Make Money with Chickens - 6 Ways to Generate Income (2024)

Wondering if you can make money homesteading with chickens? The answer is YES! We make about an average of $800/mo homesteading with chickens.

Make Money with Chickens - 6 Ways to Generate Income (1)

Our homestead goals are to not only be self-sufficient, but to also make money homesteading so that all of our time can be put into our homestead (and other things we enjoy) and not in full-time jobs working for other people.

Setting up a profitable homesteadtakes a lot of work - both in planning and in execution. But it is possible.

One important thing we have learned in our effort to have a profitable homestead is that each expense should generate MULTIPLE streams of revenue. Learning how to make money homesteading with chickens is a wonderful way to make a profitable homestead. This is due to the fact that you can generate multiple streams of revenue with them.

(Check this page out for some basics on profitable homesteading as well as the worksheets that we use to track our goals.)

Here are several ways to make money homesteading with chickens:

1) Sell hatching eggs

Hatching eggs can be a great stream of revenue during times that you don't want to hatch chicks. They are certainly much less work than actually incubating chicken eggs and raising baby chicks on your own.

Hatching eggs can be as simple as running a rooster with a group of hens and not focusing on any specific breed. These chicks would be barnyard mixes. Or, you can set up specialized breeding pens and hatch pure bred chicks which you can charge a premium price for.

2) Eating Eggs

If you just have a large layer flock, you can sell eating eggs. Selling eating eggs can be tricky to get a good profit on. You will want to make sure you have your feed situation streamlined and that you have cut chicken feed costs as much as possible.

If you monitor your feed costs and sell your eggs at the right price, it is possible to make money with chickens doing this also.

These 6 ways to make money homesteading with chickens can really help jump start your homesteading money making business. Remember, with any business, you need to be sure to set the right prices, track expenses and revenue. Then adjust to be sure you are making a decent profit for your efforts.

3) Pullets

Pullets are another great way to make money homesteading with chickens. Many people only want to buy guaranteed girls. If you hatch your own chicks and sell them as young babies, you likely won't be able to tell their sex.

To sell pullets, you can either grow out your own hatches or you can buy hatchery sexed pullets and grow them out to be coop ready. (Buying them as pullets from a hatchery is easier than learning how to sex a chicken yourself.)Selling pullets can be a really good profit margin also, but it is a bit time consuming.

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4) Sell Chicks

Selling chicks can be a really great profit margin. So, it is a great revenue stream to add if you want to make money homesteading with chickens. As with selling hatching eggs, you can sell barnyard mix chicks, or you can sell purebred chicks.

Purebred chicks will sell for a much higher price (and it costs the same to feed them). However, if you don't have a lot of space or many pens to separate breeds, barnyard mixes may be the way to go.

To get the most out of where you can sell your chicks, you should look into getting your NPIP certification. If you are NPIP it allows you to ship chicks across state lines.

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5) Auction Show Quality Chickens

If you are ready to put in some real time and effort, you can start breeding show quality chickens. We do that with our lines of Silkies. But you are not limited to Silkies alone.

There are shows and breed standards for a ton of different chicken breeds. Check out some chicken shows in your area to see what breeds you may want to hatch and auction.

6) Meat Birds

There are two options for selling meat birds. First, you want to do some research on your local laws about selling chickens for meat. Different states have different regulations on what processing facilities you may need to use and other regulations.

Your two options are to raise the birds to butchering age and butcher/process them on your own (or at a processing plant). You would then be selling the finished product - whole chickens, chicken thighs etc.

Your other option is to raise the birds to butchering age and sell them at that age for the buyer to process.

7) Stewing Hens

If you are not up to letting non-laying hens retire on your farm, you can always sell them off as stewing hens. There are plenty of people out there that prefer to process their own meat and not buy from large chain grocers.

Be sure to check your local laws in you slaughter your hens prior to selling them.

8) Feathers

It's shocking how many different uses for feathers there are out there. You can make your own jewelry, fishing flies, and household decorations. All you need to do is come up with an idea, go out to the coop, pick up some good looking feathers, and get creative.

You can even sell bundles of feathers alone to other crafty minded individuals. Look around on Etsy and Ebay for some ideas.

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9) Sell Compost

If you have chickens, you will have a lot of chicken poop. This chicken poop doesn't just have to get cleaned out of your coop and left in a pile in the middle of nowhere.

You can get a compost pile going and sell this as compost for gardens. Composted chicken poop is AWESOME in the garden.

