or using household food waste.
      - joe8756438 2y ago
        yeah, on a small scale it’s actually pretty easy to make a decent dent in the feed bill. once you get over a dozen hens though it would take a few adults to make enough waste. chickens eat a lot!
    - declan_roberts 2y ago
      We'll give these ones away. Somebody will take them in and get eggs out of them for another year probably.
  - 2y ago

oaththrowaway 2y ago

I have lost 2 flocks of chickens to a combination of raccoons, foxes, and skunks. Interestingly enough none of those could kill my turkeys - they are big enough to fight them off I guess. They don't lay as many eggs though. It is a lot of work, but after my last group was killed off 2 months I have not impressed by store eggs, so I'm planning on re-enforcing my coop so I can get another group of them soon.

theonething 2y ago
> I have not impressed by store eggs Curious to know what differences do you discern between store and fresh eggs? Not doubting you, just curious to know.
- binarymax 2y ago
  Not the author but for me the taste is obvious. It’s like the difference between the cheapest eggs and the pasture raised you get at the store.
  - declan_roberts 2y ago
    Also the yolks are noticeably bigger and darker on the home flock. More yolk has a big impact on flavor.
- MrLeap 2y ago
  In my experience they taste richer. The yolks are more orange than yellow.
- latentcall 2y ago
  Backyard chicken eggs for me are much richer and fuller flavor. I also keep Black Copper Marans and those eggs are delicious.
- bombcar 2y ago
  Go here: https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chicks.html https://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chicks.html and click "good/better/best" for egg production. Note the wide variety. When you're doing a backyard chicken coop, you can pick whatever you want, for whatever reason (Rhode Island Red for hardiness, say, or a combo for variety). So not only do you have feed variation, you have breed variation, which can contribute to taste differences. You also have freshness, as you use the eggs within a day or so of laying.
- oaththrowaway 2y ago
  During the summer I was getting ~9-10 eggs a day, and we probably averaged eating 6 a day - so besides the size and taste, a big thing is that unwashed eggs last a long time.
joe8756438 2y ago
i have a simple system for keep my birds safe from land predators. so the birds get a point for each level of protection they receive. each group needs two points to be safe. i mainly raise geese, which are tough, not going to be bothered by a hawk. geese (turkeys similar) start with one point. an electric fence is one point, a fully enclosed coop is one point, night light (.5?), guard animal (.5?). chickens are always inventing ways to die, so they start with 0 (should probably be -1). fingers crossed i haven’t lost any geese to land predators in three years and only one chicken that flew the enclosure. hawks have taken a few chickens, but never when the geese are around.
- declan_roberts 2y ago
  I know people here who specifically add a "guard goose" to their hen flock for protection. They swear it helps against predators. We have a very reinforced coop and an automatic coop door so we've never had any issues.
  - joe8756438 2y ago
    yeah, they deter aerial predators, but you can’t have too much room for them to roam away from the geese. in my experience you need to have the geese and chickens together within about 200sq feet.
reginald78 2y ago
Do skunks hunt chickens? We lost ours when we were a kid to raccoons and weasels. The later being better suited to getting into the coop. Our neighbor's chickens were devoured by black bears twice. They had one wily chicken that managed to escape both events however.
- oaththrowaway 2y ago
  I've never seen one actually kill a chicken but I killed one a little bit ago that was in there eating a carcass. And that's what I've seen come sniffing around the traps I leave. I've trapped 2 skunks in the last year - only 1 raccoon, and he was able to make an escape. Smartest animals I've had to battle in the wild.

joe8756438 2y ago

yes. i have a flock and the feed alone puts a doz at $3. the labor is somewhat enjoyable and the chickens are incredible child-leftover disposal machines. but when you factor infrastructure and labor youll probably never recoup your “investment” in eggs. for anyone dealing with land predators, get electric poultry net. it’s magic.

declan_roberts 2y ago
Is that true even right now in the winter? My hens are basically pensioners at this point. I'm planning on refreshing the flock this spring.
- GeoAtreides 2y ago
  what will it happen with the old hens?
  - bombcar 2y ago
    Most layers do ok the first year, great the second, and then taper off. If you have old crockpot recipes, they can taste great after egg production drops off. But they can keep laying for quite some time. You can reduce the feed costs by letting them graze (though even a few chickens will lay waste to an average sized backyard if given the chance) and/or using household food waste.
    - joe8756438 2y ago
      yeah, on a small scale it’s actually pretty easy to make a decent dent in the feed bill. once you get over a dozen hens though it would take a few adults to make enough waste. chickens eat a lot!
  - declan_roberts 2y ago
    We'll give these ones away. Somebody will take them in and get eggs out of them for another year probably.
- 2y ago