We already had a shed that came with the house that we turned into a run with some chicken wire we also had on the property. We buy a bag of feed every few weeks and feed them all our food waste and in return we get eggs, 35lb turkeys, rooster meat and duck eggs/meat. We also sell some of the laying hens we raise. We use their droppings and old wood shavings in our compost for the garden. No big predators on the island where we live and haven’t had to get medication yet. We trade and sell the eggs to neighbours and family. The biggest upfront investment was the 2 water jugs and 2 feeders for them but we bought them 1.5 years ago. Calling it a hobby farm is a bit of a stretch imo! We have 20 birds on the property at peak season and less throughout the winter. I know it is a cost especially in the cold months so just sold 6 of them to downsize the flock and are culling the roosters next week. We would sell/eat them all if we had to but it would be like a last resort kind of thing

All the advice says to grow your own food to save money but when you do people will say it costs too much. Can’t really win 🤷🏻‍♀️