Eggs here on the high plains were $6-something at Walmart last night, (February 2025) and I have heard of even MORE outrageous prices in other stores! I am SO glad we have chickens…healthy chickens! It IS a good day to have a good Hen!
Good Hen Income?
My husband read about someone near a city RENTING out 2 chickens, with their house, and feed, and instructions, guaranteed to lay when they arrived. All for the price of $500 for six months! The renter then has the option to adopt them after the six months is up!
Might be a good way for a farmer to make some side income, and it might be a (expensive?) way for the renter to have a few months of hands-on experience with chickens before actually jumping in with both feet! Let me know in the comments if you or anyone you know has done such a thing! I’m intrigued!
It really is delightful to go out to my chicken house and have all these treasures waiting for me! I never get tired of it!
Get Your Own Good Hen(s) This Spring!
I have LONG been a fan of people having some chickens…even in the city/town,(just ask our daughter how many times I’ve tried to talk her into it!) So, I always stop and dream over all the cute little all-in-one chicken coops in the feed store, or online. I have raised chickens for a long time, so I analyze them thoroughly. Some are very inexpensive–you get what you pay for is the way I look at it. While some are really cute and inexpensive, will they actually hold up year after year? Keep predators out? What will they take for upkeep? But some, while they don’t come with a pen, seem to check all the other boxes for a small chicken coop in your back yard! Maybe they aren’t all foo-foo cute, but they will protect your chickens, and hold up for years!
And The Winner is
Here are the two winners in my books. Neither one is dirt cheap, and even though I love a good bargain, I’m not a fan of low quality. Both of these coops have good reviews, and high star ratings. One is cuter than the other, but they both look durable, easy to put together, and easy to clean, all plus’s in my books! And, although you need to put your own yard/fencing around them, I think they get the ribbons!
In my opinion, THIS is the Grand Champion: The Nestera Brand is made with 100% recycled plastic, easy to clean- just hose it down, and they are STURDY and have a 25 year warranty. Cute? Maybe not. Cool? Yes, indeed!!
Grand Champion: Comes from Nestera, check it out HERE. (paid link) This size holds 3 standard chickens, but they have other sizes and add-ons on their site.
PROS: Easy to Assemble. 25 year Warranty. 100% recycled plastic, means they are “green”, easy to clean, and no maintenance!
CONS: A bit on the spendy side, but long lasting, and ease and “green”, make it worth more. May be dark inside if they need to be locked in. Pen not Included.
*This Is Knothead, a Golden Laced Polish. Polish are fantastic to look at, but they aren’t spectacular layers, nor big enough to be meat birds, and they are kind of high strung sometimes.
Coming in First place: The Snaplock by Formex house is made of durable double-walled plastic, which isn’t the most attractive, but it does make for good insulation, easy snap together assembly, and for easy cleaning .
First Place: A Snaplock by Formex coop, check it out HERE.(paid link) This size holds 4-6 standard sized chickens.
PROS: Easy to assemble. Easy to clean and no maintenance.
CONS: Looks kind of like a plastic yard toy. Up front cost is spendy. No pen included.
*This is Dough, a Buff Orpington–a beautiful, gentle breed–already setting this year…not knowing, that without a rooster, it is in vain. Dough got named by my 5 year old helper….”you know, she looks like dough when it comes out of the oven!”
All that being said, these houses are versatile! If you start out with one of these little coops for your tiny flock, and later you want to expand, they can easily be used for a little brood house ’til your chicks get big enough for the big pen, or they can be turned into a rabbit hutch, if you want to change gears, or add to your menagerie!
Do you think that with the egg prices the way they are that it’s a good day to have a good hen, or at least a couple hens in your backyard?
Good Thoughts
"I don't have my ducks in a row, I have chickens, and they are all over the place!" Unknown.
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