pross/cons of chickens?

[mithious]

If you were starting from square one meaning needing to get a brooder, coop, water / feeders etc then the cost could be intimidating in the beginning. Once you have housing established the overall daily cost of keeping chickens is small. I have four and will be adding another two in a couple months. It cost me around 35 dollars every two months. That includes feed and bedding. For bedding I use pine shavings and straw. As far as eggs we consume a small portion. Since I get a little over a dozen a week from the three that are laying we give away some to friends. I haven't and more than likely would not sell the eggs. I live in an urban area and don't need the city rolling in an accusing me of running a business.
There are other benefits. My kids clean the coops and feed the girls. They enjoy watching them and it is teaching them lessons that seem to have disappeared in today's society. It is also a great stress reliever for me. I would say it is cheap to maintain a small flock so go for it.

Yeah, you would have to call and check the laws on egg selling. Most states and counties, allow for small flocks to sell eggs to neighbors with no licenses and very few stipulations. Here, we only need to keep the eggs stored at 45 degrees and any signs must state they are "farm fresh". It's only when we get into 2,000 or more chickens that we need any kind of license. Just check with your local NPIP chapter and they can give you the info for what you need to do and whom to contact if you want to sell eggs and need info.

Also, NPIP certification is a plus...and generally free for many states. Here, it's free until March, then the funding they get has usually run out and they charge per bird, a small fee, plus mileage. So if we get them done before March, there is no charge. NPIP cert is voluntary, but some states do require it for selling and/or showing birds.

I didn't even have to give them my name or anything, to get the info either. The lady was really nice and we chatted for quite a bit. I'm getting my flock tested, next year, when it's free

 

[3chickchicks]

There's several ways of approaching this. Most only think about the cost when weighing the pros and cons.
Backyard chickens are more like a hobby. Just like any hobby, the cons will outweigh the pros if you're looking at it in terms of cost alone. You will never make the kind of profit a commercial outfit makes. You'd be doing great if you came close to breaking even. What you will have are eggs/meat that you know exactly what went into them.
Very rarely does a backyard chicken pay for itself so if that's all that matters, then you're likely to be disappointed. But they are low maintenance and they do provide a meal of which you'll know exactly what you're eating.
Mine free range all day every day so they don't eat much feed at all (they have free choice but they prefer hunting for bugs and eating clover or grass). I have a 50 lb bag of feed that's only half used and I bought it long enough ago that I couldn't tell you when. Mine get left overs I would have otherwise thrown away and turn that into eggs. They're also in charge of pest control for the garden.
Had I not spend the money I did on the coop, I may be close to breaking even. But I'm in a city and a nice looking coop that matches the house goes over better with the neighbors. Mine are still young though so they're at the top of their game regarding food-to-egg conversion.
However, if I consider the manure and pest control in the garden, I may be ahead much sooner. Fighting bugs in a garden can get expensive!

 

[bobbi-j]

Sorry if this isn't the right place. I have had chicks a few years back. I was going today to pick up 6 from TSC,I have brooders,runs and kennels for when they get older. But now im having doubts about getting any.

Is it expensive to feed them? How often will I have to buy feed? And do the pros outweigh the cons? I don't mind cleaning up after them or any of that,just worried about the cost

These questions are all difficult to answer with any certainty. Is is expensive to feed them? That all depends on your monthly budget, how much you can afford, and what feed costs are in your area. How often will I have to buy feed? Will you be free ranging or giving any supplemental food? And do the pros outweigh the cons? Depends on what you call "pros" and "cons". How does the idea of fresh eggs at your disposal sound? To me, that's a pro. How about having them out and running around your yard? That could be a pro or a con, depending on how you look at that. Do you have neighbors that may be disturbed by the noise of the chickens? That could be a con. For me, the pros outweigh the cons. I enjoy having them around, I enjoy having fresh eggs whenever I want them, and I enjoy having farm-raised chicken to eat. The cons... buying feed, I guess, but that's just part of raising them. Remembering to lock them up at night, I suppose... I don't know. It all comes down to whether or not you want to put in the time and effort to raise them. It can be as easy or complicated as you want to make it.

 

[bluemini]

Well went to the only place that has them(only feed store) Tractor Supply.They got 150 in yesterday morning and were sold out by this morning,they only had Cornish and Gold Lace and I wasn't too interested in those anyways. So back on Monday !

Thanks to everyone for the advice,going to give it a go . Cant wait til they get grown lol

 

[Emmapee]

PROS:
Delicious, healthy, cruelty-free eggs every single day.
Great entertainment, and some can even be great companions.
Way to get rid of table scraps.
Free fertilizer and aeration for lawn.

CONS:
The coop is not fun to clean and seems pretty gross.
They are just overall pretty messy animals (but totally worth it).

 

[shmccarthy]

It cost me about $35-40 a month to feed 40 chickens, no free ranging. 6 wouldn't be too much, IMO

 

[WindStep]

20 ressons for me For me... I have 20 chickens... (I'm getting 12 more in Apirl!)
Good...
1. Sell eggs
2. Be on BYC
3. Show them
4. Breed them
5. Make a pet out of them
6. Free Fertillizer
7. Fresh eggs every day
8. Good for meat
9. Brag about them.
Bad...
1. Roosters are mean at times
2. Cost $60 per month for 50 pound bag
3. Eggs only sell for $5 or less
4. Have short life span
5. Have to take your time out for them (like I Care About That)
6. They can be gross
7. They get hurt easaly
8. Walking out side may stink
9. Can pass on disseses to you or someone else
10. Once you get them you'll be getting more!

 

[Ms Jellybean]

I'm so glad I stumbled upon this. I have been planning on getting chickens for quite some time now and got really serious about it last fall. Then, today, I started doubting getting them. I am back to planning on getting them.

Right now I don't have anything and I am trying to build an inexpensive coop. So far I have the hardware cloth - 75% off an already marked down price at Lowe's. Score! I also have some plywood and I am sourcing pallets to use for the wood. I also am going to look at some old windows over the weekend that are $15 each.

I plan on using fermented feed to help keep feeding costs down and I just ordered a book on landscaping for chickens. I'm going to use the deep litter method for the coop so that should take the poop con down some.

 

[CountryGeorge]

The biggest thing I can think of about having chickens is you never have enough room. Sure, you might have a wonderful coop and a spacious run for them but suddenly one will become hurt and where do you put it? I have no other out building and you cannot keep an injured chicken in the coop so that means she is in a dog kennel in the house right now. Not the most wonderful of situations. Try to plan for the eventuality, that will come, to keep a chicken separate from the rest of them until well enough to rejoin the flock. My coop and run will be moved this year and when it is I will be doing some extra building to allow for this kind of segregation if needful.

 

[itspebbl]

Wow thats a great deal on hardware cloth!!!

Chicken wire is just to flimsy and thin.