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I'm a big guy and was eating three eggs/day until the egg prices got crazy. FWIW....the cholesterol level was low last time it was checked.
I'm in the country with five fenced acres. It would be fairly simple to build a small chicken house and care for a few chickens. My folks did this and I took care of the chickens when they were away on vacation. It wasn't fun but it was pretty good exercise. They had a lot of small chicken houses.
On the other hand, due to the climate here...it might be difficult to provide unfrozen water during the winter. This is a notoriously cold spot in Colorado. With solar power, providing electricity for heat during the winter is not a viable option.
Really not worth it for one person, from a financial standpoint. If you're just doing it for fun, okay, but it's not going to represent a big savings for you or anything.
Depends on how you raise them, and also on what kind of eggs you buy.
Eggs are my only source of animal protein, and I care very much how the hens have been treated and what they've been fed. So right now, I pay $8 dozen. Before you faint, keep in mind that that amounts to a bit over $1 day for the highest quality animal protein you can buy.
My sister and I just bought a few pullets, which will start giving us eggs in about another six weeks. We're not doing it to save money, but to make sure we get the very best eggs.
Whether you prefer organic biodynamic farm-raised eggs, as I do, or the $2-3 dollar eggs from your local big box store, you will not be able to produce eggs more cheaply than the store price, unless you can buy feed in wholesale amounts at wholesale prices, and you get into growing some feed yourself.
Chickens are some of the most entertaining critters on earth, and you cannot get those orange, buttery yolks in any store. But it would be rare to save a noticeable amount of money by raising your own chickens. Although here are some people who claim to do just that - https://www.youtube.com/results?sear...y=chicken+feed
I've had chickens before, and I kinda doubt it, but I'm going to try it anyway.
I can purchase a dozen eggs for $2.99 at the grocery store down the street. That's a quarter per egg. You are consuming three eggs a day. That comes out to about $275 per year. Is $275 enough to purchase chickens, feed, and housing for a year?*
* Plug in your own numbers if egg prices are different in your part of Colorado.
We purchased 7 baby chicks last February and got our first edible egg yesterday. We inherited a coop which will need repairs soon. Even if you build a coop (and you can't just throw it together), it is costly. We have spent quite a bit of money up front. For the first four months or so, they need to be fed grower rations. After that, laying rations. In the first four months, we spent about $60 -$70 in grower rations, plus a feeder, waterer (which we are going to need to replace soon), and pine shavings. We give them vegetable and fruit leftovers, which can help with feed costs a little bit. They really need the laying rations, though, for steady and fully formed egg production. It's can be expensive, up front especially. And what if one gets sick and needs a vet?
For us, though, it's about knowing our eggs came from chickens raised humanely and given no added hormones or antibiotics. It's pretty hot right now and we are doing everything we can to keep our chickens cool. They cannot perspire and have difficulty wicking away excess heat. Many novices lose chickens in the heat. Again, we need to invest more. This winter, we will have to put some money into providing heat in their coop.
Egg production also slows down when the hens are stressed.
If you are willing to practice good animal husbandry and think the costs will even out over time, you may find it very satisfying. It is much better than buying cheap eggs laid by battery caged hens. And they taste so much better.
Eggs and milk were both a lot cheaper a few years ago. How is the economy of getting milk from a single dairy cow?
I take care of three alpacas and a llama. Total money loser. Out in the boondocks, I don't even bother paying a shearer to catch and shear them. I'd be lucky to break even I'll bet. Well...some rich guy gave them to me. It does help make the property look inhabited when I am away however.
Do you live near a Walgreens? I buy my eggs, not spending on organic, there and they have great sales on eggs and the eggs are really good. This week they are on sale for $1.29 a dozen. You can buy several dozen at a time and will last in good refrigeration.
If you keep chickens for eggs, your eggs will be of much higher quality. However, they will not be cheaper.
The big poultry farms buy grain by the carload. You'll buy it in 40 pound bags at a much higher cost per pound. You are in a cold climate and your hens will very likely stop laying in the winter, unless you control the lighting and temperature. That might be economical for 50,000 hens, but it is not so economical for 4 hens.
When I was getting poultry food for $6.99 a bag, my duck eggs cost me $4 a dozen. Now poultry food is $13.99 a bag.
Duck eggs, by the way, are even more delicious than hen eggs and you can get laying breeds of duck that will play more eggs than a chicken does. Ducks are messy and more work because they play in their water and make mud. They are more fun to be around.
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