# New to chickens, is there money??



## Nickynick

Hey, I'm 20 and I'm looking to make some money on th side. I can't get a normal job because I sow horses for a living and my "here and gone" schedule doesn't allow it. So I thought if I went Into chickens, that would allow me to be gone for a week and have a guy at home feed the automatic feeders and waters. Band collect eggs. I just don't know how many I need and raising from what age and for what. I thought about 100 to start out with, but would be very appreciative about some hard honest info. Thanks y'all . Btw I'm in middle georgia


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## amandahalterman

I don't think there is money in chickens, unless maybe if your raising for meat birds, in which I know nothing about, but as far as eggs, I don't make out, I even out with selling just enough eggs to buy feed, IMO


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## kaufranc

I agree with Amanda. We don't really make any money out of it. I just enjoy keeping them!


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## rob

i think we all just do it for the love of it.


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## Energyvet

I so it for the joy they bring me.


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## Happeesupermom

I'm raising chickens to provide healthy eggs for my family.


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## CharlieEcho

*Not much;*

If we sold our eggs, which we dont', we might make enough to pay for the feed and supplies, straw; wire; waterer's; electric, etc, we use. But to make money I think would take a larger operation. "Chicken feed ain't chicken feed".

We have plenty of eggs to eat. We give lots of eggs to friends, neighbors, and elderly. We just enjoy the circus, and there are hardly any bugs in or around our barn.


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## toybarons

I have been involved with poultry since 1998. If you are looking to make money off of chickens or poultry, you are better off investing in the stock market. Every person that I have come across that has had ideas of either raising chickens for profit or creating a farm to raise heritage breeds, none I know have made money and have gave it up within 5 years. 

It also isn't as easy as just buying a number of birds, throwing them in a coop with a bit of feed and water and reaping the mountain of eggs you think you will get. If the USA is anything like here in Canada, you have laws. You also have to worry about bio security concerns, health issues within the state/province you operate in. I know in the USA, some states have testing laws for poultry for some diseases and others where some types of poultry cannot be legally raised. So before you make any plans, I would advise you check you local laws & codes before you start buying birds. Even if you plan to just run a farm and sell locally, you should check your laws first.

Final bit of advice/opinion - Remember that you plan to make money off a living, breathing animal. It isn't just a thing. Respect it! I have nothing against the raising of livestock to provide for anyone, but treat your livestock with respect. That means, giving them a good life while they are providing you your income and when their time comes, you dispatch them humanely! 
Too many people see livestock as nothing more than a thing with a profit margin. Remember that they are living beings so treat them with respect.


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## Nickynick

toybarons said:


> I have been involved with poultry since 1998. If you are looking to make money off of chickens or poultry, you are better off investing in the stock market. Every person that I have come across that has had ideas of either raising chickens for profit or creating a farm to raise heritage breeds, none I know have made money and have gave it up within 5 years.
> 
> It also isn't as easy as just buying a number of birds, throwing them in a coop with a bit of feed and water and reaping the mountain of eggs you think you will get. If the USA is anything like here in Canada, you have laws. You also have to worry about bio security concerns, health issues within the state/province you operate in. I know in the USA, some states have testing laws for poultry for some diseases and others where some types of poultry cannot be legally raised. So before you make any plans, I would advise you check you local laws & codes before you start buying birds. Even if you plan to just run a farm and sell locally, you should check your laws first.
> 
> Final bit of advice/opinion - Remember that you plan to make money off a living, breathing animal. It isn't just a thing. Respect it! I have nothing against the raising of livestock to provide for anyone, but treat your livestock with respect. That means, giving them a good life while they are providing you your income and when their time comes, you dispatch them humanely!
> Too many people see livestock as nothing more than a thing with a profit margin. Remember that they are living beings so treat them with respect.


Did you not read that I show horses for a living. I know a little bit about respect and laws and taking care of a living animal.


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## fuzziebutt

If you want to make money, forget about having chickens. Go into selling chicken feed!!


