how much do chickens cost /best ones for most eggs

[Mortblanc]

Things seem well covered here but I must insert a couple of thoughts.

Heavy layers will need a bit of calcium supplement. My hens get thin shells if I do not keep a bit of oyster shell out for them. It is not expensive, and may not be needed on the diet you provide. One can recycle the eggshells as they are used in the house and get by.

Usually when one finds a hen eating her own eggs it is due to calcium deficiency, not a bad chicken. I have known people that disposed of the chicken when all it needed was a bit of shell in its diet.

If you let your chickens free range you will eliminate any bug problem you ever anticipated. I have seen mine catch flies and mosquitoes in the air and ground bugs do not have a chance.

When mine are allowed to free range they completely ignore any feed I set out for them. They would much rather have scraps and bugs than store bought feed.

Only problem I have with free ranging mine is that my birds are explorers of the highest caliber and I have found them as far as a mile down the road from the house. They are also exposed to every predator in the area.

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Free rangers also tend to lay their eggs all over their territory. I usually keep mine penned until in the afternoon and let them out after work. The lay in the nest boxes that way.