As the cost of food continues to rise, many people are aiming to be as self-sufficient as possible. One option to consider is raising chickens for eggs, as opposed to buying overpriced eggs at the grocery store.
In this article, we’re going to look at how much it realistically costs to do so, and whether it’s worth the time, effort, and monetary investment.
Table of Contents
The Cost of Store-Bought Eggs
Depending on where you’re located, eggs now cost between $5 and $14. Eggs used to be some of the cheapest and most readily available protein sources for lower-income people, and now they seem to be out of reach for many.
As a result, a lot of people are considering raising chickens for eggs instead of forking out all the money they have at the grocery store every week.
But is raising chickens really more cost-effective than buying eggs? What are the various costs that need to be considered?
Don’t go panic buying chickens when egg prices jump until you’ve considered all the factors. Let’s take a look at the various aspects involved with keeping chickens and how much you can expect to pay annually.
Chicken Housing and Supplies
Your chickens will need a safe place to roost, where they’ll stay warm and dry, and well-protected from predators. The type of housing to offer will depend on a few different factors, such as:
- Your location and climate
- How many birds you’ll be raising
- Which predators are nearby
For example, a person raising chickens in northern Montana will have to offer their chickens an insulated coop to keep them warm in the wintertime, plus protection from the bears that love to prey on these birds.
In contrast, someone who lives in Arizona will need to offer their chickens shade and cooling while protecting them from coyotes, foxes, and hawks.
As far as space goes, nobody likes to be crammed into a small space with a ton of nosy neighbors. Aim for at least four square feet of space per bird, with plenty of room for them to roam around.
Converted sheds are often great options for small flocks of four to six birds, as they can have roosting boxes set against one wall, with the rest of the space available for food, water, and moving around.
Materials and Basic Costs
The cost of housing your chickens will depend on whether you’re starting from scratch or building them a shelter with items you have on the homestead already. On average, expect to pay about $400 as a baseline, even if you already have a shed or outbuilding to use.
This will include items like rolls of fine-mesh metal wire to keep predators out, wood (which is super expensive right now) to construct a run, plus screws, nails, and so on.
If you’re only going to have two or three hens, you can buy an affordable chicken coop with a small run for under $200. You’ll still need to spend more money to predator-proof it, insulate it against cold, and create a larger run for your birds, so the $400 base still holds.
When it comes to nesting boxes, some people shell out thousands of dollars on fancy ones while others get creative with DIY solutions. We’ve used bookshelves and milk crates, while other people have used cat litter boxes, repurposed IKEA toy storage units, or cleaned-out paint buckets.
Read our article on smart poultry housing for more information.
You’ll also need to decide what type of bedding to use for your nesting boxes as well as for the coop’s floor.
Many people use hay in their nesting boxes and pine shavings for the coop floor, as the shavings are great for fending off mites and other unwanted insects. Expect to pay between $30 and $100 a month for bedding, depending on the size of your flock.
Waterers, Feeders, and Boredom Busters
Waterers and feeders aren’t expensive and can be purchased for around $10 each. For a flock of around four birds, you can get away with one of each for a total of $20.
Aim to spend another $30 or so on enrichment items such as swings, xylophones, etc. to keep them entertained. You can also keep them engaged by hanging foods like corn cobs, cabbages, and so on for them to peck.
Chickens are sentient beings who get bored and depressed just like humans do, so it’s important to keep them as happy as possible.
Happy hens = prolific layers.
Buying Birds
If you’re raising chickens for eggs, there are a lot of different breeds to choose from. Some are better suited to warmer climates while others fare better in cooler weather, so do a ton of research before going ahead and buying a flock of them.
One of the best things you can do is ask around to see which chicken breeds are doing the best in your area, and then try to buy chicks from local farmers. Those who are thriving in your neighborhood are likely to do well on your homestead as well.
As an aside, another reason why it’s better to buy chicks locally is because those that have been ordered online and shipped from afar have a fairly high mortality rate. These are baby animals who don’t do well on long voyages, crammed into shipping crates.
If you order 10 chicks, you may end up with only 4 healthy ones who live to adulthood. In contrast, buying chicks from local farmers means that they only have a brief ride back home to your property.
Breeds to Consider
Some of the best breeds for eggs include:
- Rhode Island Red: Best for moderate climates, as they get heat-stressed easily and don’t tolerate the cold well. They lay 200-300 eggs annually per bird.
- Chantecler: This Canadian breed is specially bred for cold climates, with small combs that are highly resistant to frostbite. Get 200-280 eggs annually per bird.
- Orpington: These prolific layers can tolerate cold and heat equally well and lay 180-200 eggs per bird annually.
- Australorp: Thrive in temperate areas with moderate humidity, mild winters, and cooler summers. Expect 250-300 eggs annually.
- White Leghorn: A heat-tolerant bird that does well in warmer climates but won’t thrive in cooler environs. They will lay 280-320 eggs annually per bird.
- Sussex: These birds do best in temperate climates that are slightly less on the humid side. You’ll get 250-280 eggs per bird annually.
- Wyandotte: This is another breed that prefers moderate temperatures, but prefers things on the cooler side. It can tolerate cold better than heat. Look for 200-220 eggs every year, per bird.
