Anyone Limiting Their Flock Due to Costs and Economy?

[Up-the-Creek]

Quote:
I'm always surprised when someone one here makes comments like this. Of course you can! I turn a big profit on my small flock of layers (27) hens and (3) roos. And I'm selling my eggs much cheaper than most folks on here sell their free ranged, all naturally raised chicken's eggs. I sell for $2 a dozen and am selling out and can't keep up with the supply. This pays for my feed bill, the cost of the new chicks last summer and any other items I may have purchased (very few).

I think this kind of comment is based on the general idea around this forum that one has to build a coop, build a fence like Ft. Knox, provide specialty feeds of the highest nutrition, vet care, ornamental breeds for fun, no culling for proficiency of lay or for any other reason, for that matter, and that chickens are our family and pets and should not be killed.

When one actually manages a small flock, it can be quite profitable. When you explore alternative food sources like free range pasture, sprouted grains, mangels, etc. you only have to supplement your food supply in the coldest winter months.

When you use existing structures, free range, have LGD to guard your flock(free dogs, BTW, who supplement their feed with chicken poop protein snacks), and judicial culling so you are only feeding producing chickens~then it isn't the money drain people describe.

Now, if you are treating it like a hobby and a pet project...I can see where this runs into some money.

If you are treating it like a food source and a nice little, tax free income and making around $120 a month on eggs and only spending around $20 on feed (and that's only when its still cold/winter), one can certainly justify having chickens to save money. Not to mention the added benefit of eating culled stock and raising your own replacement layers with broody hens....it all works out great!

I agree! I think a lot of people turn it into a pricey hobby with ornamental layers , building coops, and buying way too much stuff that you could make (like feeders) or just plain do without. It is in want you want though, some people it is a hobby, others it is food and a way to make some cash. I thought about getting silkies,but why? They are freaking adorable I know, but would they produce enough to pay for themselves??? I figured no. So I am adding to the flock, but more dual purpose birds. That is what I have now and I believe you get more bang for your buck. No cutting back here!

 

[RlgNorth]

I have never owned chickens but we live very comforable and would love to have the eggs and meat!!! Up here in alaska the bad economy hasn't really hit . Me and my DH are very lucky that he has a nice stable job that pays well. I think if you are smart with your money and what you do with it if you want to own chickens, goats or even a horse as we do then go for it!! I do plan on selling some of my eggs to some nierbors and friends that are interested in buying fresh farm eggs. But I am not selling them as profit plus will be about 5 months before we even get any eggs. I will definatly try and pinch and save and not go crazy but that is what we have always done so nothing differant there. PLus the eggs are going to help my sister who isn't as lucky as we are and any savings for them is good. And her son in the summers is going to be helping with the work to pay for the eggs and meat.I love hearing all your ideas on how you save money when it comes to raising chickens.

 

[briteday]

cw362...If you have Starbucks nearby they bag and give away (free!) used coffee grounds. Most stores have a big tub by the side door or near the back (where they would walk out to the dumpster) for this tub. If they have bagged the used grounds they will be in silver bags and clearly marked as used and for your garden. Sometimes you have to ask because if no one is taking the bagged grounds then the employees won't bother to bag them up, they just dump out the huge bags from behind the counter.

If you don't have Starbucks I would check with any local diner, coffee shop, ... I'll bet they won't mind reducing their garbage bill.


Now, to the topic at hand...

We are increasing our flock since we are making a bit every month on selling eggs and are always behind on requests. I can easily sell double what my 6 RIR's (obtained for free on craigslist) produce so we are getting 9 more pullets (3 Delawares and 6 EE's) for the egg demand. Whole Foods opened a store here about one year ago and the West Coast Transplants can't seem to get enough of that place. Theya re thrilled to buy eggs from me instead since I "am so MUCH CHEAPER!" Sunday is "Kids Day" at our house. We invite anyone who buys our eggs, DD babysits / housesits / dogsits for to bring their kids over any time between noon and 4PM on Sundays (we always seem to be doing outdoor chores when the weather is nice anyway) and the kids can keep any eggs they find in the nest. And right now they all want to see the baby chicks...lookie, no touchie! It's great for business.

We try very hard to make this a free hobby. Our coops have all been made from wood and supplies laying around the house, except for a few rolls of wire. No heat lamps or extra lighting. Chicks that we are raising now were free as a customer appreciation from the feed store and are already sold to pay for the Dell's and EE's. No fancy brooders, just cardboard boxes from work, paper towels, and shredded paper from the shredder at work.

