Cock-a-doodle-doo! It’s time for the September 2021 chicken update. We’ve heard our first adolescent crows coming from the backyard this past month. Elsie’s summer hatch of chicks are officially mature…and the little roos unfortunately can’t stick around long-term in suburbia. We knew this going into allowing Elsie to hatch eggs, but it’s still a bit sad to have to sort out the boys and get a butchering day on the calendar. They still have a few more weeks before then and we’re admiring their plumage, dreaming of next year when we don’t have to worry about keeping neighbors happy on our future farmstead.
But that same hatch also means we will have some early winter egg laying hens which we are super thrilled about! Mature laying hens molt in the fall and then take a break from laying eggs leaving us high and dry during holiday baking. The last two winters, we’ve had to purchase eggs last for baking and breakfast.
One of the little pullets is a sweet olive egger mix that we are calling Violet. Her mostly black feathers have a purple sheen and a couple of rusty red feathers on her shoulders. We’re very curious to see what egg color she lays. As soon as Elsie finished raising her brood, Violet decided to become a pet. She is the first to run up to use these days and begs for treats. Farmer Nathan has been having great fun teaching her to sit on his arm and chill.
*Update: Violet turned out to be a super friendly rooster! We’re thinking we may keep him…
On the note of eggs, our ladies gave us one last month of decent egg production before the molting began in earnest. Edith and Lily Mae started dropping feathers as early as August, but the rest of the flock celebrated the slightly cooler weather by laying more eggs. I was able to preserve a couple dozen for holiday baking this year.
Now for the September 2021 Chicken Update:
Farm fresh eggs around here go from $3-7 per dozen depending on raising practices. We’re fairly middle of the road, so we price ours right in the middle.
Egg Totals
- Brown Eggs: 56
- Green Eggs: 30
- Blue Eggs: 23
- Total Eggs: 109
Total value: $45
($5/dozen)
Chicken Expenses
- Bedding: $10
- Feed: $27
- Total expenses: $37
Net: $8