The egg count for the year passed the 1000 mark today, I just can't believe it. Somehow this family has found a way to either eat or cook or sell (a few dozen) over 1000 eggs (not counting Guinea eggs), and it isn't even July yet.
I tried to figure out how many eggs we could have possible eaten last year but gave up, my egg use has changed so dramatically that I can't even remember what it was like to not have a few dozen just laying around.
Since I am taking a statistics course this summer OFG noted that I should throw in a few mathematical facts concerning eggs, so here goes. A rough count of the number of days up to July 1st is 180, so 180 goes into 1000 approximately 5.5 times. I have 8 hens who as a group are laying on average 5.5 eggs per day, or 125 eggs per hen so far this year! Each hen is laying .694 eggs per day...whew.
Here is the part that just has me mystified, if I subtract the eggs currently in the fridge and the ones I sold we still average eating/cooking over 4 eggs per day! How is that possible?
Have you ever thought about how many eggs you use per year? Did you realize what a difference raising chickens has had on your diet? One thing is for certain, keeping these chickens has been fun AND profitable.
Well, I don't know about profitable! We are around 2700 eggs this year and with an increase of 50 cents to $3 per dozen we are just breaking even on feed and power. If I charged minimum wage for our work hours, the operation would be hopeless! It looks like we will keep about 4 hens for our own egg supply and give up on the rest. Feed is $16 per bag and we go through about 4 bags per week. What's your secret?
ReplyDeleteIan - We use two bags of chicken feed a month and it feeds the chickens and the guineas. Each bag is about $11 and I sell more than enough eggs to cover the feed costs.
ReplyDeleteI pick up pasta and other noodles on the clearance rack for .25c a box and use it for a lunch time treat for them...if I have no noodles then they get whatever is left over in the fridge. I do let them free range on nice days, so when that happens they only get chicken feed in the morning.
I figure I get about 140 eggs or 12 dozen "free" eggs per month. At a minimum of $3 per dozen that equals $36 per month not including what it would have cost me to otherwise buy the eggs I needed.
My coop has no electricity and the work for caring for them is minimal. An added bonus are the guineas eating almost all the ticks and their eggs are great to eat too!
charts and graphs! we need charts and graphs!
ReplyDelete;-) hee hee
we get a lot of questions also about cost - but you cant buy a good farm egg in the store. that alone is worth it! we farm folk also are more prone to "eating whatcha got." so you might eat more eggs because that is what's handy - but they are better than poptarts for sure!
and once you get your pigz (cuz i know you will) thats where we really see a savings b/c we supplement their (very expensive feed) with a lot of eggs.
right now we arent feeding the hens much at all. those gals are out there free ranging and we still cant keep up with the eggs. i'm feeding about a dozen a day to the pigz - basically for free.
and dont forget about "soft costs" - like using their litter for compost, bug eating, "free" dinners when the roos go to their glory in a pot of noodles....and entertainment - of course.
great work! i give you an A+!!!
Great application of that statistics class! I don't get very many eggs from my chickens any more. They are pretty old-4 years and up. I'm thinking I'll have to add some new ones to the flock next spring. It has been eleven years since I bought an egg! I can't imagine going back to those tasteless pale things.
ReplyDeleteNext year, I should count.... my egg sales during the school year pretty much pay for what feed I do give, and my hens can free range all year round in our weather - I would say most months, I break even, but these eggs are so good!
ReplyDeleteOFG - Charts and graphs? I am not breaking out PowerPoint for the chickens. I totally agree with you about the savings in soft costs, and the taste can't be beat.
ReplyDeleteTeresa - Eleven years, isn't that amazing. You must walk by the egg section in the store and laugh!
Nancy - I agree about how good they are. I am only counting out of curiosity and because I was amazed at the number of eggs Dani got every year at Critter farm, this will give me a baseline to compare things to.