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I wish I had known that paying attention to details could save us so much money…

Keeping chickens for fresh eggs can quickly become an extravagance if you don’t take the time to consider things like foraging capabilities when selecting your hens, for example.  I’m going to give you REAL NUMBERS and tips that have helped our family reduce the cost of our venture by about 2/3 which is slightly over 66%!!!  If you are finding yourself disillusioned as I have felt in the past, cheer up!  I may have some answers for you.

TEMPORARY COSTS

Over time IF everything holds up well, the investment of some of the “permanent infrastructure” items will spread out and disappear into oblivion.  😉  I’ll be honest, it takes a long time to “pay off” these items with the money saved if you’re paying a lot for feed.  At the rate I started out at, I was only digging the hole deeper!  Thankfully there are many things that can be done to greatly reduce feed costs.  I’ll calculate the cost of eggs based on feed, and in the end, I’ll show you the length of time it would take to “pay off” a typical setup, with the savings.

As you can see below there are wonderful benefits to raising chickens besides the cost or even the eggs.  But should we settle for these as the only benefits to all the time and work we invest?  No need to settle for that nonsense!

I keep chickens to provide organic protein, omega 3’s, fat-soluble vitamins and much more to my family whether times are tight or not.  It wouldn’t make much sense to lock myself into that kind of spending, time and work commitment if I wasn’t saving money overall!

EXTRA VALUES

Anybody who’s had them knows there are no better eggs than homegrown eggs.  Rich and satisfying with a tender white, vs pale bland yolks and rubbery flavorless whites.  I know I’m not the only one who can feel a big difference in my tummy.  Benefits don’t stop there!  Some of the wonderful attributes of keeping chickens include the “nutrients” their waste adds to the garden, the bug, weed and sometimes rodent control, the relief of guilt over wasted food in the home…  And how about the beauty they add to daily life!  From the fun colored eggs to the dazzling feathers, the visual value is almost enough on its own.

And then there’s the control over ingredients in the chicken feed.  I certainly don’t see the need to have antibiotics in my chicken feed (and therefore my eggs and meat) when my chickens aren’t being raised in a filthy overcrowded environment.  And speaking of ingredients, did you know that feeding your flock soy can ruin the omega 3/6 ratio of the eggs, making them an INFLAMMATORY food?  I also love getting to choose the breed of chicken my eggs come from!  Blue and green eggs are so delightful, right?

 COST FACTORS

Breeds and Bloodlines

• Some breeds of hens are just built for laying eggs with a very high feed conversion ratio.  Most of what they consume goes into making eggs, not meat and therefore they require much less feed.
• Then there are dual-purpose, which require more feed just to maintain body mass, but can (depending on bloodlines) have enough meat on them to be worth the time and work to process them someday if need be.
• Meat birds aren’t usually kept for their eggs so we’ll discuss them in another post, but I’m sure you’ve figured out they eat a lot 🙂
• Then there’s the issue of how breeds and bloodlines within breeds may affect foraging abilities, which I’ll discuss below.

Predators

Free-ranging your chickens can save lots of money if they are safe from predators.  If not it could cost you your flock.  Bushes, trees and small structures for the flock to hide in can cut down on aerial attacks from raptors.  Having a rooster for every dozen or so hens can be a deterrent but it’s not a guarantee.  I have watched with complete admiration, my sweet gentle rooster sound off to alert the ladies to get into the coop immediately as a huge hawk swooped in looking for a free meal!  Mr. Rooster bravely puffed up his chest, standing outside the coop crowing back and forth with a neighbor’s rooster in a community effort to keep everyone safe.  It worked!  Awesomeness!

Free-Ranging?  Foraging Skills

Getting the wrong bloodlines within a breed could raise your feed bill.  Different breeds and even genetic lines within breeds can have very different foraging skills.  Don’t rely on “typical” breed characteristics unless you have proof they are true to your expectations, because they can vary greatly in different genetic lines.  Try to find breeders with trusted genetics and behaviors in their flocks.  Sometimes a hen’s ability to find her own bugs and greens can be changed over time, as I’ve seen Cornish cross chickens become decent foragers!  If your chickens will be free ranged, better foraging skills will make a big dent in feed cost!  Sometimes good foragers can teach your other hens to forage better so carefully introducing some great foragers to your flock may also improve feed conversion ratio.

