True cost of starting a backyard flock.

[BigIslandChicks]

Quote:
dang!! ** lol* - thats why i hate the evil walmart so much!! you got a steal on those!! i have only had to buy one small set of hinges so far.... but all the big heavy duty one are like $12 min. at Ace. ( i have been lucky and reused a bunch of old ones on all the doors now)

 

[Cargo]

So, you know what I would say the biggest "hidden" cost of building your coop is?

The, well, I don't know what the academic economics jargon is but I'm sure there is a phrase for it, the future cost of what that coop leads you FURTHER into spending.

I mean, if you don't build a coop in the first place, you don't have chickens so you never get MORE chickens and have to feed them and then an incubator and the electricity for that and the brooders which you have to buy lamps for and then a bigger coop and more pens and more runs and perhaps some turkeys and then it happens that the people you hang out with to discuss and learn about poultry suck you into getting sheep too which then need housing and feed and...

So really, building the coop "caused" you to engage in all those future expenses too. Well, me anyhow tongue

Seriously! smile


Pat

Great point Pat!

I am already planning out how to spend more on chickens!
(wife wants a silkie)​

 

[BigIslandChicks]

Quote:
My post was not aimed at you. It was a general response to a culmination of responses I've read on BYC over the past few months. No one is saying that it's mandatory to spend $2,000 on starting new to raising chickens. At the same time, it's not realistic to tell somebody they can raise chickens for no cost, or virtually no cost either (none of these comments are aimed at you). Comments I've read from posters saying, "The decision to raise chickens should only cost you $125, you shouldn't have to spend more than that!", in general isn't realistic for a person completely new to building or raising animals. Although I don't think the majority of people think this, I have observed that there are select members that have the attitude that spending hundreds of dollars is wasteful and that we should all be able to raise chickens for the cost they did.

The more sensible members believe that chickens are an investment as pets or animals they are happy and proud to raise. It has cost some more than others; some have the ability and wish to put in more into their chickens. Others don't have the money and have to come up with solutions that are more cost effective. And there are those that are able to pay more but purposely or (purposefully) choose to spend less by finding alternate solutions.

As I originally posted, I do think it's bad advice for someone to claim you don't need more than a couple hundred dollars to raise chickens, giving a person totally new to raising chickens that that is what it will cost. It's the same with any sort of purchase. One could say buying a car only costs $200, paying your child through college can only cost $500 for a 4-year college, or Christmas presents this year should only cost $10 for the year; that's great for that person but telling others they can do it for the same amount does not give a realistic impression. It's the same as telling a young child learning arithmetic that it should only take 10 seconds to figure out a simple arithmetic operation in their head because that's what a parent/adult thinks how long it will take. For a learning child, it could take longer that that, a minute, 5 minutes, an explanation, or even another lesson to finally do it correctly. Eventually the child will be able to do it right, and faster too. I see this as analogous to the cost of raising chickens.

As for me, knowing what I've learned in raising chickens and building a coop and run, if I were to build another coop/run in the future, I'm confident I could build it for at least half the cost. Why? Because I've learned what has worked and what hasn't worked, what's needed and what's extraneous. You could say I learned the hard way or you could say that's what has come from learning and experience. And maybe I'll search around for recycled materials too.

also - thank you frog for letting me know you were not aiming at me! i hear what your sayin!
aloha

 

[BigIslandChicks]

Quote:
Great point Pat!

I am already planning out how to spend more on chickens!
(wife wants a silkie)

i agree minus the sheep part!!!

 

[gumbii]

Quote:
dang!! ** lol* - thats why i hate the evil walmart so much!! you got a steal on those!! i have only had to buy one small set of hinges so far.... but all the big heavy duty one are like $12 min. at Ace. ( i have been lucky and reused a bunch of old ones on all the doors now)

WUUUUUUT!!!...???



i actually miscalculated it... they were 2 bucks each... LOL... they're those barn type ones with the double triangle type... and home depot they were like 8 bucks each... wow... i couldn't believe it... also locks and stuff... walmart is so FTW!... screws as well... they come in boxes of 50 instead of a pound... so you kind of know how many you will need in a project instead of just guesstimating...


although, i hate walmart because it brings out the evil cholo in me (i always end up fighting or mad at what someone does), but you just can't beat the deals... and my walmart is open 24/7... LOL...

 

[annaraven]

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I'm sure he'll appreciate you doing that!

 

[annaraven]

I find it amusing to hear people saying how little they paid when they don't take into account the cost of tools. In order to convert my *pre-existing* metal garden shed, I need tools - drill, jigsaw (or at least metal clippers -but my hands aren't up to doing that so I have to use the power tool), staplegun... As well as the wood and nails etc. I do actually own a hammer. And screwdrivers. That's about it. For urbanites who aren't "handy" already, the cost of tools alone may be more than $200. So, please take that into account when considering the cost of do-it-yourself coops.

 

[gumbii]

that's true... but when you buy tools you shouldn't see it as an expense... they are an investment... i went to school to be a chrysler auto tech, and for me all of my tools were an investment... they didn't cost me money, they make me money... or in the DIY aspect of the chicken coops, they saved me money... i did it instead of paying someone else to do it...


i dunno... YMMV...

 

[annaraven]

But I consider the coop an investment too so I really don't see much difference in investing for that vs investing in the tools... If I do it myself, that's great - IF I have the skills (and am willing to buy the tools). If not, then paying someone else to do a decent job may be my better choice.

Just sayin'.

 

[gumbii]

i love how you call a coop an investment... that's awesome... i'm gonna start calling it that too... well, it wont be an investment until i start selling my birds... i can say that my fish tank is an investment... although, it cost me 4 grand to setup, and the 3 years it's been running, it only generates as much money to cover the food or other corals i want... i wish it would pay for the electric part of it... 50 bucks a month on a fish tank is a lot of juice...