🐓 I Ran Out of Eggs… So We Started Homesteading

I didn’t start homesteading because it looked cute.

I started because I was standing in my kitchen with no eggs, trying to finish dinner, and it was the end of the pay period.

I didn’t want to go to the store.
I didn’t want to spend more money.
And I definitely didn’t want to keep buying food filled with ingredients that weren’t doing our bodies any favors.

I just stood there thinking:

There has to be a better way than this.

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😅 The Part I Don’t Always Say

I didn’t even want chickens.

Not even a little.

I already had:

• tiny humans
• a house to take care of
• more than enough responsibility

And my husband kept talking about:

• the health benefits of backyard chickens
• how they help with pests like ticks (not their favorite… but they’ll eat them 😅)

Meanwhile, I’m thinking:

“That sounds like more work for me.”

And on top of that…

👉 I already knew it was going to cost money to start.

That alone made me hesitate.

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🤍 But Then… That Kitchen Moment Happened

No eggs.
No backup plan.
No desire to spend money we didn’t really have room for.

And something in me just flipped.

Maybe it was frustration.
Maybe it was groceries.
Maybe it was my ADHD brain saying:

👉 “We could just fix this ourselves.”

So…

we got chickens.

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🐥 So We Got Chickens… And It Wasn’t Magical

There were no cute baskets of eggs at first.

No peaceful mornings.

It was more like:

• “Why are they so loud?”
• “Why is there poop everywhere?”
• “How did you even get stuck THERE??”

Because truly…

👉 chickens are like having another kid.

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😂 Chicken Personalities Are Wild

We had one hen who decided she was personally responsible for protecting me…

from my husband.

She would try to bite him like:

“Sir. Back away.”

Meanwhile I’m just standing there like…

that is my husband. 😂

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😳 And Then… Broody Happened

I had heard the word broody before.

I did not understand it.

Until I had one.

And let me explain it like this:

👉 It’s like a teenager being asked to come out of their room and socialize with Grandma and Grandpa.

That teenager is not moving.

And if you make eye contact?

They will bite your head off.

That was my chicken.

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🤍 When It Finally Became Worth It

For a while, it just felt like work.

Then one day…

I got my first egg.

And it hit me:

👉 this came from our yard

Then it kept happening.

• I held my first baby rabbit
• I picked my first tomato
• I tasted food we grew ourselves

And I realized:

👉 it tastes better
👉 I feel better
👉 I have more energy

And for the first time…

this felt like purpose.

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💸 So… How Much Did This Actually Cost?

We’ve been doing this for about 3–4 years now.

And when I really look at everything…

👉 it adds up.

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🐓 Chickens

• $600–$700 over time (replacements, shipping, vaccines)

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🏠 Coop + Run Setup

• Coop (DIY from free wood): $50–$100
• Runs: $260 each (2 = $520)
• Chicken door: $50
• Mister: $39
• Bedding: $64
• Security: $90
• Feed/water setup: $50

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🐰 Rabbits

• Feed: $40/month
• Hay: $15
• Straw: $10
• rabbit feeder $27
• hay feeder $16
• cages $172

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🦆 Ducks

• Ducks: $126
• Feed: $15
• Brooder: $100
• Pool: $30

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🌿 Garden

• Seeds: $50
• Cattle panel: $86
• Water mister: $40
• Beds: mostly free pallets (upgraded later)

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💸 Total

👉 Around $1,500–$2,000+ over 3–4 years

And yes…

That’s real.

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😅 But Here’s The Truth

We did not spend that all at once.

This was:

• slow
• built over time
• learned through mistakes

👉 we grew into it

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💡 “But I Only Have $100…”

Good.

Start there.

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🌱 What I Would Do Differently

If I could start over with $100–$300, I would:

👉 pick ONE thing we eat the most

For us?

Eggs.

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🪴 Start Small

• Get a cheap pot
• Buy good soil
• Plant something you actually eat

Water it daily.
Learn it.

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💸 Let It Build

The money you save?

👉 goes into the next step

• more seeds
• more plants
• more food

Until one day…

👉 you’ve built something real

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📚 Your Most Important Tool

Not animals.

Not supplies.

👉 Research.

Because what you know will save you more money than anything else.

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🤍 Final Thoughts

Homesteading isn’t:

• perfect
• easy
• or always cheap

There will be setbacks.

We’ve had them.

But we kept going.

Because once you:

• collect that first egg
• taste your own food
• see your kids be part of it

👉 something changes

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🌿 If You’re Still Thinking About It…

Start small.
Start messy.
Start unsure.

Just start.

Because I didn’t start this with a perfect plan…

👉 I started because I ran out of eggs.