so i did a little research...first starting with some basic math...(no easy feat let me tell you)at 3 eggs a day that's 1,095 eggs consumed a year (more on the weekend when husband is home to eat breakfast with us-and i have not included the miscellaneous eggs used for baking and cooking but i'll factor that in later) so that means roughly 91 cartons a year and at $4.00 per carton that's roughly $364.00 a year in egg consumption. now while these chickens above are gorgeous i have no idea about their egg laying capability. from my understanding live chickens are pretty cheap. as little as 5 cents and up to somewhere in the hundreds. the average chicken for producing eggs is around 5 to 20 dollars. it apparently depends on what you want the chicken to do. and here is another fun little fact...YOU DON'T NEED A ROOSTER FOR A HEN TO LAY AN EGG!!!! i just assumed it was sex between the two and then some babies were made. silly (naive? retarded?) me. i mean...if the average chicken is producing 1-5 eggs a day...that's a lot of chicken pounding. poor chickens. lucky roosters. but that's not the case. crazy isn't it? the rooster is only needed to fertilize the eggs...for the egg to actually hatch into a chicken. otherwise it's just an egg. so now any vegetarians out there who thought that eating an egg was taking part in the massacre of a poor baby chick can now eat said egg with reckless abandon. now if..IF i do this i will most definitely do lots of research (as is my nerdy way) starting with all 3 of these books....
then i will have to get me one of these...it's called an eglu . 
it costs $515.00 and that includes 2 chickens. remember that i spend around $400.00 a year on eggs. so this will pay for itself very quickly. the company that makes it-omlet usa offers a pretty cool service too:
it costs $515.00 and that includes 2 chickens. remember that i spend around $400.00 a year on eggs. so this will pay for itself very quickly. the company that makes it-omlet usa offers a pretty cool service too:Omlet USA can deliver the eglu cube, chickens and feed direct to your door. To be able to do this we have developed a special service with the best hatcheries in the country. During their journey your chickens are kept warm and comfortable in a straw lined box and they have a delicious melon to eat so that they arrive well fed!
Your eglu cube will be delivered to you before your chickens are sent.
Your chickens are shipped around the 15th of each month. You can also order a 50lb bag of organic chicken feed from Omlet or you can pick some up locally. When you place your order we will be able to arrange a convenient delivery date for your chickens.
Your eglu cube will be delivered to you before your chickens are sent.
Your chickens are shipped around the 15th of each month. You can also order a 50lb bag of organic chicken feed from Omlet or you can pick some up locally. When you place your order we will be able to arrange a convenient delivery date for your chickens.
who wouldn't want to pick these up every morning?? 
what'dya think?
what'dya think? 
8 comments:
Oh you have to do it! Once you have your own home-raised eggs, you will never want another store bought egg again (even if they come from Whole Foods!). Trust me, my friend often gives us eggs from his chickens, and the yolks are so orange and the taste is superior to anything I have ever tasted. He feeds them strict vegetarian/organic diet and they roam free in a large gated area.
The way I justify spending money on organic, sustainable, local, and healhty food is that in the big picture, our medical bills are null and we are rarely sick. You are what you eat! It is the most important and wise gift you can give yourself and the fam! Good for you - and hey, just pack up and move to NoCal! You would go gaga over the incredible local garden varietals!
I say go to a farm and smell the chicken poop first.
If you can get over that hurdle then I say, why not?
You did make it sound rosy.
There is noise, you know, clucking. Then the clean up of poo. The feathers too.
Do you have space for them to roam? Do you have neighbors that would disagree?
I like your rosy outlook. I hope you can do it and post on it soon. I would love to hear all about it and see YOUR eggs and set up and if it is what you thought.
Cheers
I've always wanted to do this, too! Perhaps someday when we actually have a yard. In the meantime, there is a guy at our office who has free range hens at home, and if we bring him our empty egg cartons, he fills them up for us and brings them back for free! I think he has more eggs than his family can eat. :)
My family has chickens and they're not all that loud. They don't have a ton of them - just enough to lay eggs for family consumption. I say go for it if you have the space. A side note: I tried to get cozy with a hen once and it didn't go so well - so if you're looking for a little animal friend, I'd go with some other kind of foul.
we have chickens, and they don't smell bad if you have less than 10 or so. It's wonderful, especially if you have heritage varieties like you have posted here. They're so beautiful to look at, (eggs AND chickens).
Not much work either. Unless you go on vacation often, and need to find chicken-sitters.
This is a little late I know, but... the reason why vegetarians/vegans don't eat eggs is b/c the chickens born male (roosters) are thrown away alive/crushed alive/wood chipper alive/ect. as they are "worthless" b/c they don't produce eggs and are not of the right breed to be meat producing. This amounts to billions a year. Just thought you'd like to know the truth. Oh... and the same goes for organic/free range egg producing chickens.:( I hope you raise some of your own chickens :)
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