Costs Of Raising Backyard Chickens - How Much Is It To Raise Chickens?

[jtotherow]

My husband and I used wooden crates that his brother had laying around and built the 1st house which is 8x9x7 and used an old screen door for the coop entrance and four windows that gave me easy access to the eggs without going inside. The total cost $15.00 for hinges and latches. We built our second house for a shady,well aired area, for the summers, free from left over wood at my husbands job. We fenced the coop yard is about 30' by 50'. We bought fencing at a discount at Lowes. Uncle gave us 2 rolls of fencing free. Post came from his brother. Total cost $35.00. His Uncle gave us the automatic waters from his turkey farm since he had change to nipples. So our water is the bell system which was free! We started with 50 chicks from McMurray cost about 1.66 @ 50= $83.00. Feed started at Started feed 6.75 and grit natural 50lbs from feed store $5.00. The grit lasted whole time until they were put in the coop. We now spend $24.00 every two weeks on laying mash and $12.86 of a seed block once month. Seed block only in winter! They get grass clipping,cricket, watermelon rines, Stuff out of our garden. When real hot we freeze the veggies to keep them hydrated. They don't eat as much from laying mash in summer as they do in winter. We sell our eggs to a store here. I have about 17 dozen every 2 weeks for $3.00 per dozen. We buy our cartons 100 for $29.00. We keep our some eggs for us and family! I never buy eggs! So from my monthly ledger we actually make about $2.00 profit. Feed that started at $4.75 for 50 lbs has gone up to $12.93 to $13.99. It fluctuates. So it is not going to make us rich but we enjoy my chickens and chicks. I am not losing money and they are great entertainment! Now I have hatched 5 eggs. I got 4 girls and 1 boy. I ordered last year 25 more pullets and ended up with 24 pullets and one roo. Now I am going to have to process 3 roos in all and keep one for my girls! All in all we are still happy to have them!
Oh I almost forgot We added flight net all over top and sides to the coop last year. It keeps the snakes and other predators out! I lost half my flock to owls last year! Will be ordering more pullets soon due to the loss.

 

[kcfuerst]

I spent way too much money getting ready to have chickens preparing a home and run for them compared to just about everybody. I believed it was necessary for aesthetic reasons since I live in a city neighborhood. If you don't count the cost of my first egg at $6,000, then we can get down to earth on maintenance costs. I have had chickens for the past six years. Currently 10 hens (no roosters) reside with me. Since I live in the City, they cannot free range, but I let them out almost every night for an hour before dark when I can be with them. In the past 12 months I have spent $430 ($36/mo) on feed and supplies. I sell all my extra eggs, typically 2 dozen a week @ $4/doz. Doing the math, you would think that my girls cost me $4/mo. ($36 minus $32) but, I NO LONGER have to use pest control measures = savings $30/mo., NO LONGER do I have to buy fertilizer = estimated at $8/mo. so I am now $$$ saving a minimum of $38 every month $$$ by having chickens. That means IT PAYS for me to keep chickens. The benefits far outweigh the costs. NOT to mention the entertainment and wholesome food value which are priceless.

 

[QuackerJen]

Just my two cents...

I have ducks instead of chickens and overall I think they cost more than if I were to just buy the eggs from someone at the Farmer's Market but here are some benefits that trump any savings:

1. The ducks are super cute to have and I am sure chicken folks would agree their personalities are worth something.
2. Ducks don't scratch up your yard so they spend all day in my yard foraging for stuff and have kept down a lot of the weeds though not all and they sometimes get past my defenses into my lettuce or tomatoes... GRRR!
3. Because of their active foraging they have greatly brought under control my Drysophilis suzukii fruit flies overwintering pupae population in the soil and also have taken care of all my slugs and snails. Before the ducks I lost whole crops of blackberries, figs and cherries to that nasty fruit fly but now, with the ducks and my traps for the few adults I do get, I have cherries, figs and blackberries again!
4. Their poopy straw from their pen is high in nitrogen and is great in my compost bin. I used to have to buy or source free manure every year for my yard but not anymore. I just run the straw through the chipper or run over it with the mower to chop it up and it's great mulch and compost fuel. I have it year round!

For more concrete info:
I have 5 ducks: one Cayuga, two Buff Orpingtons, one Welsh Harlequin and one Golden 300 hybrid layer. I bought them as ducklings from Metzer Farms and my total bill was something like $40-$50. I used a rubbermaid tote and then a kiddie pool when thew were bigger in our basement as brooders until they were more feathered and the weather was warmer and then they went outside to their house. I built their house and pen from mostly recycled materials but did some redesigning here and there and went all out for some fancy roof panels eventually. All in all I think their house,pen, waterers, brooder lamp and assorted bedding cost about $200-$275.

They eat one 50# sack of Triple Duty pellets in one month for a cost of $20 and I supplement with Oyster Shell where a 10# sack is $2.50 and depending on the time of year they might go through 1/2 to 2 sacks a month. I buy straw, $8 a bale, for the floor of their pen and house bedding and it takes them about 2 months to go through that unless it's really rainy and I need to change it more often but with my new roof, it stays pretty dry.

