How Much Does it Cost You for Organic Chicken Feed?

Hello everyone,

I am new here and thinking of raising some backyard chickens! I am thinking of doing it because I think it would be fun, but also to potentially save money.

We eat about 4 dozen eggs per week and spend about $50 a month on organic, free range eggs from a local farm.

If I had about 1 dozen chickens, how much would I have to spend monthly (after the initial start up cost of coop, chicks, etc) to take care of them with organic feed?

We do also have a large yard and there will be PLENTY of bugs. (At least from spring- onset of winter.)

Thanks everyone- I appreciate it!

Catherine

It really depend on were you live organic feed prices very widely, and availability

We live in Kansas City, MO. Do you do organic feed for your chickens, and if so, how much is it for you? I am trying to see if I can get a general figure...basically anything under $50 would mean I would definitely do it!

If you find someone that caries organic feed close by and dont have to ship you will spend less than 50 a month in feed for a dozen birds....

were I'm at organic is very had to come by. I get my feed made. then I know whats in it.

You shoulsn't have a problem getting it for under $50

Thanks a lot guys. Any tips on locating a local supplier?

How do you get yours made for you?

Local co-op makes it for me, try a feed store, a co-op look around.

There is a distributer for Countryside Natural about 30 min from me and I order everything through her. Right now, I have 8 100% free range hens and over the winter we went through one 50lb bag of Layer Feed and one 50lb bag of Scratch about every 3 months (the bags cost me ~$28 ea including the transportation surcharge). I bought a big bag of oyster shells and a big bag of DE (that'll last me forever) and I'm switching to a whole grain organic feed that we're formulating ourselves and a local mill will blend and bag for us (there's MUCH less waste with living whole grains, they're more nutritious, and anything that doesn't get eaten will sprout and get eaten then). Do a google search for organic chicken feed to see if there's anything in your half of the country - call and ask them if there are any co-ops or distributers near you or put an ad on Craigslist and start one yourself (you'd be surprised how many people with small flocks are interested in organic chicken feed!). Also, it'd be a lot more expensive but since you will only have 12 hens you can buy most of the whole grains you'll need for a balanced feed from a Whole Foods/ Fresh Market type health food store for $1.00 - $1.50 per pound (which would still put you just under $50/month and you'd have the joy and satisfaction of raising your own chickens . Good Luck!

Stefanie

I spend about $20-$25 per 50 pound bag. I did however have to drive from Chicago to Wisconsin to get it which was not cheap.

I looked into getting a pallet of food sent to my place of business which would utimately be cheaper for feed but it is a lot of feed to get for all my birds!!

You could see how much it would be to pallet feed from an organic mill which is cheaper than regular shipping but you may need a forklift to get it off the truck.

The feed I buy is roughly $25 per 50# bag, then add to that the cost of shipping it from VA to TN -- less than 500#, and it's about $20 per bag for shipping. I've decided to take my chances buying in bulk and paying only $115 per pallet for delivery of however much I can store. Last order, it came out to $8 per bag for shipping. The company I buy from let's you mix and match your order, so the pallet didn't just have layer feed -- I also bought starter, broiler, scratch, oyster shell, and fish meal.

For my adult flock of 13 (12 hens and a roo), I think I've used 2.5 bags since mid January. Those 12 hens provide approximately 4-5 dozen eggs per week. The entertainment and therapy value is immeasurable.