How much does it cost to raise chicks? Do you know how much of an investment those cute little fluff balls will be for your homestead budget? I didn’t either until I started keeping poultry expense records for my 4-H poultry project each year. Every year I would record what expenses I had while raising my chicks to show at the local county fair. That simple practice helped me create a budget and know just exactly how much I had to spend on each batch of chicks! Yes, raising chicks costs money, and they certainly are an investment up front. But the experience is fun, rewarding, and I think totally worth it in the end! This guide will help you plan a budget for raising chicks on the homestead.
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Disclaimer- All of the prices mentioned in this post are based off of the prices in my area. Prices and the type of materials available may vary depending on where you live. They may also have changed since the writing of this article.
Chicks need a safe, warm environment to live in for the first few weeks of life. That environment can be created by setting up a brooder that has everything a chick needs to survive: food, water, clean litter, and heat. For more information on how to set up your brooder, check out my post on How to Set Up a Brooder for Chicks.
The equipment you purchase to set up your first brooder can be used multiple times to raise numerous batches of chicks. So the up front cost may seem daunting, but you will be able to reuse most of the equipment for quite a few years. I buy most of my supplies at my local Tractor Supply. The prices I list below are my local Tractor Supply prices unless indicated otherwise. Any of the links are for Amazon products that are sometimes cheaper.
The total for your brooder set up supplies will depend on the supplies you choose. The basic, including 1 pack of paper towel, 1 wood shavings bag, a feeder & plastic water, small shovel, and a brooder thermometer comes to a total of around $56. You will also need to add on the cost of the heat source your choose and the brooder that you choose.
If you want to cut back on your brooder expenses you can always make your own brooder box out of wood or a large cardboard box. When making your own brooder, ensure that it is sturdy and provides protection from the elements and any other pets. The brooder should have no drafts or places where chicks can get stuck. Cardboard box brooders will usually only be able to be used for one brood of chicks since they cannot be cleaned very easily after each brood.
Paper towel and wood shavings will be used as litter in your brooder. The paper towel gets used for the first week of life and then you switch to wood shavings. There are other litter options that you can use. However, wood shavings are what I have found to work the best for brooder litter. They are soft, absorbant, and easy to clean.
You can also make your own chick feeders or waterers using PVC pipes, buckets, or bottles. Just make sure your homemade feeder and waterer can stay clean. Also make sure that the chicks can’t fall into the waterer and drown or get chilled.
Whether you choose a heat lamp or an Ecoglow is up to you. My post on Ecoglow vs Heat Lamp goes through the pros and cons of both.
The only cleaning tool that I had to purchase for raising my chicks was a small garden shovel. It is helpful for stirring the wood shavings on a daily basis. Other supplies that you might use but may already have on hand include a broom & dust pan, wheelbarrow, and a small bucket.
A brooder thermometer is helpful for monitoring brooder temperatures to ensure your chicks don’t overheat or get chilled. You should also watch your chicks’ behaviour to gauge if the brooder temperature is adequate for them.
Feed costs are one expense you will always have to budget for as your chicks grow into a productive homestead flock. Chickens need specially formulated feed for different stages of their life. There are three different types of feed that come in either organic or non-organic. The three types of feed are:
Crumbles is what should be fed to chicks. The crumbles are small pieces of food that have essential nutrients in them that chicks need in order to grow properly. Chicks can be switched over to mash or pellets once they are old enough to digest and eat the larger pieces of food.
The switch to mash starter feed can occur as early as 3 weeks of age. The switch to pellets will be closer to 10-12 weeks of age due to the larger feed particle sizes. However, most chick starter feeds are sold in the crumble form and will be what you feed your chicks right up until they switch to a layer feed.
Within those three types of feed are different formulas for the different stages of a chicken’s life. There are typically starter, grower, and layer feeds. The main difference is how much protein is in each feed. The manufacturer should have a chart on the back of their feed bag that tells you when to switch from each type of feed.
The cost of chicken feed is generally due to the protein content of the feed. The higher the protein content, the higher the price tag will be. Since chicks need more protein as they grow and mature, chick starter feed is usually more expensive than grower feed or layer feed. However, you must start your chicks on starter feed in order for them to receive all the nutrients that they need.
Another cost difference occurs between organic and non-organic feeds. I am not going to get into the pros and cons of each of those in this article. However, I will say that I personally feed my homestead flock organic feed right from the get go. Organic starter feed usually costs between $25-$50 per 40lb bag. Non-organic starter feed usually costs between $20-$30 per 50lb bag.
So, you know how much your feed costs, but how much will you have to buy? How much feed you will need to buy will depend on how many chicks you are raising. Young chicks will gradually increase their feed consumption as they grow and mature. In most cases, averging it at about 1lb of feed per chick per week for up to 12 weeks of age will give you a rough estimate of how much feed you will go through.
Here are a couple of examples:
Small chicken breeds will eat less than heavy chicken breeds. Also, chicks will eat more if their diet is not nutritionally rich or is poor quality. When young pullets get close to laying age, they will increase their feed consumption to prepare for the extra energy needed for producing eggs.
Once your chickens get close to laying age, between 16-18 weeks of age, you will want to estimate more like 1/4 lb of feed per chicken per day. For weeks 13-15, average a little over 1lb of feed per chick per week.