They forage during the day in the yard but if it is raining and thus they are having a ball and really active, they'll eat more of the pellets but it's still about 1 sack for one month. Whenever I fill their bin in the basement I write down the date to keep track of their food and each time it is within a day or two of one month.

I occasionally sell the eggs but usually we just eat them or give them away. I get about 3-5 eggs a day from March until November and in the dead of winter I was getting 2-3 eggs a day. I would say the total per month cost is about $10-$20 counting in selling a few dozen. I just love having them in the yard and love all the benefits they provide that don't necessarily pencil out into cash.

Jen, Santa Rosa, CA

 

[Stellitsa]

We built a wooden coop from some unused wooden boards so it cost no money. In our region (a village outside Thessaloniki, Greece) a 40kg bag of chicken food costs 15euro (20$). Sometimes we enrich their diet with grass or bread but this is for free. Chickens usually cost 7€ each (10$) and the little ones cost 1,5€

 

[crimson h farm]

bubby 123,
I am interested on how you keep a compost pile with your chickens. before I built a yard for them they roamed straight to my compost pile when I let them out and completely destroyed it. it looked like I tooks some kind of spreader and evenly spreaded it over my pasture to fertilize it. I would like to get some compost for my garden with out the extra work of having to flip it everyweek but im afraid the chickens will do like the did before and like the do under my rabbit pen. I have never collected any manure from my rabbits because chickens scratch it all away

 

[Paulyp]

My initial start up was kind of expensive. My son and I built a 10 'X 10' coop with a roofed outdoor area that is 12'x10' that is also tarped in for the winter. The outdoor pen that they have access to at all times is a must in the winter here in NH. Very cold in winter and my yard usually is covered with snow till mid April. Cost all in is just under $2,000.00. I use the deep litter method for both areas. Pine shavings indoor and straw outdoor. I has spent approximately $80.00 for bedding in the past year. All litter goes into my compost and hard to put a value on it but I believe there is a value there. I go thru a 50lbs bag of laver feed every 6 to 7 days depending on the scraps they get. A bag cost $14.00. I in return sell between 4 and 7 dozen eggs a week at work for $3.00 a dozen. I also feed some scratch grain but that bag last for weeks maybe $4.00 a week worth. And I have spent just under $150.00 on my original chicks. My feed cost go down to at least half in the summer and fall due to my birds being able to forage. Overall for me the hobby of keeping chickens is not only a reasonable expense it give me hours of entertainment. I find it very relaxing after a stressful day at work to go outside and spend time observing them.

 

[Queen Bee]

You will get lots of opinions on this .. I spent 1000$ on the coop and run. It was Fort Knox , completely enclosed with chain link fencing and 1"x1" hardware around the entire bottom. The coop had cement floor and a metal roof. We used heavy wood siding , a metal door and hardware cloth on the windows. Posts were 6x6 s ... We went over board with it but my husband wouldn't builds it unless it was secure. I purchased point of lay hens instead of chicks which were more expensive. The day to day costs were minimal , really. Free range and /or a little work on your part can cut the cost of feed. I grew mealworms in a tub, we planted sunflowers and extra greens with them in mind. All the veggie scraps went to them. I started with 14 hens and a roo. I had one lady who purchased 2 doz eggs pre week for $5 a doz. she had been paying that for eggs from a fresh market and found me! It went to the cost of food. I didn't have electric , so once the coop was built it was done. I had the for 5 yrs. and never lost one chicken to a predator in the coop... Did I recoup any of my money NO. Would I do it again ? In a heart beat! So I hope you will consider all the posts..

 

[CarolinaHen]

If you are looking to save money on food costs it is not worth the time and expense to build coops, house the birds, feed the birds, care for the birds. You will spend far more money taking care of a backyard flock than you would just going to the local grocery store and buying a dozen eggs. However, if you are looking at having backyard chickens for the health benefits, entertainment, peace of mind knowing exactly what is in your food, and sheer enjoyment of the birds........ you can't beat chickens! They are amazingly wonderful and entertaining as well as suppliers of healthy, nutritious eggs. Best decision we ever made!

 

[austinbndr28]

Last year I spent around $700 on feed and a few waters and feeders. I used wood that I got for free to build some coops and my grandparents had dog kennels on the farm that I now keep some birds in. $100 on a turkey pen 8'X16' about $200 for a large chicken pen 17'X6'. I made $865 from selling chickens last year. This year I am going to profit from my chickens not much but a little for something I love doing it's great hobby!

 

[DLCShark]

I'm a newbie and I anticipate having a very small "flock" but this is what I have in it this far:

$65- Building materials
$45- Feed
$30- Chicks
$25- Literature
$20- Feeder/Water

So give or take a few pennies here and there I have $185 invested so far. I'm still a long ways away from my first eggs but I think it will be well worth it.