Cost of keeping chickens

[black_cat]

Good quality poultry feed here costs about £8 to £9 for a 44lb bag. That is $10 to $13. So about the same.

$10 cannot be almost a full day's salary. Federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour.

I got mixed up-meant a full hour of work, not a full day.

 

[Tre3hugger]

And @Tre3hugger as for privilege I am grateful every day for what I have, which isn't that much. But nobody gave it to me. I have worked very hard for it myself. And I have known much much poorer times in the past, so it is not helpful to talk about privilege when you don't know my experiences.

I would love to have loads of land and the space and time to 'homestead' properly. But that is not very possible here in the UK without a LOT of money! Here, at least in the South East of England, being self sufficient would be a luxury and requires an independent income, it is not a low cost way of living. I can't even afford to buy a house here, let alone land as well!

That's fair and I apologize if I was presumptuous. It just grinds my gears I guess when someone quotes being poor as a reason not to do something. In this case though after some clarification I can see where you were coming from.

 

[Araucana Nest]

Firstly, I've spent over 10K in the past two years on veterinarians and I don't believe vets know more than I do about my animals anymore. In fact I know they don't. I have proof. I have been fleeced by veterinarians. My horse had to be put down on October 9 last year, I'm still grieving, and this is a very sore area for me right now.

Secondly, I have tried to hire people to help me build a coop and have given up. A useless endeavor in my area unless I want to help send their kids to college. I have a coop that I paid $875 for. It holds a trio of Silverudd's Blue. For the same price I can buy two 10 x 10 dog kennels with roofs and keep two 1:4 flocks. A chicken doesn't care as long as she is sheltered from bad weather and is safe from predators (I have an Anatolian Shepherd, 3 Kangal and an American Bulldog for that).

Thirdly, marketing makes one feel like if you don't buy treats/toys/ this feed or that for your chickens, you are a bad chicken parent. Many other countries successfully raise flocks of poultry without vets, without bagged mealworms, treats, swings... and without complete feeds or veterinarians.

Right now I have to shop for the best price on quality feeds. My flocks free range and take up a sizable amount of my budget, time and work. There is absolutely no correlation between the care one gives one's flock and how much money they throw away on them. A lot of what I see online are about bragging rights only. Chickens love attention. They can thrive on love. Love is free and instinctively finds the best one can afford. It instinctively cares for others. When I'm with my chickens, I'm filled with love. That has nothing to do with money.

True there are neglectful situations where a person cannot afford to feed their flock. I agree that when it gets that bad, one should rehome them but my guess is that we are mostly on tight budgets doing the best we can and not able to spend more than we need to.

 

[DoxonFarms]

With everything I have I spend about 7k a month on feed vets and everything else.

What in the world is your setup, how much are those chickens bring in on to spend $7,000 /month on them. Just curious.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Can't add much except except for fecal floats, my chickens will most likely not use a vet. We don't even have vets that know chickens around. I am amazed at the price of feed you all quote. Can't get a name brand feed for under $15 here. Luckily I have only made 1 call to a vet for a chicken & that was many years ago.

 

[Chicalina]

That's fair and I apologize if I was presumptuous. It just grinds my gears I guess when someone quotes being poor as a reason not to do something. In this case though after some clarification I can see where you were coming from.

Thanks, I appreciate that.

I watched your video yesterday on butchering btw. It was very informative even though I don't eat my chickens. I did wonder however about all those buckets and containers exposed to raw chicken meat. I'm so fastidious about raw meat hygiene in my kitchen, but I suppose it is different when it isn't commercially processed meat? I'm just curious. I'd have to bleach everything afterwards and there were so many bowls and whatnot!

 

[Chicalina]

I got mixed up-meant a full hour of work, not a full day.

oh ok An hour of work for feed that could last a few weeks (depending on your flock size) isn't too bad!

 

[Chicalina]

Firstly, I've spent over 10K in the past two years on veterinarians and I don't believe vets know more than I do about my animals anymore. In fact I know they don't. I have proof. I have been fleeced by veterinarians. My horse had to be put down on October 9 last year, I'm still grieving, and this is a very sore area for me right now.

Secondly, I have tried to hire people to help me build a coop and have given up. A useless endeavor in my area unless I want to help send their kids to college. I have a coop that I paid $875 for. It holds a trio of Silverudd's Blue. For the same price I can buy two 10 x 10 dog kennels with roofs and keep two 1:4 flocks. A chicken doesn't care as long as she is sheltered from bad weather and is safe from predators (I have an Anatolian Shepherd, 3 Kangal and an American Bulldog for that).

Thirdly, marketing makes one feel like if you don't buy treats/toys/ this feed or that for your chickens, you are a bad chicken parent. Many other countries successfully raise flocks of poultry without vets, without bagged mealworms, treats, swings... and without complete feeds or veterinarians.

Right now I have to shop for the best price on quality feeds. My flocks free range and take up a sizable amount of my budget, time and work. There is absolutely no correlation between the care one gives one's flock and how much money they throw away on them. A lot of what I see online are about bragging rights only. Chickens love attention. They can thrive on love. Love is free and instinctively finds the best one can afford. It instinctively cares for others. When I'm with my chickens, I'm filled with love. That has nothing to do with money.

True there are neglectful situations where a person cannot afford to feed their flock. I agree that when it gets that bad, one should rehome them but my guess is that we are mostly on tight budgets doing the best we can and not able to spend more than we need to.

I agree. They don't need much, just the basics. My issue is with people who buy chickens but can't afford to provide those basics.

If someone wants to spend stupid money on toys and treats, then good for them but the chickens don't need it. And don't get me started on those who dress them up!

I agree, my vet is great for cats and dogs but knows very little about poultry or tortoises, which I also keep. Perhaps they aren't getting any experience because those animals are rarely taken to them. Just a thought.

 

[LaFemmeKatia]

I understand both those who take their chickens to the vet (I'm in that camp) and those who don't. As long as those who don't also don't allow untreated animals to suffer.

My chickens are pets who produce eggs. But, if they were livestock that would be eaten, I might have to think differently about spending $100. After an accident that guided me to a too-early retirement, spending money on vet bills affects me differently than when I had a salary and was able to shell out $6,000 to care for my favorite dog.

My late father grew up on a farm, and I'm sure he's rolling in his grave every time I grab a pet carrier for a chicken or duck and drive 20 minutes to a vet who actually knows and cares about poultry. Dad would have quickly dispatched the bird with no expense and little mess.

But regardless if your chickens are your pets or your food source, you have to be able to provide safe housing, sufficient feed and clean water. Aside from commercial feed, we all know chickens don't need a fancy coop (please ignore avatar photo of well-built but overpriced coop purchased used from Craigslist and at a further discount by suggesting previous owner not clean it and drop the price lower; my other coops aren't nearly this fancy), and cleanliness and fresh water aren't costly.

I'm one of those people who will take a pet to the vet, then eat macaroni for the rest of the month to cut costs. I try, as I think most poultry owners do, to make the most humane choices possible to me.

Your Avatar coop is beautiful, by the way. I love it!

 

[cmom]

Im in agree. I know the hardships just hit everyone hard this year but simply sell them off if you cant afford them. With everything I have I spend about 7k a month on feed vets and everything else. Its a lot to worry about but at the same time if its just chickens and ducks feed and vet for them isnt that bad. Besides that if you want animals thats your choice and your choice if you dont take care of them properly. But thete is always dep of ag to take care of people that mistreat

7000. a month is a lot of money each month. That's 84,000 a year. I certainly can't afford that. I definitely wouldn't have birds if I spent that much. I'm retired on a fixed income that doesn't even come close. Good luck and have fun...