[Fisherman]

Over the last 12 months or so I have recorded details of my new experience of chicken keeping which will hopefully help someone else starting out as it can be rather daunting in the initial stages. My original aim of keeping chickens was to produce fresh eggs as I was fed up of buying poor quality eggs from supermarkets and local producers. I did read a lot of information on the subject both in books and on the internet including the many threads on this great web site in order to fully understand the commitments. Due to being a bit of spreadsheet freak I recorded all the stats including expenditure and egg production which are summarised below. I have not included cost for constructing the coop, pen, auto pop hole opener etc. as I was in a fortunate position of having access to all the materials necessary. Costs for these items do need to be considered when starting out and can quite easily run into several hundred pounds or more. There are some good threads on this website on coop design and also on fox protection which should be taken into consideration. Just recently a local chicken keeper to me had his entire flock of 20 plus birds whipped out overnight by a fox having forgotten to shut the coop pop hole door! So here goes: -

•   Coop, run and auto pop hole manufactured January – March 2010 and capable of housing up to 10 birds although the intention was to purchase a maximum of 5 birds initially. My thoughts and coop design and were based on “room for expansion”!

•   The run was constructed allowing 2 Sq. Mts. per bird which is generally recommended as the minimum size.

•   I had already decided on Hybrid chickens based on all the comments on how easy they are to keep in comparison to Pure Breeds. So I chose to buy 3 Blackrocks, 1, Speckeldy and 1 Blue Ranger.

•   Feed / Drink Products - items bought prior to collecting the birds included: -
Drinker, Feeder & Pellets, Grit Container & Grit, Oyster Shell Container & Oyster Shell, Mixed Corn.

•   Health Care & Cleaning - items bought prior to collecting the birds included: -
Diatom to help minimise coop pests like red mite. Flubenvet to eliminate internal parasites. Poultry Shield disinfectant for cleaning the coop. Frontline was bought at a later date after getting that itchy feeling. It’s a product used to kill lice on kittens and is not licensed for chickens but loads of people use it.

•   As for the coop bedding I chose to use Hemcore which I have since found to be a very good product.

•   I searched around for various chicken suppliers and eventually went to collect my Point of Lay (POL) birds from my chosen supplier on the 27th March 2010. Sounds daft but it was quite an exciting day. In hindsight I should have visited more suppliers before choosing my birds in order to get a better idea of what a good quality, healthy bird should look like. If possible it would be wise to have an experienced chicken keeper with you to give advice. You live and learn!

•   The birds arrived home and were put in their brand new coop with the doors closed and left in for the rest of the day and overnight.

•   The following day they were released in their run and seemed to be a happy bunch. Not a great lot of aggression to sort the pecking order out and to this day I am not sure which is top bird but I do know which is bottom bird.

•   After a few days I thought I had better check each bird out and went about catching them which proved to be easier said than done. Checked the birds feet, beaks, eyes and feathers and that’s when I got the itchy feeling as I noticed a few little brown things running about on their skin. Off to the animal feed store for the Frontline which I have to say worked remarkably well and quick.

•   The birds were also treated with Fubenvet which is said to be the best wormer to use and recommended by most on this site. In future I will always treat new birds immediately for both internal and external parasites irrespective of where the birds come from.

•   Just over a week later on the 9th April one of the Blackrocks laid the first egg. Straight to the kitchen it went and was duly poached. DELICIOUS.Egg production rapidly increased to 5 a day every day which was very pleasing indeed.

•   Then on the 20th May I noticed the Blue Ranger sneezing a little which in the next couple of days spread to the rest of the flock. One of the Blackrocks started to deteriorate more than the others so off to the vets I went. The vet wasn’t sure what the ailment was but prescribed Tylan to be given to the Blackrock by using a syringe and to the other birds via their drinker. One day later the sickly Blackrock died and all the other birds returned to good health without the use of any antibiotics. Could possibly be Mycoplasma but I am not sure. The birds have been in good health since so it’s a bit of a mystery.

•   Egg production has continued since and throughout the winter although it did reduce during the extreme cold weather.

•   Wet weather made it messy in the run so I added a roof to half of it last autumn which improved things greatly, I tried various run floor products and ended up finding coarse sand to be the best. I tried Q&B play bark chippings and what a mess that turned out to be!
 
