Crack rising egg prices and save £300 a year . . . by keeping chickens
HOUSEHOLDS struggling with rising bills can embrace the spirit of postwar austerity Britain by keeping chickens. Free range egg prices are rocketing due to the rising cost of grain and a recent outbreak of bird flu. Shoppers face paying £2 for half a dozen eggs although some farmers are threatening to shut down production altogether because they can’t make a profit.
Yet by using as little as 3 sq ft of your back garden, you might enjoy 250 free eggs a year from a single hen – the equivalent of an annual saving on grocery bills of about £80.
During the ‘dig for victory’ era of rationing introduced in the Second World War – and that lasted until 1954 – it was common to keep hens in the garden to supplement meals. The alternative was a ration of one fresh egg a week plus a tin of dry powdered eggs every two months.
Jane Howorth, founder of the British Hen Welfare Trust, says: ‘You can obtain egg-laying birds for nothing. We have 48 centres across the country where you can pick up our birds for free – though we accept donations.’ She adds: ‘We rehome 60,000 battery hens a year – birds that might otherwise end up in a curry, meat pie or dog food. They can often continue laying for another three or four years.’
These former battery hens, typically Lohmann Brown hybrids, are usually 18 months old and can lay eggs daily. Alternatively, you might prefer to choose your own breed. ‘Point of lay’ hens generally cost £15 or more and websites such as chickens.allotment-garden.org offer details of about 500 breeders selling poultry. It also has details of allotments that can be rented from as little as £12 a year for those without enough space at home to keep hens.
Since late last year, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, has issued guidance that all hens should be kept under cover in pens to stop the spread of bird flu. This applies to hens kept at home, on an allotment or commercially farmed. Websites such as The Carpenter’s Daughter advise how to build coops with enclosed spaces using materials that cost around £100.
Howorth says: ‘If you do not fancy building a coop and enclosure yourself, you can buy a basic coop from as little as £200. Outfits such as Omlet offer plastic designer homes from about £400, but if you want to break the budget, you could consider a £4,000 gypsy caravan from
Flyte So Fancy.’ Those worried about foxes causing carnage should consider an electric fence powered by a 12-volt car battery. These cost around £120 and keep hens safe without harming any predator. Although hens need to be fed and well looked after – with the coop cleaned and straw replaced in the egg-laying area perhaps once a fortnight – owners soon more than recoup these costs with the savings from producing your own freshly laid eggs.
Kaye Robson, owner of Robsons Feed Supplies in Clavering, Essex, says: ‘A hen consumes less than £20 of feed a year. I keep 25 birds and they get through an £11 bag of mixed corn a month, plus a £12 bag of layers’ pellets.’
A sprinkling of grit will ensure the egg shells are strong and daily fresh water is a must. Poultry owners usually keep a minimum of three hens as birds like company. Neighbours are best kept sweet by presenting them with occasional free eggs. You must ask their permission if you want to keep a cockerel.