Keeping home chickens as a pastime has continued to grow since the pandemic. But if eggs are the goal, remember that it takes planning and investment to raise the chickens and protect against bird flu. Costs might go well beyond the nationwide average of $4.15 a dozen that commercial eggs sold for in December.
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Trust me, it's cheaper to buy them from the store. By the time you factor in the cost of the birds, feed, bedding, feeders, waterers, and the price of a coop to protect your birds whether you build it yourself or buy a kit, it's going to be quite a while, and I'm talking years, before you even come close to saving money on eggs.
If you buy chicks, you're also going to have to buy heat lamps and it will be at least 4 to 5 months before you even see an egg, and they're going to be much smaller than you see in a store. If you buy hens that are already laying, you're going to pay more for the birds with no guarantee they're going to lay for more than another year before that part of their life cycle ends. Pullets are easier, but again, you're going to wait until you see eggs. Not only that, but most breeds of chickens either slow waaay down on egg production or quit laying entirely during the winter, so you continue to dump money into feed without getting any eggs. Chickens in the winter are kinda like liberal humans - they take and take but give nothing in return.
If you want to save money and get fresh eggs, find somebody that already has birds and is selling eggs on the side in an effort to recover their costs.
We have a flock of 14+(-) hens. They cost between $4-5 in the spring and hardware/feed stores all have them. We built a coop out of pallets and all other fittings(shingles etc) from an upcycle warehouse specializing in construction materials. That was probably $100 total. The gals have free range to four acres of pasture everyday during three seasons-winter we keep them confined until early afternoon. We do get eggs during winter. Pretty much .5 egg per day per hen. During summer we get slightly more than one egg per day per hen.
ReplyDeleteWe give away three quarters of our egg production. Every technician who services our furnace, plumber etc. goes home with a dozen eggs. We have a friend who works for Boise Fire and he brings us as many egg cartons as we need from his fire house.
It’s very likely you won’t hear crickets during summer. Chickens are crazy predators. Even mice are easily gobbled up by a determined hen.
I fed a nest of baby mice to my chickens once while cleaning out the hay barn.
DeleteIt was like Jurassic Park.
We bought a 8' x 8' chicken cage from Tractor Supply, tried chickens for 6 months. Gave up, neighbor took them off our hands. They give us around a dozen or so eggs/month. Converted it to gardening, as we are overrun with deer.
ReplyDeleteUnderline and highlight that last paragraph!
ReplyDeleteOnly reason I have them is food security and quality.
My break even would be about 8bux a dz. But they eat better than most humans...
We have a few hens. I built a coop into one of our storage sheds and a small chicken yard outside. I move a 4' 'rabbit fence' around the yard to give them variable outdoor space. We let them out at about 8am and put them up at sunset. I keep them on a 14 hour day and get an egg a day per bird.
ReplyDeleteThey are much pets as anything and they look forward to our interaction, following us around the yard and waiting by the gate for us to come out and put them, up in the evening.
I bought new materials for the coop and had to get new waterers/feeders, so I spent more than I absolutely had to to get them set up. I figure I needed to get about 50 dozen eggs to break even.
Ed
I thought about getting chickens, but the ordinances the city council approved make it prohibitively impossible.
ReplyDeleteIE: fences/coops cannot be closer than 25 feet to the property line. Try doing that on a 1/4 acre lot.
-lg
Plus if you live in town you're going to get noise complaints. Chickens squawk, some louder than others. My coop is 45 yards from the house and I can hear them from my back porch.
DeleteEh, sure you can make it profitable. If you have a neighbor who doesn't want to have chickens anymore and just flat out gives you the whole setup. And you eat a LOT of eggs.
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, that's about the level it takes. I really wonder though why so many backyard chicken owners around here just keep them cooped up and feed them nothing but corn though! That doesn't make for eggs that are much better than the cheap ones you buy in the store.
John G
The best thing about having chickens is what I call Chicken TV... Have a bad day just grab a beer, or whatever, and go watch them for a while. They are always up to something and is more interesting than anything on television
ReplyDeleteJD
Our kids would run around like heathens all morning then, at lunch ask if they could take it outside. They would get the lawn chairs and face them toward the chicken run while they ate.
DeleteMy neighbours have 2-1/2 for their chickens to roam on. I buy eggs at $4CDN a dozen, same as store prices. The one thing I notice is the yolks are a dark orange while the store bought eggs are a pale yellow. Chickens and guinea fowl have another benefit, they eat ticks which is a big plus in areas where Lyme disease occurs.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
and when you finally notice an uptick in the well-fed fox population
ReplyDeleteChicken Hawks around here
DeleteJD
Bobcats ate 150+ chickens here. I haven't keep chickens in years, but I still found a pack of three buggering bobcats on my trail camera (in the same photo). If I could trade in the bobcats for coyotes then I may consider chickens again.
