Our Backyard Egg Economics: $4 Chicken Eggs, $5 Duck Eggs and Feed Costs

Our eggs: quantities and the prices we generally charge

At DiamondTrail Ranch, we generally sell chicken eggs for $4 per dozen and duck eggs for $5 per dozen. Our November 4, 2026 owner update puts typical collection at 12–18 eggs of each per day. That means 24–36 eggs total, or 2–3 dozen across the two flocks. These are our reported everyday ranges, not a reconstructed daily ledger.

The chickens therefore represent $4–$6 of potential sales a day and the ducks $5–$7.50. Together that is $9–$13.50 daily, assuming every collected egg is saleable and sold. We also keep eggs for our own family. Eggs we eat, give away, lose or do not sell are not cash revenue.

Our estimated cost of goods: feed assumptions you can inspect

We can estimate the feed component using public Tractor Supply prices, but a ZIP code and an egg basket cannot reveal how many pounds our entire flock eats. Nonlaying birds, roosters, growing birds and feed waste all affect the bill. We have not supplied a receipt-backed monthly bag count, so the scenarios below make that missing input explicit.

Price research on November 4, 2026 found Producer’s Pride 16% Layer Pellets, 50 lb, showing $16.49 in the purchase panel and $19.49 elsewhere on the same product page. A brand listing showed $16.29. DuMOR 16% Layer Pellets, 50 lb, showed $25.99. Those conflicting public displays are why we use a $16.49–$25.99 comparison band rather than claim a verified local checkout price. The retrieved retailer session was set to a different state; availability and price near our Central Florida location still need checkout confirmation.

These products are price benchmarks, not a claim that we buy both or a recommendation to feed the same ration to every bird. The appropriate feed depends on species and life stage. The example assigns total poultry feed expense to the eggs, including the cost of supporting nonlayers. It does not assume that free-range birds have no feed cost.

What the midpoint example leaves before the other bills

At 15 chicken eggs and 15 duck eggs per day, a 30-day period produces 37.5 dozen of each. If all sold at our usual prices, gross sales would be $337.50. With an assumed 12 bags of feed, the amount left after feed alone would be $139.62 at $16.49 per bag or $25.62 at $25.99 per bag. That is not net profit.

Cartons, calcium and other appropriate supplements, bedding, water and electricity, flock health care, replacement birds, repairs and equipment still need to be counted. Housing also has a cost over its useful life. Labor is another separate line. If we keep half the eggs for the household, the hypothetical cash sales fall by half; the flock’s feed bill does not fall by half with them.

The right calculation is total poultry cost for the period divided by saleable dozens collected for that same period. If the question is business profitability, compare cash sales with costs and separately record household eggs. If the question is food value, compare eggs we actually use with what we would otherwise buy. Those are related questions, but they do not produce the same number.

Our videos show why a good laying week is not an annual forecast

Our June 9 video described summer heat, a mixed-age flock, broodiness and crows taking eggs. On October 20, we said the chickens and ducks had begun picking up again after a molt roughly a month to a month and a half earlier. Those recorded observations explain why we do not multiply the November typical range by 365 and call it actual annual production.

If the eggs drop from 75 dozen to 30 dozen in a month while the illustrative $197.88 feed expense stays the same, feed alone becomes $6.60 per dozen instead of $2.64. That is a sensitivity calculation, not a claim that either month occurred here. It shows how quickly seasonality can change the answer to whether backyard eggs are cheaper.

Our answer: useful food and modest sales, with real costs attached

We enjoy keeping both flocks and having eggs for the family and customers. Our $4 and $5 selling prices are the real starting point for this article. The typical 12–18 eggs of each species is another useful starting point. Neither figure means every egg sells or every month earns money.

The most useful next record is a month of feed receipts, bag weights, eggs collected by species and eggs sold or kept. Until that ledger is available, the numbers above are our clearly labeled estimated cost scenarios. They let us discuss the economics concretely without presenting a guessed expense as something we paid.