Cost to replace my flock

[chickenlady803]

I too, am sorry for such a loss. When figuring out cost add cost of feed, if you sell eggs loss of income….how long they likely would have laid. WE all know it is so much more than $ and cents but you should add for your trauma as well as theirs. Find an article about chickens as therapy pets…bring it with you. People relied on their pets during Covid and we all know how calming and therapeutic our flocks are. The first thing I do when I get home is rush out there for some chicken energy….I hope those owners have to pay ALOT….

The emotional part of losing them has been awful. They meant to much to me and they got me through so much including a divorce.

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

Hi! In March two dogs jumped my fence. They killed 12 of my chickens. Animal Control asked me to go to court as a witness. This was the second time these dogs killed. They killed goats earlier this year. For court, animal control, asked me to provide a list of my chickens and what it would cost to replace them. I’m having a hard time finding prices for laying hens and roos. I’m hoping someone here can give me an idea of what they would cost.

Hey. Here is my list.

Australorp 5 years laying hen

Appenzeller Spitzhauben 4 years laying hen

Turken 3 years laying hen

Turken 3 years laying hen

Turken 3 years laying hen

Silver laced Wyandotte 2 years laying hen

Silver laced wyandotte 2 years laying hen

Polish frizzle 1 year laying hen

Polish 1 year laying hen

Silkie/polish rooster 5 years old

Polish cuckoo maran rooster 1 year old

Polish cuckoo maran rooster 1 year old

What I would do is find how much that breed is in an hatchery and then around how many eggs you got so find the breed laying adverage and divide by 12 and times by how much a egg carton is in the store. Are you asking for someone to do it for you or how to do it?

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

That's what I did but I didn't go through court my neighbor just told me to do this and then he would pay it

 

[chickenlady803]

What I would do is find how much that breed is in an hatchery and then around how many eggs you got so find the breed laying adverage and divide by 12 and times by how much a egg carton is in the store. Are you asking for someone to do it for you or how to do it?

Animal control said it would be better if a hatchery or farm gave me an estimate but I can research it myself also. Online, I can only find prices for chicks. Not adults.

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

Animal control said it would be better if a hatchery or farm gave me an estimate but I can research it myself also. Online, I can only find prices for chicks. Not adults.

Oh that makes sense. Yeah I dont know sorry for your loss

 

[samanthaoverton]

I'm so sorry about you flock! Most layers go for about $25-30 a bird, though the Appenzeller Spitzhauben may be a little more and the roosters a little less.

This is what there going for basic breeds in my state...think Rhode island. So a fancier breed would cost more.

 

[RoyalChick]

What I would do is find how much that breed is in an hatchery and then around how many eggs you got so find the breed laying adverage and divide by 12 and times by how much a egg carton is in the store. Are you asking for someone to do it for you or how to do it?

So sorry for your loss @chickenlady803 . Just awful.
Just weighing in on this methodology - sounds sensible but I wouldn't use the price of eggs in a store which are designed to be super cheap - why not use price of eggs for that breed if you were to sell them to someone who wanted to hatch them (you can get that price on the hatchery websites).

 

[samanthaoverton]

L

Animal control said it would be better if a hatchery or farm gave me an estimate but I can research it myself also. Online, I can only find prices for chicks. Not adults.

Also look at what people are selling on Craigslist. Look at high end pricing..

 

[samanthaoverton]

The emotional part of losing them has been awful. They meant to much to me and they got me through so much including a divorce.

 

[Weeg]

I'm so sorry for your loss, I can only imagine it was so heartbreaking.
Sending hugs.
May I ask, have you predator proofed your setup since then? If you knew these dogs were a treat, I would have predator proofed by run immediately. Sometimes we learn the hard way, learning now is all we can do.

As for pricing, were did you get them? Hatchery? Feed store? Local breeder? If it was a breeder, I might contact them and ask them how much they think those hens are worth. They would have a good estimate. If it was a hatchery, I would first add up the cost of the chicks, you can find that on the hatchery website. Then figure out how much feed your chickens eat in a year, approximately, and the price of that. Divide that by how many birds you have. Then, for each bird, add the feed cost onto the chick price per how many years old they were. That could probably give you a good estimate.

On average, I think that 20-30 a piece is pretty basic.