WOW!!!! No way would I ever have that kind of money to invest in chickens, or any thing else for that matter.
I purchased my first chickens (26) of them for 75 dollars.
I built 2 runs one for the girls and one for the boys.
The lumber cost me a total of $40.00
The fencing cost me all of $35.00
The poultry netting and shade cloth was free from someone else(recycled to my home).
The water and feed containers cost me $30.00.
I have a total of 180 dollars invested in the chickens and their home. I use 2 dozen eggs a week and eggs are almost 5 dollars a dozen in the store so I will realize my savings on eggs in 36 weeks.
I spend $15.00 a week on feed and water for them. I sell all my excess eggs for $1.50 a dozen so I break even every week on the cost of the feed.
At this rate, I break even. I am disabled and my chickens are my only source of income outside of social security disability. So I breed them and sell the fertile eggs, here, E-bay and craigslist to pay my bills with. Thank goodness for kind folks that love my eggs or I would be up a creek without a paddle.
I also hatch out and sell chicks, and those that don't sell, go into the freezer.
Most here raise chickens as an addictive hobby. But there are a few of us who actually raise them as their livelyhood. And you can have them either way, just love them, but for goodness sakes don't go broke for them.