To answer simply, the maximum cost to raise chickens in your backyard will be about $69/month, for a flock of 5 hens, kept for 5 years. This includes the birds, feed, bedding, a brand-new high-quality coop, and miscellaneous costs like medicine, pest control, and feeders and waterers.
Is it expensive to keep chickens?
Are chickens expensive to keep?
Keeping chickens can be a relatively low cost pet, but unlike lots of other pets they produce food for you! You can even sell the eggs to friends and family. There are start up costs which can be expensive but the cost of keeping chickens when you have got all the things you need is surprisingly cheap.
How much does it cost to keep a chicken per year?
$23.96 annually. There is an initial infrastructure investment when calculating how much do chickens cost. You need a brooder with lights for the chicks, a coop with perches and nest boxes, waterer (including the possibility of needing a heated chicken waterer if you live in a colder climate), feeder and bedding.
How much does it cost to keep a chicken per month?
Plan on a minimum budget of about $15 per month per chicken for feed. Free-range chickens may need slightly less, and organic and or medicated feed will cost more. There are many brands to choose from. When actively laying eggs a hen needs more food, and chickens eat less when the temperatures start to rise.
How much does it cost to keep chicken?
A live chicken will on average cost around $3 to $30 depending on the breed and age of the chicken. Here's some general guidelines: Baby chicks: Starting at $1, averaging about $5.
Is it cheaper to have chickens or buy eggs?
Not only do chickens make wonderful pets, but they encourage self-sufficiency by allowing owners to produce some of their own food and avoid a trip to the grocery store for a carton of eggs….Price breakdown.
| Store-Bought Eggs | Backyard Chicken Eggs |
|---|---|
| Cheapest eggs: $1.99/carton | Housing and accessories: $250 |
How many chickens should I start with?
Chickens are extremely flock-oriented, so a good starter flock size is no fewer than three chickens. You should collect about a dozen eggs from three laying hens. A flock of five or six hens is a good choice for slightly larger families.
Is it worth it to have chickens?
If you spend $7 weekly for a dozen farmers market eggs, then yes, raising chickens probably will save you money, says Sarah Cook, founder of Sustainable Cooks. "If you stock up when eggs are 99 cents at the store, then your backyard flock will never be able to match the price of factory-farmed eggs."
Is it worth it to own chickens?
If you spend $7 weekly for a dozen farmers market eggs, then yes, raising chickens probably will save you money, says Sarah Cook, founder of Sustainable Cooks. … Cook estimates that it costs her $3.50 per dozen eggs to feed and care for her admittedly "spoiled" chickens.