Why we finally got chickens
Three years of talking about it, one weekend coop build, and the honest math on what six hens actually cost versus what they actually produce.
Three years of talking about it, one weekend coop build, and the honest math on what six hens actually cost versus what they actually produce.
The math nobody puts in the blog post
Feed, bedding, and the coop build itself mean our eggs cost more per dozen than the grocery store for at least the first two years. We did it anyway, and don't regret it, but we're not going to pretend it's a money-saving move at our scale.
What convinced us
Not eggs. Compost. Six hens turn a season's worth of garden and kitchen scraps into finished compost faster than any bin setup we'd tried.
What we'd tell past us
Start with four hens, not six. We built coop capacity for growth we haven't needed yet, and it was extra cost and extra cleaning for no real benefit at our current flock size.