Chicken feed cost calculator
What does your flock actually cost to feed — and what does that make each egg worth? Adjust the numbers to match your feed store and find out.
Feed per month
46 lbs
≈ 0.9 bags
Cost per month
$20.06
$241 per year
Cost per egg
$0.16
feed only
Cost per dozen
$1.98
what the store charges is… more
Defaults assume a laying hen eats about ¼ lb of layer feed per day — free-ranging flocks often eat less purchased feed, heavy breeds and winter weather push it up.
The honest math of backyard eggs
Feed is the single biggest recurring cost of keeping chickens, and it's the number that decides whether your eggs cost less than the farmers market or quietly cost more than truffles. The two levers that matter most are waste (spilled feed can be a fifth of your bill) and production — a flock of strong layers spreads the same feed bill across far more eggs. If you're choosing birds, our breed profiles list realistic eggs-per-year ranges, and this guide covers what to expect week to week.
This calculator estimates. Your flock has real numbers — and they change with the seasons, the age of your hens, and every feed price hike. That's exactly the math PoultryPal does automatically when you log feed purchases and daily collections.
Also handy: the coop size calculator and the incubation calculator.
Common questions
- How much feed does a chicken eat per day?
- A standard laying hen eats roughly ¼ pound (about 113 g) of layer feed per day — around 1.5 lbs per week. Heavy breeds like Brahmas eat more; bantams eat roughly half. Free-ranging birds eat less purchased feed in summer.
- How much does it cost to feed a chicken per month?
- At ¼ lb per day and a $20–25 bag of 50 lb layer feed, each hen costs roughly $3–4 per month to feed. A six-bird backyard flock typically runs $18–25 per month in feed alone.
- Are backyard eggs cheaper than store eggs?
- Counting feed only, often yes — but once you add bedding, the coop, and everything else chickens 'need,' most keepers do it for the eggs' quality and the fun, not the savings. Tracking your real numbers is the only way to know.
- How can I lower my feed bill?
- Reduce waste first — a treadle or well-designed feeder stops birds from raking feed onto the ground, which can save 10–20%. Supervised free-ranging, kitchen scraps, and buying feed in bulk all help too.
Know your real cost per egg
Log feed runs and daily collections in PoultryPal and it calculates your true numbers — income vs. expenses, all charted.
