“So lucky, you get free eggs”

[Squawkers]

Even so, I spend far more than $8 on a bag of food, I spend 32.00 per bag of 50 pounds of layer mash and that lasts my chickens about 2 weeks. They have a huge run and they get scraps and other goodies but there's no way even if they were able to be free range I could spend so little. You are far luckier than most of us.

I didn’t say I spend $8 on a bag of food one 50# bag of food costs $25 and lasts 3 months, so about $8 per month. And I only have five, I’m sure you have way more chickens than me. I do know I spend quite a bit less than most people

 

[FrostRanger]

I pay about 25 bucks for 50lbs of feed

 

[RennaeHanson]

I consider mine livestock. I used to name them, but have stopped with my last two batches of hens. I give them a good life, but naming them made it harder to cull them when the time came.

Neither the eggs nor meat are price competitive with mass-produced products, but that was never the point. I'm aiming more for quality and self-sufficiency.

I agree. If my egg customers realized the true cost of the eggs they would not be able to afford them. I try to support my chickens by selling the extras, I know I'm not going to make a profit. I do it for the same reasons, quality and self-sufficiency. I even encourage my customers to get chickens...even if only a few they would have fresh eggs.

My sister once had a turkey that she named and used to take for a walk - on a harness no less! LOL Once it came time to butcher him, she couldn't eat him! LOL

 

[RennaeHanson]

I didn’t say I spend $8 on a bag of food one 50# bag of food costs $25 and lasts 3 months, so about $8 per month. And I only have five, I’m sure you have way more chickens than me. I do know I spend quite a bit less than most people

I have 13 hens and a rooster. I buy organic feed from an organic coop I belong to. Around here what I pay is much less than what I would pay from the farm store believe it or not.

 

[PattieTheDuck]

How did you only spend $125? My Purina Duck food, for 8 ducks, costs more than that.

Yeah, I spend that much money on feed itself for 4 months

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

I consider mine livestock. I used to name them, but have stopped with my last two batches of hens. I give them a good life, but naming them made it harder to cull them when the time came.

Neither the eggs nor meat are price competitive with mass-produced products, but that was never the point. I'm aiming more for quality and self-sufficiency.

Yes to the quality and self sufficiency here too. I'm mean sure, we have a meatmarket near us and can get chicken cheap, and know our Brahma/egger crosses will take longer to flesh out but not our main concern. And having our chickens helps get us outside, moving, active and gives us another (mental) buddy.

 

[Squawkers]

I have 13 hens and a rooster. I buy organic feed from an organic coop I belong to. Around here what I pay is much less than what I would pay from the farm store believe it or not.

That makes sense. I just get the purina layer pellets. I also have young layers currently. I have definitely have a few years that most of them were older and I got hardly any eggs.

 

[Squawkers]

2023 was embarrassing All of my girls where older and I bought a new coop and auto door

 

[GracePoultry]

once you get rid of the cost of feed, birds, coop, run, waterer, feeder, medicines and aids, the eggs are pretty much free

 

[Squawkers]

2023 was embarrassing All of my girls where older and I bought a new coop and auto door

Well, that’s not true. I had 6 slackers (one rooster and 5 pullets) one 5-year old RIR who didn’t lay, one who was sick for about half of the year and didn’t lay that time, and one that laid the whole year but just wasn’t that good of a layer. So I basically had 8 slackers