On average, what do you spend on feed every month?

DrakeMaiden · Sep 24, 2009

Yeah, that is a crazy feed bill!

I don't think most of us are set up to store a ton of feed properly, but it is good to know it is an option. When we get our zoo permit, I will have to start buying by the ton.

lorihadams · Sep 24, 2009

Wow.......BB, what do you do with pigeons?

Everything else I get, well, except the quail....DH even says he would feel bad killing the poor things to eat them they're so small, but my son wanted them.....ahhhhh the 4 yr old's power of persuasion.

Seriously though, what do you do with a pigeon?

keljonma · Sep 24, 2009

I don't know what BB does, but pigeon can be delicious in a pie or stew.

BeccaOH · Sep 24, 2009

I'd be able to keep better track of my feed expenses if I wasn't running to town every week to grab a bag of this or that. Right now I'm going through a bag of Flockraiser at about $14 per bag every couple days. That doesn't count the laying mash, game pellets, duck pellets, cracked corn, scratch, oats, and sunflower seeds I also buy for the poultry.

2 House dogs get Diamond Lamb & Rice at about $28 per bag/month
1 medium outside dog gets Diamond maintenance $20 per bag/2 months
1 puppy gets Retriever Puppy Food at $13 per bag/month (though she has started to eat more)
2 Cats get 9 Lives at about $10 bag/2 months plus occasional canned food treat and they still kill moles, mice, chipmunks, and bunnies

TanksHill · Sep 24, 2009

Chickens -- lay feed 12 bucks about 2 - 3 bags per month--36.00
But when I sell eggs I sell them at 3.00 per dozen and I think this month I have sold 6 or 8 to the neighbors alone. So that offsets the cost.

Dog... I was buying Inova at 60 bucks per bag. 2 bags per month. Yesterday I switched his food to something that cost half as much. So I figure the dog will cost about 60.00 per month.

Rabbit ..yesterday I bought 2 bags of food and mixed them. They should last a month or more. 20.00 bucks.
36.00
60.00
20.00
---------
116.00

My goal is to sell enough eggs to cover the feed cost on the chickens. Not hard at all if I put my mind to it. The dog is useless and destroys more than hes worth. Rabbit, Ummm I got her for fertilizer. Now I bet I could buy manure cheaper.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

Blackbird · Sep 24, 2009

Well, I show some, I've gotten grand champion and reserve on several. But yes I butcher some and we eat them. I originally started butchering them for a guy from Nigeria, he loves his pigeon. He moved away over the summer though.

enjoy the ride · Sep 24, 2009

I swore I would never look at the cost of keeping horses again after finding I could get a spiffy new car every couple of years for the cost but since this is onnnnnly feed.

Horses (2) -$3.36 per day for hay-$104
$1.50 per day for alf pellets and oats- $47

goats (7)-$3.00 per day for hay- $93.00

dog (1) -$25.00 per mo
So- $296 per month- mostly on my horses of course. Oh I did promise them a nice retirement.......................... :hu

keljonma · Sep 24, 2009

I've posted before that I have always kept animal food expenses in the basic food budget, and did not change that practice after we got the chickens. Last winter we were spending $100 to $150 month for food for dh, myself, Titan and the flock. I went and pulled my records. This is the breakdown for animal feed.

Titan (1 Great Pyr)
Taste of the Wild Pacific Stream $42/30# bag
1 bag lasts about 1 month
OR
Purina (PMI) Exclusive Lamb and Rice $30/50# bag
1 bag lasts about 1 1/2 months

Chickens (1 roo/15 hens)
FlockRaiser $12.45/50# bag
Winter - 1 bag lasts a little over a month
Summer - 1 bag lasts 2 to 2 1/2 months

Rolled/Steamed Oats from $10 to $14.00/50# bag (avg $12)
Winter - 1 bag lasts a little over a month
Summer - 1 bag lasts 2 to 2 1/2 months

Black Oil Sunflower Seeds $12.95/50# bag (as low as $10/50# bag on sale)
Winter - 1 bag lasts a little over a month
Summer - 1 bag lasts 2 to 2 1/2 months

Oyster Shell $10.00/50# bag
1 bag lasts about 8-9 months when FlockRaiser is fed
(note: 1 bag lasted a little more than 1 year when Layer Feed was fed)

Grit $9.00/50# bag
1 bag lasts about 1 1/2 years

big brown horse · Sep 24, 2009

FarmerChick said:
1 ton hog feed per week---$221.00
1 to 1 1/2 tons chicken feed every 5-6 weeks--$291.00
goats are about $120 mo.
1 ton cattle feed every 4 weeks---$240
cats very little--dry feed and scraps

horse sadly is gone and dogs are passed. so pets are few except my barn cats.

so about $1,295

wow I hate to see that monthly tab!

Ok FarmerChick, how much do you save or earn from these animals per month?

My horses average about $125 per month...that is mostly hay. The hay around here is very, very good quality...so not much else is needed. They still get some "nibbles" just for fun, but the cost is barely anything. Though I have not set up my pasture for rotation yet (this fall or early winter goal) I do let them in to graze the yard with the sheep.

Sheep about 5 bucks per month in hay and nibbles. They are the lawn mowers...I have not mowed the lawn since last June! Grass is 90% of their diet. They are not too happy about that, but tuff.

I can get a 80# bag of "barnyard buffet" for $11.50 and it is fine for all the hooved animals. It is not the main source of nutrition, just a snack really...it helps when someone needs to be caught when they don't really want to be...the sheep!

Rabbits, now they free range all day and get about a 1/2 cup of rabbit food each night. (They are now together with the chickens and ducks running about on the acre of backyard.) Their story is worth another thread! I'm guessing they cost about 10 bucks to feed.

Chickens and ducks, well about 2O bucks per month and that is mostly the cost of BOSS, which is kinda high. Thanks to my LGD, :love

I forsee that bill going down b/c they can free range all day. Plus they eat all the scraps. They save me about 20 bucks a month in fresh eggs, so they pay for themselves.

Dogs and cat food comes out of another budget. That will take time to figure out. Cat is pretty cheap to feed (thanks to freemoton and the mice), dogs...well that is another story, I wish they could eat grass too. I'm guessing they average about 100 bucks per month for food...(300#s worth of dogs...not cheap. :/)

$260 per month it looks like... :th

Wow, that seems high doesn't it? But now that we have a micro farm, we don't spend anything on entertainment on the weekends and we rarely go out to eat. We have downsized to one single car (paid for) and our electricity bill is never over $80!
:idunno