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## chickflick

Just the money going out of your pocket


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## toybarons

Nickynick said:


> Did you not read that I show horses for a living. I know a little bit about respect and laws and taking care of a living animal.


No need to be touchy. You asked for opinions, and I gave you mine. 
To answer your question, I did read you show horses. Still not changing what I said.


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## englishchick

I have never made money from my chickens. I do it for the love of keeping them run out of their coup in the morning all chatting and chirping and watching them scratch about behaving like chickens do. They are mesmerising and respect comes from just taking care of them. I would guess that the only people making money is the commercial battery farms who have thousands and I am not sure if they really make that much.


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## TheLazyL

$X,200. for the coop

$X00. for the run

Another X00.00 for feeder, waters, web cam and miscellaneous.

And $XX,000 for a Kawasaki Mule for chicken chores like hauling chicken poop for compost and picking up eggs.

$15 a month for feed.

7 months later I sold my first dozen eggs for $3.00


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## etc

As with any income making venture, if you have any chance at all of making money with chickens, you would have to devote full time to it, not come and go and leave your "business" in someone else's care. You would have to be there to sell and deliver your eggs daily. If you aren't going to deliver eggs and expect people come to you, then you need to be easily accessible during set hours and be dependable. Most of us that raise chickens for eggs, end up giving them away to neighbors and friends and even that is time consuming, albeit a labor of love. If you want your birds to stay healthy, they need to be happy, stress-free and that means getting to know them, spending time with them. You need to know who lays and how often they lay or you won't notice if one of them suddenly gets egg bound or which one of them has weak shells and needs more calcium or if one of them has blood spots in their eggs and is experiencing stress or if one needs to be separated because she is being picked on. Just as with dogs, cats or any other pet, they need fresh water that is neither hot nor frozen and since they are outdoor animals, that means checking on then throughout the day. Most of us who raise backyard chickens consider our birds to be pets with the added benefit of fresh eggs. We go into it thinking we might make some egg money, but if we are honest about the bottom line, and include all the expenses, from building a coop, nesting boxes, run, feed, maintenance, time, egg cartons, starting chicks,... few of us even break even. On the other hand, if you live in a premium urban area, where organic eggs are selling for $5 a dozen or more, maybe you could turn a profit...? My 7 hens average 6 eggs a day. You have to allow for the fact that egg laying will go down as the hens age and they do not lay when they molt. You'll be competing with the large farms that don't humanely care for their hens and sell or slaughter them after only a couple years. On the other hand, chickens make awesome pets with perks!


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## toybarons

TheLazyL said:


> $X,200. for the coop
> 
> $X00. for the run
> 
> Another X00.00 for feeder, waters, web cam and miscellaneous.
> 
> And $XX,000 for a Kawasaki Mule for chicken chores like hauling chicken poop for compost and picking up eggs.
> 
> $15 a month for feed.
> 
> 7 months later I sold my first dozen eggs for $3.00


You forget to add, the expereice....priceless


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## toybarons

In Canada, you just can't take and sell your eggs either. Each province has an poultry board that also control egg production. For instance, if you run a Bed & Breakfast and have serve eggs from your chicken coop, you can be shut down for selling eggs that have not been inspected. You take your eggs to a farmers market and a healh inspector catches you, you will be asked to remove them. Worse is if someone reports you as a seller, you will likely get a visit from a rep from your friendly provincial egg board, telling you to cease or risk being hauled into court for the illegal sale of eggs. Even having a chicken coop on your property if you are a feed seller is illegal in some provinces due to being a breech of bio security protocal. 

Finally, here in Canada, each province has a restriction on the number of poultry you can keep before you will be considered a commercial operation. Where I am I think the number is 300 chickens. Some provinces, like Ontario that number is 99. Any more and you either have to reduce your flock or become regulated by the poultry board of your province.

The only legal way many backyard producers can sell eggs is from their driveway. We are allowed to place a sign on our property to tell the public we sell eggs but that is it. Irony here though, we can sell them an egg, but if we cook them an egg and they eat it, we are breaking the law as we are feeding the public an uninspected egg. 

Be good when the quota system goes.


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## etc

I read the initial post, but thought you simply spelled sew incorrectly, but still didn't understand what you meant by it. Aha, you SHOW horses. LOL I didn't get show out of sow. I just saw the other post that you show horses. That explains a little more. I don't see anywhere where you said you were wanting to raise chicken for meat or eggs or to breed them or show them. Now that I see you show horses, I see that my response about laying hens was completely off base. You obviously want to show chickens, not raise laying hens. My bad. I have no idea whether you can make money raising show chickens or showing chickens. I'm betting that it's a labor of love as well, but they do bring more money than meat chickens and laying hens. I think they take a lot more labor too though. Don't silkies need regular grooming? Anyone here who shows chickens?


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## toybarons

Showing chickens evolves from the love of poultry and from keeping them first. If I offended Nickynick with what I said just when they wanted to raise layers or meat birds and their intent was raising show birds, they really will dislike my opinion. If you are raising birds for show, you simply cannot just buy birds, get someone to look after them and expect to make money selling exhibition stock or doing shows. You also won't be well recieved by anyone who shows birds if they know this is what you do. Showing poultry is a way of life and some of these people have been breeding and raising, sometimes just a single breed, for not just years but decades. 
Don't know of anyone making their riches raising, selling or showing exhibition stock.


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## patlet

We sell eggs for $2/doz. With our flock of 30 hens we get $4/day. The feed costs about $30/mos. This is pretty much year-round. Only when I lose a bunch to a predator does this change. We have sold to restaurants, bakeries and at local sales. Right now, we only sell out of our rough roadside stand. We also sell goose eggs , when we have them, for a quarter apiece. We can't keep up with the demand but that's ok by us. The hens pay for themselves and the geese. We always have eggs to eat and man, the egg cash has comes in handy when we are strapped. We only eat the roosters who are too annoying to live. So while we don't really make much money, it doesn't cost us and we enjoy the perks.


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## Energyvet

Sounds like a good plan. Kudos! Keep up the good work. You are an inspiration to us all.


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## toybarons

Thanks cool patlet.


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## colingm

We sell about 15 or so dozen eggs a week at NZ $6.00 per dozen. It mainly covers feed. We have about 35 laying chickens. To make money you have to be large scale.


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## ThreeJ

I have made $150.00 so far. 24 hens after 5 months, I have spent that much to feed them, not including my time. I am not looking to retire anytime soon. I haven't found any money to be made yet.


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## BuckeyeChickens

patlet said:


> We sell eggs for $2/doz. With our flock of 30 hens we get $4/day. The feed costs about $30/mos. This is pretty much year-round.


How do you feed 30 chickens a month for $30???


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## BuckeyeChickens

Nickynick said:


> Hey, I'm 20 and I'm looking to make some money on th side. I can't get a normal job because I sow horses for a living and my "here and gone" schedule doesn't allow it.


Sounds like you are already in debt....showing horses!!! 

Keeping chickens, lots of them (over 100) is a lot more work than you might think and you will need someone helping out when you are traveling. Selling eggs or meat isnt as profitable as say running a hatchery or selling breeding stock.....more money in breeding stock if you are willing to show them and build a strong reputation (takes years).

Good luck!


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## patlet

I get two fifty pound bags of egg maker crumbles. That's the only grain we buy for them. They are free range and we have a garden. The geese , 13 now, also get two 50 bags of the pelleted form. The horses get hay and their grain. Chickens and geese both eat hay. The woods around here supply the rest. My chickens are not meat birds. They have to be able to run and somewhat fly. Even though they are predominately RIRs, they tend to be lean, mean, egg-laying machines.


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## Kokoschicks

Yeah we just do it for the fun of it! Maybe you'll make out even of selling eggs but its worth it!


