Help me get my "homestead" started - Chickens, Ducks, and Bees

[nyone]

For chickens do a real cost analysis on eggs vs feed cost vs buying local eggs. I found it's far cheaper in time and money to just buy eggs. This dosnt include any loss that will eventually happen. Everything eats chickens.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

For chickens do a real cost analysis on eggs vs feed cost vs buying local eggs. I found it's far cheaper in time and money to just buy eggs. This dosnt include any loss that will eventually happen. Everything eats chickens.

It's not really about the cost. I know it's easier just buying eggs. It's more of a hobby to play with. I like messing around outside.

 

[kcflhrc]

Chickens are great and for me are fantastic pets. The most we ever had were 13 and now down to 5. They have a great coop and run. I only let them out when I'm home and can watch them. All Hen's, never any roosters that we kept. One of the girls is my buddy. She will hop up and sit in my lap and want to be petted. It will be a sad day when she's gone. Plus they eat all kinds of bugs and ticks, great to have around. I have never lost a bird to a predator. They just die off for unknown reasons. The oldest birds are going on 7. The eggs are so much better than any store bought egg you can find. Is it cost effective, heck no, just fun to have them around.

 

[shooterdon]

Get the house up first. Forget the garden, livestock and bees. It will take you all spring and summer to have a home by the winter, and to be prepared for winter. If using wood for heat, you need to start cutting it ASAP so it has a chance to season a bit.

What you think will be fun can turn into work.

 

[EddieWalker]

For chickens do a real cost analysis on eggs vs feed cost vs buying local eggs. I found it's far cheaper in time and money to just buy eggs. This dosnt include any loss that will eventually happen. Everything eats chickens.

There is a lot of truth in this. We sell eggs for $4 a dozen. On average, we sell about ten dozen eggs a week. We go through 3 sacks of feed per week at $10 a sack. This also includes feeding a dozen ducks, 5 swan geese, half a dozen guineas and quite a few older chickens that no longer lay eggs, and some roosters. That remaining $10 is eaten up with the fuel and time getting feed, electricity to the barn to keep the LED lights on all night, and the cost of egg cartons.

The cost of the coop is never recovered. I'm easily in the hole thousands of dollars. It makes zero financial sense to raise chickens to sell eggs.

But it makes a lot of sense to have them if you eat eggs, and you use them for your home made dog food, which we do. Our 6 dogs eat 2 eggs a day, at least. Some are hard boiled because they like that better, others get them raw, over their food, because they like that better.

During the shutdown, we sold more eggs then ever before, but we also traded eggs for all sorts of things. A dozen eggs was better then cash!!! Friends would drive out to our place and bring meat, cleaning products, cheese, veggies, and even beer for eggs. For us, that proved that having chickens was more then worth what we spent on everything so far.

Now I'm spending a small fortune building up our goat operation with an obscene amount of money on fencing, then a small barn, and then making the small barn into a large barn. It's a never ending money pit, but it also creates stability for us, and our dogs.

We have 24 raised vegetable beds and enough room to triple that. We plan to run water from the pond to water the gardens. We are also going to build a green house as big as possible. Huge is the goal!!

I don't see any way that we will ever make enough money on any of this to break even, but once it's built, and the money is spent, we do expect to be able to raise enough food to significantly reduce what we spend at the store.

It's not about the money, it's about creating a home where we are less dependent on the supply chain.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

I found a local beekeeping farm that provides classes and has equipment and bees available. So bees are a go for spring 2022!!

Ducks just showed up at Tractor Supply. I'm going to get a place set up to raise little ones this week and try to get several little ducks by the end of the week. May hold off on chickens for a bit.

