How much would you have to sell an egg...

[Mycookoonest]

My birds are wonderful... I love them. But I was thinking as DH and my neighbor were finishing up the electric in the coop how much it would cost for each egg to make up for the cost of getting them, fixing the coop, and food.

$300 + for fixing up the shed which is now the coop.

$5 a block for pine shavings. Once a month we completely change out the litter. 3 not including what was in the brooder.

$13 and up a 50 pound bag of food that lasts 2 weeks. SO that's 8 bags so far

$120 for small shipments of birds from MPC. Yeah I know I should have just gotten 25 birds.

$60 for makeshift run for outside the fort knox run.

OK almost $600 for 0 eggs so far... LOL! I need at least 1 $600 egg soon!

 

[SterlingAcres]

 

[lockedhearts]

If I added up everything, mine would still be about $600 per egg. As long as by the spring they can start paying some of the costs I am ok with that. We are a farm and I file my taxes as such every year so I can write off an depreciate all my livestock. I just get my "chicken" name list updated and darned if more chicks don't hatch. So updating is anever ending process....

 

[joebryant]

Mine haven't begun laying yet, but I'm trying get my "friends" and relatives to order/buy some for $400 dozen; however, they all want to buy below cost... ... sticking me with holding the bag.

 

[mistylady]

Now you see why yolks are the color of gold!!!!

 

[Carolina Chicken Man]

You will never be able to produce eggs as cheap as you can buy them for in the grocery store. The factory egg farms just have too large an adavantage regarding economy of scale.

But, the eggs are much better, the yolks are a richer yellow, and they are much fresher. My chickens free range most of the time on about an acre, so their diet is more diversified which also improves the taste off the eggs. I believe they are also better for you.

However, I'm not sure you should could consider your initial outlay when you figure what the eggs cost. If you were a business, this capital investment would be depreciated over time. Disregard that cost, and just figure your feed, bedding and other miscelaneous costs, in calculating what the eggs cost you. Like I said initially, it is still more expensive than what you can buy eggs for at the grocery store, but you have a better product, and I'm sure you have happier chickens.