Infrastructure

This baby rolls out and opens up for easy cleaning. Very thoughtful design.

It’s such a balancing game to buy coops, feeders, and waterers that are high quality enough to last, but low-cost enough to not send your egg cost sky-high.  I am blessed to have a father who loves to tinker.  He built me some wonderful chicken coops inside our goat barn with scraps of wood and odds and ends that he had or found lying around.  Thank you, Dad♥!

If I didn’t have that, I would use a covered dog run like (affiliate links) this one  or this one, left open during the day for the chickens to free-range.  I haven’t used either of these myself so do your research before buying. From the reviews of the first one, I saw that for a bigger flock two can be connected as long as the gap between covers was covered with wire mesh.  In fact, covering the whole roof of either one with welded wire fencing or mesh and then a rain cover may be wise.  UPDATE:  A reader shared with me that the first one can get rusty so I don’t recommend it.  Good to know. For now, I’ll leave it here just so I won’t have to redo my math.

These (affiliate link) wooden closet rods make great roosting bars.  I like a (affiliate link) simple little tray or two (less fighting over food) to put the feed into, and a water bucket with chicken nipples on the side like (affiliate link) this one.  I made my own with a 5-gallon bucket and some (affiliate link) side nipples.

Note: I prefer plastic over galvanized steel for anything that will be in contact with liquid of fermented foods.  Some of the black rubber dishes I’ve seen have a very strong chemical smell so I avoid those too.  For the waterer, I’ve found the chicken nipples that go on the bottom are a pain when it comes time to fill the bucket, and ours always leaked until I switched to the (affiliate link) side nipples.

Then there are the nest boxes.  For the extra coops other than the one my Father built me, I just use a plastic file crate with a side cut out leaving a 3′” lip to hold in the straw.  I’ve seen people even just lay a bucket on its side on the ground.  Let’s not count any cost for this one since there are plenty of cheap or free options.

And finally for the real fun, the chickens!

Below, I’ll use these options to calculate the time it takes to pay off a typical set up with your egg savings.

Organic

Obviously, you can buy conventional feed for a lot less than organic.  I won’t judge at all.  Our family can’t always afford organic everything.  But because of the health struggles that I have had to face in the past, I’m personally committed to feeding my family as clean as possible, and building the soil that will feed us in the same manner.  All inputs considered.

Pre-Mixed vs. Homemade

It was shocking to learn that my homemade chicken feed wasn’t cheaper and actually cost much more (82¢/lb) than pre-mixed (˜55¢/lb)!!!  I didn’t want to change my ways though, because I can’t find a good organic feed at the price I want that doesn’t contain soy.  Since I also buy the same ingredients for my goats to enjoy (in different ratios) while they are being milked, this simplifies things.  And then there’s freshness.  Pre-mixed feed always smells rancid to me compared to homemade.  Broken grains just won’t store as long as whole without nutritional consequences.  Thankfully I have found a couple of game-changers to tip the scales towards home mixing.

1. soaking or fermenting (can also be done with store-bought)
2. growing one or more components yourself (now we’re talking).

Soaking and fermenting has drastically cut down on the amount of feed I go through.  I’m still working on growing their food.  I’ll be posting more on that as things progress.

If I can find a pre-mixed organic feed that’s soy-free for a reasonable price, and that other’s have had success with… I’ll update this post to let you know if I can get costs down even further.

*Soaking/Fermenting*  {My hero}

Soaking the grains/legumes/seeds or whatever is in your mix for 24 hours can greatly increase the absorbability of nutrients and SIZE of the serving, requiring significantly less feed to nourish and satisfy your flock.  Soaking until bubbles form is fermenting and further increases protein and nutrients.

