Starting Out With Chickens

Not long after setting up a black soldier fly bin, chickens joined the backyard. Fourteen meat birds, seven egg birds, and one mystery bird who will probably end up as a rooster (AKA meat). If you have ever kept chickens before, you know that they are delightful (if somewhat witless) creatures.

There is something marvelous and deeply pleasing about an animal behaving according to its nature. I watch the birds engage in little nothings for hours. Scratching the ground, plucking blades of grass, fluffing up clouds of dust, unearthing beetles, waddling, flapping, jumping, napping. Raising these giddy birds is as entertaining as it is gratifying. Witnessing their happy lives has a profound influence on my own happiness.

But they are not my pets. As much as I enjoy them, I am raising chickens to eat healthy food and save money. The latter of the two incentives is a long term goal, in case there are any homesteaders out there chuckling; I am quite reconciled to the reality that the first few rounds of chickens will not square the overhead costs of keeping them.

Despite using free scrap materials to build tractors and retrofit an old shed as a coop, despite fermenting the birds’ food and supplementing their diet with home-grown larvae, despite using coupons and tracking down deals, the profit margin will slowly creep from “non-existent” to a luxurious “razor thin”.  

To new chicken owners, I advise purse drawstrings be kept tight. Raising a few birds for eggs or the occasional roast is a romantic thought, but chickens quickly become costly pets. This is especially true if you do not keep track of expenses and craftily meet their needs. Having raised pet chickens for years, I now find that though they are the same birds with the same basic needs, raising chickens for monetary gain requires an entirely different strategy. 

My hope is that only routine operating expenses will remain after a few generations of chickens pass through my nursery. We shall see how this little adventure unfolds.

Below is the cost basis for my first round of chickens:

Chick Order 23 (22 survived) birds (McMurray Hatchery) : 76.58

Chick Heating Plate (briidea) : 49.99

Chick Grubbly Starter Feed (30lbs) : 54.99 + 39.49 + 85.49

Shavings and Wood Chips : Free

7lb Feeder (Tractor Supply Co) : 9.99

Peas and Oats Mix 5lbs (Johnny’s Selected Seeds) : 19.80 + 7.50 shipping

Total: 343.83

Average cost per bird: 15.62