How much do chickens cost per year?

[sonew123]

well its been a year of owning chickens and we are up to about 2000$ seriously... dog run fencing-a 8 x 8 insulated coop with another run. Breeding caging 250$. food and treats yup 2000$ sounds about right and now Im not allowed to buy anything or spend any money on more chicken stuff other than chickens and eggs! If you take that $ and divide it up into how many years worth of use Ill get out of it. Id say in 10 years from selling eggs and chicks Ill break even! Thats ok though-I love it-I love clean coops and eggs that have not one drop of stank on them-it's well worth the money! Vet bills...not in my area-I have had to cull when it comes to serious problems. If I can't nurse them back to health after a month or two I have to cull them. At one point I had 4 sick bays wry neck-bad legs,joints,deformed feet-I had to cull them all because they all went down hill at some point and I couldnt keep up wth their care-not fair to them either. Now I have nothing but healthy chickens running around free ranging from 8 am until 8 pm and they all put themselves to bed in their pens and cages-I go down count heads and lock all their doors! Its awesome...except the duck I have to pick him out of his pen to put him in his XL dog crate for the night

 

[txredneckmedic]

I really have very little money in mine minus the chickens. I paid like $3 each. I bought 12 for my kids at easter(big mistake) and then reordered another 10 later. Also have 4 ducks. Most costly part of my coop and run was the chicken wire. I cant wait for mine to start laying. Made bacon and eggs this morning for the family....went through 11 eggs and my son was still hungry. Sad thing is my oldest is only 6 years old.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

I don't believe that I have too much into mine, either. Thankfully, our coop was free -- we just had to move it. The dog fencing was $30 used and we spent $40 on chicken wire. The cost of hens varied from free to $4.00/hen. There feed costs me about $8.25/month for fifty pound bag. It may be a little more now because I got a few more hens (totaled at 15 birds). I think if you can find a local grain elevator that mixes their own feed it helps on cost. Mine has the oyster shell and a little extra protein already in it. Sometimes, there is even a little sunflower seed mixed in. We do free range also -- it cuts back on cost and they enjoy it so! Then the cost of straw varies. But I do not feel I spend a lot on chickens and I make enough on eggs to pay for the feed. So all in all, I am happy with it!

 

[gamebirdsonly]

Quote:

 

[undermywings]

Quote:

Seriously?! At my feed store, a 50lb bag of layer pellets costs $8. Chick starter (50 lbs) costs $9.

I have been trying to figure out how much I spend feeding my chickens. Just for fun. I think it's about $40-50 a month, at most.

"a few hens for eggs" turned into about 50 something chickens *LOL* I can't help myself!! Love the little things! I never dreamt that this would have turned into such a huge passion for me. I can't wait until we move (currently renting, so didn't want to spend too much on coops)... I am going to have a chicken paradise for my feathered babies!

I live in rural California, high desert area, and lay feed is around $15 for 50# bag. For 12 hens and 2 ducks it lasts just over 2 weeks with scratch or cracked corn thrown in for a treat.

Visit your feed store for prices in your area. I would love a 50# bag to be only $9!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Elite Silkies]

I paid $65.00 for my chicken wire. I had all of the 2x4's, and a friend of ours gave me the 4x4's for the corner post. My husband gave me his 10x8 shed for the coop, since he has a 40' Conex (I tried to get that, yeah right, he wouldn't go for it)!!

Oh, the chickens I could have had.

I paid $110.00 for 10 Australorp Hens and 2 Australorp Roos that were 12 weeks old. I drove about 3 hours round trip to pick them up. So inluding fuel, I paid about $130-135.00 for my flock.

I can buy a 50 lb bag of layer pellets for $9.20. It's $12.25 for chick starter.

I figure I spend about $25.00 per month for 12. I also give them all of my scraps.

I would look on craigslist and see if they have any free stuff that you could use.

Cammy

 

[cmom]

I have spent around $4000+ not including their maintenance which is about $60. a month. $150. for my chicks. I have a little over $1000. in materials for building the first coop. The second coop I bought for $650.. $100. for my brooder and supplies. $100. for my two of each, feeders and waterers. $1000.+ for fencing for run and yard, including the electric part. I buy my feed Starter/Grower crumbles and Layer crumbles or pellets in bulk and pay approximately $25. a month. I buy 50lb bags at about $15. or $20. each of scratch, sunflower seeds, rolled oats. They last me 2/3 months. I keep the grains in 5 gal buckets with lids in the barn. I buy a bale of alfalfa every couple of weeks for $15. $25. for two of each chick size, feeders and waterers for the brooder coop. There are other incidentals such as pine shavings for the brooder coop. I'm sure there are more things. Soon we'll be building another coop. I do sell the eggs but it will be along time before (if ever) I break even. There is a thread on one of the forums someone posted on cost of raising chickens. I will do a search and try to find it.

 

[txredneckmedic]

darn....$15 for a bale of alfalfa? Im only paying $7

 

[destorieswind]

wow you guys should consider putting more thought into the whole idea of letting the chickens be self-sustainable. I have about 70 chickens and sell every single egg I get from them. 70*250 (eggs per year) divided by 12 equals 1458 dozen which each are sold at $3.50 which has a yearly profit of about $5000. I use all recycled materials for coops and allow free ranging to minimize feed. Even if I spend 1000 on food I still come out...

 

[tdkmom]

I have spent $645.00 since April. That includes 25 chicks and 5 ducks, chick starter, bedding, hardware, feeders, waters. We are using a shed, run and fans we already had and we got 2 feeders and a nesting box given to us. Now that we've done the big stuff our costs are starting to slow down. That said, they are a great stress reliever in the evenings. I put a clock in the coop cause when I sit out there, time flies by I have to make myself come back in the house. That makes the cost very worth while.