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## BuckeyeChickens

patlet said:


> I get two fifty pound bags of egg maker crumbles. That's the only grain we buy for them. They are free range and we have a garden. The geese , 13 now, also get two 50 bags of the pelleted form. The horses get hay and their grain. Chickens and geese both eat hay. The woods around here supply the rest. My chickens are not meat birds. They have to be able to run and somewhat fly. Even though they are predominately RIRs, they tend to be lean, mean, egg-laying machines.


I have birds free range as well and they are much smaller than RIR's.....your RIR's must be "Production Reds" (from a hatchery?!?!).....I have about 30 American Game hens running our 8 acre property in SW Ohio. They are about 2.5 pounds MAX when full grown but even with ALL the grass (bugs in the summer, too) they still eat far more than $30 a month worth of feed!!! I've been raising chickens for a long time now and feed prices are crazy these days....my coop of 70 Buckeye breeders go thru about $90 worth of feed per WEEK in the winter and even more during peak laying season. Before I got into Buckeyes I raise the real RIR's....cocks that were 10 pounds and hens that weighed around 7 pounds! Those RIR's were BIG eaters, too but nothing like Buckeyes.


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## patlet

BuckeyeChickens said:


> I have birds free range as well and they are much smaller than RIR's.....your RIR's must be "Production Reds" (from a hatchery?!?!).....I have about 30 American Game hens running our 8 acre property in SW Ohio. They are about 2.5 pounds MAX when full grown but even with ALL the grass (bugs in the summer, too) they still eat far more than $30 a month worth of feed!!! I've been raising chickens for a long time now and feed prices are crazy these days....my coop of 70 Buckeye breeders go thru about $90 worth of feed per WEEK in the winter and even more during peak laying season. Before I got into Buckeyes I raise the real RIR's....cocks that were 10 pounds and hens that weighed around 7 pounds! Those RIR's were BIG eaters, too but nothing like Buckeyes.


Originally they were from a hatchery but a good share were hatched here now. I don't know what more to tell you. I've been raising birds since 1995, and horses et al all my life. I don't know why your birds eat so much grain, mine just don't need it. My hens weigh maybe 3 lbs, the roosters tend to be about six pounds. There's grain always available, inside and out. Perhaps it's because they also eat hay? I don't have any pasture or lawn, the garden is the only real green spot, so hay is also always available. The birds forage all day, in with the horses and throughout the woods. We have a pond with a surrounding swamp, lots of green there. We give them everything leftover from the kitchen (we both like to cook) except meat (that goes to the dogs) and that's it. I buy a hundred pounds of grain for them, for the geese, and for the horses. The yard food (mixed in the horse grain, and tossed out in the yard every morning) is whole corn and crimped oats. The birds get to have what the horses don't eat. The hay, a bale a day, costs 6.50 each. That's the most expensive. Grain prices are high, but Canada had a better year than out west so our grain still costs about $15/50 lbs, though that price can change at any moment. We are on a fixed income so we have to budget feed carefully. When I go to Blue Seal to buy everything, I spend around $120 on grain for the "regulars": two bags each of crumbles, pelleted goose food, pelleted horse feed, and one bag each crimped oats, whole corn. There's also The Immortal Sister Mary Betsy Alice Cooper aka The Walkabout Pone Pone Who Lurks Behind The Door, our ancient Shetland mare we call Betsy. She eats old pony food and alfalfa cubes; $40. There is also the dogs, they eat 25 lbs/mos; $25. All this plus the hay, $195. I budget for $400/mos, to include supplements or anything else we need for the animals. Now, the hens make about $4/day and the geese will lay, with seven girls, about 350 eggs; $85 at a quarter apiece. Sooo, I spend $4800/yr and get $1525 (if all goes well). Like I said, the chickens pretty much for themselves and the geese. The horses and dogs, well, they're the closest thing we've got to family, so we spring for the $3275 or about $280/mos. About a new truck payment. So I drive an old Saab instead.


