Small flock financials

We currently sell eggs to a handful of regular weekly customers, and it’s great to have a reliable market.  However, we want to resume selling eggs at the Farmers Market (especially after jumping through all of the necessary hoops to do so!).  For us, a small flock has been a worthwhile, reasonably-priced, enjoyable investment.  If you are starting from scratch (ha), you’ll have to spend a little bit more than we did when we recently expanded.

Start-up:

We had previously purchased the chick feeder, waterer, and heat lamp setup(approximately $5, $2, and $20 respectively - so, ~$27.00).

Brooder box - free (recycled cardboard and newspaper + duct tape we already had).

Straw - 1 bale - $8.25/ bale

Chicks - 12 x $2.50 = $30

Organic chick starter - $28 (50 lb bag)

= $93.25

Mail-ordering chicks gives you the best selection of breeds, but you must add expedited shipping (for us previously it was about the same cost as the chicks themselves, ~$30.)

We just purchased a larger feeder and automatic waterer to accomodate the entire flock once the chicks move out to the barn, ~$45 total.  Depending on how much fresh forage is available, our current 13 chickens need 50 lbs of feed every 2-3 weeks at $27/bag.  A bale of straw (for litter and to line nest boxes) would probably last 2-3 months if we only used it for the chickens.

When the original flock started laying, we calculated the cost of routine upkeep (food & straw) compared to expected production to make sure we would be making a profit selling the eggs.  We charge our weekly customers less than we do at the market, for a couple of reasons.    The big one is that the eggs we sell at our certified farmers market must be sized, candled/graded, and labeled accordingly, which takes time.  Regular customers are a guaranteed sale, requiring less effort (although we do ensure the quality and good size of the eggs).