With the cost of everything from start up, does it ever break even?

for eggs or meat and what's your goal?

For yourself or selling….eggs or meat?

Well, when eggs were cheap, no

On a small scale, there's good money in hatching and selling chicks. Selling hatching eggs generates okay money. Selling eating eggs is probably a loss. Selling meat only works at about $4.00 a pound, with all the other expenses, like purchasing the chicks, electrolytes and electricity.

At extremely large volumes, significant amounts of total profit can be made, but the profit margin is pitiful.

Most backyard flocks are raised more for enjoyment than profit.

Keith

I have a flock of 18. I was never in it for the money. I just wanted quality eggs. I charge 2.50/doz on any extra we have.

I just looked at mcmurray and the meat birds we used to buy for .50 now run between 3 and 4 dollars, with much death loss it wouldn’t take long to be a money loosing job.

The secret to growing chickens is to plant them at the right depth (and head up) and to water them daily.

Not sure what exactly you are referring to, but we raise a couple batches of meat birds a year. Prices went up on the cost of birds for us this year. We raise them for about $10/bird feeding a more expensive non gmo feed. We sell ours for about $20/bird when it’s all said and done. Plus I get the benefit of “free” fertilizer put directly where I want it when they are in the chicken tractors. It’s worth it to me, but if you are just trying to get the cheapest product possible probably not

Can't imagine not having chickens running around. Dual purpose varieties. For some reason, I get a kick out of watching them run.

We usually don't sell excess eggs. We know people who can use them and appreciate the gesture.

For eggs - My coast per dozen is about $1.50 to $1.75 feeding layer mash. That is just per bag of feed. Meat chickens are bought as day old chicks. Arrive in the mail. Are fed meat bird starter and finisher. They only live six weeks. Day old to seven or more pounds.

Eggs in the store today was $7.95.

Garryowen

Some birds are very social and like to come hang around when you're sitting outside on the deck. They come up and poop all over the deck. I can't wait to see the price of chicks coming up soon. $15 is average around here for a butchered homegrown chicken. I'll eat a good beef steak before I pay $15 for a bird. Yesterday I did buy two turkey breasts for $25 Im going to smoke and bake today. I will slice them up for sammiches to take to work.

Looks like you are figuring feed cost while alleready laying but are you including cost of the chick's, death loss, expence to feed tell laying age and when production slows or stopes in Winter? I only ask because most back yard folks done and tent to look at how long a bag of feed cost to how many eggs they got during max production time.
I went back and read your post again ans it looks like your re only figuring cost of feed as i outlined above. if so your way off on your true egg cost. And thats not even including anything for time.

This is where I'm at too. We enjoy having some chickens around and don't worry much about the cost.

In my limited experience spring-bought chicks don't start laying until October. I like to see them free-range which opens them up to falcons killing them. Currently $4/dozen isn't a bad deal from local producers.

Depends on a few factors, but it is possible for our family to keep 2 or 3 layers very cheap with kitchen scraps and feed. We however maintain a larger laying flock and our feed cost thru the winter exceeds egg production. I supplement with natural protein from carcasses all winter, and a maggot feeder thru the summer. If a cheaper source of feed were available and a high production breed was used the numbers would be better, we run Americauna and Easter Egger mix from hatched eggs here and they are not an egg a day breed like sex links, reds or leghorns. Bottom line to us is we like having them on the farm.

For me, I’d guess it’s going to take 5 years to break even. I built a coop myself and it was around 2k in lumber from Lowe’s. If you get building materials cheap or can scavenge some you would save a lot. Feed is cheap.

We dropped down to 7 hens and a Rooster

but This spring we'll buy or hatch new chicks
Sex links ,Please varies

My daughter and her husband have birds. Peacocks geese ducks and of course chickens. Have an incubator. They make a little money extra outside their jobs. Takes a lot of effort. They have enough birds they buy feed in bulk by the ton. I dont know details but SIL says its a huge discount.

2x on salvaged materials. I had a 16' car trailer I flipped in my 20s resulting in a bent spendal and racked frame sitting in the woods. I used that for my base to build my coop on so it's Mobil. The 2x4s to frame it I got on a scrap pass from work. They come in as cribbing in rail cars I had to knock out nails but did that at work on the clock between processes. The roof I made a single slop lean to from 2×8s a friend sent home with me when I was helping him clean up his place and pack when moving. He also sent a few rolls of new chicken wire. The roof tin I found in my barn that was saved from other recycled projects. I bought tin for the walls scewws and hinges. Ripped down the free 2x4s to Frame the door.

Total cost around $450. Been in use 6 years now. the trailer I bought for $450 at a pawn shop in Henderson KY when I was 17 and used it around 10 years before I flipped it(and jeep pulling it) so I had gotten my money worth before I destroyed it yet its gotten new life.

I'm not sure how many chickens we have but they all are at least 3 years old and need culled. Wife just picked up 20 new chick'sseveral different breeds yesterday and 2 few month old roosters I think copper Marians. Typically we several breeds laying a large variety of colors. Each dozen looks like Easter. Customers like it.

When we incubate our eggs we get some very interesting looking crossed up chick's and more egg colors and shades.