Do your chickens pay for their keep?

Yup. Mostly they earn their feed and bedding.
There are 21 hens with about 4 retired from laying.
They do free range almost all day so that helps with the cost of feed.
We sell eggs at the end of the driveway and to friends.
Right now they are picking up from their mid-winter lull.
At the slowest I got about 6 eggs a day and at the peak I can expect about 14 a day.

 

Not yet financially, but they have more than paid for themselves in the fun I have had watching them grow and put up with my daughter's playing with them.

 

I don't have chickens but I do have various waterfowl breeds. I don't come close to breaking even but I do enjoy having them around.

 

Nope. Not even close. But I process mine for myself and don't have enough yet to sell eggs/chicks/ducklings etc. My birds go in my freezer, not someone elses. LOL

I actually don't think many small time folks make money. You need to have a large number of birds in order to have excess to sell/process. Though I do see crazy prices for "pasture raised" (whatever that means these days) birds on craigslist. I just saw a local ad saying that a pasture raised chicken, processed would be about $15 for the whole bird. That is WAY more than organic at the grocery so I don't know how well those people do. If you can get a following then you may be able to do well.

I remember watching a cooking show recently (Chopped on Food Network) and one of the secret ingredients was Araucana eggs. One of the chefs was saying of they are so much better and so much richer than regular chicken eggs. I thought it was hilarious. They are just chicken eggs that are green or blue. But things like that can raise prices because many people don't research it.

 

In the thirty plus years we have kept chickens, many years they have indeed paid for themselves. Mostly egg sales and egg swaps.
Some years, not even close - new construction, fencing, etc -- but run-of-the-mill years, yes.

 

I find all this very interesting. We had existing structure that we built a very nice pen & then put in nesting boxes, etc. My hubby and I laughed that it would take us 10 yrs to break even for what we paid for all the wood, paint, wire, chicks and feed. But, if you add in all the entertainment and the education it gives the kids, then... I think it breaks even pretty quickly.

 

I've only had chickens for about a year and I'm (or they) behind financially. So far the eggs have paid for their feed each month but I'll need to sell more to re coop the money spent on the coop and fenced off run. I'm sure they will end up paying for themselves after a few years. I've butchered a few and will probably get some more fryers down the road. Hell....they contribute more to their upkeep than my 21 year old son who still lives at home!