what is it like to run a modern egg unit? Any tips?

[Jsmith2211]

My advice would be do the degree and then you've got it if you need it. Anybody who says about debt bloody ignore them they dont understand how the student finance system works! You get your fees completely paid for by gov, only have to pay it back if you earn over 25k or something (can be clever with it if you have a good accountant) and even if you do make over that threshhold you only pay a percentage, so it just works like a small extra tax. You also get a maintanance loan, and if your parents dont make a lot of money (again, good accountant can sort you out) you can get about 9k for "living expenses" (beer). Essentially you can get a degree and make a small bit of cash out of it if you are clever. Oh and after 30 years ish the whole thing is written off. Pretty much no-one ever actually pays off the student loan, that isnt the idea.
Bull sh!t ,

good argument based in fact...

 

[yin ewe]

We've got 32k birds here with a palletiser etc, I'd say your looking at about 6 man hours per day for your daily routine not including mucking out twice per week or shutting birds in
Broilers and free range on the same site doesn't sound ideal to be honest do you not fancy putting up more broiler sheds?

I'd have thought most packers would want a completely separate site for management/biosecurity etc.
My thinking would be if they already have 4 broiler houses would be better with 2 more on the same site and keep the routine simpler.
Another option would be convert sheds from broilers to free range if possible to do, I know a couple that have done that round here, not ideal for equipment and layout etc but they seem to be happy enough.

 

[skerno]

We have a 16k free range house (2nd crop) and 60 cows on a robot. In summary, less work and more profit with the hens.

can i ask is what is it like on the first few weeks as im told that the eggs have to be picked up as the hens dont lay in the boxes.

 

[skerno]

I couldn't disagree with you more. I paid off my loan long ago, and would expect anyone who gets a job as a result of having their degree to do likewise - £25k is basically living wage and nothing even remotely aspirational any more. I'd expect a starting salary for a decent engineer to be £10k more than that.

I've also done a fair bit of graduate recruitment, and would rarely/ never consider taking on a candidate that had been more than a year or so out of Uni without working in the field. To do a degree of engineering and then go work on farm for more than a summer would make the previous years spent not working pointless, imho. Either get the engineering degree, use it for a bit and then take some time out (and the associated pay cut) with your eyes open, or don't bother.

i might choose the agriculture degree

 

[skerno]

Egg price is reasonable at the moment, Give it 18 months and there be 64k bird units popping up all over the place and the price will be back on the floor.

I'd stick with your broilers, at least if you get a poor flock you only have to put up with them for a few weeks! 14 months of a poor flock wants some putting up with!! Poor flocks are very expensive to keep!

whats it like on a day to day basis?

 

[sherg]

can i ask is what is it like on the first few weeks as im told that the eggs have to be picked up as the hens dont lay in the boxes.

Some flocks are better than others, I've heard horror stories of people picking up 8 or 9k out of a 32

 

[yin ewe]

can i ask is what is it like on the first few weeks as im told that the eggs have to be picked up as the hens dont lay in the boxes.

We have found it easier this time, I think mainly because the hens were 16w when we got them as opposed to 18w first crop so they were starting to lay before they had a chance to properly settle in. We walk the house every 1 1/2 to 2 hrs until about lunchtime so that they don't get time to lay on the floor.
As said every flock is different.

 

[Andrew_Ni]

My advice would be do the degree and then you've got it if you need it. Anybody who says about debt bloody ignore them they dont understand how the student finance system works! You get your fees completely paid for by gov, only have to pay it back if you earn over 25k or something (can be clever with it if you have a good accountant) and even if you do make over that threshhold you only pay a percentage, so it just works like a small extra tax. You also get a maintanance loan, and if your parents dont make a lot of money (again, good accountant can sort you out) you can get about 9k for "living expenses" (beer). Essentially you can get a degree and make a small bit of cash out of it if you are clever. Oh and after 30 years ish the whole thing is written off. Pretty much no-one ever actually pays off the student loan, that isnt the idea.

I finished university with an agriculture degree 2 years ago. Home will only ever be a part time hobby, when I was working full time post graduation, the student loan repayment just came out from my paye along with tax and N.I. If I was self employed like previously mentioned, an accountant could sort things out to reduce if not eliminate repayments. Without a student loan, I wouldn’t have gone to university and with the degree it opens up more opportunities for jobs.

 

[R J]

You don't want broilers and free range near each other - BIO -SECURITY !

 

[upnortheast]

1st question is where is your market for eggs.
Bloke we buy eggs from has half his sheds empty as the wholesale price is uneconomic.
Concentrates on what he can sell direct.
Though he was saying the wholesale price is creeping up so is looking at increasing numbers

 

[Chrismc530]

Me (16) and my father (55), live on a 4 broiler house and beef farm (poultry is the main earner) and in the future when i am finished my time at university my father wants to build an egg unit, (an end on end unit with the packing station in between). I have heard mixed opinions on the daily life on an egg unit as i will be working the egg unit while father works on the broilers and beef. Any experiences or tip? Thanks.

We put up a 16000 hen multi tier house in 2017 to add to our veg growing and fuel business. Takes by far the least amount of work (3 hours/day)and makes the most money of all our businesses. If you have a few egg farmers that can give you advice in the beginning you can soon get the hang of it . On to our 5th crop now and as you learn the tricks of the trade your production gets better every year. I was 17 when we went about looking planning so similar to you.

 

[ridger]

What's happening with eggs now? Seem hard to get