How much do chickens cost? Really, is it worth it to get chickens?
The big ol’ “how much are chickens?” question! We will be going over the initial start up cost to get egg laying hens, ways to make it as affordable as possible, and dive into some numbers and ROI.
The Chicken Coop and Run
This is the most expensive part of getting chickens. For me, it came to about $1,500 to build a 4×8 diy walk-in chicken coop with a 160 sqft run. That was me building it myself, so if you were to buy one that size it would definitely be much more expensive.
The bright side is, you don’t need to spend that much! I’d highly recommend checking Facebook marketplace for used coops and runs or building a smaller one. Buying new coops can be rather expensive but it is an option as well. With all this coop talk, you may be wondering how much space do chickens need? Each bird should have a MINIMUM of 4 sqft! Those ultra tiny coops with hardly any run space are a tad inhumane in my opinion. A small chicken coop is okay as long as they have a large run!
The Hens Themselves
Assuming you only want egg-laying hens, you’ve got two options. You can buy a fully grown flock either locally on craigslist or online at Tractor Supply for around $30/bird.
OR, my favorite. Raising chickens yourself. You can get day-old pullets for $5-6 from Tractor Supply! The nice thing about getting chicks is once you’ve made the initial investment on the brooder, you can add more every year. Raising your own chicks is also nice because you can get them accustomed to you and being handled from an early age.
My brooder system cost me about $110. I got the least expensive, good quality items I could find and I love them! I’ll link them below if you’re interested:
- Feeder + Waterer ($19.99)
- Brooder ($53)
- Medicated Chick Feed ($7) I’d suggest one bag per chick for their first eight weeks before moving onto normal feed.
- For the brooder box, I found a 27 gallon tote from Lowe’s for $11!
The total for my chicks was about $130.
Food, Snacks and Water
Chickens typically eat 1.5 lbs of feed per week. So for a flock of four chickens, a 50 lbs bag will last about two months. Assuming you pay about $20 for your feed, this equals $2.50/week.
I do love to spoil my chickens with mealworms, but this is optional! Chickens will be ecstatic to eat your kitchen scraps! I love to grow pumpkins for them to snack on in the fall!
As for water, I don’t pay for water since I’m on a well. However, I do collect rainwater to give my chickens since I don’t have a hose running to the coop. Which again, this is totally free!
So, How Much do Chickens Cost?
Let’s make the numbers here easy and say I spent about $1,600 on my four chickens. Organic, cage-free eggs at the grocery store cost about $10 for a dozen and a half (18 eggs) which is how many four chicks will lay per week. This initial investment will pay itself off in about three years.
Now assuming you buy 18 eggs per week (we’re using this number because this is how many eggs the chickens will be laying) you will save $390 per year owning your own chickens!
So, how much do chickens cost? Priceless! You will stop any current contribution from the industrialization of hens and be much more self-sufficient. Plus, eggs are the perfect gift! Who doesn’t want local farm fresh eggs? Raising chickens (in my opinion) can be very therapeutic and rewarding as your watch them grow and thrive. Happy healthy chickens means yummy, more nutrient packed eggs for you and your health. ♡
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