They often discount chicks when shipments are coming in faster than buyers. Stalk the feed stores towards the end of chick buying season. There are other breeds that are very broody too and if you wait a few weeks after they go broody, you can slip chicks from the feed store under them in you don't have a rooster. The cheapest were the ones we built ourselves, though we once searched craigslist and found a playhouse and converted it to a coop. That wasn't very expensive at all, especially considering the size! I'm currently building a small chicken coop from pallets and it's going to be practically free! Skip the incubator and brooder You can use a broody hen to hatch chicks every year and save money on the expense of an incubator and a brooder plus it's upkeep! I have silkies and they will hatch anything. By far my most expensive coop is the mini barn that we had dropped off from one of those 'buy a shed' places. After writing about it I heard from a man that saves them in giant bags and uses them year round, never buying coop litter! Now that's saving money! Build or buy coops secondhandĬoops come from all types of places from buying to building. I have experimented with using shredded newspaper and it turned out much better than I expected! I have also sourced truckloads of wood shavings from the sawmill for just a few dollars.Īnother free option is to use dried leaves as coop bedding. There are lots of options from the expensive to the super cheap. If you make your own kombucha, you can feed your chickens a scoby when you have an extra one on hand and it will give them a dose of probiotics.ĭeciding which bedding to use in your chicken coop can be difficult. You can also dry and crush used eggshells for the chickens instead of buying oyster shell at the feed store. As long as they free range or have access to dirt (like in their run) they will pick up tiny pieces of stone to help digest their food. Grit is another thing chickens don't need. They shouldn't need them and you're just wasting your money if your giving them vitamins they don't need. Unless you have a reason to believe your chickens are vastly unhealthy (like they live on a diet of cracked corn and white bread) then you can skip the chicken feed supplements. This herbal first aid salve for chickens is super easy to make and you probably have the herb needed growing wild in your backyard right now! You can also make your own saline wound wash if one of your chickens gets injured. They also have lots of supplies to stock your chicken first aid kit cheaply! Make a first aid salve I'm way into herbal healthcare for us human and sometimes I use certain things I make for us, on the chickens as well. Many chicken keeping items can be bought at the dollar store, especially if you're just getting started with chicks! Even if you're getting started with adult chickens, things like baby bottle brushes to wash out poultry drinkers and a few big dog bowls to hold treats or feed are much cheaper at the dollar store than at the feed store! Here are some of my favorite ways to cut costs on chicken supplies. You can save money on everything from coops to feed and equipment. While I still have some chickens expenses, I've managed to cut my costs an incredible amount saving half off my feed bill alone, in just one year! Here are my top 20 ways to save money raising backyard chickens. I grow some of my own feed, I find cheaper alternatives to use for coop bedding, we've built our own coops and bought others off craigslist and I try to do everything pretty much myself. I have various ways to cut money off my chicken keeping expenses.
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