Comments on Hazeltree Farm: Incubating chicken eggs

"I've done the calculations, and unless e...

2012-01-25T18:35:01.765+13:00

"I've done the calculations, and unless each chook is laying at least an egg a week, they're not paying their way."

See, for me, I can calculate "soil creation, etc" into the feed equation; soil and fertiliser they create is materials I don't have to buy in. I do compost those chooks that die of illness, but sometimes the death rate outstrips my compost's ability to break them down, and as our soil is undiggable, it's not a matter of whipping up a nice deep hole in a couple of minutes. 10-15mins of back-breaking work is required for a safe depth (ie where the foxes can't get it).

So that goes into the equation too. Against all that, 800g of feed a week is affordable :)

If I had nice soft fertile soil, the equation would change dramatically, I suspect ...

Oh, and we'll be offering the surplus males fr...

2012-01-25T15:58:23.381+13:00

Oh, and we'll be offering the surplus males from the breeding program (assuming it is successful) to various friends around town. So nothing will be wasted.

The old chooks will end up on the compost heap, and be recycled too.

I only wish that, when I'm old enough to be of no use any longer, that someone will be sensible enough to "off" me humanely, and put me on the compost heap too!

I'd much rather be recycled in some organic farm somewhere, and used to grow veggies, than be put in some stupid fancy casket in a horrible graveyard full of yew trees.

But, like I said, I'm a realist.

Hi Infoadict - The problem is, we have to feed the...

2012-01-25T15:55:33.379+13:00

Hi Infoadict - The problem is, we have to feed them!

Although when they free range they don't eat much in the summer, in the winter their food bill goes up quite substantially.

I've done the calculations, and unless each chook is laying at least an egg a week, they're not paying their way.

Some of our elderly chooks aren't even laying that now, and I just can't pay for them to hang around as retirees, when they're not producing anything.

Also they're taking up housing space that we could be filling with producing hens.

So, out they go.

Maybe I'm a bit more brutal than some, but I'm just a realist. We can't afford to keep superannuated chooks. I'm guessing some of these are more than five years old. They've had a terrific life, but now is time to join the compost heap.

Note that superannuated chooks still do an excelle...

2012-01-24T14:18:29.154+13:00

Note that superannuated chooks still do an excellent job of creating manure and compost and turning unpleasant bits of ground into lovely soft soil. Instead of dispatching them, maybe they could be housed in a portable tractor and moved from spot to spot to deal with problems like weeds (nothing kills a bunch of weeds like chooks digging them up), creating new garden beds without digging, and other such tasks?

I made a decision right at the start of my chook-keeping career that non-layers were welcome to stay as soil creation machines (heh), as I simply don't have enough soil to turn down the free work they provide. I'm gradually starts on the tractor concept, and it's already created us a self-seeded bed of corn (whether it fruits is a different matter!).

Besides, my chooks seem to drop dead of their own accord without my having to dispatch them *sigh*.

I've found I can't actually kill a chook unless its death is justified by incurable illness or my dinner requirements (for surplus cockerels, the inevitable result of hatching eggs). Even if they're not laying, their utility as weedkillers, compost creators, soil management, mulch spreaders, fertilisers, and mouse dispatch are too valuable for me to lose just because they no longer lay much.

I do suspect your soil is much, much better than mine (ie you have some!), so maybe the chooks aren't required for the non-egglaying purposes as much as mine are ...

Hi Blackberry Brambles - I hope so too! Hi Mounta...

2012-01-23T08:51:16.717+13:00

Hi Blackberry Brambles - I hope so too!

Hi Mountainwildlife - The ones with the clear tops were quite a bit more expensive, and our budget was tight, but hopefully this will do the job.

Yeah, I thought about australorps, but wanted to keep the breeds down to 3, otherwise it gets a bit out of hand. If we were further north, with a wamrer climate, I'd have definitely gone for the lorpies :)

But I just couldn't pass on the pretty light sussexes as my third breed, as they're also quite good at going broody, but not too broody.

It looks very like our hexabator, although ours ha...

2012-01-22T20:56:18.946+13:00

It looks very like our hexabator, although ours has a clear top half. If it is the same, ours has done a great job twice with excellent hatch rates.
Great choice of breeds too, lovely looking and good for cool areas. Australorps would be good to add in as well as dual purpose heavy breeds, the best layers :-)
Good luck!

That looks like a nice one, hope it works for you,...

2012-01-22T16:14:51.630+13:00

That looks like a nice one, hope it works for you, that is on my farm wish list...one of these days. lol