More local families look to live off the land
Jan. 28—SHANNON — In the backyard of Evrette and Beth Jolley's home are some 16 chickens, along with five ducks. Later this year, the Shannon couple plan to add rabbits and quail.
"We kind of started doing this because we wanted the boys to know their food didn't come from Walmart," Evrette Jolley said. "So many people think food comes from Walmart, but food comes from farms."
The Jolleys' sons — Sawyer and Bode — play active roles in caring for the poultry, taking the bulk of the responsibility for letting the birds out in the morning for feeding and then closing them back inside their coops in the evening.
Maverick, an Australian shepherd, herds the chickens, looks after them and cares for them in his own right, Evrette Jolley said.
The Jolley family is like many others who want to live off the land, choosing to be more independent and enjoying what they say is a healthier lifestyle.
Leslie Ward and her husband, Jesse, live with their two sons in Mantee. There, they have chickens, ducks, pigs, beef cattle, dairy cows, a peacock, a few turkeys and some guineas just for fun.
They process their own meat, milk their own cows (twice a day) and of course have plenty of eggs for themselves. All this while the couple work full-time jobs.
"It's simple," Leslie Ward said of their busy farm life. "It's to provide good-quality food for our family that's free from antibiotics, hormones and is raised the way God intended — on the land, and not in a cage."
The Wards have 10 acres, with pasture pigs on about 3 acres and the rest for cattle. The chickens are free-range during the day.
In Kossuth, Seth Bragg and his wife, Kayce, have K&S farms where they have chickens, hogs and sheep.
"We're first-generation farmers, and have been doing it for about 10 years," Seth said. "We're like an old homesteader and trying to become more self-sufficient."
The chicken or the egg(s)?
Not everyone is willing or able to have a menagerie of animals in their backyards. So they start on a much smaller scale, like a few chickens. And with the price of eggs these days, there is more interest from those wanting to produce their own eggs.
But while having chickens has its benefits, particularly in providing protein, it's not all fun and games.
"In the summer, you'll get more eggs than you can eat," Evrette Jolley said. "Literally every chicken will lay an egg every other day, if not every day, depending on their breed. If they're properly fed with plenty of protein, during the laying season they'll lay every day."
During the winter, Jolley said, some northern chickens will continue laying eggs. Others, however, won't lay a single egg for months.
The price of eggs at the grocery store has skyrocketed in recent months, as avian flu last year led to the slaughter of millions of chickens. That cut into the supply of eggs, leading to eye-popping price increases.
Add to that the price of feed, which also has increased.
"When we started feeding these birds, you could buy two weeks' worth of food for about $12," Evrette said. "Now, it costs $45. That's roughly $100 a month to feed about a dozen birds. Grain prices have just gone through the roof. The bags of high-protein food we buy are $24 a bag."
Even when egg production slows down in the winter months, the chickens still have to be fed daily.
But it's not the cold that affects the egg-laying hens, it's the amount of sunshine they get, Evrette Jolley said. When the days get longer, and the sun shines 12 hours or more, the egg-laying kicks in.
Leslie Ward said it is important to research how many eggs each chicken breed will lay on average each day to decide what breed, and how many birds, will best meet a family's egg demands.
"Not all breeds are hearty for Mississippi," she said. "We have some cold, cold winters and hot summers, and I would recommend knowing what breed will be consistent with egg production."
With the darker days, egg laying has slowed down quite a bit at the Jolleys' home.
"Right now, we're getting two to four eggs a day consistently," Beth Jolley said. "I've collected up to six, but that's because most of them have shut down."
An average chicken will produce about 180-200 eggs a year, the Jolleys said.
The Braggs in Kossuth started with six chickens and have had as many as 120. They now have about 30, which is more manageable.
"It's also more affordable as far as feed — that's the big kicker," Seth said.
Leslie Ward agreed, offering some advice on what to feed chickens.
"Consider what type of feed you want to feed: non-GMO, non-corn nearly doubles the price of feed," she said. "Laying hens require 16-18% protein in their diet to keep up with egg production. They need more carbohydrates in the winter to keep warm and they need fresh water daily."
The Jolleys feed their chickens early in the morning. Later in the afternoon, they get a snack.
"If they weren't free-range, they'd have to get fed more," Evrette said. "But because they are free-range, they probably get about 20% of their food off the ground. In the summer, they probably get more than that."
Chickens also have to be in a coop at night to keep them safe from predators.
Other things to consider, Bragg said:
"There's the run — the space around the coop — and whether you want a fenced-in area or you want them free-range."
Chickens need protection from all kinds of predators: dogs, cats, foxes, possums, raccoons and even fellow birds.
"And they also need shelter from the elements," Leslie Ward said.
Bragg said people can start with chicks, or they can buy chickens that are already laying. With the former, it'll be seven to eight months before the bird's owner sees the first egg, so many are willing to pony up the $15 to $20 for a laying bird.
The Jolleys also point out that chickens have to be fed every day. So family vacations are out unless they can find somebody reliable to feed the chickens.
Said Bragg, "We enjoy it. But it is a chore."
For those looking to adopt a more self-sufficient lifestyle, Evrette Jolley recommends starting with chickens.
"If you can't take care of chickens, you're not going to be able to take care of pigs or cows or anything else," he said.