- Barred Plymouth Rock: These birds are heavily feathered, which allows them to tolerate the cold well. But they don’t thrive well in extreme cold or high heat. Expect 250-280 eggs per each bird annually.
Once you’ve determined the breed that’s best for you, you’ll need to determine how many to buy. This will depend on whether you’re raising chickens for eggs just to feed your family, or if you’re planning to sell them as well.
On average, chicks will cost between $3 and $15, depending on the breed you’ve chosen and whether they’ve been sexed or not.
If you’re planning to breed chickens so you have plenty of eggs for years, then you’ll need to have at least one rooster in amongst your hens. otherwise, if you just want eggs without the potential for fertilization, pay a bit more for female-sexed chicks.
As a basic example, if you’d like to raise six chickens for eggs, aim to buy ten of them. This will cost you between $24 and $150, depending on breed and sex. Buying a few more chicks than you need will allow for potential losses, as well as breeder error with regard to sexing them.
It’s a good idea to have at least three chickens in your flock. They get lonely easily, and if one of them dies unexpectedly, the remaining two will still have each other for company.
Feed Costs
The average egg-laying hen eats between a quarter and a third-pound of feed daily. Those who are raising chickens for eggs supplement commercial feeds with things like ground flaxseeds, mealworms, and kitchen scraps in order to offer their birds a healthy, varied diet.
If you’re raising four egg-laying chickens, you can assume that they’ll eat about 1.3 pounds of feed daily between them, for an average of around 485 pounds a year.
If the average cost of commercial chicken feed is $0.30 per pound, then you’ll be paying around $145 annually for feed.
This price can be lowered significantly if you’re growing crops that can be used to feed your hens, as well as if you allow them to forage free-range. You’ll pay less for annual feed if they eat beetle grubs, larvae, caterpillars, and grasshoppers.
When you’re raising chickens for eggs as a means of food security, any means of cutting costs can only be beneficial. As you can imagine, letting them eat insect pests also cuts down on crop loss from insect predation!
Health Care
Just like every other living being, chickens need health care in order to keep them in the greatest condition possible. They need regular checkups a couple of times a year, as well as parasite control and vaccinations.
You also need to consider the possibility of illness and/or injuries, which will require immediate attention and incur unexpected costs. As such, when raising chickens for eggs, you’ll also need to keep money on hand for potential veterinary costs.
On average, for 3-4 chickens, you can expect to pay around $100 annually. This may be lower if you have super-healthy birds or higher in cases where your hens get infections, get egg-bound, etc.
Dietary supplements and medicinal herbs can also help to keep your chickens healthy, though if you have a homestead, farm, or yard in which these items thrive, you can offer them to your hens without any additional costs.
Time, Effort, and Emotional Damage
When raising chickens for eggs, you need to be aware that emotional costs will also be involved. These costs don’t come with price tags but can certainly take a toll on one’s well-being.
For example, you may go to check on your beloved birds one morning to find that they’ve all been slaughtered overnight by a weasel that got into the coop. Or an outbreak of Marek’s disease might kill off your entire flock one by one.
Alternatively, you may go through some serious personal difficulties and barely be able to function, but your birds still need to be fed and tended to in order to keep them alive and healthy. All of these factors need to be considered during your planning stages.
The True Cost of Raising Chickens for Eggs
Now that we’ve covered all the factors included in raising chickens for eggs, you have a solid idea as to what your startup and annual costs will be. We’re going to go with the assumption that you’re raising three or four hens here.
If we don’t include the $450 (or so) initial startup for the coop and feeders, you’re looking at annual costs of:
- $24 for chicks
- $145 for feed (not including treats)
- $360 for bedding
- $100 for veterinary care
Annual total: $629
If we assume that you’re spending $6 per dozen (12), and you’re buying two dozen (24) eggs a week, every week for eating and cooking/baking with, then you’ll be spending around $624 for 1,248 eggs annually.
In contrast, your three or four hens are likely to produce 1000-1,200 eggs annually if you get a prolific laying breed, and each hen lays the maximum number possible.
As you can see, after the initial startup cost with the coop and equipment (which can be even less than the assumed $400 if you have all the materials you need), the true cost of raising chickens for eggs is almost identical to buying your eggs at the grocery store.
Of course, you’ll need to add more variables into the equation here.
For example, if you aren’t as mobile as you used to be, or if grocery store prices rise even more, then raising your own hens is cheaper in the long run, assuming feed and care costs don’t also jump up dramatically.
In contrast, if you have friends or neighbors nearby who raise hens, you can set up a trade system in which you offer items you grow or create (e.g. soap, herbal medicine, processed wool or knit items, etc.) in exchange for a weekly egg delivery.
Then there’s the importance of knowing your birds are being raised in a healthy environment. We all know commercial chickens are raised in poor conditions. Even those eggs labeled as “free range” don’t always have great conditions.
If animal welfare is important to you, then raising your own chickens is the way to go.
Ultimately, deciding whether raising chickens for eggs is a good idea or not will depend on a vast number of factors. If you feel that you can handle the physical and emotional labor, then there’s no harm in trying!
After all, if it turns out that you aren’t cut out for chicken farming, you can always rehome your birds and switch back to buying eggs at the store.
That said, if SHTF and a grocery store can’t be depended upon, having chickens at home can ensure greater food security for you and your family.