Does keeping chickens actually save money?

Something to think about when deciding on whether or not it is worth it to raise chickens: we had the problem with avian flu or something like that in the USA earlier this year.That was because we have a few major producers. In Canada, they had no problem with egg supply. I think that was because there are a lot of people that keep chickens and small size egg operations rather than enormous ones.

I I am lucky enough to live in a sparsely populated region. There are a lot of people who keep chickens and extra chickens so they can sell eggs to neighbors. When people in the US were having an egg shortage, there was no shortage of eggs for the rural people in my region..

Personally, I very much like the idea that there is a local supply.

Yup - when chickens &/or eggs are scarce and expensive, it's truly lovely to have your own supply, and it makes for fantastic bartering, especially if you keep your bartering 'prices' reasonable.

About that friend who free ranged his coyote food, uh, I mean chickens, and who gave me one he dressed out, reminding me how sad the Tyson grown creatures are in comparison, he was complaining about his hens not laying. It was way cold. I mentioned to him some went to the bulk store and bought the large container of cayenne (low BTU stuff) and sprinkled a little in their feed.  He bought a container and started sprinkling it on his chicken's feed. He said they seemed to like it, AND they started laying again.

Katie Turner wrote:Just curious, does keeping chickens actually save you money? Or do you just break even? I've heard someone make the argument that you are actually losing money,because it will always be cheaper to buy eggs in store,and the money it costs to keep them fed and such is more than the money you're saving on raising your own meat and eggs.

I really dont know bc I dont break even.When in the most and not much sunlight in winter.Most of time you do not make much.

All the pros and cons of chicken keeping have been discussed in detail earlier in this thread.  

I suggest that during the recent out break of bird flu or fever or what ever it was the people with chickens were pretty glad to have their own source of eggs.  Store eggs were going for more than a dollar per egg in some regions of the USA.  

Commercial egg production in the USA depends on huge flocks, and many of them were euthanized.  Our neighbor to the north has a different philosophy about chickens, and their laying hen operations are much smaller in scale.  I think there were some euthanized flocks, but each flock is so much smaller there, that when a flock did exhibit signs of disease, the numbers of birds lost per euthanization event was a fraction of the per event loss faced in the USA.

What is the value of food security?  That is what makes it worthwhile to some folks to maintain a flock of chickens whether or not they justh by recover the cost of feed by selling eggs.  Keeping costs down by creative means, and a true enjoyment of the creatures are also important considerations.

I'm probably echoing someone here but, Calfonia leghorns or some commercial hybrid of them like pearl leghorns would be your best bet.  They forage too, just not you're friendliest or quietest chicken, although some say if you handle them alot from chicks they would be nicer.
  I want mini leghorn's because mini's eat 1/4 of the feed and give you about half the eggs, and are supposedly a bit tamer.
I also saw a show where if you soak feed in water it will make the chickens fuller and they eat less feed and its better for them.  I have not tested this though.
 Plus all the stuff the others said about having chickens is not being just about cost!
Happy chickening