If I want to raise chickens just for eggs for my family how many should I have? Also how much $ to feed them?

Question

five in my family, some extra eggs would be fine but don't wan't more than we know what to do with. I'm also wondering if it is cheap to feed them. Eggs have gotten high so I want to raise my own possibly to save money as well as for fun. Also any chicken raising tips would be appreciated. Thanks

Answer 1

It depends on how many eggs you eat!  With five in your family, if you had five hens, you should be fine.  A good laying hen will give you an egg roughly every 26 hours or so.

They are not hard to keep, they need feed every day (we feed a layer pellet and a little scratch and a 50lb bag of feed will last 5 hens several weeks.

They do need good shelter and protection from predators and to keep them laying in the winter, you will need to supplement their light so they get about 14 hours a day of sunlight/artificial light.  Without the additional lights, hens will not lay and won't start up again until spring.

Depending on your climate, the white egg laying breeds - leghorns or anconas are a good choice.  In a more temperate or colder climate, the brown egg varieties such as cochins, rocks or orpingtons are a better choice for steady egg production.

Good luck.

Answer 2

depends if your township allows you to keep barn yard animals.  check with your town ship before you go buying yourself a chicken.

Answer 3

I have 4 hens in a family of 3 - we get more eggs than we need and sell the extra eggs for $1 a dozen, which is cheap, far less than people sell free range eggs at markets... but I sell tofriends and am not doing it for profit..just because its extra eggs.

some breeds of hens lay more than others.

read BOTH these links, as both will be very helpful, one is on chickens in general, one is on breeds

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/Unusual-Pet...

http://www.gomestic.com/Pets/Pet-Chicken...

they are cheap to feed.  we feed laying ration, and offer chicken scratch as treats, plus they eat grass and bugs, and ends of brown bread...  

Answer 4

its not that expensive specially when u feed them stuff u already have such as lettuce, water, things like that....

Answer 5

chickens are disgusting they smell like s**+! and they are dirty so if you want contaminated s**+! eggs go right ahead and they are expencive

Answer 6

1.) Well it all depends of how many acrea you have. If you ive close to others and have an acre I would say 5 hens will do fine. I would say no more than 10 hens though. If you have a large area such as 3 acres you can have 25 at the most.

2.) Feed is getting costly so I would stick with just 5 or soo. The feed costs 11 dollars for a 50lb bag. Not too high but not too low of a price. That lasts me 1-3 months depending on how often you feed them, it lasts be 1-3 months for my 2 hens.

Other Information:

I recommend getting Australorps. They are heafty and large and are excellent layers of brown colored sometimes tan colored eggs. They are the #1 breed in my opinion. They lay 300+ eggs a year. They are black with a green tent but are soo friendly.

You need a safe coop for them that includes access to feed/water, roost, and nesting boxes. They need a roost because they feel safe off the ground. So a wooden rod will work for that puting i 2 feet or so off the ground. They need nesting boxes with straw in it so that there eggs will be clean when you collect them. ! box per 2 chickens. The pen needs to have a roofe and a barrier. Chicken wire or plywood is a great barrier. This keep cyotes and raccoons from grabbing them through teh fenceand so hawks cant swoop down and get them. I also would put rocks around the pen, foxes will dig so that will prevent them from doing that.

You dont neccessarily have to build a coop. If you have a fenced in yard thats all you need and befor it gwts dark put them in a cage in the garage or shed. I keep my 2 in the garage, they go in by themselfs without me making htem go in. Usually if you kee them in an an area for a while they will come back to that area cause htey know there safe.  

Answer 7

itr depends on how many eggs you require, when we were children we lived on a farm and i me and my sister had 12 chickens as pets and had an average of 4 or 5 eggs from each and day and my mun and dad had a farm shop we sold the ret in there

Answer 8

make sure you have the money to invest in a nice fenced area for them as well as shelter. when it comes to getting chickens get them when they are bitties, and hold them often and interact with them as much as possible, it pays off in the end. they will come up to you looking for food and just be near you, i know this because we had 12 at once. They all liked to be held because we handled them a lot. I cant recall how much chicken scratch is right now, but if you want eggs get some laying mash to add to it. We had to add it only once because they started popping out more eggs than we could eat, but family and friends took most off our hands.  Im guessing this is going to be your first set so start with 4 or 6, i suggest 4. And if you feel like you need more just add a chicken.

You will see "personality" in your chickens, and a pecking order; do not interfere with the pecking order. Because when you leave, it goes right back to normal, and not to mention that lil pea brain wont remember it lol. As for getting the bitties, look for bright and alert eyes. If a baby comes up to you its a keeper. Most will run from you at first, until they see you as a food source. Look for clean fluffy birds with no gross discharge. Keep them inside a large box lined with newspaper(you will change it often) feed and water. This is the messy part of chickens, when they are babyies. oh and dont go for any exotic colors or breeds, we got one black chicken before and it never tamed and was not a good layer. Go for white or Rhode island reds.

Go for gravity feeders when they are older, and automatic water containers. Chickens love pine straw to nest in. The egg part can be kinda messy, you will want to wash them; some may the nice and clean while others may have something stuck to them.

I wish you the best of luck with chickens!

p.s. you dont need a rooster to get eggs, if you get one you will have babies.

Answer 9

Its a chicken. how much could it eat. just give it whatever you don't eat for dinner and whatnot. HEY then it'll give you tastier eggs!

Answer 10

There are five people in your family, but how many eggs are you consuming a week? Thats what you need to look at.

If you get 5 chickens, they are going to lay an egg a day, so thats 25 eggs a week. Each person would only get 5 eggs a week, not counting the eggs you use to cook. If I were you, I would get about 8 and see how many eggs you are getting with those. Then you can adjust for more or less.

Right now, feed is costing anywhere from 9 dollars to 20 dollars a bag across the US. Your area determines what you are going to pay. Realistically, expect to spend at least 50 dollars a month on feed.

If you get them from chicks, they must be given a chick starter, then when adults they get layer crumble. You must also provide oyster shell. You can also give them many different kinds of kitchen scraps such as: Tomatos, Veggies, Fruit, Potatoes, Meat off the bone, etc.