How We Raise Backyard Chickens on a Budget (And Cut Costs in Half)

Wondering how much it costs to raise backyard chickens? In this post, I’ll break down our real-world cost to raise backyard chickens, including chicks, feed, and our DIY chicken tractor setup. Getting chickens is often one of the first big steps people take off into the infinite realm of "homesteading," but it can be a little intimidating from the outside looking in... But it doesn't have to be!

Today, I thought I'd share how we raise backyard chickens on a tight budget and keep our chicken-keeping costs affordable. Maybe after reading, the thought of raising chickens for eggs and meat won't feel so overwhelming and out of reach.

How We Cut the Cost of Raising Chickens:

Our biggest cost-cutting plan came from the decision to go "halfsies" on a run of chickens with our next door neighbors–my parents.

This is something to keep in mind if you would like to get any kind of livestock, but you are concerned about the costs. Here in America, many of us have lost a deep sense of community and interdependence in exchange for an extreme sense of individuality and independence. 

While these ideals aren't bad things at all, the world we are living in is changing, and it is getting progressively harder for young families to make it on their own (especially if you live on one income). Changing your worldview a little bit and being willing to share and work alongside others for a common purpose can actually be a positive thing for your lifestyle and your budget.

In our situation, both families are in the process of moving towards a more self-sustaining life, so getting chickens made perfect sense for both groups. Instead of getting separate everything and shouldering the full cost, we decided that we would share the costs, responsibilities, and benefits!

This literally cut the costs in half for everyone. 

If you are wanting to raise chickens on a budget, splitting them with family members, church family, or neighbors is definitely a life hack. 

How We Got Started:

In early March, we went down to our local Tractor Supply store and purchased a dozen (unsexed) chicks and some supplies like wood shavings for bedding, chick feed, etc. We decided to get half Buff Orpingtons and half Barred Rocks, as both are known for their laying and gentler demeanors.

The upfront cost for the chicks and supplies was approximately $120, which we split evenly.

After purchasing the chicks, we kept them in my parent's garage inside of a cheap little pop-up tent that they already had on-hand. We filled the floor of the tent with wood shavings and mounted a chick warming light (which they had from a previous round of chicks) from the top of the tent. 

The tent was perfect for keeping the birds contained and protecting them from the occasional curious predator. 

We simply took turns feeding and watering the chicks and shared the cost of feed.

Building a Budget-Friendly Chicken Tractor:

When the chicks outgrew their tent, the men (my husband, dad, and my brother) built the permanent home for the chickens using a blueprint** purchased online. 

Our toddler son "helping" his grandpa build the tractor

** One recommendation we do have is to READ THE REVIEWS on chicken tractor/coop blueprints before purchasing if you can! The blueprint we selected was incredibly messy and difficult to read, which is why I won't be linking it here. While the end result did turn out nicely, the process of building was frustrating. 

The overall costs for the blueprint and the building supplies was $500 total and a few weekends worth of work.

While some people may hear that number and immediately shut down, here's a couple of things to remember...

• We are splitting these costs! So we only would be paying $250 each. 
• The chicken tractor is a permanent housing for chickens for years to come. It's an investment that we won't have to pay for again.

So far, the financial investment has not been overly expensive!

Once the chicken tractor was complete, we moved our backyard chickens into their new home. For those who are wondering why we chose a mobile coop like this instead of a standalone, great question!

• The mobile chicken coop is moved all over our property, allowing our chickens to graze and technically be "free range" without the danger of predators.
• This "free range" style of raising will cut down on our overall feed costs because the birds are eating bugs and other wildlife that will "fill out" their diet.

Our Real Cost to Raise Backyard Chickens:

Now what you really want to know... What was the overall out-of-pocket cost? Here's the breakdown:

• 12 chicks and supplies: $120
• Chicken tractor blueprint and building materials: $500
• Our family's half of the total investment: approximately $370 total

Granted, it's a little lower than it typically would be because we used a few items we already had on-hand. However, even then, the investment would still be so much less than it would have been if we had gone into this endeavor alone.

 

Here's the thing, I get it... For some families, even an investment of $370 can seem daunting. But here's the thing–we purchased a dozen birds. Most families do not need that many layers! Not by a long shot.

We purchased so many for a variety of reasons:

• Chicks are delicate, and you sometimes will lose a few in the first couple of weeks of raising them. This go-around, we only lost one out of the dozen!
• We got a "straight run" of chicks, which means that their sex was not confirmed before we purchased them. This is the cheapest way to purchase your birds, but it is a gamble because you may end up with more roosters than you need and not enough hens. (This actually happened to us this time! We will be culling the extra roosters soon and using them for meat.)
• Between my parents household and our household, we also have a large group of people who love to eat eggs. You can look up how many layers are recommended per person in your household to help you decide how many you need, but I would recommend getting a couple extra when you buy chicks for the reasons listed above.

Our Buffs and Barred Rocks

Well, now you know how much we invested to raise our chickens on a budget, I am curious to hear your thoughts. Would you ever consider raising communal chickens to save on costs and time? Were you shocked at how much we spent? What are some of your budget-friendly chicken tips? I'd love to hear from you!

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