Feed is payed for by the RIR girls and then some. They get Layena pellets, oyster shell, kitchen scraps, and all the produce castoffs they can eat from the local organic grocery store. I bought a bag of scratch for the winter to keep life from getting too boring when they can't roam. So far the only real cost has been our time.

Besides the neighbors and co-workers, DD has also been selling eggs to a local cafe (would take up to 6 doz / week if we had them!) and the dentist's office staff (wants 4-6 doz every 2 weeks and are willing to pay more to stay on the "preferred customer list" LOL!!!). All of this has been by word of mouth. DD started by saying "1st dozen free, after that $1/doz." Then everyone saw the huge brown eggs, loved the deep orange yolks, and started tucking $2 in the payment envelopes. So now DD tells all new customers $2/ dozen, anything extra goes to my college fund. She is able to pay the feed bill, gas for her car, and still deposits a bit at the end of each month. However, we aren't eating very many eggs right now! She keeps reminding me that eggs are $$$!!!

Nine more should be laying by the start of Fall. Yea!!!!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

All right, let me elaborate.

Of course you can spend extravagantly on your chickens, with high-priced feeds, ornate coops built with new materials, vet care, and keeping breeds & birds that don't produce.

And certainly there are other wise flock managers who contrive ways to keep their costs to a minimum and even turn a profit from their birds. They don't spend anywhere near as much money as the first group, but they must be spending a good bit of time & effort to make their birds work for them.

However, I will still stand by my original statement, with this caveat: The average beginning chicken keeper doesn't keep chickens to save $$$ on their grocery bill, even though you do benefit in many other non-financial ways.

Many folks are just keeping a few laying hens to supply their family with fresh eggs. They don't have the space or time to keep additional hens to lay extra eggs to sell to pay the feed bill. Not everyone has sufficient safe space suitable for free-ranging. Not everyone's yard has good chicken forage growing in it, that will keep their birds in condition conducive for daily laying. Not everyone can find a decent LGD for free, especially one who tempers its appetite by eating chicken poop(???) Not everyone has existing structures that can be used for chicken coops & pens, not everyone has good luck in finding free building materials to make their own.

When I first began keeping chickens other folks would say to me "I bet you're saving LOTS of $$$ on groceries now!" That's when my flock was small and eggs were only $1 a dozen in the store. Even though I'm extremely thrifty, cobbled my coops together from reclaimed materials, kept standard production breeds, and supplemented their generic-brand feed with kitchen scraps & garden produce, I knew my birds weren't really saving us much $$$ -- but we were certainly benefitting in many other ways by having them.

I believe meat birds have the same benefits for the small-scale average keeper. Certainly there are ways to make a financial profit from them, but you'll have to spend more time and use more space. The birds I raise for meat don't save us much, if any, on our grocery bill, but I'd rather have a little home-grown meat & make it stretch than a lot of cheap store-bought meat to eat all at once.

This is a good thread for our times. Some folks have always been frugal and needn't change many of their ways. Others are giving much more thought into their lifestyles & spending. And this is extending into our chicken keeping, whether it's for profit or for passion. It's good to know all these economical ways to manage your chicken flock, whether it's large or small.

I wouldn't say that everyone can save or make $$$ by keeping chickens. But I would certainly recommend it as being worthwhile anyway.

 

[Beekissed]

Not everyone has sufficient safe space suitable for free-ranging. Not everyone's yard has good chicken forage growing in it, that will keep their birds in condition conducive for daily laying. Not everyone can find a decent LGD for free, especially one who tempers its appetite by eating chicken poop(???) Not everyone has existing structures that can be used for chicken coops & pens, not everyone has good luck in finding free building materials to make their own.

And not everyone has always lived in a setting that's just right for managing a flock.... I've lived in town and kept my chickens in a chicken tractor that I made from salvage material. Salvage material that I avidly looked for and collected from curbs, dumpsters, etc. No dog then and my yard just has, and even then had, just regular ol' grass. It can still be done frugally, even without the right place and setting.

The average beginning chicken keeper doesn't keep chickens to save $$$ on their grocery bill, even though you do benefit in many other non-financial ways.

I would have to say another caveat should be added to your statement: The average beginning chicken keeper~who is doing it as a hobby~doesn't keep chickens to save $$ on their grocery bill.

