Farm Fresh Eggs: Are they profitable?

At the start of 2024 I began tracking all poultry-related purchases and egg sales. Since our family homesteads, my intention is to ensure all homestead ventures will benefit the homestead in some way. My backyard flock is one of the most questionable ventures in terms of profit, so I needed a means to measure the outcome. I developed and used this spreadsheet for every purchase and sale for the year 2024.

All poultry expenses including feed, pine shavings, meal worms, medical supplies, etc. were documented. I also tracked every egg sale. My current price is $4, but occasionally I have folks who give a little extra because I do deliver locally at no extra charge. I did not track the amount of eggs that my family consumed, although I estimate we consume one to three dozen eggs a week.

The Results

In the end I spent $1809.39 on feed and supplies, and I sold $1333 worth of eggs, which was around 340 dozen. So I am in the “red” $476.39. If I were buying my own eggs, assuming we ate 2 dozen a week, I “saved” $416 and would have been in the red $60.

So are keeping chickens profitable? No. Is a $60 a year hobby terribly expensive? Also no, but that doesn’t account for the fact that we spent at least $4000-$5000 over the last eight years on coop building, chicks, medical expenses for a certain favorite chicken (I’m looking at you, Burrito), and fencing. Essentially, it seems that these chickens will never pay for themselves.

Final Thoughts

As an aside, in 2022 I raised my prices from $3 a dozen to $4 a dozen. Most of my regular customers took this change graciously. Unfortunately, when using social media to drum up customers, I have occasionally had people comment about price. The thing a person has done was to try to undercut me with their own “cheaper” eggs. In doing so they hurt themselves as well as me, and they dismantle the comradery that should be shared for interests such as this. While these instances have been rare, I feel the need to point it out because of how difficult it is for me to sell eggs in the first place. Daily I collect, clean, package, and then personally market and distribute these eggs. That doesn’t include the time invested in the care of the hens themselves. The value in purchasing local is insanely high. You are helping a neighbor, a dreamer, an animal lover, and the animals themselves when you purchase local. It is so much more than a $4 price tag.

On one final note, I was unfortunately forced to cease free ranging my flock in March 2024. In addition to the expense of using high-quality feed, I now miss out on the supplemental calories gained from free ranging. I have been mercilessly plagued by hawks and foxes. After losing three hens to a fox in one month, one of them being a favorite hen and another was a highly valued broody hen taken right in front of my eyes, the girls were closed up for good. They have around 800 square feet of fully enclosed run space, and a supplemental fenced in space currently of 200 (soon to be 400) additional square feet for supervised ranging. I feed table and garden scraps when they are available. I’m sure free ranging would improve feed expenses were it feasible.

If I could raise my eggs to $5 a dozen I would. Perhaps it is my own fear getting in the way, but I haven’t been able to take the leap.

If you’ve made it this far, I thank you. If you are one of my regular customers, I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart.