I am in a lot of different Facebook groups. Egg prices are becoming more and more ridiculously expensive. I was being rather boastful in saying that our egg prices, here in southwest Washington state, were still relatively affordable. While they are, especially when compared to other parts of the country, I have noticed a decided jump in prices.
A few weeks ago, I could buy 5-dozen eggs, at Walmart, for a few cents over $9. That was pretty affordable. Today, that same 5-dozen pack of eggs is over $13. That's a $4 jump in just a few weeks time.
This morning, I went through all of our major stores' websites and gathered screen shots of what they are charging for eggs. I did not get Winco's prices because they do not offer curbside pickup and I don't really shop a lot there as I find the store to be very crowded and I'm not really into crowds. Their prices run very close to Walmart's prices, however.
Here is the cost of eggs at Walmart. One peculiar thing I noticed is that an 18-pack is cheaper than a dozen. I'll definitely go for the 18-packs, if that's the case!
Here is the cost of eggs at Safeway. They are running a bit higher than Walmart is. I watch for sales there and I also watch for markdowns.
Fred Meyer, at this particular time, has the cheapest dozen eggs in our area, at $1.99 per dozen.
As far as getting the best deal for your money, Walmart has this in the bag with their 18-packs of eggs. If you buy 2 18-packs, it will run you just over $5. If you buy 3 dozen from Fred Meyer, it will cost you $5.97.
Now, in a few months, we'll be adding chickens to our little homestead up here. I've been cautioned that chicken feed is expensive. I don't doubt that at all, but, as everyone who knows me can attest to, I will find the best deal on chicken food.
We have our chicken coop. We bought this one off of Facebook Marketplace, last spring, before there was ever an egg shortage, for $100. It has 18 nesting boxes in it. We plan on getting 15-18 chickens. We have those 6 chain-length fence panels. They are 10-feet long x 6-feet high. That will be our chicken run. I will sell extra eggs. I will charge $5 per dozen for my farm eggs. I will get it, too. I am also not above bartering. In fact, I love to barter!
I priced chicken feed this morning. I looked at Wilco Farm Store, but they are super expensive, so I didn't even bother taking a screen shot of their prices.
So, I looked at Tractor Supply Company and Walmart.
Here's the cost of 40-50 lb. bags of food from Tractor Supply Company. I'll go through between 2-3 bags per month with as many chickens as I plan on having.
This is the cost of comparable bags of chicken feed from Walmart. It's much more affordable to get it from Walmart than it is to get it from TSC.
Of course, I'll be supplementing my chickens with garden produce. Remember those huge cabbages that I grew last year? Well, the leaves that we tossed out into the yard to compost down can go to the chickens. Our eggshells can go back to the chickens.
So, in a few months, we'll have laying hens and, hopefully, within the next several months, I'll be selling my eggs to make my chicken venture self-supporting.