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## piglett

BuckeyeChickens said:


> How do you feed 30 chickens a month for $30???


you free range them or have a huge area fenced on for them to get most of their living out of. in the rite season (lots of grass) my feed bill is almost zero. feed em breakfast & then turn em loose

it also really depends on the breed. we had a mixed flock of RIR's & buff orpingtons
the RIR's would stand next to the empty feeder for 1/2 a day while the orps were out digging & thrashing for bugs/worms or whatever they could find. in time the reds learned & did catch on. i ended up selling the RIR pullets & now the only large foul here is the orps both english & american


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## etc

Love all the replies to this post. My Rhode Island Reds LOVE to free range, but then all of ours do. They enjoy every opportunity to graze. Don't we all! If I consider free ranging and left over veggies free and bartering eggs for other goodies, then I guess I actually do turn a profit. It's all in what we consider an expense. If I have to use electricity to run the pump to get the water to keep vegetation growing so the hens can free range, then I consider it an expense. I guess it's all how you do your bookkeeping. LOL


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## patlet

etc said:


> Love all the replies to this post. My Rhode Island Reds LOVE to free range, but then all of ours do. They enjoy every opportunity to graze. Don't we all! If I consider free ranging and left over veggies free and bartering eggs for other goodies, then I guess I actually do turn a profit. It's all in what we consider an expense. If I have to use electricity to run the pump to get the water to keep vegetation growing so the hens can free range, then I consider it an expense. I guess it's all how you do your bookkeeping. LOL


I hear you there! I look at the expenses as "what do I buy just for them". If it weren't for the geese and horses, I would have to boost my hen food allocation! But then I'd sell my eggs for $3/doz like everyone else.


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## piglett

patlet said:


> I hear you there! I look at the expenses as "what do I buy just for them". If it weren't for the geese and horses, I would have to boost my hen food allocation! But then I'd sell my eggs for $3/doz like everyone else.


freerange eggs can sell for way more than what those 2 month old eggs in the store go for $3 to $5 is no problem

it's not 1990 boys & girls & feed isn't $5 a bag
people will pay for a quality product


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## Energyvet

I just paid $4.29 for a dozen. You could charge way more. $2.00 a doz. is too low


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## BuckeyeChickens

piglett said:


> freerange eggs can sell for way more than what those 2 month old eggs in the store go for $3 to $5 is no problem
> 
> it's not 1990 boys & girls & feed isn't $5 a bag
> people will pay for a quality product


It depends on where you live and the "market".....I stopped selling eggs for human consumption 5 years ago after I raised my prices from $2 to $2.50 because of so many complaints! I ONLY sell hatching eggs, the eggs I don't sell or use for hatching chicks are consumed by family and/or friends. ALL of the people in this area that I know and talk to are still priced at $2 to $2.50 per dozen for "free range" eggs because that's what people here are willing to pay! Buyers will go to Walmart and pay $1.99 per dozen for BROWN eggs because they don't know the difference between a "free range" or "cage" kept fowl that the eggs come from....our buyers are apparently not very sophisticated in SW Ohio?!?! On the other hand I know a farmer about 30 miles from me that gets $6.50 per dozen for BROWN eggs....he claims they are free range and organic but they are not (i've seen his operation)....his customers all drive up in $100,000 cars from the wealthy suburbs of Cincinnati to buy "raw milk" from his dairy and when they started asking for eggs he bought a few chickens. He can't keep up with the demand for either his "raw milk" or eggs! A lot of it has to do with your local market and competition.

I'll keep selling my Buckeye eggs for $40 to $60 a dozen and that should cover my feed costs just fine!!!

Yup, feed certainly doesn't cost $5 a bag anymore....I remember paying $4.89 for a 50# bag of layer when I first started raising chickens....those were the good ol' days!!! LOL


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## colingm

I sell my eggs for $ 6.00 per dozen but then I live in New Zealand we pay about $150.00 per month on feed. We can make up to $300.00 per month. We feed twice a day and they freerange as well.


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## BuckeyeChickens

colingm said:


> I sell my eggs for $ 6.00 per dozen but then I live in New Zealand we pay about $150.00 per month on feed. We can make up to $300.00 per month. We feed twice a day and they freerange as well.


How many chickens do you have?