Delete- Arc
Good advice, thanks.
ReplyDeleteDon't turn your back on a rooster. He'll attack and spur you every time.
ReplyDeleteI built a coop and fenced it in and the neighbors dog still got in and slaughtered everyone. Prepare for the worst.
ReplyDeleteNot mentioned is the smell. I'm done with chickens. One thing is they're better than turkeys. Phuw wee. Bad enough to gag a buzzard.
ReplyDeleteBut I kept a coop, not free ranging
Ducks are better.
Clean the coop every once in a while and put the droppings in a compost pile downwind and you won't have that problem.
DeleteMy birds don't roost at night, choosing instead to squat on top of their covered nesting box. Every morning when I go out to feed and water them, I scrape the top of the nesting box, then rake the ground inside the coop, then I dispose of the droppings, all done before I feed them. Takes me about 5 minutes, if that.
I live in a city where chickens are illegal. Someone tried to get the bylaw overturned 2-3 years ago and was unsuccessful, even though the city's argument was basically "it's this way because we say so." They also ban pitbulls but not chihuahuas, reasoning is not their strong point.
ReplyDeleteI can still buy eggs for about $4 CAD a dozen, which from the sounds of it is not so bad. Not saying they're great eggs.
Get a therapy chicken. Or two.
DeleteHave you ever done a post on:
ReplyDelete"The top ten things you don't know when having chickens?"
Did a service call at a place near campus. The kids had a dozen or so chickens roaming the yard. While I was working the neighbor lady wandered over and we began talking.
ReplyDeleteShe said that at first she hated having them roaming the neighborhood, but they started laying eggs in her garden. She was getting close to a dozen per day. When I finished my work I went back inside to switch stuff on. Asked the kid how his chickens were producing. Said he was getting about five eggs a week.
After they moved I saw the chickens for almost two more years. I'm guessing coyotes and cars eventually got them
I know this was December pricing - $4.15 a dozen. That would be a bargain. Last week I paid $6.99 for a doz Jumbo White at the grocery store.
ReplyDeleteI read a story in the last couple days that indicated the former Director of CDC ordered the culling of 10 Million chickens because ONE FARM WORKER (probably an illegal alien to boot) was diagnosed with bird flu in Nebraska. This lead directly to the rapid and astronomical rise in price for eggs.
Nemo
Not 10 million. Over 100 million chickens killed in the last 2 months by order of the Biden regime.
DeleteWe won't see lower egg prices before May, maybe longer, thanks to that huge hit on the laying population.
Forgot to add I also buy breakfast sandwiches from the grocery, freshly made daily in varieties of meat protein included with the egg and cheese. My preference is sausage.
DeleteThe price of these sandwiches was $1.50 four years ago. Shortly after Bribem stole 2020 they went up to $1.99 a couple years later they went to the present $2.49. I'm expecting them to go to $3.00 by the end of winter. Sad. They used to be a bargain, ruined by a bunch of Demonrat ne'er do wells.
Nemo
SO much misinformation in the post.
ReplyDelete1) You can buy fully grown chickens for cheap.
2) Chicken feed? If you only have 3-4 all they need is table scraps and a small bag of feed.
3) A bowl of water is fine. Change when empty/dirty. You don't need a waterer.
4) As long as they don't freeze, they're fine. If it gets that cold, build them a tiny coop.
5) Bedding? a bag of straw/hay is cheap.
I have a patio aviary that's really just chicken wire. Bowl of water. Table scraps supplemented by pellets. And my four chickens drop almost one egg each daily. More than enough for me and wife. Minimal noise, minimal cost. It's only intimidating if you're a city-type with no homesteading skills.
1) Fully grown birds around here will run you about 20 bucks a pop. Again, there's no guarantee they'll lay beyond a year depending on their age when you buy them.
Delete2) 50 pound bags are much cheaper than small bags. We try not have table scraps and what we do have goes to the dog.
3) I use a 1 gallon bucket but have to change it 2-3 times daily when it gets below freezing. When it's hot I still have to change it at least once a day because the birds use it to cool their feet which cools their bodies.
4) Chickens require more than a 'tiny' coop or they'll stress out and quit laying. Figure on at least 4 square feet per bird, minimum.
5) I use straw and go through a bag of compressed straw every couple weeks because they kick out of their henhouse.