Obviously, if its a hobby only and not started as a money saving or money making feature, it only follows that you will lose money. Most hobbies, by nature, are for fun and entertainment. If your yard or residence isn't big enough or isn't conducive for raising more than four or so chickens, then, of course, you will have to make some adjustments that may cost you money. That's a given.​

 

[swampducks]

Quote:
I'm always surprised when someone one here makes comments like this. Of course you can! I turn a big profit on my small flock of layers (27) hens and (3) roos. And I'm selling my eggs much cheaper than most folks on here sell their free ranged, all naturally raised chicken's eggs. I sell for $2 a dozen and am selling out and can't keep up with the supply. This pays for my feed bill, the cost of the new chicks last summer and any other items I may have purchased (very few).

I think this kind of comment is based on the general idea around this forum that one has to build a coop, build a fence like Ft. Knox, provide specialty feeds of the highest nutrition, vet care, ornamental breeds for fun, no culling for proficiency of lay or for any other reason, for that matter, and that chickens are our family and pets and should not be killed.

I think a lot of it also has to do with where you live. For instance if I lived nearer to a large popularion center where people place a premium on home grown eggs I could probably sell a dozen for 2-3 bucks. But up here where I do live I've only been able to sell one dozen for 1.50. People up here in northeast MI are broke, and/or already have their own chickens.

Fortunately, I'm not in it for the money.

I also changed my mind, I may not be getting the chickens I orginally wanted through the mail but the local hatchery in MI now has silver ladced wyandottes and as I love my glws I just have to get 10 of those, and through the feed store they're only costing my $1 each for straight run! Even DH thinks I should get 10 or so.

 

[Mojo Chick'n]

Quote:
I'm always surprised when someone one here makes comments like this. Of course you can! I turn a big profit on my small flock of layers (27) hens and (3) roos. And I'm selling my eggs much cheaper than most folks on here sell their free ranged, all naturally raised chicken's eggs. I sell for $2 a dozen and am selling out and can't keep up with the supply. This pays for my feed bill, the cost of the new chicks last summer and any other items I may have purchased (very few).

I think this kind of comment is based on the general idea around this forum that one has to build a coop, build a fence like Ft. Knox, provide specialty feeds of the highest nutrition, vet care, ornamental breeds for fun, no culling for proficiency of lay or for any other reason, for that matter, and that chickens are our family and pets and should not be killed.

When one actually manages a small flock, it can be quite profitable. When you explore alternative food sources like free range pasture, sprouted grains, mangels, etc. you only have to supplement your food supply in the coldest winter months.

When you use existing structures, free range, have LGD to guard your flock(free dogs, BTW, who supplement their feed with chicken poop protein snacks), and judicial culling so you are only feeding producing chickens~then it isn't the money drain people describe.

Now, if you are treating it like a hobby and a pet project...I can see where this runs into some money.

If you are treating it like a food source and a nice little, tax free income and making around $120 a month on eggs and only spending around $20 on feed (and that's only when its still cold/winter), one can certainly justify having chickens to save money. Not to mention the added benefit of eating culled stock and raising your own replacement layers with broody hens....it all works out great!

Thank you, Beekissed, for stating this so well

 

[chickens4me]

Quote:
I agree!

Silkies are my "ornamental" breed....but they don't really eat much thankfully.

 

[Mrs MIA]

It certainly seems to depend on your location and conditions. Up here people are happy to pay $4/dozen for locally produced eggs, but then, a 50# bag of feed costs on average $16-20/bag. Higher protein gamebird starter is more like $23-24/bag. So of course the prices are going to be higher to make ends meet. My "hobby" started out as just eggs for me. But when people started asking if I had any for sale, then I wound up getting more birds to supply those eggs and help pay for feed. Now our monthly feed bill is close to $250 with LOTS more birds/eggs on the way, so if I'm going to make it work I have to sell lots of eggs/birds. Other than family flocks, I am the only "hatchery" on the peninsula, and have a slight advantage over others. The next closest one is 300 miles north of me in Palmer. We seem to break even with the birds we have right now, but it's not a HUGE moneymaking adventure. Especially since we put out about $10K in materials, supplies and birds to get it started last year. I'm glad I did it when I did, because now I don't know that I could afford the startup... but maintaining now is a little easier, and getting better as people are starting to come out of their hibernation and think spring.

It is for each person to decide whether raising chickens is a viable choice for them. Keeping a few birds around for fresh eggs isn't going to make or break you, even in these tough times. Shoot, they eat ANYTHING!

But you do have to maintain larger flocks, and choose for productivity if you don't want them to eat you out of house and home.

 

[KellyHM]

My ornamental breeds are the ones who pay for the flock! Since I sell hatching eggs and/or chicks they pay the feed bill for everyone, including my regular layers and babies. If I have extra money from selling the eggs for the month then I can buy new chicks, hens, etc. I don't expect to make money, but I do make them pay for themselves!