←back to thread

Egg prices are soaring. Are backyard chickens the answer?

(civileats.com)
310 points greenie_beans | 5 comments | 19 Feb 25 21:46 UTC | HN request time: 0.861s | source
Show context
qq99 ◴[20 Feb 25 05:00 UTC] No.43111299[source]▶
As someone who once built a large coop [1] then just bought a pre-built shed for the 2nd coop, it's definitely _not_ the _monetary_ solution. You will probably lose money overall for quite some time. I'm still probably underwater.

BUT, there are definite upsides:

- Chickens are very sweet animals, and are quite intelligent. You will grow to love all the silly things they do. You can pet them, they are super soft, and can become quite tame. They can purr.

- I'm told the eggs taste way better, I don't really notice it because I really only eat my own eggs, but perhaps I just got used to them

- It's fantastic to get ~8 free eggs per day (from 13, 3 are not laying this winter)

- Morally/ethically, it seems like the best way to eat eggs if you're caring for them in a loving manner (compare to factory farms)

Consider the downsides:

- You may have to euthanize a chicken, likely by hand (literally) via cervical dislocation. It still ranks among the worst things I've ever had to do in my life. Imagine euthanizing your dog or cat by hand...

- Predators, foxes and hawks, you need defenses

- Veterinary services can be harder to find. Most vets don't want to deal with chickens. However, it also tends to be cheaper than a vet for a dog/cat.

- Your wife may one day want a chicken to live inside the house. You may one day agree to this, and then miss it when the chicken is living outside the house again...

- If you really like eating chicken, you may end up finding it difficult to eat them again in the future after you develop a bond with them.

I think there are more upsides than downsides, but you should think about these downsides before taking the plunge. Don't let it dissuade you. Overall, they have enriched our lives immensely and I would recommend it to others!

1: https://www.anthonycameron.com/projects/cameron-acreage-chic...

replies(54): >>43112058 #>>43112148 #>>43112152 #>>43112271 #>>43112279 #>>43112364 #>>43112438 #>>43112533 #>>43112681 #>>43112832 #>>43112959 #>>43113182 #>>43113393 #>>43113675 #>>43113739 #>>43113780 #>>43113961 #>>43114166 #>>43114184 #>>43114262 #>>43114274 #>>43114277 #>>43114390 #>>43114406 #>>43114485 #>>43114599 #>>43114625 #>>43114955 #>>43115004 #>>43115217 #>>43115442 #>>43115586 #>>43115776 #>>43116129 #>>43116391 #>>43116509 #>>43116522 #>>43116776 #>>43116906 #>>43117144 #>>43117221 #>>43117724 #>>43117897 #>>43118022 #>>43118330 #>>43118511 #>>43118698 #>>43118705 #>>43118975 #>>43119664 #>>43120000 #>>43120271 #>>43120839 #>>43123147 #
1. thaumasiotes ◴[20 Feb 25 07:30 UTC] No.43112058[source]▶
> Chickens are very sweet animals

My father asked for, and got, a chick for Easter once.

It grew into a rooster that took over the backyard by terrorizing the whole family. Only my grandmother, who had grown up on a farm, was willing to go into the yard.

> Your wife may one day want a chicken to live inside the house. You may one day agree to this, and then miss it when the chicken is living outside the house again...

A friend of mine complained to me a few years ago that the people in the apartment next to hers were raising a chicken. The crowing woke her up in the morning. But she consoled herself that soon enough they'd eat it.

I was pretty amused at the whole idea of raising a chicken inside an apartment.

replies(3): >>43112165 #>>43112328 #>>43115153 #
2. SideburnsOfDoom ◴[20 Feb 25 07:53 UTC] No.43112165[source]▶
Check your local regulations. Keeping roosters (adult male chickens) in many city areas is actually illegal; i.e. against the byelaws. It is considered antisocial because of the noise that they make and the early hours when they make it. i.e. literally "at cockcrow"
replies(1): >>43113283 #
3. DonHopkins ◴[20 Feb 25 08:22 UTC] No.43112328[source]▶
My friend had a racist rooster who abused the brown chickens and got along with the white ones.

He traded it in for a more "woke" one.

4. daotoad ◴[20 Feb 25 10:55 UTC] No.43113283[source]▶
If only it was only the early hours. The damn things scream pretty much all the time. I've had two neighbors over the years that accidentally kept roosters.

So, if you want to keep backyard chickens, save yourself the trouble and get the red sex linked chicks. They are hybrids whose color is very reliably determined by color, so you can be pretty sure you aren't getting a rooster chick.

It's either that or brace yourself for the process of turning the occasion young rooster into fried chicken before it gets too obstreperous.

5. fransje26 ◴[20 Feb 25 14:35 UTC] No.43115153[source]▶
> It grew into a rooster that took over the backyard by terrorizing the whole family.

When I was a kid, we also had chickens and roosters around. At one point we had a smaller, white rooster who would take any chance he could at terrorizing the family as soon as we brought them food.

Unfortunately for the bully, we also had a second, bigger rooster, who would keep an eye on him, and come running to beat his ass and chase him away as soon as he spotted nastiness.

The white bully ended up in the soup. The grey defender died of old age.