 

[GE7EA]

I applaud your efforts Lil Big John. What you are embarking on is a journey. Nothing worth having is done overnight. My advice on bees, is learn all you can. We have bees and lost at least one hive this year to freezing. Never have lost bees due to varroa mites or hive beetles. They do pretty well on their own, once established. We opt to not treat our bees because they've been designed to be able to adapt to what ails them if given a chance. Contrary to popular belief, man can't fix everything. We have chickens and turkeys as well. We've tried to get dual purpose chicken breeds but primarily we use them for eggs. The turkeys we have were on the critical list, so we got them to help sustain the heritage breeds. Narragansett turkeys and Red Rock Farmstead turkeys. Best tasting bird I've ever eaten. Hoping to breed them this year. We use movable self made turkey tractors and have recently purchased electric poultry fence from premier1. We'll move them once a week instead of daily once that gets going. I'm considering doing cornish croix chickens this year for self consumption. Strictly a meat bird. We've had a few in the past and despite giving them the best like possible, breeding has made their lives pretty unfulfilling. To the point of cost of doing vs. cost of going to grocery, consider what you're contributing to. Knowledge you will attain, etc. Anyone can go to the grocery store. We lost a lot of what used to be fundamental knowledge and replaced it with directions to the grocery store. Polyface Farms has a lot of resources and information available concerning regenerative farming. Basically utilizing pasture rotation while building soil and keeping animals happy. There is joy in the journey.

 

[SandburRanch]

When we had laying hens they were always free ranged because of the egg quality that purchased feed can't match . If i were to do it again i would have a moat pen around the garden for the chickens to aid with insect control . A good dog of the correct breeding and raised from a pup on your property is invaluable for predator protection . Something i learned later in life is confined laying hens turned out 1 to 2 hours before roost time to free range don't need to be driven back to the hen house because they will go back naturally if they were confined in that building when they were babies . Leave the door open and just go close it after dusk /dark . Oh there may be 1 renegade that wants to revert back to the wild and roost in a tree but that's ok because she probably isn't a good layer anyway .

Winter feed:
Winter Wheat pasture is good or if confined good leaf-ey Alfalfa hay ( yes that's right , Quality HAY , whole oats ( watch the weight when you buy ) , and Oyster shells . As always , table scraps being they are Omnivores especially clabered milk or just any extra milk if you milk a cow . With this feed program you'll see orange yokes and whites that don't run all over the skillet .

The best book i ever read to care for farm animals is -- Feeds and Feeding by Morrison . It's a compilation of information from Ag universities .

Raise Broiler chicks to butcher and Leghorns or Rhode Island Reds for eggs or a cross of those 2 .

Before entering the hen /chicken house knock on the door , especially with the flighty / nervous Leghorns .

 

[ericm979]

We have a lot of predators in our area. The four legged kind I mean. Free ranging the chickens isn't possible. We had to fence in the pen and then fence over the top of the pen to keep the bobcats out. The coop has automatic doors that close at night. The chickens learn to go inside.

We're not dog people but even if we were the dog can't patrol 24/7 like the predators do. It's got to sleep. Inside. We have predators that will eat dogs.

Yes you can shoot predators (if it's legal and safe to do so, downrange etc.) but more will show up and you can't be out there 24/7 either.

Ask around what your neighbors are doing. Local intel will be worth more than generic info from the internet.

The chickens are good at recycling kitchen scraps and garden surpluses and some weeds. They eat a lot of stuff but not everything.

Home grown eggs are way different from regular supermarket eggs. They have a flavor, and since they're fresh and weren't stored for a month, the yolks stand up.

 

[Oaktree]

I found a local beekeeping farm that provides classes and has equipment and bees available. So bees are a go for spring 2022!!

I wouldn't rush into it, bees can be a lot of work. My sister keeps them and she generally loses a hive each winter. Granted, Arkansas isn't NEK Vermont, but you got good advice upthread to get to know other beekeepers in your area first.

Ericm979 had a lot of good advice too.

One thing you haven't mentioned yet is how you plan to support yourself while getting established. A day job is best, but it'll take away a lot of time from building your home and getting settled. Even once you're well established, you'll find it's a tough lifestyle.