does selling eggs really pay the bills?

[aladatrot]

I see people all the time on byc claiming that they pay their feed bill by selling their eggs. I have about 30 birds in my main hen house (admittedly too heavy on roos right now thanks to a 13/4 split on some straight run polish). I go through an obscene amount of laying pellets every day feeding the flock.

Those who do cover the bills with egg sales, do you free range? Do you feed pellets free choice, or do you ration? I'm wondering if I got rid of my extra roos if I too could make enough off of eggs to pay the feed bill.

Cheers
M

 

[Katy]

Quote:
Sellin hatching eggs helps on the feed bill, but eating eggs only would never get anywhere close to paying it for me.

 

[silkiechicken]

When I was using the hens to pay their feed bill, it would be averaged over the entire year (summer = more eggs, winter = feed suckers) and I rotated out hens at 2-3 years old with just one rooster for 20+ hens. Anyone who looked like a poor layer or broody was taken from the flock.

As just pets and keeping old hens, doubt they would have made enough to feed themselves.

Of course, this is feed cost alone at about $15 a bag then, and selling eggs at 3 bucks a dozen. No account for cost of housing, bedding, supplies, etc.. I was just a kid too so that "oh little girl is selling eggs" might have helped on the sales.

 

[CityChicker]

No, I could never break even selling eggs. I could come close to it, but not cover all of the feed. Definitely, I wouldn't break even when you figure in all the other costs.

 

[PunkinPeep]

I do pay for the feed with my egg money.

I also free range.

I used to leave the feed out free choice 24/7, and the egg money would still pay for the feed, but i stopped doing that.

I noticed that my chickens would just go inside and eat their feed instead of spreading out and looking for food. They have well over an acre to look for food in, but they would go back to the feeder in the coop. So, in order to encourage them to look for food outside, i started pulling the feed out of their access when i let them out in the morning. It took me a little bit, but i figured out roughly how much they'll eat at night, after free ranging all day, and i give them just a little more than that in their feeder in the evening. My feed bill has gone way down. Also, over time, i've noticed that they are eating less in of the store bought feed than they used to - which tells me they have gotten better at looking for food outside. Goal accomplished.

As to feed, since i consider my store-bought feed just a supplement to nature's bounty, i feed the higher protein game bird grower. I sometimes add crushed egg shells to the mix for calcium, but i usually don't need to. They seem to be getting most of their nutrients outside.

Today, they caught a baby snake. AWesome!

 

[FrizzlesRule]

Selling my bantam eggs pays for their keep and I have enough eggs to eat. It's really awesome to have loving pets who not only give love and joy, but pay for themselves. And that's with feeding three bantam roosters. I give them plenty of food scraps, so I never have any food waste. Chickens by far are the most useful animal there is.

 

[ChickenToes]

I think it depends on what you charge for a dozen and what the cost of feed is in your area. Here a bag of feed is a little over $10, but the chances of selling chicken eggs for more than $2 a dozen is slim.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Quote:
I think how much free ranging you can do must make a difference, as well as how long your winter lasts. The last bag of feed i bought was $14.50, and i'm selling eggs for $1.50/doz right now, and i'm still clearing my feed costs each week. They simply aren't eating very much of it.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Yes, my birds pay for their feed costs. The laying birds anyway.

I sell eggs for $3.00 a dozen.

.....Alan.

 

[Illia]

My girls pay for their feed - But they're also free ranged, so they don't eat as much feed as a lot of chickens do.