The cost to raise poultry.

[cupman]

I live on 2.5 acres a bit east of Portland, Oregon.. not inside the city limits. I have three turkeys, four guineas and countless chickens. I have a basic cell phone, no internet... but I have internet at home(obviously). I got my first chickens for eggs but I have sort of gone nuts since. I tried to calculate my spending on my birds versus profit. All my neighbors buy my eggs and it's weird none of them(besides one) have chickens. I concluded that no matter profits, I lost about $40 a month... the same price for a couple high tier satellite programs or a phone with internet. I have seen a lot of you post about making profit from your birds and I am a bit envious.. how do you do it?

 

[speedy2020]

I am not making money either, but doing as a hobby. Since you have a large land, just let them roam on the property for food to cut the cost down.

 

[gamebirdsonly]

If I'm lucky and I don't buy any eggs (never happens) I might break even on eggs I sell.

 

[cupman]

Yeah, I love my animals. I am not complaining over 40 bucks a month. they are worth it.

 

[sumi]

O.K. Don't hit me anyone, but I have 84 chickens, I now get about 20 eggs a day, as some of my chickens are not laying yet and I make a profit. I sell the eggs at the same price as battery eggs in the shops and the way I'm doing things are:
1. Buy food in bulk. I buy 110lb bags of cracked corn at the farmer's co-op. A bag last about 10 days.
2. My birds all free range and get lots of food from the pastures, like lusern (alfalfa) and grass. I worked out that a fraction over 2oz corn per chicken per day is enough. If I feed more they waste it. I do feed them 3 times a day...
I calculated recently that I need 11.6 eggs per day to cover their food. I can ask more for their eggs, but I'm happy with what I'm getting.

Sit down and do the math. Source the cheapest food available (bulk buying is best), measure and weigh your daily feed, calculate the daily cost, calculate how many eggs you need to cover the cost, don't sell your eggs too cheap.

 

[Kevin565]

A lot of the people who make a good profit have dozens and dozens of birds that free range along with free choice layer feed. However, I believe the majority of people on here that make true profits are probably the breeders.

 

[kuntrygirl]

A lot of the people who make a good profit have dozens and dozens of birds that free range along with free choice layer feed. However, I believe the majority of people on here that make true profits are probably the breeders. 

x2

I have a ton of birds but I don't think that I make a profit. I stop calculating years ago. Instead of a business, I just call it a hobby. :/

I won't even begin to tell you my monthly feed bill.

 

[chickened]

You need to sell your eggs for 5.00 dozen to make a profit. Replace your hens every year with layers that lay 5 0r 6 eggs a week. Hens that lay less then that are a loss on egg to feed ratios. Buy your birds at 4 months old. If it is not laying like it should cull it.

There are other ways to make money with chickens but they are guarded secrets.

As for selling eggs the farmers markets are the way to go but forget your weekends if you want to make money.

 

[kuntrygirl]

You need to sell your eggs for 5.00 dozen to make a profit. Replace your hens every year with layers that lay 5 0r 6 eggs a week. Hens that lay less then that are a loss on egg to feed ratios.  Buy your birds at 4 months old. If it is not laying like it should cull it.

There are other ways to make money with chickens but they are guarded secrets.

As for selling eggs the farmers markets are the way to go but forget your weekends if you want to make money.

The price of eggs will differ in every area.

 

[mamawolf544]

I have poultry and goats.
The poultry makes money a few months out of the year, but for the most part I am feeding them. lol
I make the money from selling goats. But like last year we had a drought and we had to buy round bales of hay at $125. a pop, every two weeks for 4 months. So I can say no profit. Usually I would say we break even, and that is great because all the animals are for my enjoyment.

And most of the time all of my animals free range on 12.5 acres. But the poultry has a huge feeder that we keep 4 way scratch in all the time.