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## colingm

BuckeyeChickens said:


> How many chickens do you have?


 Ha ha we have somewhere around 70: 35 laying hens: 3 broody mum hens they look after to nursery which now has about 20 or so 4 week olds: next we have 12 teenagers (12 - 14 weeks old) mixed hens and roosters: then we have my 2 big boys that rule the roost.

Lucky for us we live rural and have the space.


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## BuckeyeChickens

colingm said:


> Ha ha we have somewhere around 70: 35 laying hens: 3 broody mum hens they look after to nursery which now has about 20 or so 4 week olds: next we have 12 teenagers (12 - 14 weeks old) mixed hens and roosters: then we have my 2 big boys that rule the roost.
> 
> Lucky for us we live rural and have the space.


I wish I could "free range" my Buckeye breeding stock....have the land but it's not practical to do so with breeders....it would certainly lower my cost in terms of feed because I maintain about 70 breeders and it cost me approximately $500 a month to feed them at today's feed prices! Thanks for the reply Colingm....hope to visit your country in the future, too.


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## colingm

When you come to NZ let me know. What I have done is enclose my chooks in a large fenced off area. Our nursery is separate again. We ate not yet looking at breeding but there us the opportunity for that soon.







main run for layers and teens








Nursery for growing chicks


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## piglett

BuckeyeChickens said:


> I wish I could "free range" my Buckeye breeding stock....have the land but it's not practical to do so with breeders....it would certainly lower my cost in terms of feed because I maintain about 70 breeders and it cost me approximately $500 a month to feed them at today's feed prices! Thanks for the reply Colingm....hope to visit your country in the future, too.


 i always say "buy fence not feed"
why? because you only have to buy good quality fence 1 time
not every month.

even if you could get some of them out freeranging you would be better off.

piglett


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## LICHICK28

I am new to this site & still learning how every thing works here. I thought I had a choice of making thumbs down also when clicking "like this post" In No way did I like the response post from Nickynick made to Toybarons. He asked for the honest truth but doesn't really want to hear it and that's the end of that. I breed & raise silkies. Silkies are all I have. I sell some chicks/young adults off & make some money but all of it goes back into buying supplies for them. Just wanted to get that cleared up. Thanks, J


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## BuckeyeChickens

piglett said:


> i always say "buy fence not feed"
> why? because you only have to buy good quality fence 1 time
> not every month.
> even if you could get some of them out freeranging you would be better off.
> piglett


Good fencing is NOT my problem, piglett, avian predators are! We have dozens of hawks, eagles and owls around the area (yes, eagles!) and tons of trees for the to sit waiting for their next meal....this is the main reason we don't "free range" our Buckeye breeding stock. Years ago we used bantams as "hawk bait" and this worked for a while since the hawks prefered the smaller lighter colored fowl over a large Buckeye but we just have too many BIG redtails and now bald eagles along with horned and barred owls....the owls get any straglers going to roost or the early risers while the hawks and eagles work them over during the day! Since I won't shoot these birds of prey I have elected to keep my Buckeyes cooped....."free range" just isn't an option.


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## BuckeyeChickens

LICHICK28 said:


> .....In No way did I like the response post from Nickynick made to Toybarons. *He asked for the honest truth but doesn't really want to hear it and that's the end of that.* Thanks, J


I believe you got your point across "J" and you are correct some people just can't handle an "honest opinion" from others!!!


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## piglett

BuckeyeChickens said:


> Good fencing is NOT my problem, piglett, avian predators are! We have dozens of hawks, eagles and owls around the area (yes, eagles!) and tons of trees for the to sit waiting for their next meal....this is the main reason we don't "free range" our Buckeye breeding stock. Years ago we used bantams as "hawk bait" and this worked for a while since the hawks prefered the smaller lighter colored fowl over a large Buckeye but we just have too many BIG redtails and now bald eagles along with horned and barred owls....the owls get any straglers going to roost or the early risers while the hawks and eagles work them over during the day! Since I won't shoot these birds of prey I have elected to keep my Buckeyes cooped....."free range" just isn't an option.