1. Put feed in a food grade bucket or plastic gallon jug with a hole cut into the top.  You’ll need a bucket for each day it takes to ferment, so here in a warm part of AZ, we have two.
2. add a splash of ACV (apple cider vinegar; optional) and UN-CHLORINATED water (2 parts per 1 part feed), mix and LEAVE LID LOOSE OR OFF!
3. If you’re soaking:  24 hours later add kitchen scraps and feed it to the flock.  Or…
4. If you’re fermenting:  Stir daily.  It will be fermented when the mixture gets bubbly.  In stable moderate temperatures, this usually takes about 2-3 days.  WATCH OUT FOR MOLD.  If your batch gets contaminated, compost it and try using ACV if you skipped that or ferment for a shorter duration next time.  I’ve had mold issues with cheaper sources of black oil sunflower seeds.  If such a problem persists they can be added AFTER fermentation.

*Grow Their Food*  {Not just plants!!!}

• Since we have goats, clabbered milk is a beautiful way for us to boost our flock’s protein and calcium (and prevent coccidia).  Lactose is hard on chickens so be sure to ferment any milk given to chickens.
• Growing MEALWORMS is inexpensive, especially if you grow your own carrots!  This is especially handy for the gnarly ones that are a pain to try to peel.  Mealworm farms are a worthwhile option in my opinion.  I grow them for extra protein to add to my homemade mix to boost protein in chick starter feed in the first 6 months of life.  The mealworm poop is called frass and is very valuable for the garden!  People pay a lot of money for the stuff.  I use it instead of worm castings when planting trees.
• Squashes, cucumbers, and nasturtiums are just a few things that add a nice parasite fighting component to their nutritional profile (BONUS!).  There are very few things that grow in a garden that shouldn’t be given to chickens, but always check to make sure.  Potato skins, uncooked beans, tomato vines, onions, and avocado pit and skins are a few that come to mind but are by no means an exhaustive list.  Sunflowers are fun, just throw ahead and let the chickens harvest!  The possibilities are vast.

Supplements

One supplement that I do buy is kelp.  It provides a wide range of minerals and is multi-functional: goats, chickens, and garden (added directly or in resulting manure)!  But spend $10 a month for a bag of crushed shells for calcium?  Phhhhh… hahaha…NO.  how about just keeping an oven-safe, designated “egg-shell dish” in the oven that you never have to wash?  The shells get nice and dried out when I get around to baking and then all we do is crush them in a bag and put them in a little (affiliate link) corner feeder in the coop.  The combination of occasional clabbered milk and recycled shells has been enough to keep our eggshells nice and sturdy.

Co-Habitation

Sometimes working “smarter not harder” means not letting yourself get grossed out by things that benefit you.  But yes, it’s still gross.  Chickens have a talent for finding food in the strangest of places, and animal excrement is no exception (I KNOW EWE, but helpful nonetheless).  They can help break the parasite cycle by eating them and benefiting from their protein, with no harm to them.  My chickens love to peck open goat pebbles to see what grains may have not been properly digested.

Frequency/Timing of Feeding

You can feed the chickens at night to round off whatever they were able to forage during the day.  Once you know what their crop feels like when it’s full (bulge on the side of their neck), next time you’ll be able to tell if they’ve eaten enough and adjust the amount of feed given.  To keep things simple, I currently feed my flocks in the morning because that’s when I milk our goats.  I’m not really sure how much of a difference it would make to make a separate trip in the evening.

Lighted

Coop

Keeping a light on a timer in the coop will increase egg production during the shorter days of fall and winter.  Here’s why I no longer do this. Note: Using the wrong type of bulb with Teflon has killed many chickens and sadly is still on the market so beware.  I stopped using lights for now, but if we were in an emergency it would sure be nice to know how to easily get more protein.

Age/Attrition

Hens tend to lay less after a certain age.  I believe that by investing a little more time to ferment feed and money on high-quality fresh feed, I will get more eggs from the hens over their lifespan.  Three of my hens (black Australorps) are at least 3 years old and when I separated them from the flock to see if they were laying I was pleasantly surprised to find that they are all still laying consistently.  Unfortunately, chickens do eventually die and need to be replaced and that’s where some of the big hidden costs can be found.  It often takes around 6 months for a chicken to reach egg-laying age.

