The true cost of backyard eggs!

[StarrWulf]

thats worth 30 to 50 a month in pest control.. i believe that is what the going rate is now anyway....

 

[Uriel]

Indeed they're priceless due to tick/spider/wasp control!

 

[bentley43623]

i live in ohio... not a bad winter this year but snow = no food. I will take your advice about that chicken breed and check into it. I love my girls and because i have a rooster I dont plan on buying any chickens every again lol. I been studying the how clean a "run" the whole back yard should be. One says to clean it spotless and dont let people on your property. Another one says hell invite your mom over lol. My girls stay under the porch and make quite a mess. I guess whatever works for you is all good. I am so glad i cleaned up hosed off the "sleeping area" yesterday because today it was cold and snowy. I have a question though. because i have a bunch of fruit trees and a lot of mulch when i clean i throw it under the trees... is that acceptable and wait for it is the rainy season. my problem is the smell... but it is really fun to eat a peach, apple, plum, or pear that i grew and give it to the girls... i had a friend tell me that my eggs were the best they ever had... there whole diet was fruit last year lol..

 

[littlechick1005]

I dont know the exact cost...I probably dont want to lol! I downsized from 10 to 3 hens....I loved all of my hand-raised babies but the cost of feed was rediculous, they ate a 50 lb bag weekly, their feed ran about $14-$19 a bag, I have other farm animals that are also costly so it was definitely a financial burden I hadnt expected (I figured, whats a few hens? It wont cost much) ....It was sad but nice to downsize...I have three lovely ladies who seem to enjoy the extra space. My bag of feed lasts 2 weeks now rather than 1 and im able to purchase more variety as far as fruits and veggies are concerned with the money I save not feeding out all of my pellets in what seemed like a single feeding lol. Its also a lot easier to keep their area clean and tidy so they arent as susceptable to disease and illness. The only downfall to downsizing this time of the year is the lack of warmth all of the hens created cuddling together (my odd bunch prefers cuddling in the hay on the floor rather than roosting). I added a heat lamp to help keep them warm and im crossing my fingers it does the trick. I also didnt have to worry about building or buying a hen house, luckily we had an open stall in our horse barn. With the minimal # of hens we have now im hoping the dust will be much more reasonable to manage. Asside from some upgraded we'll be making this summer, keeping them properly housed isnt too much of a finacial strain. I still dream about all of the different types of hens I could add to the flock for character but then I return to earth and think about all of the other animals I have to be financially responsible for.

 

[OldHippieChick]

I figure my eggs cost me $4.47 a dozen not including the cost of cartons for my 4 back yard girls.
Here's the breakdown
$62.50 per year for a $250 second hand off craigs list coop and tractor that I think will last a good four years.
$40 per year for 4 hens just starting to lay - I break that down from $80 total price total and in anticipation of 2 years of production at an average of 250 eggs each per year.
$270 per year for layena and cracked corn for an average of 25 lbs layena and 25 lbs corn per mo for all four birds.

I havn't yet had to make a decision on keeping a non laying hen, so this number might go up if I have to accept that I'm running an old hens home. And I probably should add in about $1 per day for cold fruits like melons or grapes during the heat of the summer and of course I should have added in the cost of water and food feeders, another $70. So if I average in another $125 per year for those extras - that bumps it up to $6 a dozen using recycled egg cartons - HOLY CRAP

 

[aggiemae]

Well... the eight (3 are "fancy") chicks were under $25.00....plus another $50.00 for brooder light, tiny feeder and waterer, bedding and starter feed...

add the coop, the feeder, the waterer and the food...At this point I am thinking five dollars per egg....that's if I ignore fencing in our entire yard....

on the other hand thy do seem to eat their own weight in snails, slugs and termites every day. and they do enhance to overall backyard homestead feeling we go for here in western Oregon.

 

[HoneyTree]

I'd like to revive this thread with a curiosity about the economics of home-grown eggs over time.

How come all during the first part of the last century (and well before that, too, I'd guess), raising one's own eggs and chickens was a cost-saver, while now home-growers are lucky to break even? I'm talking prior to WWII, before industrial agriculture became the standard. So, when eggs were assumed to be free range and organic, because that's the way most everybody did things.

Am I missing something? A historical reality or economic fact? Thanks to anyone who can help me puzzle this one out.

 

[Cindy in PA]

Maybe because I've seen stories with egg prices of $1 a dozen, the same price you can get them for sometimes in the store now. $1 back then was worth a heck of a lot more than today! Our food system over the years has become "cheaper", but at the cost of our health. JMHO

 

[Fred's Hens]

I'd like to revive this thread with a curiosity about the economics of home-grown eggs over time.

How come all during the first part of the last century (and well before that, too, I'd guess), raising one's own eggs and chickens was a cost-saver, while now home-growers are lucky to break even? I'm talking prior to WWII, before industrial agriculture became the standard. So, when eggs were assumed to be free range and organic, because that's the way most everybody did things.

Am I missing something? A historical reality or economic fact? Thanks to anyone who can help me puzzle this one out.

Yes, far different economics. Feed costs have increased 10 times while egg prices have remained at virtually the same 99 cents per dozen for a retail dozen of cheap eggs. This is what efficient, mass production, industrial egg production has brought to the table. The backyarder must have a different goal/purpose than mere economics. Hobby, sense of distancing from the industrial world, quality, etc.

 

[gardentlc]

You can add food grade DE to their grain and then you will not have to worry about grain moths or any other insects. This product scratches their exoskeleton and dehydrates them! Wonderful stuff, not to mention the trace minerals your chicks will get, and I have been told that it is also a natural de-wormer. Hope this helps!