If you can raise them, that is? Those who are for raising chickens in your backyard often point out that you get eggs from them and cheap meat any time you want. Question though is how much money will you be spending on these chickens to get the "free eggs?" If the cost of feeding the chickens is high then you wouldn't be saving any money, would you? What do you think? Or does someone save money by feeding the chickens only table scraps?
As doing this is common practice where I live and almost everyone here has at least 10 - 20 chickens - even though I don't actually do this myself as I don't eat either - eggs or chicken - I do know that the answer to this is not exactly as straight forward as it may seem. Particularly as there so many different factors that can add additional cost after the initial outlay - such as - climate and the need for extra heat during winter months, the amount of daylight hours and the possibility of needing additional artificial lighting, regular replacement of bedding materials, number of chickens and whether or not you could get good quality feed at wholesale prices - the latter of which is necessary even if the chickens are totally free range and especially over the winter months - as well as the fact that chickens need to be replaced every four or five years if you want eggs and more importantly the cost of the time involved in caring for them. So with that said and bearing in mind that all the chickens are raised organically here and are totally free range - the bigger savings are made by those that sell their excess eggs - but are small to minimal for those that don't. However - as at the very worst the savings in comparison to store bought eggs can be small and they still may work out at only slightly less ( but better quality and flavor ) than you would pay in the stores.- then yes - if you had the time, the space, the right climate and weren't the type that would get too attached to the chickens - I think it would probably be well worth considering - not necessarily for the savings - but for the health benefits to both yourself and the chickens - and of course the other very beneficial aspect of having chickens - is that - not only do they generally cut down on the need to do any weeding - but also the need to buy fertilizer - especially as well cured, sterilized chicken manure is like gold for the garden.
It is not possible to have chickens or any farm animals in your yard in my area. I would think the cost would not be that much different when you have to add in the cost of feeding the chickens as to the cost of what you pay for in the store. I think the only thing that I would be interested in would be the chemical free chicken I grow myself in place of what we get from the store.
Having raised backyard chickens for a few years, I think that egg-laying chickens are cost-effective. Meat chickens can be expensive by the time you factor in cost to process (unless you are willing to butcher them yourself) and feed, so I usually just keep egg-laying chickens. Feeding chickens can be very economical, as they eat just about anything. I allow mine to free range periodically, which allows them to eat insects and weeds in the yard. Anytime I pull weeds from the garden, I throw them in the chicken pen. Also, fruit and vegetable scraps as well as old bread products are nearly free sources of feed. Egg-laying breed chickens typically lay 1 to 2 eggs per day, so it does not take many to supply a household. Also, the possibility for earning potential is pretty great when you chickens are producing a lot of eggs, you can sell them to neighbors or a local farmers market. As for housing your chickens, coops and pens can be built as inexpensive to as costly as you want to make them. Many options are available, including some that are mobile around the yard.
I don't know much about how much it costs to raise your own chicken. I guess it would be relatively cheap, considering they eat corn and cheap veggetables, and they don't require that much space. But for me, what you really need to consider is the emotional aspect. Could you really see the chicken there every single day and then kill them one day? Would you be able to twist their neck and watch them struggle to die? Even if you are cold enough for that (no offense), you should also consider you will have to clean the mess later on, remove the feathers, chop it.... just thinking about it makes me nauseous. Poor things.... I'm not a vegetarian, but if I had to kill the animals myself, I would definitely become one.
I have a friend who did this, but it didn't work out. There weren't always eggs, and then one died of a disease. Her sister tried as well, but then the foxes came and attacked them. If you are on a farm or somewhere where you can tend to them, then it's possible, but does it save money? Maybe, but I wouldn't feed them scraps, because what you feed them is the quality of the eggs they produce. If anything wouldn't you want organic and the best fed hens to have the best eggs possible?
I have a friend who has pet chickens and I don't think they get much use out of them because they are too few so I'm guessing that for this to work you'd probably want a bit more chickens to make it all worth it. Also, there is a trade off that might not be so obvious for those thinking about this which is the noise and the mess that the chickens contribute which is why in my opinion makes it not so worth it considering that buying chicken and eggs from the supermarket isn't that expensive unless you consume a lot of them daily.
My husband's dream was to have chickens loose in the backyard. He said that loose chickens have stronger bodies and thick flesh that is very apt for food. But that remains a dream because our house is not appropriate for that. What's good in having backyard chickens is that they multiply without you noticing it. Get 2 or 3 pairs and in a year they can be more than 50. And for the food, only minimal expenses is required unless you will put them in a cage and you have to feed it every hour.
I only know of one friend of mine who is raising his own chickens. I believe he's doing it more for ethical reasons - trying to avoid supporting the big companies which raise chickens in inhumane environments. Cost wise, I can't imagine it being more cost effective vs. buying eggs at the store. I can get a carton of a dozen medium size eggs right now for only $1. Considering I go through about a carton a week, and there are 52 weeks in a year - it's only costing me around $50 a year for eggs. I would certainly be spending more than that on all the supplies and materials, not to mention the costs of buying the chickens themselves. As for butchering them for meat - I couldn't do it myself, so I would have to pay someone to do it for me, which would be even more of an expense.
My dad raises chickens for their eggs and he feeds them table scraps. I'm not sure if he buys chicken feed for them. I think if you feed them only table scraps then you can save money. My dad also kills the chickens that pecks him when he gives food and gives it the meat to other people.
To me I agree mostly with many of you, though I never had raised chickens to save money nor do I know what it takes to raise chickens. Some said about the many other things that is involved with raising chickens that I would wish not to raise chickens for they are like other animals that need proper care, protection, good nutrition so you can get nutritional eggs and meat plus other things to have chickens in the backyard. The others seem to have covered it all as to raising chickens in your backyard and then some, but I prefer the ease to just getting a carton of eggs which in Hawaii if cheap is 1.99 - 2.99 and the high is 4.59 for brown eggs on sale and 5.69 for EB on sale approximately. Chicken meat is 1.99# on sale all cleaned and ready to cook, so for me I'd rather by the clean and no hormone chickens so easy to buy and cook and eggs right out of the sterile carton.
