Palomino Ranch

Hatch day today and this little OE popped out super spunky and ready to take on the world! Just waiting on her friends!

I have seen a lot of people asking what an adult chicken should sell for. Let's break down some costs of getting that chicken to its first birthday.

I am going to start with how much that chicken eats. Google that and the common answer is 1/4 lb or 4 oz of food per day. Results vary, large vs small breed, waste, free range etc. But let's use 4 oz as the average figure.

4 oz per day x 365 days in a year = 1460 oz for a whole year

1460 oz / 16 (oz in 1 lb) = 91.25 pounds of food per year. Per chicken.

Thats 1.825 of the 50 lb bags per year. Per chicken.

If a bag of chicken feed costs $20 then 1.82 bags = $36.50

Thats not including time, waterers, bedding, shelters, supplements, medicine, mortalities or a bunch of other costs.

Long story short if you buy an adult bird from anyone for less than about 35 bucks, it's a steal. Literally. They are losing money.