EAST HELENA — With egg prices expected to rise more than 20% in 2025, some Montanans are considering turning to backyard coops, but having access to your own eggs can also come with a price tag.
Kim O’Brien has lived in East Helena for over thirty years. She has forty birds in her backyard coops and adds more almost every month.
No slowdown means O’Brien receives at least a dozen eggs daily, sometimes more. Those looking to start their flock can expect to pay varying prices for chicks, especially when buying from a residential breeder like O’Brien.
“They can range anywhere from $5 a chick, up to my most expensive, they’re $50 a chick, which is just as two-to-three-day old chicks,” said O'Brien.
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Patrick Bowler owns Missoula-based PJ’s Feed Bin. He regularly drives west to the Helena area to fill the orders of approximately seven customers, ranging from residential to ranch clients.
Bowler provided insight into what those with smaller flocks of 5 to 10 birds can expect to spend per month on feed.
“Probably $54 and then if they wanted to add something like crack corn or I've started using raw oats with my own bird, I've got probably 50 birds between chickens and ducks”.
Add up all the expenses associated with starting a flock, and you can expect to spend between two hundred and twenty-five hundred dollars, depending on the number of birds you plan to keep.
For O’Brien, her birds mean more than farm fresh eggs and chicks to sell.
“I love my chickens. They’re all pets to me, not just utility animals.”
