Can’t afford rising feed prices

[Brooks_]

I don't even try anymore. Extras go back to the flock or dumped in the woods for the wildlife.

 

[TropicalBabies]

That isn't the way most people here feel. Most people here don't care about organic, free range, pastured, or anything of the sort. They want cheap. I was selling eggs for $1 a dozen before prices went crazy, not because the $1 a dozen was even worth it for my time, but because I thought I could sell people better eggs than they got at the store. KwikTrip at the time was selling them for $.97. People would buy those because they were "all the same size" and it worked better for them in recipes that way. I started giving my extras to family and friends for free at that point. If I don't have anyone that needs any when I have them, I feed them to my dogs.

Been there. It takes time for those people who love and appreciate your eggs to find you and for a keeper to develop their own following.
I post on Craigslist and try and do things that make me stand out and a little fun to buy from me. #1 under sell Costcos freerange eggs. Sell to locals. Recycle my cartons and also treated myself to a stamp. Sew bags for the delivery and recovery of cartons and will do a delivery via motorcycle. It took me years to get to this place but I am more sold out than anything and fee bad I can't give freebies like I used to. Heck during the holidays we barely had any eggs for us and my girls were producing 12-15 per day. That is feed costs for sure.
I think when starting chicken keeping it is $$ cuz you need everything at once.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

That's what it's like to sell eggs around me. I'm so rural and enough people have their own birds that they don't sell for more than $2 a dozen.

Same.

 

[SueT]

It seems like the places where you can get a lot of $ selling eggs are also more expensive places to live. So I think it balances out. We couldn’t sell eggs for much but this is a very inexpensive area, for real estate, utilities, taxes, etc. All those things cost significantly more in Oregon, where 2 of our kids live.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Been there. It takes time for those people who love and appreciate your eggs to find you and for a keeper to develop their own following.
I post on Craigslist and try and do things that make me stand out and a little fun to buy from me. #1 under sell Costcos freerange eggs. Sell to locals. Recycle my cartons and also treated myself to a stamp. Sew bags for the delivery and recovery of cartons and will do a delivery via motorcycle. It took me years to get to this place but I am more sold out than anything and fee bad I can't give freebies like I used to. Heck during the holidays we barely had any eggs for us and my girls were producing 12-15 per day. That is feed costs for sure.
I think when starting chicken keeping it is $$ cuz you need everything at once.

Totally hijacking, but it may help others.

I also advertise via CL and FB. I've run into problems when I sell out. It's only happened a couple of times so far, so I just take down my ads until I have more. Do you create a waiting list, or try to set up regular orders? It's not a huge problem, but it feels lousy to tell inquirers, "Sorry." Those customers might be lost for good.

 

[Sally PB]

For me, in the situation I am in, I do it for food security and as another step to self-sufficiency. I also enjoy having chickens around. Those things make it worth it to me, but as a way to make money? Not at all. I couldn't sell enough eggs in a lifetime to pay for the cost of their coop, the price to buy the initial ones, supplies, food, etc.

Ditto here. I have a couple of neighbors who would possibly buy my eggs. Then the people next door got chickens (36!) and their son is trying to make a business out of it. Go you, kid! Please become an entrepreneur and do well. Learn about life and responsibility. I don't have enough eggs to sell anyway.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Can confirm chicken garden works wonders. Although i don’t get whats up with them digging up my plants in my garden. I gave them their own, what else do they want from me?

That's why I make sure that my vegetable garden is FAR, FAR AWAY from the area where they free range. Those greedy girls are never satisfied!!! It's bad enough when they jump up on my planting station and play havoc on my little seedlings.

 

[TJAnonymous]

I'm not surprised.

Locally, TSC is the most expensive place.

I generally agree...with the exception of duck pellets. I can get a 40# bag of Purina duck pellets at TSC about $3 cheaper than they cost at my local feed store.

 

[sdm111]

I pretty much use eggs to pay off my neighbors to not say anything about crowing

 

[TJAnonymous]

I have somewhere between 60-70 chickens & 8 ducks. Here's my monthly feed bill:

Purina 16% Homegrown Layer pellets (4 Bags) - $18/bag = $72
Steamrolled Oats (2 Bags) - $30/bag = $60
Chicken Scratch (1 Bag) - $14/bag = $14
Black Oil Sunflower Seeds (1 bag) - $33/bag = $33
Purina Duck Pellets (2 Bags) - $22/bag = $44

For a grand total of $223/month

Of course, as I already mentioned in a previous thread in the summer months this drops down to 3 bags of Layer pellets, 1 bag of oats, and a half bag of BOSS which equates to a savings of about $63/months. This goes down because my chickens are supplemented through the feed plot and free ranging.

Forgot to add...I posted this to show that there is no way that I could ever sell enough eggs to make up for this cost. But that's not why I raise chickens. I raise chickens because I want my own eggs, my own meat, and they make me happy. That's cheaper than a therapist.