raising chickens as a money saver??

[jmemom]

Another point... the next time eggs or chicken meat is recalled, you won't have a bunch of stuff in the freezer to throw out

. If you take good care of your flock, you probably won't have the issues the big places have when they have to put out the recalls. So that can be a savings and piece of mind.

Keep in mind that chickens aren't snobs. They will live in whatever you build for them, and there are many hardy breeds that don't need a coop as tight as a house. Keep an eye out for things people are giving away that you might be able to take apart and make into a coop. I've seen ideas for feeders using an old 5 gallon bucket and a veggie tray from a dollar store. If you're creative (and you really want to do it), you can make it work.

Good luck!

 

[teach1rusl]

I definitely think raising chickens for eggs and meat in your area would be more of an ethical thing (humane treatment of your food) than a money saving venture. I did spend $$$ on a nice coop/run. But even if I hadn't, I wouldn't have saved money. Here, I can buy basically a whole chicken at Kroger for around $5. By the time I buy meat chicks, provide enough food for them to grow well for 2-2 1/2 months, put in the time to care for them and process them...I think there's no way I could do that for $5... And eggs are as cheap as all get-out in the big stores...at least white eggs. Although your egg layers could get by on just free range for many months...we get winters here in IN, so they'd have to be fed at least through the cold months. I've seen a huge drop in the grasshopper population just over the last two weeks or so here, and our grass is pretty much dried up from lack of rain, so my girls' food intake is already increasing. Maybe folks who live in fairly mild climates can get by year round with freeranging, and would save money...

 

[blaundee]

Boo-Boo's Mama :

Quote:
Amen...nothing like sitting and chatting with the girls. They tell me all their troubles.

They are always happy to see me, too! lol​

 

[Tropical Chook]

I'm so glad I never asked this question before I started out, or else I may have decided against it, although my intention was never to save money in the first place. Anyway, to cut a long story short, I have 14 birds which I allow to free range from dawn to dusk. I spend about $5 per4 week on feed and in return, I no longer buy eggs, and if all goes according to plan, I won't be buying chicken from the stores either by this time next year. So, for us, it has proved to be a money saver, and even more of a money saver if we were buying organic free range eggs before we started out. Aside from that though, they are just great to have around. I think many people actually spend more than they need to, but if it's your hobby, then why not.

Are they a lot of work? No, I don't think so. Apart from changing their water and giving them some food, they pretty much take care of themselves. BTW, our property is only a 1/4 acre. One thing I can say for sure, is that nothing beats being able to go outside to collect your own eggs, and eggs that have a bright orange yolk rather than a pale yellow one.

Getting chickens is one of the best decisions I've ever made................period.

 

[AussieAcres]

It CAN save you money IF you think about all the angles. Here's a few examples:
1. Pest Control.
2. Free compost and/or fertilize that will grow more produce in your garden.
3. Egg layers. Meat providers.
4. They have a certain ammount of entertainment value.

To expound on this further, there have been references to buying at the store and eggs on sale for .88 cents, etc. I understand the point, but everything we do has a ripple effect. Things that can be counted into this are gas, mileage, medical costs due to steroids and antibiotics in commercially produced chickens, Yadda, yadda. To me there probably is not as much savings as one would want monetarily, but it is the peace of mind that you are eating a drug free bird/egg, and are at least that much more self reliant for producing your food.​

 

[jobeibi]

Compare the same quality goods to see if it is profitable.

A local organic chicken farm sells roasters for $8 a pound at the farmer's market.​

 

[Jeffa]

Quote:
You sound like my hubby! LOL Those chickens have cast a spell over them! He never could understand WHY I love them so, until he built a super 16X10 coop and started playing with them... LOL Now he looks through the magazines and catalogs and picks out the ones he likes... so next spring we will get some Sebrights just for him!

He had NO idea this would happen to him....

Yeah....they have wheedled their little pin feathered ways right into my heart. They talk to me..like letting me know when there are eggs to be picked out of their nests...tell me when they want some cracked corn tossed in their run for something to scratch around for....and even when it is time for me to go to the bait shop and buy them some worms...oh well, at least I aint gotta pay for them to go to college, eh?...

 

[Wifezilla]

It seems to me you guys are comparing apples and oranges. You can't compare the cost of raising a high-quality product (eggs & meat) with the cost of buying MUCH inferior product from the grocery store.

THAT!

Compare cage-free eggs to home grown eggs. Compare free-range chickens to home raised. Suddenly raising chickens doesn't look so expensive.

I have 3 cats. They go through a big bag of taste of the wild catfood every month. Cost: $27.
My 7 ducks and 5 quail go through a bag of game bird feed every month. Cost: $17.

From the birds I get eggs, fertilizer, and endless entertainment. They also eat veggie scraps, and the ducks clear the slugs out of my garden beds in fall after harvest and in spring before I plant.
From the cats I get puked up hairballs, cat hair on all my clothes, and the occasional dead bird or mouse left on my recliner as a present. Also plenty of dirty cat litter which can't be used for anything except annoying the trash guys.​

 

[norahsmommy]

Quote:
I understand not wanting to eat store eggs again! We were getting eggs from a local small farmer and they were WONDERFUL. They were full of flavor and the yolks were orange and stood up tall. He stopped selling eggs

and we had to buy from the store. The first time I ate store bought after those other eggs was so awful!

 

[blaundee]

Quote:
You sound like my hubby! LOL Those chickens have cast a spell over them! He never could understand WHY I love them so, until he built a super 16X10 coop and started playing with them... LOL Now he looks through the magazines and catalogs and picks out the ones he likes... so next spring we will get some Sebrights just for him!

He had NO idea this would happen to him....

Yeah....they have wheedled their little pin feathered ways right into my heart. They talk to me..like letting me know when there are eggs to be picked out of their nests...tell me when they want some cracked corn tossed in their run for something to scratch around for....and even when it is time for me to go to the bait shop and buy them some worms...oh well, at least I aint gotta pay for them to go to college, eh?...

LOL No college for these biddies! lol My hubby didn't believe me that they have their own language, different "words" for everything, but after spending some time with them, he is starting to understand their language, and asks me "What are they saying?"

He also loves to throw out cracked corn for them, or to hold it in his hand while they eat it... I love watching him learning to enjoy those simple little things that other people think are so strange but that I love so much!