Hello from Newnan, GA! I'm completely, cluelessly new to chickens. I've had the occasional thought about it before, but today, I woke up wanting chickens. I think it will be a long while before that happens, IF it happens (hubby has not OKed it, but said I could think about it, rofl). We use 5-10 dozen eggs a month and I don't like where the prices are going. We're not even buying organic, free range, or anything. Just bulk store cases. My hope is to completely offset our egg purchases without a cost increase (preferably a cost decrease). I'm still looking into all that and have no idea if it's legally or logistically possible! We live in the county in a neighborhood (no covenant, though). We have about 3/4 of an acre fenced with neighbors on both sides. I haven't checked zoning yet. We're on a single income, so outlay is a huge factor. I found this forum googling for both chicken costs and zoning in my area. We would DIY any structures that needed building. I have 3 youngish kids, a boxer, and the aforementioned hubby. We home educate, read various books, play video games, listen to all manner of music, and go hiking & camping occasionally. I try to be frugal where possible, attempt gardening, Bible study, and am very successful at maiming flora. I also own a very lonely guitar. That's more or less it!
Your first egg is going to cost about $400. Costs do go down greatly from there if you know how to shop. Starting costs are for building the coop, waiting for the first egg while feeding them, bedding, and revamping the coop when you figure out what worked great for someone else doesn't fit your needs. Coop costs can be managed with recycled items for the build. Take a look at the coop page for some ideas. Bedding is the second largest cost. I use sand in my coop and love it. I use a kitty litter scoop to clean it and don't have to replace it. It costs $2-$3 for a 50 pound bag of play sand at Home Depot. If you or someone you know has a saw mill then you could get wood shavings for free. A bag of pine shavings costs $5-$6 and needs replacing often unless you employ DL. The Deep Litter method also reduces the amount of bedding required. The third big cost is the feed itself. You have enough room to free range and this will reduce your food bill by at least half. Look into feed mills in your area. A 50 lb bag of feed at Tractor Supply will run you $15-$20 whereas the same size at a feed mill will cost you only $9. Fermented feed also greatly reduces your feed bill. You can ferment your layer feed. The forth big cost is small now or big if you wait. Have on hand some vitamins for chickens and either poultry dust (TSC) or sevin (Walmart). Sevin now makes a natural one in a green tub and it works great. A sick chicken costs more than a healthy one. Wild birds can bring in lice and mites so having the dust on hand (or in my case as a preventive) can nip the problem in the butt quickly. The first thing you do for a sick chicken after checking them over is to add vitamins to their water. This helps them make the most of the reduced rations that they want. These two things will cost you $10-$12 together, but if you wait until there is a problem then you will have to shell out much more because of the delay. Good luck, you will be addicted before you know it!
I would think it would take a large number of birds at 'point of lay,' to give you that number of eggs a month. The breeds/ or sex links that produce the most eggs generally burn out sooner- plus hens usually stop laying when fall-winter approaches because of declining daylight. They also stop when molting. Just the outlay for so many birds and feed, etc. for them I think would be a much higher investment than you would expect .Lots of people on here will say after all has been totaled up, that the first eggs average out to maybe $ 100 each, or so. I may be wrong but, I think ducks lay eggs all year round, and their eggs are larger than chicken eggs. Maybe they would make a good alternative. You could check up on ducks by going to the "Other Backyard Poultry," forum on here. It also includes geese, quail, guineas etc.
One thing you learn pretty quick is you don't really save money on eggs . By the time you buy feed and all your other setup costs..... However that said no other animal saves you money either so if you are after pets with a bonus egg now and then they are good fun
I do need to go with DD on this one, a good Kaki Campbell duck will out produce any chicken I ever seen and myself having this particular duck will never cloud my judgment on this duck and just a joy to have around ,,,, I you have never eaten duck eggs before you might want to start off baking with them and these duck eggs are a big difference ........ As I remember Georgia there is plenty of green stuff around and with all that rain it keeps growing so you should net need to mow the lawn ever again with just 8 to 10 ducks and I believe in your case that would be more then enough for egg's for your needs as these ducks produce a little more then 300 eggs each per year and having a drake is up to you ........ A duck will need some sort od little tub to take a bath in every day as ducks are ducks ...... If you are going to get chickens do some checking on the breed you are looking at acquiring as each breed has it's own corrector restacks like egg production to amount of feed consumption and out right looks ..... price wise a grown chicken will produce right now where as if you get a chick you will need to wait 15 to 30 weeks for your eggs to fall ....... Now I will not or am not telling you what to do but just advice as in the caring of any animals ya need to keep them in a safe aviary as the predators are hungry too ............. And before I forget and welcome aboard ................ gander007
Welcome to BYC! I agree in the long run it is probably less expensive to buy eggs lol but my chickens are a great source of enjoyment/entertainment/comfort to me. Plus you are in control of their diet and you know the eggs are going to be healthier. Good luck to you! https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
