tokenwelshman Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Hello First post from a new Eglu and chicken owner... The Eglu was bought off eBay a few weeks ago. The chickens were bought from a local farm yesterday!! I have a Black Rock (Martha), a Blue Belle (Rose) and a Speckled (Amy). They all have personality disorders - Martha has OCD, Rose has a foot fetish, and Amy has narcolepsy. However I am prepared to put all this aside, as this morning they provided two lovely warm fresh eggs! No idea whether they will continue this rate of production or whether it will tail off for a while as they settle in. Now, will I be able to attach some photos? The girls: The eggs: One of the eggs (it didn't last long in this state): Cost of the entire setup (so far): £lots Price per equivalent egg in Tesco: 22p Smiles provided by mental chickens in their first 24 hours: priceless I think I'm hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Hi - your chooks are lovely and you will be addicted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figarogir1 Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 They look like lovely chickens and lovely eggs! I know what you mean about the cost. My mother in law offered to pay for the 6 I gave her the other day and DH told her she could never afford it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chicken bark Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 So have you started to look for your second eglu yet? or planned a WIR? Hens look lovely. Getting them is the best thing I have done (possibly excluding husband and children etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ant3nna Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Lovely pictures of lovely hens. Who cares about paying hundreds of pounds for an egg? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutti Frutti Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 I worked out that our first egg was worth i's weight in gold I got it down to around £3 an egg and breakeven in 2015 but then I bought another Eglu and did up the walk in run so I, errrr, "accidentally" lost track Congrats on your lovely girls! I'd guess the beige egg is Martha's and the pinker one on the right is Rose's. Lovely eggs too Like the Dr Who theme too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Hello First post from a new Eglu and chicken owner... The Eglu was bought off eBay a few weeks ago. The chickens were bought from a local farm yesterday!! I have a Black Rock (Martha), a Blue Belle (Rose) and a Speckled (Amy). They all have personality disorders - Martha has OCD, Rose has a foot fetish, and Amy has narcolepsy. they sound normal to me However I am prepared to put all this aside, as this morning they provided two lovely warm fresh eggs! No idea whether they will continue this rate of production or whether it will tail off for a while as they settle in. Now, will I be able to attach some photos? The girls: [/size] The eggs: One of the eggs (it didn't last long in this state): Cost of the entire setup (so far): £lots Price per equivalent egg in Tesco: 22p did know they sold eggs that fresh Smiles provided by mental chickens in their first 24 hours: priceless I think I'm hooked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mabelandflosmum Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Wait till you have to include vet's bills into the equation, I once had an egg costing £250 after a week at the bird vets! ( I am very soppy though!) Welcome to the wonderful world of chickens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadietoo Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Love your post, and your pics - fantastic girls, but I can't help but notice you have dated your eggs - you need an eggskelter .. once you have the eggskelter you will need.. a WIR...once you have that..you will need....more chickens...once you have them you will need a second eglu ....once you have that you will need ....you get the idea... Can't equal £250 per egg, but after 18 months of chicken keeping I'm still running at about £8 per egg (according to OH) - I am of course only capable of chicken maths and not proper maths any more.... Enjoy your girls..you will wonder why you didn't keep chickens before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tutti Frutti Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 I am of course only capable of chicken maths and not proper maths any more.... That's made me chuckle! My cousin rang me asking how my 3 chickens were so I told her I have 7 now. SEVEN? Well... one died...! And 3 takeaway 1 obviously equals 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokenwelshman Posted May 30, 2010 Author Share Posted May 30, 2010 > Who cares about paying hundreds of pounds for an egg? Hmm, with the order I just placed with Omlet for a run extension plus lots of other bits and pieces, plus the cost of the hens, I think those two eggs cost me roughly £265 each. Ummm... what have I done?! > I'd guess the beige egg is Martha's and the pinker one on the right is Rose's. Lovely eggs too That would make sense - Amy doesn't seem to show any signs yet. I caught Rose in the act but I wasn't sure which egg belonged to which. The missus commited the act of frying so I'm not sure which one made it onto the slice of toast. > Like the Dr Who theme too It does mean I have plenty of potential names for future additions to the menagerie. Problem is, if I ever got a cockerel I'd have to call it Adric. > you need an eggskelter I had no idea such things existed in this universe. You have to fear for the people who run this website - what do you have to do to a child for it to evolve into somebody who invents eggskelters?! > once you have the eggskelter you will need.. a WIR...once you have that..you will need....more chickens...once you have them you will need a second eglu ....once you have that you will need ....you get the idea... Even before I got the chickens yesterday, I had started wondering to myself whether I should have got a Cube instead. Gaaaaah. Has anybody managed a £500 egg yet on this forum? Thanks for all the friendly messages, clearly I'm not the only person who has descended into this particular form of madness... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jennydavies Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 We are all mad - but extremely happy welcome to you and your girls they look lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 It was like looking at my eggs - all with dates on in pencil - even kids do it if they get the eggs for me without me asking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 30, 2010 Share Posted May 30, 2010 Welcome to the forum and congratulations on your new girls - they look lovely . You sound like you'll fit right in here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokenwelshman Posted May 30, 2010 Author Share Posted May 30, 2010 I had an escape attempt earlier. Dusk fell and my hopes began to rise that perhaps the chickens might have made their own way into the Eglu, instead of being forcibly persuaded to go to bed as we had to last night. No chance - still up and about, with Martha doing a cracking job of churning up the ground under the run. Thought it might be a good time to collect a few bits and pieces of food that they hadn't eaten yet - I don't want to be the centre of attention for the local rat population. So I opened the run door. Martha made a beeline for me and started trying to push past me. I pushed her back towards the Eglu a few times. It became a titanic battle of wills. Little did I realise, this was simply a diversionary tactic on behalf of the team. Suddenly, Rose, in a blur of grey-blue feathers, made her bid for freedom, and shot past me on my blind side. It was only an echo of my once-youthful reflexes which allowed me to pin her in an undignified manner to the side of the run and stop her escaping into the garden (which presumably would have led to several hours of me wondering around the garden with a bag of mealworms shouting "here chook chook chook chook" until the neighbours phoned for the authorities to collect me). Half an hour later they'd put themselves to bed. Bliss. Fingers crossed for more eggs tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Who needs a video - you've painted a moving picture with words . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
migsy Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I was thinking that I was getting a tad too obsessed with my chickens but reading this thread has been very reassuring as I'm clearly not the only mad person out there! Why are they so addictive? I'm so glad I have my 3 chooks - they are so amusing and relaxing to watch. I'd like more but I think my garden is a little too small. I am however, planning an electric fence to make a little enclosure for them and I guess I should make it pay off by getting another hen one day. My son has been marketing the eggs "to be" to the neighbours already so at least I can save on pocket money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squidsin Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 It cost me about £400 to set everything up, and I've had four eggs so far - a mere £100 per egg then! Totally worth it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ladybird Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I had an escape attempt earlier. Dusk fell and my hopes began to rise that perhaps the chickens might have made their own way into the Eglu, instead of being forcibly persuaded to go to bed as we had to last night. No chance - still up and about, with Martha doing a cracking job of churning up the ground under the run. Thought it might be a good time to collect a few bits and pieces of food that they hadn't eaten yet - I don't want to be the centre of attention for the local rat population. So I opened the run door. Martha made a beeline for me and started trying to push past me. I pushed her back towards the Eglu a few times. It became a titanic battle of wills. Little did I realise, this was simply a diversionary tactic on behalf of the team. Suddenly, Rose, in a blur of grey-blue feathers, made her bid for freedom, and shot past me on my blind side. It was only an echo of my once-youthful reflexes which allowed me to pin her in an undignified manner to the side of the run and stop her escaping into the garden (which presumably would have led to several hours of me wondering around the garden with a bag of mealworms shouting "here chook chook chook chook" until the neighbours phoned for the authorities to collect me). Oh that made me laugh! I got my very first chooks on Saturday also - 3 ex-batts from Essex. No names as yet, though I have a feeling one of them is being lined up to be called Cantona... Had an egg from each of them on their first day and 1 so far this morning. Currently entranced by their inquisitive antics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aimee Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Lucky you on having some lovely fresh eggs. I think I can beat the cost per egg so far though: 1. Second hand cube and 3m run- £450 (plus 140 mile round trip to collect....) 2. Omlet order for 'bits' - £80 3. 5 hybrids - £10 each 4. Mealworms (to which two have become addicted...) - 3 @ £2.50/tub 5. Another Omlet order - £40 (well, I just had to order an egg skelter ) 3 weeks after their arrival and eggs to date - 0 I'm kind of getting edgy now. They're 18 weeks now and two definitely seem to be displaying the 'I'm going to lay soon' signs, but so far nothing. It's going to be one expensive egg when it gets here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tokenwelshman Posted May 31, 2010 Author Share Posted May 31, 2010 Went out to check on the girls this morning. On sight of me, Martha picked up her skirts and toddled into the Eglu. I didn't think she would be so obliging after the old "titanic battle of wills" last night. I gave her fifteen minutes, during which time I thought I heard a hint of a cluck from inside the coop. Opened the egg portal to see this: How cute? She wasn't for budging, so I lifted her up to reveal another warm little egg - now that's what I call service. Rose in the meantime has moved on from her foot fetish and is trying to peck her way through the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 Aimee - my omlet chicken took at least 3 weeks to lay and now she lays nearly every day I started with 3 in March and now have 8, an eglu and a cube with 2 extended runs, the cost of my eggs works at £6.75 each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Margaret Posted June 2, 2010 Share Posted June 2, 2010 I stopped counting when I reached just over £2,500. Dont think my OH did though. Now want to move to have a bigger garden so the tally might add up to just over the half million So...Not sure what the egg maths would be, better not think. But as for being mad... Never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