OOOooh they are flying in to get their meals
i thought you might have ***** or foxes
i can see how large birds could be a big problem for you
my orpingtons are big enough that the hawks have a tough time flying away with them. but new hampshire isn't ohio so i'm sure you know your area better than i do.
well if you can sell enough eggs/day olds i guess you will get your money back & then some.

good luck
piglett


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## piglett

LICHICK28 said:


> I am new to this site & still learning how every thing works here. I thought I had a choice of making thumbs down also when clicking "like this post" In No way did I like the response post from Nickynick made to Toybarons. He asked for the honest truth but doesn't really want to hear it and that's the end of that. I breed & raise silkies. Silkies are all I have. I sell some chicks/young adults off & make some money but all of it goes back into buying supplies for them. Just wanted to get that cleared up. Thanks, J


 can i ask how many silkies you have?
we have 2 adult hens plus 8 twelve week old chicks 
any idea how old a silkie rooster has to be before he can sire chicks?
i know the hens take a long time before they start to lay

thanks
piglett


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## LICHICK28

I have quite a few silkies. I noticed Memphis (8 months old) trying the other day but I am not hatching out right now since it is still too cold & my husband had enough with chicks in the laundry room, so I don't know if they are fertilized. My Presley started at 10 months old but is now reaching 6 yrs old & I noticed that fertilization rate is slowing down. My hens start laying at about 8-9 months old.


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## piglett

LICHICK28 said:


> I have quite a few silkies. I noticed Memphis (8 months old) trying the other day but I am not hatching out right now since it is still too cold & my husband had enough with chicks in the laundry room, so I don't know if they are fertilized. My Presley started at 10 months old but is now reaching 6 yrs old & I noticed that fertilization rate is slowing down. My hens start laying at about 8-9 months old.


sounds like the old roo is getting past his prime
maybe you can get him to sire a couple of youngsters to take his place this year. they could pick up the slack. my silkie babies are now 12 weeks old, i hope by may/june they start laying for me. my 2 adult silkie hens alnost never miss a day laying.
i know all about babies in the house (20 in the bathroom is no fun at all)

piglett


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## LICHICK28

My Presley is such a sweet heart & I know he is getting older & it is effecting his fertility. All my breeding hens are under two yrs old. I have a dz 3 mo. olds & it looks like there is a roo in that pack from him. I also got a young roo (Memphis) now 8-9 mo old from a breeder at the sussex fair NJ a couple of months ago for new blood. Cant wait to get the bators started next month


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## kaufranc

This is me!!!


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## Kokoschicks

kaufranc said:


> This is me!!!


Love this pic!


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## piglett

LICHICK28 said:


> My Presley is such a sweet heart & I know he is getting older & it is effecting his fertility. All my breeding hens are under two yrs old. I have a dz 3 mo. olds & it looks like there is a roo in that pack from him. I also got a young roo (Memphis) now 8-9 mo old from a breeder at the sussex fair NJ a couple of months ago for new blood. Cant wait to get the bators started next month


 we have a test hatch that just started yesterday (just 10 eggs)
we will see how that goes before we load it up with 41 eggs.
if the 8/9 month old is unrelated to all the others i would say that he is your boy. they can start to have problems over time if no new blood is added.

good luck
piglett


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## LICHICK28

The 8-9 month old is new blood, that's why I got him. I knew the older roo was starting to have issues from the dz.3 mo. olds I have now. Out of 41 eggs 13 were fertilized & 12 hatched. The younger roo gets along with him & hopefully it stays that way.


