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?
In my very limited experience that chickens can be really chicken brained. I saw owners showing off their permanent scars when a chicken had a random idea to pick at them... I bet it is depends on the breed and the owner also.