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Raising Chickens For Eggs
By Melanie
The added bonuses are they will use up all your kitchen scraps instead of putting them through a waste disposal system and overloading the sewage plant or sending them to landfill. You will have the chicken wastes to use on the garden, (a very rich fertilizer), and they can be moved around in a mobile bottomless pen to do your garden weeding.
If you get a placid variety, they also make good pets for children, and if you get all the same color and one dies, you can pop another one in without the children noticing.
My favorites are ex-battery hens which are very placid and easy to pick up for a pet and you also have the satisfaction of giving them a happy life after the living hell of a battery cage. The last benefit I can think of, (there are probably many more!), is that you know exactly what goes into your eggs - no antibiotics and other drugs, etc.
P.S. You don't need a noisy old rooster either!
By Jo
By Alph
A great recipe I find is for French toast. Supposedly you should beat 3 eggs and add a drop of milk to make enough mixture for 4 slices. I always use one egg and add extra milk and it turns out just as nice, especially if you sprinkle a little bit of sugar and lemon on top!
By Triona
By Qryztufre
By Babbie
By Bailegirl
By Kladybug
They don't stink at all because we use what's known as a deep litter system. That's basically just keeping fresh straw in their coop for them to poop on and then when they scratch, they turn under their waste and you don't even smell it! Just keep adding straw. 3 or 4 times a year, just empty out the coop and use the litter in your garden or find a friend who gardens and give it to them as it's one of the best fertilizers money can buy.
As for the noise, it's also not a problem. You really don't hear them and the noises they make are cute, not obnoxious. We took all our neighbors fresh eggs occasionally, and as a result got to know the people living around us and made some new friends and not one of them even knew the chickens were there so they had no complaints!
We worked out a deal with a natural grocery where they give us all the produce they were going to throw out (it's all organic too!) to feed to the girls so the majority of their food is free and the organic food makes the eggs taste better!
This is BY FAR the way to go to get more eggs, especially if you have kids! Give them the responsibility of the chickens since it's so easy and fun! They'll love the fact that eggs can not only be white and brown but one breed even lays blue and Dr. Suess green!
Since the ladies came into our lives and our friends have actually seen how great and easy to care for they are, 3 of them have already added some chickens to their backyard and one is getting some tomorrow. It seems we started some kind of urban chicken movement where we live!
Anyway, I know this post is long, thanks for reading and good luck!
By Mandalyn
My "egg lady" is very particular and clean with her chickens. Always make sure this is the case. It shows in the taste of the egg, and the expense of it. I druther get eggs like this than raise my own chickens, I also live in the country, and could. But, it pays to have my "egg lady" to do it. The eggs taste so good, my teens that hated eggs, love these good country rich eggs.
By Glinda
By Nance
Hens are really nice to have. I love my chickens. We feed them cracked corn and kitchen scraps, they also get all the greenery when we weed gardens and all the gone over produce when we thin the fruit trees and other stuff.
By Shosha
By Rosie
Feel free to post your ideas for saving money on eggs below!
By
04/02/2008
I have always used the formula for purchasing eggs, which is, if the difference in price is 8 cents or less between large and extra large, I buy the extra large.
Has anyone else ever heard of this?
By
03/31/2008
I know of no case where chickens not kept under factory-farm conditions have spread bird flu, H5N1, to humans. There are many cases where the factory-bred sort, unhealthy to start with and with much poorer eggs, have been transmitters, mostly (so far) in East Asia.
Also, a recent pair of articles in Mother Earth News (I think available online) show eggs from hens living free are both more nutritious (including omega-3s!) and more plentiful.
By laramay (Guest Post)
03/30/2008
Keeping chickens is a good idea, but keep some things in mind before you get a flock. First, make sure you have a sturdy coop. If not, the raccoons and dogs will get them. Have a fenced off space for them as they will ruin your yard. Feed them commercial grain every day, not just scraps or they won't lay. Please don't give them meat scraps as it make them very aggressive. And remember that you don't need a rooster to get eggs.
By
03/29/2008
We have chickens and it is common to get a double yolked egg. Today, I got my first "triple yolked" egg.
By
03/29/2008
I disagree with advice for everyone to keep chickens in the yard or a homemade coop to provide eggs for their family. Give it more consideration than a suggestion that sounds good. We are talking about living things that require care 365 days a year, our attention to their safety and health.
Since this H5N1 virus is transmitted (currently) from bird to bird and has been known to be carried to otherwise unexposed flocks by migrating wild birds, keeping poultry just to save money on eggs probably isn't sound advice. It is a particularly bad idea for people to let their poultry "free range" for food and risk possible exposure to carriers of all manner of illnesses in the wild population.
Chickens need grains, they need grit, they need clean water and shelter. They need to be protected from the elements as well as natural enemies and torment of neighboring animals as well as others who might want to see if the chickens will eat this or that. The internet is full of wicked suggestions particularly regarding birds and we all know how cruel a child's curiosity can be.
Keeping a flock of any size requires a little more thought and effort than throwing some grains in the yard and providing water.
Chickens are at the bottom of the food chain. They have very little means of self-defense and have limited flying ability. There are predators to consider; snakes are very hard to fence out and are very fond of eggs, themselves; hawks and other birds of prey that will consider the chickens a tasty meal.
What will you do about your feather family members when your family wants to go on vacation? They need to be considered as pets and provided for because that's what they are when kept in the city.
Keeping chickens is not for everyone. I have been a commercial poultry farmer (cageless & free range) in the past as well as keeping a backyard flock in the city. Still, I do not recommend this unless the folks that want to try it are aware they are also adopting/buying additional pets that need daily care. If you are not a "pet person," abandon the idea of keeping chickens to save a few dollars on eggs.
Instead, I would suggest folks buy freeze-dried or dehydrated eggs. When re-hydrated, they will not fool anyone and are less than appealing as scrambled, but are equal to normal eggs when used in recipes calling for them. The best place I've found is http://store.honeyvillegrain.com/in ... p?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=631 One 2.5 # can is equal to 85+ eggs and is non perishable. You can buy whole eggs, all white or all yolks to reduce waste when making recipes calling for one component or the other.
Otherwise, continue to buy eggs for your french toast from your store or someone who does keep chickens.
By DiJones (Guest Post)
03/28/2008
I saw that Triona says 3 eggs for 4 pieces of french toast. I often get away with one egg for two pieces of toast. First, I put three eggs in the blender, add about a tablespoon of cooking oil, , a little vanilla, a touch of cinnamon and about 2 teaspoons of sugar. Turn on the blender and it whips the eggs up. The added oil helps prevent sticking to the pan. The eggs make more toast because they have air whipped into them. The french toast is lighter. My family loves it this way.
By Leighla Donovan (Guest Post)
03/28/2008
The most obvious way to save money on eggs is to buy in bulk 2 1/2 dozen. One store may charge $4.99 and another store can charge $3.99. One carton of eggs is usually over $2 these days!
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