How Much Does It Cost To Add A Chicken Coop To Your Home?

Raising your own chickens has multiple benefits, Stromberg's Chicks and Game Birds says. If you're looking for a more sustainable lifestyle, raising chickens is an excellent step in the right direction. It reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that are emitted into the air as products are transferred from one part of the country to another. Additionally, chickens will help downsize the volume of food waste since they're known for eating scraps, such as softened fruit, vegetable peels, and leftover nuts. Another important benefit of adding a chicken coop to your home is the amount of natural health benefits homegrown food provides.

By owning your own chickens, you have access to nutrient-rich food without any steroids or additives you'd find in chicken products at the store. Keeping chickens actually boosts your mental health as well. It's scientifically proven animals lower stress, anxiety, and depression levels, HelpGuide says. Of course, this lifestyle comes with additional housing costs, including building and maintaining the chicken coop, as well as taking care of the chickens themselves.

Before you decide to bring your chickens home, you need to be prepared for their arrival, which means building or purchasing a chicken coop. Buying a professionally-built chicken coop is an excellent option if you'd like to save a large amount of money, time, and labor it takes to build your own. On average, homeowners pay $650 for a professionally-built chicken coop; however, you can pay as little as $300, or as much as $2,000, depending on the size, design, materials, and labor costs, Thank Chickens states. If you want to build your own chicken coop from the ground, be prepared for a heftier price tag.

According to Chicken Coop Guides, the best way to keep yourself from spending an exacerbated amount of money is to create a budget, then take a look at your options. You can spend anywhere between $100 and $2,000 for handyman services, HomeAdvisor says. You may even have additional costs, depending on your property. These include the price of clearing and leveling the land, removing trees, and removing tree stumps. In the end, you'll be spending a lot more money than if you purchased a pre-made coop.

Owning chickens doesn't come for free, so you need to prepare for the cost of feed, bedding, and other items like feeders and waterers. Keep in mind you may also have to deal with things like medical expenses and pest control, The Hen House explains. For an overall estimate, raising chickens comes to about $69 a month (or $4,125 a year) for a flock of five chickens kept over the span of five years. Keep in mind that this is a calculation of high-end items, so you can expect to pay up to this amount if you choose higher-priced supplies and veterinarian services.

The cost of a chicken itself depends on its breed and age. Day-old chicks run between $2 and $5 for more common breeds, whereas you can expect to pay up to $30 per bird for rarer types. Day-old chicks are the least expensive to buy, but they require much more supplies than older chickens, such as pullets, which sell between six and 10 weeks of age. On the flip side, pullets cost more to purchase upfront, going from $12 to $20 per chick.