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## piglett

LICHICK28 said:


> The 8-9 month old is new blood, that's why I got him. I knew the older roo was starting to have issues from the dz.3 mo. olds I have now. Out of 41 eggs 13 were fertilized & 12 hatched. The younger roo gets along with him & hopefully it stays that way.


 wow 13 out of 41
yup the old boy has seen better days
if they start to not get along you might have to put the old boy & whichever hen he favors in a different pen.
let him live out his days because he is way too tough even for chciken soup.

good luck
piglett


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## LICHICK28

Chicken soup! Never. I had him shipped from Maryland & don't want to think about how much he cost me. Any way I have bad memories of my father making us eat our chickens after they stopped laying & I still remember sitting at the table for hours because I wouldn't eat them. He will be with me until the end. Nothing wrong with eating your birds, they are probably delicious but not for me


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## piglett

LICHICK28 said:


> Chicken soup! Never. I had him shipped from Maryland & don't want to think about how much he cost me. Any way I have bad memories of my father making us eat our chickens after they stopped laying & I still remember sitting at the table for hours because I wouldn't eat them. He will be with me until the end. Nothing wrong with eating your birds, they are probably delicious but not for me


it's not for everyone& i can understand that.
however my wife is from the Philippines, this is a place where many people skip meals. why? well because they have nothing to eat, i'm talking ZERO food in the house. we had a big time chicken roundup on craigslist when the weather was still warm. any time we could get free roosters or old laying hens & they were within an hour of us we went rite on down & picken them up.
the standup freezer is still looking rather full )))
she has never had so much food in her life & she is about to turn 30.

our cat has a name, our chickens don't
we would never eat the cat it's a pet 
the chickens on the other hand are just farm animals
some will end up in the pot
some will get sold
some will be kept for breeding
some will be kept for laying
some might even be given away 
but if yours are more pets to you , that's ok with me
it's still a free country 

take care
piglett


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## patlet

Got about twenty "comfort hens" today. A neighbor has some old hens and I have too many young roosters. I probably won't get an egg out of them but the producing hens won't be so harassed. We added one Brahma (I like Brahmas), four barred rocks, a couple of sex-links, an Arucana, a brown leghorn, NH red and RIRs. Adds a lot more color to the flock.


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## piglett

patlet said:


> Got about twenty "comfort hens" today. A neighbor has some old hens and I have too many young roosters. I probably won't get an egg out of them but the producing hens won't be so harassed. We added one Brahma (I like Brahmas), four barred rocks, a couple of sex-links, an Arucana, a brown leghorn, NH red and RIRs. Adds a lot more color to the flock.


come spring even old hens tend to lay some, they might be taking a break just durring the short days of winter.
how many roos do you have? craigslist is a great place to post an ad if you need to rehome a few. that is where i got my main boy. my buff orpington started to get a crooked beak, well that's no good for breeding so i needed a replacement ASAP. he was free & is doing a great job looking out for my girls.

piglett


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## LICHICK28

I had a 10 year old frizzle that still layed until the week she died, so wait on the old girls. They will start when the day light is longer. I have 3 windows in my coop for that reason. I breed & raise silkies. The birds I have took much time & some times frustration in breeding them to get the standard that I am now proud to have. They all have names with color coded bands, that's how I distinguish them from one another, when I set up breeding pairs. I could number them but I find it more fun to just name them. The birds we had as a child had names that's why I found it so strange & heart breaking to have them on the dinner table. My father got a few for me when I was about 9-10 because I kept putting eggs from the fridge under the radiators in our Brooklyn apt. to hatch them out. We were dirt poor but my father tried his best in making sure we had healthy meals even if it was not enough to fill 5 hungry kids. This is a hobby for me but if I had meat birds I would find nothing wrong with learning how to properly cull & serve them for dinner. They would be better than what is sold in super markets I'm sure.


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## piglett

we have chicken twice a week & it is NEVER from the store
most of what we have are dp birds so they have plenty of meat on them 
the silkies on the other hand are not very big so once i find out who is roo & who is hen
i'll see if i can run an ad on craigslist for the extra boys


piglett


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## BuckeyeChickens

*yawn....*



Nickynick said:


> Hey, I'm 20 and I'm looking to make some money on th side....... Thanks y'all . Btw I'm in middle georgia


This thread has completely drifted from the original question....moderator should make it an "open chat" thread since the posted seems to left the building after only 2 posts?!?!?


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