How much did your first egg cost?

[CrystalAnon]

We also moved from a suburban house to a rural one to get chickens, but since it was 6 years before we actually got chickens, I won't count that as an expense.
I'm going to guess $500-$1000 for the first egg due to early pandemic lumber prices. As a victim of chicken math, I refuse to think about the cost of later eggs

I feel like just knowing you can create high-quality, mostly consistent protein, without having to kill anything to get it… plus being able to preserve it over the winter if you’re concerned with laying habits. it’s absolutely priceless if there’s nothing on the shelves. Can’t buy what is not on offer to buy.
The banking issues, the past food/TP shortages… it all makes it worth it, no matter how much the operation costed in the past. There is no price you’d put on eggs, if there were none to actually purchase at some point. Let alone if there was no meat to purchase, or if it was crazy expensive.

 

[21hens-incharge]

My very first eggs were from a long ago flock. They had a horse stall in the barn which already existed so reasonably cheap at just feed, roosts and nest boxes from scrap lumber.

My city eggs were/are far more expensive. I have built/torn down and rebuilt more times than I care to recall.
The big coop I tracked costs and even with second hand materials it was nearly $1500.

 

[Isadora]

 

[Party_Chicken]

Close to 2000 dollars. All that for a 25 gram egg

 

[Brooks_]

The egg was free. The chickens on the other hand...

 

[Tired old Rooster]

I just spent roughly a fifth of my monthly pension on materials for the new coop and run. No eggs yet.

 

[sdm111]

About 50.00
Feed feeder and waterer
Chickens and pens were gifted

 

[fishygirl25]

My chickens cost a lot! I spent $4k on a fence because a coop can’t be seen by the neighbors(county rules). I spent about $1200 for a Omlet coop. I spent another 1k for runs. Then in November my flock was wiped out by a hawk. So in December I spent another $1800 for a secure walk in run. It is a expensive hobby.

 

[My Country Corner]

I was curious… I know some people don’t like to talk about chicken finances.
I’m asking, to those who are willing to say, how much did your first egg cost?
I’ll go first… even though I haven’t even harvested a single egg yet (9 week old chicks on Monday). Our first egg will cost over $5k.
We started from scratch. We had someone else build our coop, but it was a very reasonable price given what it would cost just for what we calculated in building supplies for a coop. We built the run. We bought a bsfl bin & we built a bsfl box, to secure it from predators, after it was attacked multiple times.
Then we bought a ton of grains & seeds for future scratch/feed (if we can’t get feed from our usual suppliers at some point). We prep for ourselves, our cat & now our chicks! We also vacuum sealed all of it (mostly from Azure Standard) for preservation, to prevent mold, to prevent bug egg hatching & to portion it. (Took about 10 hours to vacuum seal everything we bought. 100s of pounds.)
I added EVERYTHING in that number (including the deck screws, to secure the run frame)… plus an excel spreadsheet to track it all. I know exactly what it cost for the first egg… but I am an accountant. So I tracked it, down to the dollar, so I would know exactly (to my husband’s dismay! ).
If you don’t know exactly (because you aren’t a finance nerd)… What’s your guess?!

I figured it will take 5 years of eggs to pay off what I've invested, lol. That doesn't even include the time I put into this project. My babies have to be safe and happy.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Our first egg better be a gold brick!