Breaking Even

[Big C]

We show a profit from our flocks with our egg sales. Micro manage your expenses.

 

[Mahonri]

Quote:
what are your expenses? aside from heating in the winter....????

I don't heat in the winter.

I use an AC in my coop in the Summer.

Feed runs about $15 a bag.

 

[Beekissed]

Yep! If you treat it like a business and cull aggressively for nonlaying hens and extra roo offspring, you are not feeding nonproduction birds. You can't run a farm on sympathy, or so I hear.

Most of the folks I read about who can't get ahead or break even are those who are raising pets or are not real serious about making a profit.

Freeranging cuts operation costs tremendously by supplementing feed bills and keeping birds healthier. Having an existing coop or building one from recycled materials also cuts costs.

Even if one has to spend an initial amount to buy materials for coop, feeding and watering recepticals, and chicks to get started, one can make those costs back in a few years and be keeping the profits from there on out.

Letting broodies hatch and brood chicks brings costs down even more.

Building a flock that is naturally hardy is also a must. One can spend alot of time and money nursing along a flock with a poor immune system or that doesn't do well in your climate conditions.

It's just best all around to think of raising chickens in terms of years and plan for each year's flock as you would for any longterm investment. How can I keep feed/health costs down, how can I increase yield, how can I breed/promote stronger immune systems, how can I protect my investment from predators?

 

[pixie74943]

The feed I buy is basically $1 a kilo. I sell my eggs for $3 a dozen. If I ignore what we spent on materials to build the coop, I'm already making profit. The two older girls have been laying for 3 or 4 months, and the younger for less than a month.

Being in Australia, I dont have winter heating costs, although I'm wondering about summer cooling. So far its been extra water, and extra shade, which has been free.

When the bag of feed I have runs out, I'm going to go buy a new bag, with the money I've made from eggs. We'll see how things weigh out then, but I'm pretty sure I'm making more than I'm spending.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't heat nor cool my coop, as I have very large windows for ventilation and for more light in winter. I choose winter hardy breeds that do well in my climate. Our summers don't get super hot nor our winters super cold, so I'm lucky in this regard.

 

[mossy_oak23]

Quote:
in what sense does free range cut down the costs tremedously? aren't you still offering your flock feed as they want it? Do you really see THAT much of a difference in there commercial feed consumption when they are out running around?

 

[HEChicken]

I'm not getting any eggs yet but plan to sell the excess when I do. I almost don't see how I can NOT break even. I was lucky to get my coop for free off Freecycle. I spent $1 to make both a feeder and waterer (see my BYC page). My birds free-range, which cuts way down on the amount of supplemental feed (Since mid-August, I've bought 2 bags of chick starter and one bag of Flock Raiser. Using a coupon at TSC and buying when they introduced Purina and had a low introductory price, I've spent about $35 on feed and still have enough left to last about 3 weeks). In other words even when I count what I've spent on the birds themselves, I have spent less than $100 in the last four months. I know I will be feeding them over winter and even if they start to lay in winter, the eggs may be spotty until Spring. But when Spring comes, they will all be old enough to lay and I should be getting enough eggs to sell what my immediate family can't use. Around here I can get $2.50/doz and I suspect by this time next year, I will have recouped my expenses and then some.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
I do offer feed free choice and my chooks also free-range. I watch them eating grass, clover and bugs. I also give them leftover oatmeal, rice, pasta and vegie scraps. I figure every bite of something they find themselves, is one less bite of commercial food and I suspect that is what the OP meant when he/she said it cuts down on the feed costs. I do know that I've read posts of many people here who complain about the cost of feed and how fast their birds go through a 50# bag but I've found just the opposite - a bag seems to last forever! The only difference I can think of is that mine are eating less feed because they're finding other stuff to eat, whereas those who are going through feed like crazy have their chickens penned most/all of the time and the only food they are eating is commercial.

 

[Royd]

Quote:
You can look at it this way; Eggland's brown freerange organic eggs sell for about $4.30 a dozen, in Walmart. That's only 1.5 weeks, to make up that amount... Even if you don't sell them, you are eating gold.

 

[Beekissed]

in what sense does free range cut down the costs tremedously? aren't you still offering your flock feed as they want it? Do you really see THAT much of a difference in there commercial feed consumption when they are out running around?

In what sense would it not? Simple. If they are filling their guts up with foraged food all day, they will eat less feed when I feed them each evening. I don't offer free choice, as I want my birds to be hungry enough each day to forage for a good portion of their diet. They even do this in the winter. I have an orchard and large yard in which to forage, as well as neighboring hay pastures.

Do I really see THAT much difference in feed consumption? Well, why in the heck wouldn't I? My birds don't often "run around", they stroll along, scratching and pecking, resting and dusting, sunning and just being chickens. When I feed them each evening, their crops are about half full, which only leaves so much room for commercial feeds. Not to mention, garden produce in season, the apple crop in season and any food scraps I care to throw out to them.

I can't imagine why I would offer free choice to birds who already have free choice right out in the grass!

Now, imagine the same chickens confined to a coop and run, bored to tears and with nothing to do than gorge themselves on free choice feeds.

Heck, yeah, I save money! Why in the world wouldn't someone prefer to save money on feed by using this method? And the majority of my bird's diet is as natural as it gets, they get fresh ground on which to trod, and fresh air and sunlight~ which also saves me money in flock health.​