Cost vs. Benefits of Chickens

[11langenkamp_w]

Chickens are alot of fun i still havent broke even but during the winter i heard is better to feed them corn and if you have corn feilds near by you can pick up the leftover and hand shell it. Or even buy corn its alot cheaper then to buy laying pellets. And you dont need all that good stuff like grit and scracth. For the grit you can use little rocks and for scracth you can go to a farmer and all the shaving type stuff from when the corn gos up in the auger to the bin just make sure its dry.

 

[thedeacon]

Think of it this way!

Breakfast: white whites, dark yellow/orange yolk. Taste beyond belief.

Snack: hard boil a few, and although a little hard to peel, great flavor and nutrition.

Baking: OOOPPPSS, no eggs. Oh well, I'll just go out to the coop and gather some.

Entertainment: Relaxed in a chair, watching the antics of the chicks.

Bedtime: Boy was this a rewarding and peaceful day. Thanks Lord.

 

[Rte.66_chicks]

Everything I get from my chickens is profit, because the cost goes in the recreation/entertainment column.

 

[digitS']

See how much we enjoy our chickens, Tim?

I'm going to agree with all that entertainment stuff, too. And then, especially what Jeff said about production and Carol says about $6 per bird to egg laying age.

I did keep track of expenses 11 years ago when I built a coop for $400. And, I'm paying a little more than Carol perhaps because of the dang $20/50 lb. feed I buy. With the production I'm getting, it is 12.5¢/egg or $1.48/dozen.

I have only 4 hens. Two cost me $6 per bird to egg laying age and 1 cost me nearly $10 because she free-loaded so long. The other hit somewhere in between.

The last time I raised meat birds they were a dual-purpose breed and I quite counting the dollars after they went past $6/each. Earlier on, I didn't see much difference with the Cornish X's and what I could be buying at the supermarket. So, raising meat birds have been "tabled" in my backyard. One advantage that the layers have over them is that for meat, the birds are killed young - they aren't willing to eat much other than their commercial feed to 8 weeks of age. My layers keep their feed costs down because about one-third of their diets is from kitchen scraps or from the garden.

A few more numbers to take into account.

Steve
edited to add: that the hens are eating about two-thirds of their diets from commercial feed. Their feed consumption will go down in the Summer and the cost of feeding will go down also.

 

[substandardtim]

thanks for all the replies everyone, i have to get used to being on a very active forum like this.

you've all given me a lot to think about. my family did have about 40 or so chickens when i was between the ages of 11-14 i believe. i don't remember too much of it other than the chicken house was etremely hot and smelly in the summer.

i also remember one of my brothers and i finding some eggs in a different barn once during our gathering and when he went to pick one up, it exploded all over us. it was totally rotten. i had to wash my hair 3 times to get the smell out.

my parents didn't do their own butchering and drove nearly an hour to someone who did it for them. that seemed like a lot of effort and wasted time to me.

 

[Dixiedoodle]

One question?? Do you have dogs/cats?? If so, I assure you that you have spent a 'wad' of money on their care/food/housing.. When someone asks me about the cost of chickens--I ask them : does your dog or cat provide more than just entertainment to you?? I will never have the the heart to butcher my animals. I will try to manage my flock so that they provide chemical, antibiotic, hormone free eggs, free organic fertilizer and lots eye candy and entertainment!!! If you chose to get chickens I hope you enjoy them...Dixie

 

[wings]

I SAY GO WITH CHICKENS!!!

If you do get chickens (which I hope you do), you need to understand that the first month is a bit of a challenge as a first-time chicken owner. You also need to remember that someone might have to take care of your peeps if you go on vacation, depending on how you run your coop. (My flock can go about two days without anyone taking care of them, if the situation came up.)

By some funny turn of events, we got a dozen two-day-old chicks with only a week's notice. We didn't know what sex or breed, we didn't have a coop built, or know anything about chickens.

I am thirteen years old. My parents both work, and take care of our other various pets, not to mention my two younger sisters.

We got our chicks in the summer, and after about a month of getting the hang of things, building the coop, and naming our peeps, we had established our flock.

Unfortunately, 7/12 were roosters that had to be butchered or re-homed. We lost one to prolapse, but we're getting more in the spring.

I think chickens are a wonderful investment. Though maybe they won't give you financial prosperity for a while, they give you many other things.

They have taught my sisters and me responsibility. As the primary caretaker for our flock, I check on them daily. (Now that we have a flock setup and plan for care, it only takes me 10 minutes each day.) We have learned to work together and take care of other creatures to give them the best life we can give.

Our peeps are fun and entertaining. We have Apple, Ginger Pye, Oddball, Friday, and Blackie the rooster. I cannot describe the hours of joy we have gotten from picking up and playing with our chickens, not to mention just watching them grow.

Good luck, and welcome to BYC!!!

Tell us what you decide!!! (Ideally, PM me.)


P.S. Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens (by Gail Damerow) was very useful.

 

[substandardtim]

Quote:
haha i work at a major pet retailer and it amazes me the amount of money people spend on their pets. some of my employees work there as a second job just to be able to support their pet habit.

 

[cmom]

If you are planning a small flock of no more tha maybe a half dozen or less pullets, you can build or find something reasonable as the space requirement is less. Check out the BYC coop pages. You can get a lot of wonderful ideas, Here are some other suggested resources.

Here is a great reference book, Gail Damerow's 'Storey's Guide to Chickens' is an excellent guide, as well as this web site. This site is an excellent source of information.

Also here are some other good sites and info.
Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart
http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html
http://www.mypetchicken.com/aboutChickens.aspx
https://www.backyardchickens.com/coopdesigns.html
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2593-Treats_Chart
http://www.the-coop.org/cgi-bin/UBB/ultimatebb.cgi
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/animals/all

 

[JennsPeeps]

If we tracked just the feed and maintenance costs for the birds, then yes, the eggs are fairly inexpensive. The chicks were just $1.75 each. Feed is not that much. My 3 standards & 1 banty go through 25 lbs/month.

Once you factor in a coop, however, the costs can rise significantly. Our coop (check out my BYC page) totaled around $300+.