With the current shortage and price spike of eggs, the memes have started. Here are a few:
(Is it just me, or does this look like a rooster to you?)
Or, as one headline put it, "Americans may need to reprioritize what is attractive in a good partner: Does he or she have chickens?"
We have neighbors with chickens. They sell eggs periodically. They had a sign by their driveway last summer that eggs were available for $3/dozen. The sign came down after a couple weeks. Last week the sign was back, this time advertising eggs for $4/dozen. The sign came down after a couple of days. I have a feeling they're being besieged with demand, especially at those prices, and their hens can't keep up.
This is not the time of year for abundant eggs. And soon, people with chickens will be keeping back some fertilized eggs to hatch. New baby chick's were $5 each at TS last year, stayed pretty much sold out, and the chick's I saw had pasty butt. (For those who don't know, it's a poop plug that must be soaked off.) If I were in a position to sell eggs, I'd be selling chicks instead.
ReplyDeletePrices have come down a lot here in Alabama lately. The 5 dozen box at Walmart was about $18.50 at Walmart yesterday and I didn't even check carton prices. At checkout, the girl behind me was exclaiming to a friend eggs were back to $3 a dozen ! Of course that turned my head and she was fondling a one dozen carton.
I didn't buy yesterday because the box price was down about $5 from my last trip not long ago. The dates on the box were about 6 weeks from now, and I figure prices may come down more. Plus I already have enough for a couple of weeks. And, I keep looking at the jug of water-glassed eggs I did as an experiment last year. It's time to use them as the end of experiment.
In all seriousness, people need to get chickens and not be put in this position again. ( after figuring out a plan to feed them and house them) People were willing to pay any price for their beloved eggs. Maybe not everyone, but enough people with enough money to clear out the shelves and keep them clear.
The best side hustle would be to sell chick's, not eggs.
The chicken in the picture could be a rooster ! But maybe not. Several of my hens have that comb too.
Wonder what's coming down the pike next.
Here it is, 2 weeks from posting this, and the 5 dozen box of eggs is down to $11.06 at Walmart. A little over $2 per dozen!
DeleteWe have a guy down the road who sells eggs as well. His sign hasn't been up for a while, probably because his hens aren't laying much... winter, you know...
ReplyDeleteI have the occasional Orpington hen that sports a rooster-like comb.
This is the price people pay for putting themselves in a position of total reliance on "supply chains," "just-in-time" deliveries, and public utilities. This is the price of "convenience..."
Did anyone see Tucker Carlson's program about food shortages? It seems that there may be a 'plot' afoot to artificially create such shortages.
ReplyDeleteHe had some guests who said their hens were not laying for months....not a winter thing.. They switched from Purina to a local feed, and the hens began laying like normal. Was the national brand 'deliberately tainted'? Who knows...
Anybody getting chickens needs to make a plan for not free ranging, at least as a just in case measure. Some states have made it mandatory that chickens be kept inside, or so I've heard
ReplyDeleteI haven't checked, but don't trust fact check anyway. Chickens do need a secure run with a good roof . Coons can get in if you don't have one. It comes in handy and the chickens appreciate it during bad weather. It will also free you up some if you need to go away a day or two.
Aside from those things, chickens are such a joy to have. They have individual personalities and are quite capable of giving and receiving love.
One of my hens is extremely jealous however, and gets mad and pecks hard on any other chicken vying for attention.Then she pecks me hard too!
But it's OK.
Our Lord loves us with a jealous love as well, and I always just take jealous reactions from animals as a reminder from Him. And also as a reminder when I feel jealous that He loves all of His children more than I love all of my critters.
My neighbor and I have roughly the same size flocks. He feeds his hens nothing but Purina Layena pellets. I feed mine layer mash from a mill twenty miles from my house. His hens are laying consistently. Mine, nots'much. I think it's the weather more than the feed...
ReplyDeleteWhat Anonymous said. We only have 3 hens and a roo, but that’s plenty for us and they are a joy to have. Except when they aren’t lol.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though we love ‘em.
On my latest visit to the grocery store (rural southern MN) large eggs were $4.79/doz. I looked around the display and found a doz. jumbo eggs for $4.99 from Kalona, IA that "supports Amish and Mennonite family farmers." So, for 20 cents more I felt good about my purchase. I'd rather support them than a nameless factory farm. There is no way I can keep chickens, as much as I'd like to. I'm grateful for those who do and who willingly sell them to me.
ReplyDeleteWatch out for Dumor and Producers Pride at Tractor Supply. Don't buy it, throw it out if you have it. An analysis of the "new" formula has chickens not laying any eggs at all. Small farms and backyard coops have been zero eggs. Do your research.
ReplyDeleteI've been hearing that too. In all fairness, we've still been using our Tractor Supply feed and our chickens are laying great - got more than 20 eggs yesterday. I do plan to buy a different type from a different location once we run out, though.
DeleteOur layers were all layered out last fall...too old. So we were going to get chicks this spring along with some meat birds. Now I wonder if they'll even be available and,if so, at what price.
ReplyDeleteyou can buy direct from the chick hatchery. They do not have a lot in right now but have a notice of when the different breeds come in. McMurray is the one I was looking at. Was thinking of meat chicks but hubby said we have dual purpose, you really want to put all that money out to raise cornish cross when our buffys will give us close to the same and that after they laid eggs for us for a few years. Since we use a pressure cooker to cook our roasters the meat turns out nice and tender regardless of the age of the bird. Neither of us eat the skin any more so no need to get it nice and crunchy either.
DeleteLooks like they put that rooster in the killing cone feet-first. Supposed to be head-down. They must be city folks. Regards, - Jim Rawles
ReplyDeleteI'd love to buy country eggs but I don't have a clue how to wash them quickly and effectively. Washing a dozen eggs each morning would take a long time. I can't stand the idea of cracking them dirty. Suggestions?
ReplyDelete"Country eggs" for sale shouldn't be dirty. Mine aren't. I clean the nest boxes daily, and check for eggs at least twice a day. If a stupid hen poops on them, I don't sell those - I feed them to the dogs. If eggs for sale are dirty, I'd find another source.
DeleteSo...here, inflation is up (and how could it NOT be up after the political shenanigans we had to put up with in the last couple of years) - but where does the egg shortage come from?
ReplyDeleteMassive outbreak of bird flu?
I've still been using TS but not the two types of food having problems.
ReplyDeleteThe products I've still been using do have another problem though. Over and over I've had to return it because bags have big clumps of moldy feed inside. This is both with Flock Party scratch, and Nutrena All Flock, a 20% protein feed which is what my birds usually like.
It makes me think there's a storage problem or shipping problem with TS either at the store level or shipping, since it involves two different company's products.
So could it be that this issue is related to the issue others are having?
My chickens never would eat those other types of feed and sometimes now they don't want what they're used to. And they did stop laying a while but I chalked it up as seasonal.
Sometimes now I take buckets to the store and empty the bags into the buckets to make sure the feed is OK and extra trips don't have to be made. But even then, is there perhaps a mold problem I'm not seeing?
The whole food and grain world seems to be in a flux.
It may be that in the effort to get food out there some quality control is sacrificed and sub par products are sometimes finding their way to us.
Have been thinking of trying Chewey for feed. They have a lot of kinds and delivery is free if you order about $50 of stuff. It's easy to spend that on multiple pets.
Rumor has it lysine was removed from some chicken feeds. Lysine is necessary for egg production.
ReplyDeleteA great cook book for eggs. https://www.toomanyeggs.com/
ReplyDeletethank you for the link, it has some good recipes in it.
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