10) Start A Chicken/Farm Blog

You can always turn your love of chickens into the written word. Starting your own farm/homestead/chicken centric blog is a great way to make money with chickens and a great way to make money online.

Starting a blog does take a lot of work up front to start generating any real income, but it's a fun way to learn and teach others.

1) Make Chicken Feed

Perhaps you have experimented with making your own feed for your flock. It doesn't take much more cost or effort to turn that feed into larger batches. You just might be able to sell your homemade feed locally and feed your own chickens for free!

12) Build & Sell Chicken Coops

If you have an eye for design and are handy with a tool belt, you can start designing and building chicken coops. A quick Craigslist search in our area shows hand built coops selling from $400 up to $9,000!

For more on help with profitable homesteading, check out our profitable homesteading worksheets that we use for our chicken products.

For More on Chickens, Check These Out

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Make Money with Chickens - 6 Ways to Generate Income (2024)

FAQs

Make Money with Chickens - 6 Ways to Generate Income? ›

A beginner-friendly flock size would typically consist of three to four chickens. This allows you to gain experience caring for and managing your chickens without becoming overwhelmed. As you become more comfortable and confident in your chicken-keeping skills, you can always consider expanding your flock.

How many chickens do you need to make it worth it? ›

A beginner-friendly flock size would typically consist of three to four chickens. This allows you to gain experience caring for and managing your chickens without becoming overwhelmed. As you become more comfortable and confident in your chicken-keeping skills, you can always consider expanding your flock.

How much money can chickens make? ›

So for the first 2.5 years of a single chicken's life, the cost is $95. Egg earnings: If a hen makes 200 eggs per year, and each egg is valued at $0.64, then it earns $128 per year or $256 over two years.

How many chickens do you need to make a profit selling eggs? ›

Figure that during her prime, a laying hen will, on average, produce three to five eggs a week. 4 If you plan to sell 10 dozen eggs a week, or 120 eggs, you can do the math to determine that 25 or 30 chicks will be a good number to start with.

Are chicken farmers making money? ›

In fact, a 2022 study by Agriculture Economist, Dr. Thomas Elam found that the median income of contract poultry farmers was significantly higher than both all farm households and all U.S. households. Today, we pay nearly $820 million annually to the more than 3,600 poultry farmers who contract with us.

How many chickens do I need for a dozen eggs a week? ›

Planning for Egg Production Per Week

If you wanted to get about a dozen eggs per week, you would need between 3 to 5 laying hens. For two dozen eggs a week, you would need to double those numbers for a flock size of between 6 to 10 laying hens.

Are chickens worth it financially? ›

The answer is… it depends. If you're looking to become more self-sufficient and enjoy the process of raising chickens, then it may be worth the investment for you. Additionally, if you have a large family or use a lot of eggs in your cooking, then the cost savings may be more significant.

At what age do chickens stop laying eggs? ›

Hens may live in backyard flocks for 6-8 years, and most flocks will produce eggs for 3-4 years. The level of egg production, egg size, and shell quality decrease each year. Most commercial layers are kept for 2-3 years as their egg production decreases after this time.

Can a small chicken farm be profitable? ›

Starting a poultry farm in 2023 can be quite a lucrative business venture, but it is important to consider the cost and potential profit before taking any steps forward. The total investments required may vary depending on your location, business size, breed of birds chosen, and type of poultry products you offer.

What is the most profitable poultry farm? ›

Broiler rearing is seen as one of the most profitable businesses in the poultry line of business. It is seen to be an interesting, and profitable investment whether it is on a large scale or small scale, as it is a rewarding investment.

What is a good number of chickens to own? ›

For beginner Chicken owners four or five hens would be the perfect number of hens. This will provide you with a lucrative number of eggs for an average family, allow you time to learn the ropes of poultry husbandry and give your chickens the socialisation they require to thrive.

How many chickens is a good number to start with? ›

Starting with a small flock of 3-5 chickens is often recommended for beginners. This size allows you to manage them effectively while gaining experience in poultry care.

How many chickens need to be together to be happy? ›

Chickens are extremely flock-oriented, so a good starter flock size is no fewer than three chickens. Photo by Lisa Steele, Fresh Eggs Daily.

Should I get 2 or 3 chickens? ›

Chickens need to be kept with others. If you can only keep one chicken, you should not get chickens at all. Instead, wait to get chickens until you can keep at least 2 chickens or, even better, 3. Even if you already have a flock, it is best to buy at least 2 chickens at a time if you can.

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