We went to a beekeeping seminar today. Still not got any bees yet, we're still in the research stage. One of the seminar speakers cracked a joke which elicited a knowing chuckle from the audience! He said, when he was younger, someone said to his father...
"You like honey don't you? Why don't you keep bees, then you can have free honey!.
That reminded me of how I broached the subject of getting chickens with 2 sheds. I thought if I could convince him it would be economically sound, he would be as excited about the whole idea as me. Of course, at that point, I was convinced we were going to save a fortune, "Everybody on
moneysavingexpert.com raves about keeping chickens!" I enthused!
I suggested we get ex-battery hens which would only cost 50 pence each. I also suggested he could build a run for them out of scrap wood and then all we'd need to do is buy food and a few bits and pieces. I convinced him it would be a minimal outlay for a copious egg lay!
The wooden coop we bought cost about £150 on e-bay (and that was the cheapest we could find!) and it only lasted less than a year
before it was riddled with red mite and warped so badly it leaked!
We've also had to buy layers mash, poultry grit, oyster shell, garlic powder, red mite powder, diatom powder, poultry spice, apple cider vinegar, poultry shield, lifeguard poultry tonic,
flubenvet,
citricidal, limestone flour, mite spray,
aubiose (bedding), garden lime,
stalosan F, various feeders and drinkers not to mention the treats they adore like
mealworms! And those are just the things I can remember, not to mention vets bills for the poorly ones.
We ultimately forked out for an
Omlet cube and an
Eglu as they were much easier to clean and keep red mite free but they don't come cheap, mainly because there is no decent comparable product on the market. I think combined they came to almost £700!
Then there was the wire mesh, wood and roofing for the run (we never had any scrap wood!).
Don't get me wrong, I adore our girls and the run looks fabulous (even if I do say so myself!) and the eggs taste out of this world but, pound for pound, they probably cost 10 times the price of
Kobe beef, although we do stop short at massaging our chickens, but I bet they'd enjoy a beer or two!
That's another thing about chickens, people will tell you they will eat ANYTHING! Not true. Unless we have the pickiest fowl on the planet!?
They'll eat lettuce but turn their nose up at cabbage. They adore grapes, plums and strawberries but give them a banana or an apple and they'll look at you like you're trying to get them to eat arsenic!
I have been known to buy corn on the cob, a punnet of grapes or cook pasta or potato especially for the chickens!
And to think, we actually give our eggs away to friends and family, they have no idea how lucky they are!
It's the same with beekeeping, there's as much paraphernalia (if not more) to shell out for than with chickens. Well, even if you only have one hive, you'll have at least 20,000 little buzzers to keep healthy and happy!
So, when somebody gives you eggs laid by their garden hens or honey from their own bees, show the appropriate level of gratitude because they'll be the MOST expensive eggs and honey you've ever had in your life!
