Yep, we did it. We got chickens again (Well, Scott and Carol Lee got us chickens again). Except we got four this time. They are kind of sad looking chickens. They were really beat up, and they are really skittish. I mean, I know chickens don't really like people, but these are extremely skittish. They seem to like all the bugs in my yard though. I'm all for that. I wonder if I will still like them when I plant my garden. Did I mention it was around 60 degrees today? Yeah, got to love St. George winters.
I figured with four chickens we'd have eggs up to our ears. Well, not so much. We don't get eggs...any. I'm not sure what happened. We got eggs at the beginning (and some were blue...those were fun)...and then...nothing. Dan brought home some oyster pellets to give the chickens extra calcium, but still nothing. Ah well. What can you do? They are getting fatter by the day though, so they are at least looking better. The kids named them superhero, whitey (yep, it's white), sword, and omelet (that was Dan's contribution to the naming). Great chicken names eh? I was kind of hoping the kids would be a little better than me on the naming issue, but apparently not.
So chickens...at least they eat bugs right? Who needs eggs anyway?
4 comments:
Getting them fat could be fun. Then you could teach your kids what else chickens are good for.
Shocked! that is what I am, but good for you.
Will these four make it through the summer?
So, chickens generally stop laying in the Winter. We have 11 and although we got 7-9 eggs/day in the Summer (and yes, we manage to eat nearly all of them ourselves somehow!!), we get 3-4/day now and I'm told that that's a lot. Also, the ones w/ the pretty colored eggs (green, etc.) don't lay as often either (most layer chickens lay an egg ever 1.5 days, on average, but these guys it's more like 2-3 days on average, I believe).
Anyways...we really like ours and are actually considering getting many more, although not for eggs...free-range organic chicken is FREAKING EXPENSIVE!!! So we're going to stock our freezer the old-fashioned way, lol. We had a few roosters that we raised and they have been pretty tasty! :P
Ooh, and I would highly recommend getting some cheap ol' chicken wire and putting it around the garden. I've been growing my cabbage, collards, broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower since last Fall (oh the wonders of living in the South!!) and the chickens ate it...ALL. Sigh.
Anyways...good luck!! Oh, and one other thing--while chickens lay eggs for 10 or so years, they only do them efficiently for about 2 years. So it's good to get new ones each year to replace the ones that are getting older and don't "earn their keep", lol.
I'm surprised. Good for you. Hope they start laying eggs after Winter.
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