Chickens have got to be one of the more productive and cost effective livestock to have on a farm- for what amounts to pennies a day they will give you one large brown, golden yolked, farm raised, free range, hormone free, hard shelled egg. To get the really hard shell you will need to give them crushed oyster shells. Now you can get the oyster shells at Southern States in Philippi but we prefer to import them from the East Coast because they seem to be... well more "oyster-like". The wimpy store eggs practically crack when you take them out of the carton- ours bounce when dropped from a height of 3 feet onto a hardwood floor. The golden yolk comes from the free range diet of insects, greens and worms. When you think of free range, the mind pictures a group of brown chickens roaming around haphazardly pecking at the lawn and scratching up great clouds of dust in the driveway looking for East Coast Oyster shells. But, unfortunately the farm dogs have discovered the concept of "free range" translates into dog talk as "free lunch chickens". And so, phase I of the operation came to an abrupt conclusion.
After much discussion and farm meetings, Mike was assigned the task of constructing a free range, chicken type, movable, dog proof pen. And it is rather clever- a long narrow pen completely covered with dog proof chicken wire, a hen house attached on one end and a series of doors and openings where the feed and water can go in and the eggs and poop can come out. This sets on wheels and has 2 long handles that one large Mennonite (or 2 small ones) can actually lift up and move to new pastures. The chickens are always dubious during the moving process and are running back and forth flapping and flipping out. And, if you lift your end up a little too high one of the chickens could possibly stick their head under the edge and make a final smacking sound when you drop the thing... I guess that could happen (right, Pam??). In the winter, the chickens need a light to turn on to wake them up (those lazy chickens) and also a water heater to warm the water for a cup of morning coffee. And, so the whole thing is tethered to the barn with a 100 foot orange extension cord... and looks like something The Beverly Hillbillies would park out by the cement pond. The eggs were great but Dennis had to kill 3 hens because of some mysterious egg vent problem. And then one night some critter that was just a little smaller than the dog-proof fence opening came in and had a 7 chicken massacre. Thus Phase II of our chicken raising enterprise was put on hold.
Now for the economics of raising chickens -
Expenses:
10 chickens = $24.80
*Feed = $135.50
Oyster shells = $18.70
Grit = $4.10
Waterer = $18.80
Heater = $22.10
Replacement of 10 chickens = $24.80
Materials for pen = $122.40
Extension cord = $12.00
Electric = $14.90
Grand total = $398.10
$398.10 / 37 dozen eggs = $10.76 per dozen
*We still have 200 pounds of feed left if someone, raising chickens along the information highway, needs any.
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