True cost of starting a backyard flock.

[JLS]

I dont even want to think about the money that I have spent since 2009 for my flock, coop, run, and supplies!! It will never be a money making opperation for me, that's for sure! I converted a shed that cost over $2000 in to a coop

I have purchased 36 chicks from a hatchery and 2 point-of-lay pullets from a feed store. All the stuff to make a brooder, not to mention the products to feed and water my flock in the coop. I also splurged and installed electricity, an automatic chicken door w/ a solar panel and battery ($250), ........you see what I mean???

This is my hobby (obsession and passion). It is priceless to receive the love, entertainment, conversation piece, and healthy eggs. I could have built it smaller and cheaper but I would not be as proud of it and my flock would not be pampered as they are now. If you check out my BYC page you'll see my coop and some of my flock

 

[Judy]

Quote:
How very sad.

 

[speedy2020]

It part of learning through life so the cost is cheap. If you want to save money, use shipping box. The big box very easy assemble and disassemble. It hold together by long bolt.

 

[mom2to]

1st chicken house $800
2nd chicken house $1300
3rd & 4th $125 built myself
wire $500
wood $200
god only knows what else I don't want to think about and will never break even but I think of it this way

some people smoke
some people drink
some people have dogs
some people have cats

I spend my money and time (makes me happy) on chickens

 

[seanengler]

Quote:
While I agree with Pat for the most part, I would like to point out that there is also time involved.
So I would like to discuss the total cost we all spend getting started with chickens.


I will start:

Time spent doing coop/chicken research:
~ 50 hours. (This is a conservative guess. I obsessed for 3 weeks before starting the build. I also had to design from scratch so my tractor could go through a garden fence.)

Materials for coop and run:
~ $350.00 (The run was put in as a dog run by previous house owners. All I had to do was fix the gate. Spent extra on a few ideas that did not work out so well. I believe if I were to do it again I could make the coop for less than $200.00)

Time Spent building the coop and run:
~40 hours (This includes time building feeders and nipple watering system. A proper paint job was a big time eater. It always amazes me how long it takes to build even simple things.)

Initial Cost of Chickens: Including brooding supplies and feed to first egg.
$0 (I am lucky enough to have a friend with a large flock. She let me have my 4 18 month old hens for free. We had 4 eggs the next day)

Other Misc Costs:
I'm sure I will think of some.

This is just the initial cost.
About $350 and roughly 90 hours of my time, worth $1800.00 if I were work extra instead of building a coop.
Just so happens I enjoy building things as a hobby so we could reasonably cut the cost for time in half.

Total true cost for me to first egg: ~ $1250.00

I was originally going to build a recycled coop from pallets. For me though it did not make sense to spend that much time tracking down and destructing pallets since that is less fun for me than working.

Kinda scary when you think about it like that.
However I have 4 great pets and some great eggs. So I would do it again in a heartbeat.

I think everybody's situation and experience is a little different. I have 150 bucks invested in the materials for the coop, spent 6 hours one afternoon building it, 4 feet wide, 3 feet deep and 3 feet tall inside (5 feet tall overall with the legs off the ground). I realize not as many people have the carpentry skills that I have to do it in one day, or may be building a bigger coop which would require bigger materials, but I think it's realistic for a true "backyard flock" like I have in my tract home. So, 150 bucks for the coop, 3 dollars for the chickens (2 hens), then roughly 15 bucks a month on feed.

 

[BigIslandChicks]

well feed is much more expensive out here so we wont count that (its like chicken math to me!) i pay about $26 for 50lb organic layer, $22 for 50lb organic cracked corn all of which is probably a bit more than most folks pay!!including flockraiser and blck oil sunflower is about $18ea. for 50lbs.
(curious what others pay??)

so moving on - i think i have spent about $100 on 15 chickens that i paid for - various ages ( got 4 free minus 1 lost) total 18 chickens.
3 coops made of mostly recycled or found/free materials = free! i did buy some chicken wire $50 hinges screws etc... $25
i have made all my feeders/water out of stuff around the house/garage -free plus maybe $10 on odds and ends (plastic storage bins for nest boxes, a cute basket for eggs, brooder lights, and incubator(in progress) parts) all from reuse center!)


total cost not including feed for 3 coops *
and 18 chickens (with more on the way!

