We are a family of 3 with 6 Rhode Island Red hens.
I get at least 12 dozen eggs per month, even in the winter. We MIGHT eat 4 dozen eggs per month, leaving 8 dozen to sell @ $2/dozen = $16/month. I buy a 50 pound bag of layer pellets (commercial food) at the feed store every 6 weeks for $15. I also buy about $1's worth of oyster shell for the month, and sometimes some treats like extra grain. I've made friends with the guy in the produce dept of the local organic market and he gives me all of the spent greens I could want for the girls.
Honestly, I can't make eggs fast enough for all of the people that would like to buy them from us. So next month I will get 6 more pullet chicks to raise, and they should be laying by the middle of the summer.
We spent a bit ($100 in materials) for the first coop. It's ok, but I'd like to change a few things. Since the chicken wire comes in huge rolls and we always have scrap wood around (or the neighbor does!) I really only need to buy a sheet or two of siding to build another coop.
The only other expenses are supples like water bowls (I bought the cheap black rubber feed bowls at the ranch store), a metal dish to hook on the coop for their oyster shell, a galvanized feeder (but you could use an inverted bucket in a feed bowl or some people just spread the chicken feed on the ground). I would like to have a heated dog water bowl for the winter next year. They run about $15 at the ranch store here.
I'd go cheaper on coop materials in the beginning if I had to do it over again, look for more scrap wood before buying it for the framing of the coop. But I probably spent about $120 to start up with coop and supplies. That means it will take about 2-3 years for the girls to work off their debt. In the meanwhile we are getting great eggs, the friends & neighbors keep clamoring for more eggs, and the second set of hens will have almost no start up cost, pure profit right from the start...after the first 5 months of raising them...ok, it may take them a few months to work off their feed bill as babies!
My teenager is loving it. Chickens are one of the easiest pets / livestock to keep...and I've tried them all. It takes us about 10 minutes in the morning to re-fill water and throw in the greens. We check for eggs as we can during the day...usually at the morning feed, noon, and when we raise the door to keep them in the coop for the night. Again at night we go out and raise up the door to keep them in. We probably spend another 30 minutes once per month to clean up the coop a bit, re-fill the feeder, wash rubber bowls, scrape a bit of poop off things, check latches and hinges. While we are working in the coop our chickens love the attention they get, dancing around our feet begging for treats. OK, the poop stinks. And although there are outdoor pets that have less smelly poop (rabbits, sheep, etc) you don't get much instant gratification in the form of food from them.
I say get the chickens and look for cheaper ways to house them.
I get at least 12 dozen eggs per month, even in the winter. We MIGHT eat 4 dozen eggs per month, leaving 8 dozen to sell @ $2/dozen = $16/month. I buy a 50 pound bag of layer pellets (commercial food) at the feed store every 6 weeks for $15. I also buy about $1's worth of oyster shell for the month, and sometimes some treats like extra grain. I've made friends with the guy in the produce dept of the local organic market and he gives me all of the spent greens I could want for the girls.
Honestly, I can't make eggs fast enough for all of the people that would like to buy them from us. So next month I will get 6 more pullet chicks to raise, and they should be laying by the middle of the summer.
We spent a bit ($100 in materials) for the first coop. It's ok, but I'd like to change a few things. Since the chicken wire comes in huge rolls and we always have scrap wood around (or the neighbor does!) I really only need to buy a sheet or two of siding to build another coop.
The only other expenses are supples like water bowls (I bought the cheap black rubber feed bowls at the ranch store), a metal dish to hook on the coop for their oyster shell, a galvanized feeder (but you could use an inverted bucket in a feed bowl or some people just spread the chicken feed on the ground). I would like to have a heated dog water bowl for the winter next year. They run about $15 at the ranch store here.
I'd go cheaper on coop materials in the beginning if I had to do it over again, look for more scrap wood before buying it for the framing of the coop. But I probably spent about $120 to start up with coop and supplies. That means it will take about 2-3 years for the girls to work off their debt. In the meanwhile we are getting great eggs, the friends & neighbors keep clamoring for more eggs, and the second set of hens will have almost no start up cost, pure profit right from the start...after the first 5 months of raising them...ok, it may take them a few months to work off their feed bill as babies!
My teenager is loving it. Chickens are one of the easiest pets / livestock to keep...and I've tried them all. It takes us about 10 minutes in the morning to re-fill water and throw in the greens. We check for eggs as we can during the day...usually at the morning feed, noon, and when we raise the door to keep them in the coop for the night. Again at night we go out and raise up the door to keep them in. We probably spend another 30 minutes once per month to clean up the coop a bit, re-fill the feeder, wash rubber bowls, scrape a bit of poop off things, check latches and hinges. While we are working in the coop our chickens love the attention they get, dancing around our feet begging for treats. OK, the poop stinks. And although there are outdoor pets that have less smelly poop (rabbits, sheep, etc) you don't get much instant gratification in the form of food from them.
I say get the chickens and look for cheaper ways to house them.
