4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[daj198]

I've just made a spreadsheet and worked out that my chooks lay £241.02 worth of eggs a year between them . That means in just three and a half months time they will have paid off the eglu! I'll have to throw a party with omlet, quiche, souffle etc.

 

How much do your chooks save you per year?

 

Btw, I based this on the price of waitrose large columbian blacktail freerange eggs.

 

Edit: Hang on! I think I forgot to take food into account...

[daj198]

Ok, it's a saving of £208.17 per year with feed taken into account. That means it will be more like five and a half months until they pay for the eglu

[Sandychick]

Taking into account eglu / run / fencing / feed etc, the eggs from mine work out at £40 an egg I think I'm being a bit unfair as they have only just started laying. I think the initial set up cost is loads and it will take a few years before I consider their eggs to be a cost saving exercise! But chickens are cute so who cares

[Hen Watch]

Since April 07 the receipts I've kept (not including those I can't find.....) amount spent on eglu, run, feed, suppliments, Auboise, mag subscription etc is £835.

 

If I assume I get an average of 3 eggs a day from 4 hens = 1449 eggs which would cost £373 at Waitrose (for 12s F/R Lg).

 

So far each egg is costing me 57.6p to produce instead of 25.75p to buy.

 

AND I give most of them away free, I'm definately doing something wrong.

Good job I don't just keep my chooks for cheap eggs...

 

PS. Don't tell hubbie about these figures, spreadsheet is hidden away on the computer where he can't see it......

[AJuff]

I wouldn't dare work out how much each egg cost around here. OH already thinks they are very expensive . . . . even more so that OH has agreed I can have a cube (even though I prefer the eglu!).

[FruitandNutCake]

I worked out that mine cost me a fortune too! £250 for the shed, about £250 for the run, £100 for the additional coop to house the ex-batts, Food, drinkers and feeders (just bought a nice hanging galvanised steel and glass 5 litre hanging drinker for £20 'cos I liked the look of it!!!) aubiose etc. etc. I must be at about £800. I didn't keep a record - probably best I didn't!

 

And my ex-batts have only laid 1 egg between the four of them in the last two weeks!!

[dancing cloud]

I wasn't organised enough to do a spreadsheet, but reckoned on not seeing much change out of £1000 for my Cube and all the other set-up items, so if I was looking to turn a profit, it might take a while. Actually, it will never happen, as I either give eggs away to family and friends or sell them to the office and donate the money to BHWT (very occasionally I get some for me too!)

 

Having said that, apart from bedding (which I bought way too much of, so won't need to buy any more this year!) and food/supplements, all of it will last for ages or not need replacing at all, so the daily running costs are very low.

 

Having initially gone at the cost, I then considered the costs of a two-week holiday, including single supplement , and realised that this was much better value. I hadn't factored in that it was also going to be more educational, much better entertainment and you can't put a price on how much you love your hens (or how much you can torture people with little-hennie anecdotes ).

[Sandychick]

Having initially gone at the cost, I then considered the costs of a two-week holiday, including single supplement , and realised that this was much better value. I hadn't factored in that it was also going to be more educational, much better entertainment and you can't put a price on how much you love your hens (or how much you can torture people with little-hennie anecdotes ).

 

This is so true. There are so many other ways the money could have been spent, the list is endless, but none of them compare to the chickens. I don't know how I managed without them.

[Stevie]

Any savings made by having my own chooks are immedietly counteracted by having a large dog and a poorly paw!

 

They do save me money,but they're pets too so im not really worried.

[Gamebird]

I wouldn't dare do a spreadsheet just in case OH saw it and realised how much these chickens have cost us in monatory terms

 

However, they have brought us so much joy and laughter that they are worth their weight in gold.

 

The pleasure we get in giving away ours eggs to friends and family together with chicken stories is not measurable.