• Death_Equity@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    ·
    2 days ago

    If you ever want to spend more on eggs and poultry products, getting chickens is a great option. It isn’t cheaper by a long shot when you factor in your time and proper care.

    The reason why eggs can be as cheap as they are is because the poultry farms do not give a shit about the birds and feed them the cheapest they can and don’t concern themselves with avian healthcare.

    If you want cheap eggs, be friends with someone who has chickens. Most birds will lay 1-2 eggs a day when they are in their prime. So 6 chickens will make a dozen eggs every other day. After a month you have 12-15 dozen eggs. The family probably eats 40-60 eggs a month, so you can see how the difference works in the favor of friends.

    • GaMEChld@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      22 hours ago

      The egg quality can be night and day though. The cheapest supermarket brand eggs I can get always seem pretty thin and watery compared to organic free range. We could also sell the surplus to neighbors (building up local neighborhood relations, which have languished is modern era).

    • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      17
      ·
      edit-2
      1 day ago

      Yeah but chickens are awesome pets. It’s like having a herd of miniature dinosaurs.

      They have unique personalities (chickenalities?), too. That might be in my imagination because sometimes I like to get high and hang out with them and give them dialogue.

      • empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 day ago

        They’re also amazing pest control! You’ll immediately find your yard completely free of grasshoppers, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and practically any other crawling think because those fuckers are vicious and will eat all of them.

      • Notyou@sopuli.xyz
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 day ago

        My sister got chickens in her adulthood. We didn’t grow up with them or anything. I went over a few years ago and saw her chickens all meandering wherever they wanted in her backyard while she tried to herd them all to their pen I was able to catch one of them and put her in their pen. It did kind of remind me of mini-dinos though.

        • JasonDJ@lemmy.zip
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          10
          ·
          1 day ago

          You really don’t have to herd them…they’ll put themselves back in every night when it starts getting dark.

          When they are little and getting used to it, they might need a reminder…but as long as I leave the door open for them when they free range, they find their way back to the coop.

          They also don’t wander too far. They’ve got a few social gathering spots in the yard but they never really jump the fence. Last time it happened was because the coop door blew shu before she could get in and she was trying to find shelter for the night.

    • Grimy@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      1 day ago

      An easy solution to high feed cost and an overproduction of eggs is to feed them lightly cooked scrambled eggs. Two birds with one stone. And a war crime.

      • Death_Equity@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        1 day ago

        That is valid, but selling them for $3 a dozen to people you know or feeding scrambled eggs to your dog and/or cat is a better use of them.