With Bhvishya Patelmoney team

Chickens can be relatively low-cost pets, but keeping the animals in your yard comes with a number of expenses.

From coops to food, cleaning products to cables and bedding, the costs of keeping your flock can add up and are likely to cost you at least £200-500 a year.

But this cost did not deter Lizzie Gatherer, whose need to expand her chicken flock was the driving force behind the purchase of a new property.

The 42-year-old, from Aldershot, Hampshire, first started keeping chickens in 2012, initially purchasing three 18-month-old hens from the British Hen Welfare Trust. He is currently looking after 20 chickens.

So how much does it cost to take care of Lizzie’s chickens?

Lizzie costs around £28 per month.

Although chicken coops range in price from £150 to thousands of pounds, Lizzie’s husband builds all of the chicken coops, saving the couple some money in the process.

The couple also built their own running tracks using second-hand scaffolding poles, cut them to size and then covered them with wire fencing.

Is Lizzie saving on eggs?

“Yes,” said Lizzie.

“If we spend £28 a month on 20 hens, that would be the equivalent of buying 14 boxes of half a dozen free-range eggs at £2 per box, which would be 84 eggs.

“The girls lay about 180 eggs a month for us. We sell the extra eggs to friends for £2 for half a dozen and put the money in our ‘chicken purse’ to care for them.”

Whatever the cost, Lizzie said the chickens “will be worth it, even if they don’t lay a single egg.”

“Money wasn’t a big deal, we really wanted to have chickens as pets. It crossed our minds that keeping chickens would be cheaper than cats or dogs,” he added.

Meanwhile, Scott Taylor, 36, from Herefordshire, bought his five chickens two years ago when they were seven months old. They cost him £25 each.

He plans to increase his herd to 15 next year.

How much does it cost him?

Scott’s monthly expenses range from around £40-50 and this includes food, treats, bedding and disinfectant sprays.

He acknowledged that this was cost-neutral rather than saving money for him, but cutting costs was “never the goal.”

“Before we had chickens we were getting 24 organic eggs a week and this usually cost £8,” he said.

“On this basis you’re probably cost neutral. This doesn’t take into account your initial costs for keeping the chickens, such as the chicken coop, coop, run, feeder, etc.”

Although he doesn’t necessarily save money, Scott said “keeping chickens is a great joy” and that saving money and wanting to care for chickens “was never the goal.”

He said: “We wanted to be more self-sufficient and get most of our food, including eggs, from our own land. Our chickens are well looked after and are happy chickens, which makes a big difference to the quality of the eggs and we know no harmful chemicals are used in the process.”

Why should he?

Marketing manager Scott said: “Chicken are like little dogs in a way and they are wonderful to look after.

“We have dogs and chickens are the easiest to care for.

“When we bought them we were told you would get the chicken bug which means you will spend more time with them after a few months because they are so fun to be around and you will also want to get more – I did both.”

Lizzie, meanwhile, said she was “happier to be with them.”

“Me and my husband moved house so we could have more chickens. I know this is not normal,” she said.

“We got to the point where we had seven chickens but then decided if we wanted more we should consider a bigger garden.

“We thought we would save them, but they saved us,” he said.

“We save them because instead of slaughtering them, we provide them with a safe home and a happy retirement, so in the beginning we felt like we were doing them a favor, but they bring joy to our lives and we get fresh eggs. It’s a great feeling.”

Lizzie said she was introduced to the idea of ​​rehoming chickens when her friend bought chickens from a farmer to keep them from going to slaughter.

“They were £1 each and almost baked. They didn’t have much hair and their faces were pale,” he said.

“But when I came back to her house a few months later, I couldn’t believe how they had changed. All their fur had grown back, their eyes and faces were bright, they looked healthy and they were running around in the garden, living their best lives.”

“I went back to my husband and said we should consider keeping the chickens.”

Lizzie also described the calm her chickens provided her in times of stress.

““Mentally, I think they are incredible because no matter what my mood is, I’m always happier to be with them,” she said.

“If I have a problem at work and I’m struggling to find a solution, instead of wandering around, I’ll make a cup of tea and sit in the garden with them and completely unwind from work. I watch them interact with each other and it completely frees my mind from whatever it is I’m focusing on or struggling with.”

“Then when I get back to my desk, everything suddenly becomes so much easier. I know what to do.”

The welfare of hens has been a driving force for the British Hen Welfare Trust, a charity that works to rehome commercial laying hens and promotes support for British free-range eggs.

In August, King Charles hosted the trust’s millionth chicken again.

Francesca Mapp, of the British Chicken Welfare Trust, said: “When hens reach 18 they become commercially unviable and are sent to slaughter and are often used in things like pet food, soups and broths, but we know they have so much nutrition left to give.” So we’re rebuilding our home as best we can.”

If you keep chickens as pets in England and Wales you must register with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.