Real Numbers

I had to experiment with my flock to see how little I could feed them and still produce enough nutrition to support eggs.  This took months because I found it usually took about 10-14 days for the changes to produce noticeable results.  Since they free-range on a quarter-acre pasture with goats, I’ve found they don’t need very much feed at all.  This may vary wildly between flocks and seasons depending on circumstances as mentioned above.  And keep in mind I do feed them clabbered milk from time to time along with lots of kitchen and garden scraps.  With all the variety of things my flocks get, I choose not to worry about macronutrient percentages and nutrient balance.  Thus far, our chickens are healthy and productive.

OK so showing my math homework for full disclosure, or you can scroll down for the bottom line costs:

• FEED:  Typically for free-ranging flocks of laying age, I see people recommending at least 1/4 -1/3 lb of feed per bird.  I’ve found that for my particular mix of free-ranging birds, 1 pound per day satisfies my 9 chickens, so about 1.7oz which is less than 1/8 lb, so less than HALF of the lower end of typical recommendations!  I can easily skip days that provide extra food scraps and just let the feed ferment an extra day.
• DAILY/MONTHLY COST: Since my feed mix items come to about $112 for 137 lbs, @ 82¢ per lb, I’m paying .82¢ per day/ $25 per month.  If I were following typical recommendations and didn’t have the extra inputs from my goats, kitchen, and garden but still free-ranging, the cost would be between (1/4 lb or 4 ounces x 9 chickens = 2.25 lbs per day) = $1.85 per day, $56.43 per month.  For the higher end of the recommendation, (1/3 lb per day or 5.33 ounces x 9 chickens = 3 lbs per day)= $2.46 per day, $75 per month.  Yikes $75 (what I was paying in the beginning because I was free-feeding…) vs $25 (which is what I’m paying now and getting the same amount of eggs)
• EGG QUANTITY:  Our 8 hens average about 5.5 eggs per day February-September (8 months= 1,342 eggs).  4 per day October (122), and about 1 per day November-January (91 Note: the winter rates would probably be a lot better if I had more Orpingtons and Australorps in my flock).

{ If you’re still following I applaud you!}

That’s a grand total of 1,555 eggs per year and averages 4.26 per day.

• OK SO COST OF EGGS ALREADY!!!:  @1,555 /129.6 dozen eggs per year and spending $299.3 per year, our eggs are coming to…wait for it…19¢ per egg…$2.31 per dozen.  BOOM.  That’s a dozen organic, soy-free, corn-free, free-range eggs for $2.31 vs store-bought eggs for at least $6.00.

  Saving $3.69 per dozen compared to store-bought.  Saving $8.76 per dozen compared to homegrown and not paying attention.  Blush.

I shudder to think that before I started paying attention to the details I was quite possibly spending triple.  $11.07 per dozen.  Gasp.  This is assuming that when I was free-feeding them they consumed the higher end of the recommended amount for free-ranging chickens.  I never paid attention which is why we were wasting so much money.  Onward and upward from here.

But WAIT

Now that we know how much we’re saving per dozen we can figure out how long it would take to pay off the infrastructure.  So let’s say you got the set up mentioned in the “infrastructure” paragraph.

• Coop, $267
• Water dispenser$44
• Wooden rod $30
• Feed pans x 2 @$7= $14
• Corner feeder $8
• Chickens.  Say we bought 9 and assume they are free-ranging so the coop doesn’t need to be very big.  Let’s just go with $20 per bird so $180.
• Homemade nesting boxes are a reasonable effort to save a little so let’s not count those.

TOTAL $543.  With saving $3.69 per dozen, it would take 147 dozen eggs to pay off the setup.

Let’s just be conservative and say we’re averaging 4 eggs a day.  It would take 441 (147×3) days, or about 14 & 1/2 months to break even.

Now that we’ve got our egg cost down I can honestly say that keeping a flock is still totally and completely worth it to our family!  I’m excited to see what happens as our property provides more in the coming years.

• Do you have any tips that have saved money on your eggs?
• Got a great source for a less expensive soy-free feed that your hens have laid well on?
• Would you like a post on calculating feed cost in general?
• I’d love to hear from you!  Please comment below.

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