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submitted 18 hours ago by Melobol@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

I do not understand the mathematics behind the dilemma. I'm assuming only the firts chicks cost money, because down the line they will breed.
But feeding them, housing them - vitamins and doctoring costs a lot of money.

So anyone with couple or more chickens - how much does it cost to have them on the table? And realistically how many eggs do you get?

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[-] Melobol@lemmy.ml 30 points 18 hours ago

Yep, that's why I am asking of how much they cost for a regular backyard chicken coop.

[-] Trigger2_2000@sh.itjust.works 31 points 17 hours ago

Had some friends that tried doing that about three years ago. They finally gave up (and moved) recently.

Gave away their 15-20 chickens, coop, fence, etc. IMHO, they are much happier now.

The cost of feed, mite treatment, lice treatment, bedding, vaccinations, etc were much higher than anything they claimed to "save". And that's not counting all the time and labor they put into it.

Found this with a simple web search: https://coopeduplife.com/backyard-chicken-egg-production-cost-statistics/.

[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 25 points 17 hours ago

The husband of a couple we know have a few chickens in a coop in their back yard. Definitely pets, but they do get eggs.

The major difference between them and a "normal" person is the wife is a veterinarian, so he pretty much has the healthcare of his birds covered.

[-] Trigger2_2000@sh.itjust.works 16 points 16 hours ago

Glad it worked out for them! I think the main reason "normal" people have trouble is that they don't understand all the issues involved.

For example, my friends didn't realize they had to de-lice and do other things for them. Also didn't know to buy "laying feed" for them to be able to lay eggs.

If people want to do it as a hobby/pets/know where their food comes from/etc that's great. Just realize what you are buying into.

[-] NABDad@lemmy.world 7 points 16 hours ago

Yeah, I couldn't do it myself. The closest we got was our guinea pigs, but they are friends not food.

[-] turtlesareneat@piefed.ca 10 points 16 hours ago

Yes. Friends. Until a hard winter sets in. Then can always reevaluate.

[-] Sharkticon@lemmy.zip 4 points 15 hours ago

You forgot the biggest impediment. Foxes and or coyotes. Doesn't matter if you are in the middle of suburbia they'll find you.

[-] Melobol@lemmy.ml 1 points 13 hours ago

Interesting! Thank you for your answer!

[-] ThomasWilliams@lemmy.world 7 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

We got 50 broiling chicks for $2.50 each. We started slaughtering them after 8 weeks when they were a size 25 (2.5 kg) and had finished by 11 weeks when they were a size 38 and were beginning to break their legs.

The $5 supermarket chicken is a size 12, it's less than 4 weeks old and is still covered in down.

[-] gothic_lemons@lemmy.world 11 points 13 hours ago

Break their legs??? Have we engineered chickens to get so fat their legs fucking break from the weight?!

[-] TwoTiredMice@feddit.dk 9 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Wait until you hear what happens when they lay their eggs.. Research from the University of Copenhagen found that around 85% of Danish laying hens suffer from keel bone fractures, which are caused by the internal pressure of laying disproportionately large eggs..

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210902124929.htm

The indigenous hen lays around 20 eggs a year, whereas a modern laying hen produces around 320 eggs a year. In other words, being a hen bred for the food industry is a full-time job. In fact, the egg laying appears to be such a strain on Danish as well as foreign hens that it results in bone fractures.

[-] Melobol@lemmy.ml 3 points 12 hours ago

Ouch! More things I learnt in this thread than I expected.... Thank you!

[-] Melobol@lemmy.ml 2 points 14 hours ago

Thank you! That was informative!

this post was submitted on 16 Aug 2026
184 points (97.4% liked)

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