People are getting chickens because they think it'll be cheaper than store bought eggs.
Spoiler: it is not.
About two years later, they don't want the things anymore because they're expensive in small flocks with no forage, and they're messy, so they try to get rid of them. Our local Facebook is full of people trying to sell their chickens for way more than they're worth, and their particleboard coops for crazy amounts.
It's kind of sad. The local farm store has changed their policy to not sell less than 4 chickens, because people were buying one or two and chickens need more than that to be happy.
> People are getting chickens because they think it'll be cheaper than store bought eggs. Spoiler: it is not.
The joke is that the first egg costs $X,000. But these have been weird times.
On low-end feed it costs about $0.55/week to keep a Golden Comet alive and I can buy them at 18 weeks old for $20. If one is extremely frugal in sheltering and containing them, doesn't experience any losses to predators, illness, or wandering off, and retail eggs hold above $0.20/ea, a small flock can conceivably break-even during its second year.
That pile of assumptions is unlikely to hold up but everything I've spent on chickens the whole time we've had them is less than the carrying costs of our two dogs over that time. And the dogs have never provided us food.
> The local farm store has changed their policy to not sell less than 4 chickens
The first year we raised chicks the minimums were 6. Best advice to anyone starting out is to buy 18 week pullets or mature hens cycling out from a pastured egg producer at 18-24 months. Raising chicks is much more challenging and attention-demanding than keeping mature chickens and if you manage to keep them all alive you'll still be $20+ into them before they start laying.
Just adding a bit to this comment:
They are great layers until their molt after a year at which point they just stop for a few months. Then, even after they resume, it's never quite as productive.
Add to that the fact they don't live long(3 years is good), it's definitely not something to look at with a ROI eye.
My experience with GCs is that they'll live as long as can be expected of any chicken and their drop-off in productivity still puts them amongst the very best.
But I'm about due for some layer replenishment. What do you think is a better choice?
There's like 3 things basically the same (ISA brown, Golden Comet, Cinnamon Queen), all red sex links, and they are the best all rounder you can ask for. Best layers, not broody, docile. I've had just about everything, but this year just raising random mixes I got as eggs to let the kid incubate.
So I think you already found the best. I didn't mean to refute anything you wrote, just adding some context for passer-bys.
It's stupid because chickens aren't that productive. I see my chickens as kind pets. They are actually very loving and sociable if you yourself give them some love. In fact, if they had sphincters, they'd be good pets even inside your house. My first one who was taken care of inside the house when she was a chick loves to come inside getting some stroke as soon as the house is open.
They happen to give me eggs but not enough to not buy more.
I stopped short of adding this to my comment because I don't want to feel like I'm gatekeeping, but you're absolutely right. That said, it applies to most animals people buy, sadly.
I think it's awesome people are getting into raising chickens - if they do it for the right reasons. Egg prices aren't one of them! But they're rewarding, generally really easy to care for, and depending on your land can eat for free.
Treat them as a pet that just happens to provide. Not as a resource to use.
hilarious. Even if we ignored all the upkeep, it's not like chickens are popping out a dozen safe to eat eggs every week to keep up with your diet. It can be a nice hobby, but we let farmers specialize in this for a reason.
This feels like a weird take.
Factually it feels a bit off - with two chickens you very much will get a dozen eggs a week for the bulk of the year (there'll be some variation depending your distance from the equator, your choice of breed, etc). As noted elsewhere here, two chickens is probably insufficient to keep them as happy as they could or should be - and practically keeping four chickens is not significantly more effort or cost than keeping two.
Finding someone local who'll happily pay for some fresh eggs from happy birds is easy.
The implications around your use of the word 'safe' there feels misplaced, also. I'm guessing you're based in the USA? I'd argue egg-handling in other western nations is probably safer (here in AU we don't wash eggs, so we don't need to keep them refrigerated - removing their natural protective film seems to be contraindicated, f.e.).
Also keeping chickens can be fun. And economical. They process your kitchen scraps, kids love them, they definitely fit into the pet category.
It's weird to imply we should out-source the keeping of cats and dogs and goldfish to specialised cat-and-dog-and-goldfish farmers who can raise them much more cheaply than you could at home.