My "Free" Eggs are costing me a FORTUNE! - ITS DONE!! pg 15 pics

[pen]

My husband jokes and says that after what he spent on our coop and run for the chickens that they better lay "golden eggs"

 

[georgiagail]

One must also factor in the "entertainment value" of their chickens.

Bill said yesterday he went out the garden and picked some leaf lettuce; took it upstairs and gave it to the 5 week old chicks residing in a large dog kennel in my youngest sons bed room.

Said it was funny watching them toss it around and then one of the runts took their small leaf and stuck their head out between the wires of the crate to keep it away from the bigger ones and be able to eat it in peace.

See? It saved us the cost of going to the movies (I think I over reaching for justification here!).

Gail

 

[newchknmama]

Isn't it funny though that when "advertising" the benefits of backyard chickens one of the first t hings we tell people is all the "free eggs"? its a ploy!! haha but I love my girls and they have cost me quite a bit but its ok. I found a hobby I like, they get me outside, they are teaching the kids some responsibility and of course.. the free eggs (eventually)

edited because I am a horrible typist....

 

[Uzuri]

Something a lot of people don't think about is that chickens are an investment. Don't expect them to give you "free" eggs the first year, or even the second. This is also true of gardens, orchards, dairy goats, and any meat animals. If you want to make your own food, you MUST spend money to start up. Our garden and orchard are now producing "free" food, but we've been acquiring equipment for 30 years. Neither were paying for themselves right off the bat.

I attempted the recycled supplies route and got garbage (And oak! Good lord, that stuff was heavy, and completely useless for what I was doing. I traded it for some tarps, which WERE useful.). If I'd been in a position to tear down a barn of my own or something it would have been different, so take that route if you can, but ignore the jeers of the professional scroungers and the extremely lucky finders if you can't.

My projection is that I'll be down under store prices next year for consumable costs (feed, oyster, medications of any sort, bedding), and within three years for all costs (coop/run + consumables). Both of those could change due to feed prices going up (though that usually affects store egg prices as well).

I don't begrudge my chickens the cost of their coop. I enjoy them, I enjoy the eggs. I'm even enjoying trying to ferret out problems I have with them. I would enjoy them a lot less if I'd cheaped up on my coop design and lost them to predators.

Though I do think we (all of us here) should take the responsibility to realistically portray the expense to the newbies.

 

[Heckel's Hens]

We spent $350 on our 8x8 coop and 16x16 run. Used a ton of the cheap "extra" lumber from Lowe's, scraps, etc. Did buy all new wire and hinges, etc. That was just for the coop! Add in feeders, waterers, yadda, yadda. I put my hobby start-up costs at $500. Any money from egg sales just goes back into feed costs, so that $500 will never be recouped, and that is okay with me. I can't imagine spending thousands on chickens!

 

[CheerioLounge]

Our coop and run cost nothing to build except for the cost of a few rolls of welded wire mesh. Thankfully a neighbor had just done some renovations and we were able to use the scraps.

Now, I want to make it even bigger! I hope they have more renovations to do!!

 

[GiddyMoon]

We are in the same boat..we moved out of state a year ago and it drained us, plus the economy is just so bad..we HAVE to find as much free or low cost supplies as needed. I bought a "lot" of chain link supplies off CL and the guy jipped me..I prayed about it and thru a weird situation a girl needs what I can't use and she is paying me almost the amount of a 50' roll of 6" chainlink..which I really need..slowly this is all coming together!

 

[BunsNChicks]

My DH just built me my coop....which turned out to be quite the project as well. I wanted something simple but it ended up being $600!

 

[GR Chicks]

Well it is good to hear that I am not the only one who ended up going WWWAAAYYY overboard in cost for my coop. Thought I would have it covered at about $800 with a prebuilt.... what a joke, we're at double that. This coop has a storage loft above, and my 10yr.old daughter has claimed it for her "den". My DH is so good to me, he built the entire thing and he doesn't even want the chickens, but I have to say it is fabulous. So don't think "free" eggs, just think healthier instead.

 

[Kudzu]

We got any C.P.A.'s on board; I have spent so much I want to write it off on next year’s taxes. Chickens, eggs = food, coops, runs = housing, feed, meds, hay, etc. = necessities, there has got to be a way to write this off.