)
over 6 months

$185

3 coops** 1 open air coop - 12ft L. X 7.5 ft W. x 6.5' H (plus mini pen in big coop 7' X 2' ) built with recycled wood, tin
1 mini chick coop 5ft X 3ft with removable 5'x3' run - recycled shipping crate turned dog house turned chick coop

1 broody pen 7' L X 2.5' W X 3' H (complete with free wild game hen now on 14ish assorted eggs!! all FREE) was an old frame with door?? without hinges? i took apart and reused the frame with some scraps and DH got a few small new pieces of tin out of the recycling bin at dump (3 before he got yelled at!) that i used for the roof.

i am fortunate to live in a warm climate so my birds can free range all the time and dont need a completely closed up coop at night, (let me clarify they are completely safe and closed up, we just dont need 4 SOLID walls) but i do believe that anyone can start out with recycled stuff and just keep working at it to improve the coop over time, thats what i did! we are a family of 4 on 1 income so buying a $1000 coop was just NOT an option for me (nor was spending $100 plus on chicks from a hatchery with shipping to hawaii) so we built our coop and i got my first 4 BR pullets for $20 plus i traded a big big bag of broccoli from my garden for them and the rest is history!!

i just want new people who are interested in getting chickens to know you dont have to spend tons of money for all the bells and whistles! my chickens are happy, healthy and we are getting 8eggs for 8 layers most days even now in january! i finally have more eggs than we can eat and will be selling some soon to friends & family to help with those feed costs!

i will be hatching out chicks more to come and plan on selling some as well - so between eggs and chicks i should be doing ok enough to get more chickens!!

 

[cat1994]

To tell you the truth i have never even thought about the true cost of starting my backyard flock

Im still a kid so my dad just used my money that I had saved up from all my B-days (like 800$) and paid for the rest himself.

He bought a pre made hen house that I think was like 700$. He and I built every thing else on the weekends and after school. My chicks were free from my uncle

But I have a job know so i pay for most every thing now, and my dad is now in construction so he gets lots of good wood, wire, windows, and all that stuff I need for a new pen or house

I like this hobby so much I don't really care how much it will cost me to keep doing it.

You know what, thinking about this stuff has made me realize I need to thank, hug, and tell my dad i love him and maybe pay him back.

 

[frog522]

Some other factors involved could include: trade skill, upbringing, self-construction/pre-fab.

Trade: If you are related to a trade or know someone who is in the construction trade, it's a whole lot easier to get quick advice on how to build proper structures rather than spending alot of time to build something sub-par that needs to be corrected later. Not saying it can't be done but there is alot of time involved in learning what certain tools do, how to use them, purchasing tools, becoming proficient using them, how to build to a structure (in's and out's), as well as acquiring/buying materials. Building a coop is going to be more challenging for a Computer Engineer than someone who is a General Contractor.

Upbringing: If you grew up or were around people who own livestock or built their own pet houses you'll have a better resource on how to raise chickens and what is needed to built a coop including what is supposed to be in a coop. When I started, I didn't know chickens even needed a coop. I assumed they could just live in the backyard and roam and sleep wherever they want. For people who didn't know anything about chickens, the end cost turned out to be 10x what I imagined. Not saying that's high or low compared to others, my point is that it was more than I had anticipated before becoming educated as well as learning by trial and error during my coop+run building project.

Self-construction/pre-fab: If you have the right information and find all the critical informational resources, someone could build a proper coop with the minimal amount of investment. For beginners, they may find themselves spending alot to build something either really nice (nicer than what chickens need to be safe, ventilated, and dry) or spending more on buying materials from the home improvement stores. Unless you are in the construction trade, or know someone who is, odds are the cost of building a shed/coop (in my opinion) is going to cost you around the same cost of a pre-made shed or more. Also, if you're an expert at building you'll know how to build a good structure using least amount of material and keeping costs down by not buying materials that more expensive than needed.

People spend different amount of money/time into their coops. I'll bet if a person had the right resources and had the patience to acquire everything as it became available, a person could build/acquire a coop, have chickens and feed, all for no cost. But for the non-outlier, the most of us put in between a few hundred dollars to even a few thousand dollars into raising chickens. In my opinion, it is bad advice to claim that anybody can raise chickens for less than a couple hundred dollars. There's a pretty good chance that if you managed to do that, then they aren't as resourceful (or lucky) as you are. That's awesome you can do that (and we all wish we could manage to do that too) but in no way should anyone claim that everybody can raise chickens at the low cost you managed to do it.

 

[bald egg]

There are 4 things you should never ask a woman...1. How old are you? 2. How much do you weigh? 3. Are you pregnant? 4. How much did you spend on your coop? Seriously, If you want an elaborate coop that has all the bells and whistles you can build it. If you want a coop constructed of pallets and recycled material for the challenge and fun in doing it that way, then do it. I spoke to a friend the other day that told he husband she was going to buy chicks and needed a coop. He put together a "functional" coop out of scrap he found aroud the farm. What ever your budget is you can find a way to enjoy chickens. The true cost is an on going experience. There is always more feed more time, another waterer, and a need for a bigger coop and more chickens. Get the family envolved and enjoy the hobby. Backyard chickens are a hobby. Start up costs vary like any hobby. So, start the way you feel comfortable with and enjoy the hobby.

 

[peterlund]

Chicken.Lytle :

I knew a fellow who did estimates for a living. He was amazingly accurate. Here is his method:

1. Carefully calculate cost of materials and labor in excruciating detail
2. Change labor estimate to next higher category (2 hours = 2 days, 3 days = 3 weeks)
3. Update the cost figure
4. Double the cost figure

You will probably be about 10% under final cost.

Funny... But probably closer to truth than fiction!​