•   The chickens free range when I am at home in a small field and my vegetable plot. As soon as they see me with a spade or fork they come running as they now associate with me out gardening as a source of their favourite food – worms. Not sure if the vegetable growing will be too successful this year if they have their way as they soon trash any area they fancy!

•   Here’s a summary of the stats to date: -

Feed / Drink Products £150.81
Health Care & Cleaning £86.70
Bedding - £34.00
Vet Fees – 19.58
Birds - £50.00
Carriage - £22.52
Total - £363.61

Eggs Produced – 1,414 which equates to 3.70 per day.

Cost equates to £3.09 per dozen eggs . The second year will obviously be cheaper as the start up costs won't be repeated.

Don’t forget the coop and run costs are not included in the above which could easily double the costs.



•   A number of recommendations and things to consider: -

Treadle feeders are a time saving device and just need topping up with pellets every week or so.
Automatic drinkers help in the same way.
Automatic pop hole openers are a good aid and give peace of mind although if you buy one rather than make your own they can be expensive.
Consider who would look after your birds if you were away on holiday.


Chicken keeping at home isn’t about making money it’s about the enjoyment and knowing that your birds are being kept healthy, happy and in good condition. I can’t believe the amount of time I have spent watching the chickens and how they have made me laugh over the last 12 months. All in all a very rewarding experience. The eggs are also good too.


Hope the above helps someone starting off somewhere.

Good Luck

[gracie]

Good post, i shall save this one. My chicks are only 4 weeks old, do you think i should buy everything you bought in at this age to be prepared, is there a use by date, so that it would be better for me to wait a while.

[bantam novice]

Very useful, Fisherman, thanks 

[Fisherman]

Hi Gracie
I would buy things gradually over the next 2- 3 months or so to spread out the costs. Read up as much as possible to make sure you get the best products. I can only advise from POL onwards as I haven't reared chicks for years (now look what you've done  ). Small quantities can be bought to treat the birds so "use buy dates" shouldn't be an issue. I have probably gone over the top with the cleaning regime but have the view that prevention is better than cure. Biggest problem I had was in the winter with the wet conditions as the ground (clay) holds so much water. Bark chippings works for some as read on many posts but when I used them it turned into a swamp in days.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I still have enough feed for 3 months or so therefore cost will be less than those shown.

All the best with your chicks.

[LittleRedHen]

I really enjoyed reading this!  Wish I would have kept a diary of the first year with our hens.  One of ours went broody two months after she arrived, hatched out fertile eggs and raised her chicks.  It would have been fun to remember all the details!  Good on you!

[joyfull]

Can I please also point out that before getting any birds people find a local vet that is prepared to treat any ill ones (my vets also give them a free checkover like they do for cats and dogs etc), because if you end up with a chicken showing signs of an illness (remember they hide a lot of illnesses until they are really ill) you may not have time to find a good vet 

[Fisherman]

Just for interest this is an update to my post after 2 years of keeping 4 hybrid chickens: -

Expenditure
Feed / Drink Products £180.01
Health Care & Cleaning £87.60
Bedding - £45.65
Vet Fees – 19.58
Birds - £50.00
Carriage - £22.52
Total - £405.36

Total Eggs Produced = 2390
Cost Per Egg = £0.17
Cost Per Half Dozen Eggs = £1.02
Average Eggs Produced Per Day In The First 6 Months = 4
Average Eggs Produced Per Day In The Last 6 Months = 2.5
Average Eggs Produced Per Day Since Starting To Lay = 3.8

My start up cost were relatively low as I did not have to fund a coop and run. Assuming an additional cost for this of say £300 then the cost per half dozen eggs after 2 years would be around £1.75.

Apart from 1 day during this winter the birds have produced between 1 - 4 eggs per day.

Egg production is starting to decline but the birds are still laying in between 15 - 18 eggs per week.

In order to have continued egg production I estimate additional birds will be required in winter / early spring 2013.

All in all its as been a very enjoyable past time and I hope this gives further guidance to anyone starting out.

[sunshineband]

That's really interesting fisherman, thank you for sharing your experience 

[Pixiewish]

Really helpful fisherman. thanks   

[syman]

very interesting read. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[grinling]

May I ask how you use up 15-18  eggs a week as you cannot sell them if using frontline.

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Give them to family and friends?

[j00les]

wow great post agood read thanks 

[ANHBUC]

May I ask how you use up 15-18  eggs a week as you cannot sell them if using frontline.

I haven't read that before.  Duly noted for if I ever need to treat my birds.