My flock of 22 chickens goes through 100lbs of feed in about 3 weeks during the winter. During the summer, 100lbs of feed lasts closer to 1 month thanks to supplemental foraging. You will also need to buy a bag of crushed oyster shells to supply as a calcium supplement for laying hens.
A 50lb bag of crushed oyster shells cost around $18-$20. It will usually last a flock about 5-6 months depending on how many laying hens you have. You can make your own oyster shell dispenser or buy one for around $5-$8.
Baby chicks won’t stay small for long! Pretty soon you will find yourself with fast growing, little pooping and eating machines. You will want to plan out the future costs of caring for your chicks when they are full grown.
Here are some expenses to think about:
Coop, Feeder, & Water– The cost of your coop and enclosure will vary depending on what you are using to build them and how big they will be. Or you may choose to buy a premade coop and enclosure. Feeders and waterers will increase in price a little, probably around the $15 range for plastic feeders and waterers. Alternatively, you can make your own DIY feeders and waterers for your flock.
Litter- Litter expenses may be on-going as you will need to routinely clean out the chicken coop to prevent droppings from building up in the litter. Straw and wood shavings are two litter choices that will need to be invested in at every coop cleaning. Wood shavings cost around $7 per bag and straw averages around $5 per bale. The size of your coop will dictate how much wood shavings or straw you need at each cleaning.
First Aid Kit Supplies– Poultry first aid kits supplies should include items such as wound spray, vet wrap, small scissors, antibiotic ointment, gauze pads, Epsom salts, parasite control products, and disposable gloves. Most of those items should be fairly inexpensive ($1-$10).
The two items that will probably cost the most are the wound spray and parasite control products. Wound sprays range between $15-$25 depending on what brand you buy (I recommend Vetericyn). Both internal and external parasite control products range between $8 to $130 depending on what product you buy.
Feed– Layer feed will be slightly less expensive than chick starter feed. Organic layer feed costs around $20-$50 per 40lb bag and non-organic feed costs around $18-$25 per 50lb bag. How often you have to purchase feeds depends on how many chickens you have. Plan on full grown hens eating about 1/4lb of feed per day per hen.
Chicks will quickly outgrow their brooder and need to be moved to larger housing. Depending on how big your brooder is, they may out grow it by the time they are three weeks old! Having a larger brooder or pen ready is a good idea if you do not have a coop built for them yet. Here are some expenses that may be associated with building a bigger pen:
How often you have to replace the brooder litter will depend on the size of your brooder and the number of chicks you are raising. In general, it is a good idea to manage your brood so that you only have to completely clean out their brooder once a week at the most. Sometimes brooder litter can last 2-3 weeks under good management.
It’s nice and all to know the prices of everything, but what it all boils down to is how much of each item you will need. As I mentioned previously, the brooder supplies will more than likely be a one time or once in a while purchase. You may need to buy replacement bulbs for a heat lamp or replace a broken shovel every once in a while.
The only items that you will need to buy again continually for future batches of chicks are wood shavings, paper towels, and feed. Below I will go through the expenses of what it costs me to raise 16 chicks for approximately 3 months (12 months of age).
The totals I conclude with are first year expenses. For future batches of chicks, you will already have the basic supplies you need for raising chicks so your expenses will be less.
Let’s start off assuming I built my own brooder. I have also purchased a feeder, plastic water, small shovel, brooder thermometer, heat lamp, and red bulbs for the prices mentioned earlier. That brings me to a current expense of about $63. If you bought an Ecoglow, which I highly recommend instead of a heat lamp, add on an additional $70-$80.
Soon, I need to build a bigger pen for my growing chicks (who are now considered pullets/cockerels). So I add on a hardwire cloth expense of $15 which brings me to a total of $78 (excluding Ecoglow). You may have additional expenses when building a larger pen for your brood. Thankfully, my dad works in construction so he has lots of miscellaneous supplies laying around that I use for building chicken pens.
Here are some more expenses that I will need to add on:
Now my total expenses comes to $263 if I buy organic feed or $203 if I buy nonorganic feed. That’s how much it costs me to raise 16 chicks for approximately 3 months. Those numbers do not include the future expenses of a coop, coop litter, enclosure/run supplies, larger feeder and waterer, or layer food. Feed prices will also vary depending on your source.
I hope this post has given you a good idea on how much you need to budget in order to add chicks to your homestead this spring! These guidelines will set you up with the supplies you need to raise a successful brood of happy, healthy chicks. It costs money to keep any kind of homestead livestock, but I hope you find that chickens can be affordable and enjoyable to raise on your homestead. The enjoyment you get from raising your flock and the eggs you recieve should hopefully be reward enough!
I think raising chickens on the homestead is worth it for sustainability, home-raised eggs, and the fun they add to each day!
If you are still questioning if you should add chickens to your homestead, check out my post on Are You Ready for Raising Chickens?. Or maybe you have decided that, yes, raising chicks is what you want to do, then my post on Homestead Chicken Breed Reviews may help you in the next step of acquiring your flock! Make sure you sign up and join our community of pioneers! We will support you in your chicken raising adventure and you will get free products and access to exclusive content!
by Alexa
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