Chickens

The neighbor is taking off to spend the winter with her grandchild in Oregon so I have luckily inherited six fine fat egg laying hens.

The herd is made up of two Plymouth Rock, two Leghorns and two Red Star (Red sex-link) all are great layers and winter hardy breeds.

A couple of weeks back I started building the coop. Real simple design partly screened on the east/west sides, fully screened on the south and closed on the north. Good sun during the day and keeps out the bitter north winds. There are several roosts in the north east corner which they seem to enjoy climbing.

A two by four foot roosting box in the north west corner easily hold the girls at night giving then a nice compact area to huddle in. There is a small laying box in the corner of the roost that all the hens share. They step in box, drop the egg and move on...no long term parenting for these ladies.

There is one foot of hardware cloth buried around the perimeter to keep the coyotes and lesser predators from burrowing under the walls. The window screens are also half inch hardware cloth which should keep out anything except bears and mountain lions. A fine structure if I do say so myself. I am still trying to pick a color.

The coop cost right around $250 to build. In addition to this there is the ongoing cost of feed and scratch.

The hens are laying between five and seven eggs daily. The eggs are spectacular with brilliant yellow yokes and the whites hold together well when cooking...not the pale runny things you pick up at the Safeway. Plus honestly the hens are fun to watch and give the dogs a nice diversion.

Now the obvious question...are the eggs worth the upfront and associated ongoing costs.

At first I doubted it thinking I could buy alot of eggs from the store at $1.99 a dozen. But then I smacked myself for looking at the situation through globalist glasses. Yes there is a cost associated with keeping chickens employed but I will always have the security of a steady protein supply that can grow itself with the simple addition of a rooster.