10 Tips for Reducing the Cost of Raising Chickens

It is said that getting your first flock of backyard chickens is the “gateway-drug” more farm animals. That was definitely true for us! We moved to our property on a Wednesday. We hadn’t even unpack everything when I stopped at a local feed shop to get dog food and “accidentally” came home with 15 baby chicks. With no prior knowledge of how to raise chickens, we went to work fast building a coop and reading a lot of articles on Pinterest. Through much trial and error, I think I have this backyard chicken thing down. One thing I noticed quickly is that the cost of raising chicken can really add up if you let it! That is why I have complied a list of tips for reducing the cost of raising chickens.

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Free Range Your Chickens

It is a fact that a free-ranging chicken is a happy chicken! It is their natural instinct forage around for  bugs and yummy greens. Keeping them locked in a small confined area can lead to bored, unhappy chickens. They are natural born explorers! It just so happens that free ranging is one of the BEST ways to cut down on feed cost. If they are digging around for grub all day, they will not need as much supplemental feed. I was able to cut my feed cost in 1/2 buy allowing my chickens to free range every day. I let them out of the coop in the morning and close the coop in the evening once they all snuggled in the coop for the night. 

Buy Pellet Feed Rather Than Crumbles

This was a HUGE eye opener for me! Crumbles are mainly designed so baby chicks can easily eat the feed. Adult hens like crumbles as well because it is easier to eat so they will eat more of it. The problem with crumbles and adult hens is that they make a mess of it! In my experience, a large percentage of the feed ends up on the ground. By feeding your hens pellets rather than crumbles, the hen will waste less.  

Ferment Your Chicken Feed

Most chicken owners, especially new chicken owners have never heard of fermenting their chicken feed. Fermenting your feed is actually very simple. All you need are some  good grains, seeds or legumes suitable for chickens, a container with ventilation and water. Fermenting your chicken feed has many benefits. First of all, it will give your chickens a boost of probiotics and it expands your feed. During the fermentation process, the feed expands to twice, sometime more of its original size. That means you will go through less feed, thus saving you money! If you are interested in fermenting your chicken feed, check out my favorite chicken feed fermenting starter kit here. 

Feed Your Flock Food Scraps (Including their Own Egg Shells)

Don’t throw away those food scraps! Every time I come out the back door with a plastic bag, our chickens know what time it is. It is snack time! They practically jump on top of each other to get first dibs. We feed them all of our veggie chicken scraps including their own egg shells! Egg shells are loaded with calcium to help your hens lay strong, vitamin-packed eggs. 

Choose Your Breed Wisely

The type of chicken you get, will determine how many eggs you will get but beyond that, it will also determine how happy you will be with  your flock. Just like dogs or cats, each breed has different characteristics. Also some breed are bred for laying eggs and some breeds are bred for meat. If you want to get the most eggs per hen as possible, look for breeds that tend to lay more eggs per week. If you are unsure, check out my post on the Best Chicken Breads for eggs here for more information on the best chicken breeds for your homestead. 

Don’t Spend an Arm and a Leg on a Coop

We went all out on our coop. It looks like a cute little cabin on the country side. It is adorable! But do you know what else it was: EXPENSIVE! My husband built our coop from scratch but do you think our chickens care? Not one bit! They would have been just as happy with a smaller, less expensive coop. A chicken needs a place that can be locked up at night to protected them predators and a place to lay their eggs. No matter how much money your pour into a coop, your chickens are still going to poop all over it. Lesson learned- stick with the basics. 

Take it Easy on the Treats

We love throwing treats to our girls. I love it when they see with the bag and they come running for a yummy treat. If you go to your local feed shop, chances are you will find an entire aisle full of different types of treats for chickens. If you fall into the treat habit, it can be a very expensive one to keep. It can be very tempting to overindulge on treats for your girls but please repeat after me: Chickens don’t need treats.  They are perfectly happy with free ranging and kitchen scrapes. The problem with giving your chickens too many treats is that they will eat them all! Just like in humans, too many treats are not healthy for your chickens. 

Don’t Keep Non-Layers

This one is tough. There are many times when we get attached to our chickens but the fact is that there will come a time when your hen will stop laying. If you are willing to take them on as a pet, then by all means keep them. However if you added chickens to your homestead for the sole purpose of getting eggs, there will come a time when you will have to make a decision about what you will do with your on-laying hens. If you have a dual-breed chicken, you could always use it for meat for yourself or for dogs.

If that is not something you would like to do, there are many people who would be happy to take your non-laying hens in as pets. Ask around but don’t keep hens past their egg laying days unless you are willing to pay for their room and board for the next several years without any egg production. 

Sell Surplus Eggs and Chicks 

At first glance this seems to be a no-brainer. Selling your surplus eggs is a great way to make extra cash. Most people will jump at the opportunity to make farm, fresh eggs for their family. However there is a lot of research that you must do before you can sell your surplus eggs. Most states have laws against selling eggs without the proper permits in place. You have the potential of receiving some hefty fines if you are caught selling your eggs without a permit. Before you start selling your eggs, check with your state and county laws to make sure you are compliant. 

Don’t Raise More Chickens Than you Need

When I say chickens are a gateway drug to more chickens, I wasn’t kidding. Our small family eats about 1-2 dozen of eggs per week. You can imagine my surprise when I realized that 30 chickens might be a little too many for our needs. I was getting 2 dozen eggs PER DAY! I quickly realized that we were feeding and caring for 30 chickens when in reality we only needed about 6 to meet our egg needs. Start off small. Your hens will lay between 3-5 eggs per week, depending on the breed. Once they start laying and you feel like you might need more, you an add more hens to your flock. This will save you money on the cost of raising too may chickens that you probably don’t need. 

Raising chickens has been an amazing experience. They give us delicious eggs and are very entertaining to watch! By using these tips, you can raise a flock of your own without breaking the bank! 

Until next time!

 

Much Love, 

Eva