Egg prices expected to rise 'dramatically' across US after California law takes effect requiring

AP ^ | January 1, 2015 | Staff

[Ditter]

I had a pet hen (the little ones). Hennie Pennie would follow me around, come in the house and sit on my lap. got along fine with the cats and dogs. I put her in a cage at night for her protection but after a while she decided to sleep up on the roof of the house, I could not catch her.

One night I heard a commotion and went out to find her being murdered by a coon. Broke my heart.

My friend I told you about votes conservative and is as tight as “Dick's hat band” with money but she has some rather greenish ideas (guns kill people, SUV’s are too big, hunting is cruelty to animals) , a strange combination.

[EQAndyBuzz]

“FReepers are really gonna flip their lids when similar requirements are passed for cows.”

They will do it for veal. Give them room to move around. The price will go up, the quality will go down and eventually veal producers will close up shop.

The only ones who will then eat veal will be the apparatchiks and elite whose veal vendors won’t have the same constraints put on them.

[SamAdams76]

The Egg McMuffin sandwich was invented by McDonalds in 1972 and went on to become the biggest selling breakfast sandwich of all time.

However, I find that making them at home is so much better. What I do is fry up some bacon and two eggs over hard (per sandwich) on the skillet. Toast an English muffin. Fold the two eggs on top of each other and place on toasted muffin with the slab of bacon in between. Then top off with a slice or two of deli-cut Swiss cheese.

The best English muffin sandwich you will ever have.

Since moving to Connecticut, I see a lot of my neighbors raising their own egg-laying chickens. I already gotten some eggs from them and they are really good. I'm thinking that I'm going to get some egg laying chickens of my own.

Now as for chicken coop, I've been searching on Zillow.com and I found what should be adequate housing for my chickens.

Featuring an "open-concept" layout with cathedral ceilings and screened in porch, my chickens should be very well accommodated. There's some hen-laying bays with a lid that will allow me to access the eggs without having to enter into their space and intrude upon their privacy all that much.

There's even a "handicapped" ramp that will provide egress for those chickens who have difficulty hopping. A screen door allows access to the 2 1/2 acres of land on my properly so that they can do the "free-range" thing.

[roofgoat]

Ditter, there was a post here that said chickens are pretty ruthless. And that is true.

But we have had some really sweet friendly hens too just like yours. And when the die or go missing it is sad. My kids have gotten used to it but its still lousy.

The last year we have lost a pet full grown Bourbon Red Gobbler, a pet female mallard and my daughter’s favorite hen Matilda, all due to varmints. It happens.

The only thing that can help is free range dog(s). Roaming and peeing (marking) keeps almost all other animals away. When our dogs roamed, we never lost a hen.

But the problem is roaming has other issues for dogs so we stopped.

[roofgoat]

that looks real nice. It’ll cost a pretty penny too. I am average at best with tools and wood. I’ve built my own but they are basic in shape and design. I don’t have the skill or time to do something like in your picture but if you have the dough, all you should have to do is paint or treat the wood every few years so it doesn’t fall apart.

[bgill]

If chicken was $10/lb then they’d have to raise the min. wage to $50/hr. Too many don’t understand it’s a vicious cycle.

[bgill]

I was looking at chicken truck plans last night. I hate chickens. Nasty dirty creatures. Raised them for HS Ag class, spit. It may be I’ll be forced to raise them again.

[Ditter]

We had chickens back in the 60’s and I saw some strange behavior that I never saw before when I was a child at home in the 40’s. I saw some hens attack and kill other hens. A fight would start among the hens and they would all gang up and peck each other to death. Another time a sudden heavy rain storm came up and the chickens held their heads straight up and their nostrils filled with water and they drowned standing on dry ground.

I don't feel sorry for chickens kept in a small cage. They are too stupid to live out in the real world.

[fungoking]

I have a small flock and get about 6-7 eggs every day. haven't bought eggs in forever and the widows at church love getting real eggs like the ones they grew up on.

[Cacique500]

We mail ordered 5 chicks (2 barred rocks and 3 buff orpingtons) about 18 months ago (all hens) and they’ve been nothing but an absolute blast to have around...very entertaining creatures and one of the few “pets with benefits”. We get 4/5 beautiful eggs a day when they’re laying (not laying now due to winter/molting).

The eggs are fantastic because we control what they eat (including anything that crawls around in our yard)...and they’ll eat just about anything you give them.

If you’re interested in raising chickens check out the Backyardchickens.com forum for any info you need.

One commenter above said chickens were nasty dirty creatures - which is absolutely NOT true. Ours stay incredibly clean and if you set the coop/run up correctly (we use Sweet PDZ as a base in both) and maintain it (10 minutes once per week for me) there is ZERO smell/mess.

Our coop is a 6x4 foot with an attached 12x4 ft run...the coop and 2/3 of the run is covered to keep moisture down.

Rule of thumb is 10 sq ft per bird (medium/large breeds) in the run and 4 sq ft per bird in the coop.

[BunnySlippers]

I like that each egg in CA has an expiration date printed on it. :o)

[Ditter]

That is a beautiful hen house. How many will it hold?

[SoothingDave]

I’ve got three chicken houses similar to that. They work fine.

You can let the chickens out to roam in the afternoon. They’ll come back into their homes when it gets dark. They have that much sense. Then you just have to lock them up so nothing can get them.

They sell blinky LED devices called “predator eyes” that are supposed to keep predators away by looking like a larger predator’s eyes.

We have white rope-style Christmas lights on the pens to give them a little extra light in the AM and PM to keep them laying. Production does slow in the winter.

[5th MEB]

That law is already in effect in all metropolitan areas of California.

[secret garden]

You will thoroughly enjoy raising your own chickens and getting breakfast supplies from your own yard. Fresh Eggs Daily is a good daily blog and she has written an excellent book on chicken keeping. They can be entertaining and they can be savage. They are never boring.

[secret garden]

I don’t know where you can find a healthy laying hen for that cheap a cost. They can lay up to every 26 hours under optimum conditions, with adequate light and health. They lay for more than a year but the production does go down after 18 months. Some still lay at 7 years of age, just not very often.

[5th MEB]

You are an idiot; they are livestock, as long as they are not treated cruelly they are there to serve a purpose, not to have spa treatments.
If I let my chickens run free range up here they will just be eaten by the coyotes, foxes and bears.
So whats better; the coop or the coyotes belly?

[secret garden]

You only need a rooster if you want fertile eggs, to raise chicks.

[ThePatriotsFlag]

You don’t need a rooster to get eggs.

[Jeff Chandler]

I don’t know where you can find a healthy laying hen for that cheap a cost.

This was ten years ago and the buyer was a farmer who owned millions so he probably got a bulk discount.