Chickens: as a money saving method only - does it make sense?

Teddi

As the title really, we eat a lot of eggs, 25-30 per week between the 2 of us. We are moving to a new house (whoop, bought our own place at 23 and just turned 24!) with a large garden and were considering if getting our own chickens would make financial sense.


We always buy free range and try to buy local so we aren't comparing this to the cheapest caged eggs. I know others keep them as pets and they would be pets obviously but we are only considering them if they would make financial sense.


So my questions are, how many chickens do/did you have? How many eggs did they produce per week? What were the initial set up costs? What was the ongoing weekly or monthly costs? If possible, what did your costs work out as per dozen?

Money_maker

What will you do when they are a few years old and stop producing/produce one here and there sporadically? Will you slaughter your flock or continue to keep them as pets only?

enjoyyourshoes

Check with deeds first to see if you can keep them.


Chickens start laying at 21 weeks, then at 70ish go into moult and stop laying for a number of weeks, then in 2nd year will lay less.


Chicken come from equator so they lay when they have 12 hours daylight, in Autumn winter they will stop laying unless you provide artificial light to make up 12 hours.


Main predator is pesky fox, so large costs are to keep them away.


Mobile poultry netting (Rappa do them) + energiser + mains supply (or batteries) + earthing rod.


Coop will also cost-make your own to save, need are to roost (live in trees in tropics), nest to lay eggs(darkened area) and someway to muck em out, they do 80% !!!!!!!! overnight.


Need feed (rate will be a problem) and water (clean & plentiful)


Best process is to have mobile coop and movable netting so they can graze (amazing how much grass they eat) and stops area becoming infested and boggy.


Need worming regime.


Hybrid hens bred for egg production will produce 240-280 eggs per year, then in second this reduces (but still economical) but third year costs exceed benefit (so what to do? cull- neck dislocation is most humane)


So will need 3-4 hybrids, if you choose 'traditional' breeds expect smaller eggs, less productivity, longer moult and greater reduction in 2nd year production.


Don't spend big £ on buying them £8-10 per hen should do it. Buy point of lay (21 weeks) POL.


20Kg layer pellets £6.50-7 ish


Get ill - buy guide as some simple remedies (vinegar in their water etc)

Teddi

Continue to keep them as pets, as I said, they would be pets but if it is going to cost us 20 times the price of eggs, we wont go for it in the first place.


If it saves us money for 2 years then we have fun pets as well, that is great.

Teddi

So, I am thinking for coop and run (including boxes, perches, feeders, etc), around £300. Solar lights attached to the large run to simulate 12 hours light all year round, £50. £10 for food and random treatments each month. £40 for 4 initial birds.


So, that is £580 for the first 2 years when I am likely to get 1040 eggs per year, 20 eggs per week. £280 per year, £5.38 per week. So, that is 27p per egg.


That is probably about the same per egg as what we pay now. I suppose the average price per egg would decrease if I went for 5-6 chickens but I feel that may be a lot of work for a first time chicken wrangler as it would be more mucking out, more health checks, more moving of the run, etc.


So, essentially no is the answer until it is the second set of chickens as I wouldn't have the initial £350 set up as I would have it already.


Anyone think there are ways to reduce my initial costs to make it financially viable?

ALIBOBSY

We got our coop from a local chicken breeder for £150 and our initial set of 4 chickens-as above about £10 each for hybrids. We have never had any kind of lighting and still get eggs all year around, just fewer in winter, more in summer. We have lost a few over the years and got others. Some bought, some given to us for free. I found the egg rates even out because of the age ranges and even our oldest girl who is around 8 still lays 3 or 4 eggs a week.

Ali x

Teddi

Are they quite easy to introduce? I thought it was a case of you have that flock until they all go then get another flock but if you can easily stagger them that is really helpful.


Thanks for the replies.

jimjames

Teddi wrote: »

Are they quite easy to introduce? I thought it was a case of you have that flock until they all go then get another flock but if you can easily stagger them that is really helpful.


Thanks for the replies.

You do have to introduce them gradually but they soon establish the pecking order as long as they have sufficient space to get away if they're not the boss!

To be honest the difference in effort between 4 and 6 hens is negligible. We've got 6 and generally get around 30-34 eggs per week from them. I've got low energy lighting in their house which comes in over the winter.

Jimmithecat

I've had my chickens for a year now and since we got them at 17 weeks I can count on one hand the number of times we've gone from 3 to 2 eggs from my 3 hens - they are hybrids and have not had a full moult and lay eggs constantly. They were £15 each.
I bought a second hand omlet eglu from gumtree for £270 - as I knew if keeping chickens didn't work out I would be able to resell this at the same price I bought it (more or less anyway) and give the chickens away (several of our neighbours keep chickens so I knew I would be able to re home them easily)
I was told to always have an odd number of birds - so have the 3 - they produce plenty of eggs for the 4 of us - and we regularly give surplus away.
During the winter they had total free run of the garden and scarified it and fed it like never before - the grass this year is green and lush like I've never seen it before.
Now the birds are over a year I get through quite a few pellets as well as bucketloads of weeds they yomp through - but I'm happy with this as the eggs keep coming.
I absolutely love my chickens and cannot ever imagine being without them now - when they get too old to lay they will be retired and I will Hopefully introduce younger birds to the group.

Teddi

I'm sold. I've been looking at eglu's due to the easy to clean plastic (much easier than wood I guess) and their walk in runs with the anti dig lip.


We are moving in July, looking at getting the chickens at the end of September.

Jimmithecat

I think the omlet range are excellent - I've got the eglu and normal size fixed run - then I've sectioned off a whole area of the garden for them with omlet fencing - I let them out early in the morning and close them in at dusk - I have the raincover and thermal jacket for the eglu for when it gets cold - very spoilt chickens and not very money saving by this point!
Great 'let's keep chickens' forum on here somewhere:D