How much did you spend on brooder stuff? $25 for a roll of hardware cloth, $10 on latches and hinges, About $10 on 2x2 lumber, $8 on large plastic tub for below the wire, $5 on a gallon of mis-tint paint on the clearance rack.
How much did you spend on building a house/run? They have half of the steel storage building the chickens got, so $150. $75 on all-around wire fencing, 3 different types to reduce over all cost, hardware cloth on bottom 3ft, 2x2 mesh above that, roof is 2x4 welded wire we had extra. $10 on latches/hinges/staples/ect. Maybe $40 on lumber?
How much did/do you spend on feed? $22 (50 pounds) on natural non-GMO layer, $18 on the same type of starter and grower, use about 100 lbs a month between all of them, chickens included.
How much did/do you spend on hay/shavings/etc.? $4.99 pine shavings, $5.99 pine straw (ducks only) for ducks... about $25 a month in bedding
How much did you spend on ducklings? (OK, that's the only one I've got a good projected calculation on for myself) $10 each plus shipping on "fancy" ducks from Holderreads. $116 for 10 including shipping. Though average duckling prices around me is $5 each.
Curious also about incubator set ups, but probably won't go there. Hovabator, new and improved digital, About $200? Already had a turner so didn't need to buy that. Turner is an LG from TSC, was $45 or so. Old style Hovabator was $50-ish new from a reptile site.
Did you at some point "break even" on ducks in terms of eggs, meat or breeding?
Not even with my two incubators running non-stop for the last 2 months. Maybe next year. I need to sell 10 ducklings per month to feed and house them and the chickens for "free". Since it costs the same to feed/house them, that's why I went with rare ducks. I'd need to sell 20 $5 ducklings a month otherwise.
How much did you spend on building a house/run? They have half of the steel storage building the chickens got, so $150. $75 on all-around wire fencing, 3 different types to reduce over all cost, hardware cloth on bottom 3ft, 2x2 mesh above that, roof is 2x4 welded wire we had extra. $10 on latches/hinges/staples/ect. Maybe $40 on lumber?
How much did/do you spend on feed? $22 (50 pounds) on natural non-GMO layer, $18 on the same type of starter and grower, use about 100 lbs a month between all of them, chickens included.
How much did/do you spend on hay/shavings/etc.? $4.99 pine shavings, $5.99 pine straw (ducks only) for ducks... about $25 a month in bedding
How much did you spend on ducklings? (OK, that's the only one I've got a good projected calculation on for myself) $10 each plus shipping on "fancy" ducks from Holderreads. $116 for 10 including shipping. Though average duckling prices around me is $5 each.
Curious also about incubator set ups, but probably won't go there. Hovabator, new and improved digital, About $200? Already had a turner so didn't need to buy that. Turner is an LG from TSC, was $45 or so. Old style Hovabator was $50-ish new from a reptile site.
Did you at some point "break even" on ducks in terms of eggs, meat or breeding?