Chicken Feed Calculator — Daily, Monthly & Annual Cost

What it really costs to feed backyard chickens

The short version: a standard laying hen on commercial feed eats about a quarter pound (half a cup, or 113 grams) a day. At 2026 US feed prices (roughly $20 to $35 per 50-pound bag), that works out to somewhere between $45 and $70 per bird per year. Free-ranging reduces that by roughly 5 to 20 percent in months with good pasture.

The longer version is more interesting, because feed cost is the variable that determines whether backyard chickens save you money on eggs or quietly cost you more than the grocery store. Most people who tell you "chickens are practically free to keep" are not running the math. Most who tell you "chickens are way more expensive than grocery eggs" are also not running it.

The calculator above accounts for the four variables that actually move the number: bird type, bird size, free-range supplementation, and your local feed price. If you change any of them, the cost output changes more than you might expect.

A note on where these figures come from. After years of keeping laying hens I got tired of the vague "about $20 a month" estimates on most backyard chicken blogs. Feed cost varies significantly by breed weight, foraging access, and season — and most resources ignore all three. The quarter-pound-a-day layer baseline is the figure published by Alabama Cooperative Extension and the University of Kentucky (ASC-233); every other row in the table is a body-size and life-stage derivation from that baseline, not a separately published figure. If your numbers look different from what the calculator shows, the contact page is at the top. Real flock data beats averages every time.

How much feed per chicken per day: the full table

Daily intake depends on bird type, life stage, and size. Here is the per-bird reference the calculator runs on, with cups included because that is how most keepers actually scoop:

Figures assume full commercial feed with no foraging. Free-range access cuts these by roughly 5 to 20 percent depending on pasture quality. Only the standard adult-layer figure (0.25 lb) is a directly published number; the heavy, bantam, rooster, pullet, and chick rows are proportional derivations from it by body size and life stage, not separately published figures. Chick intake is not flat: it ramps from about half an ounce a day at hatch to nearly 3 ounces by week 8, so the averaged figure above understates the late weeks.

How the daily feed number is calculated

A standard adult laying hen eats about 4 ounces (a quarter pound, or 113 grams) of commercial feed per day. That quarter-pound figure is the standard cited by Alabama Cooperative Extension and the University of Kentucky (ASC-233) — a rule of thumb from their feeding guidance, not the output of a controlled study we can point to. It assumes the hen is laying, in moderate temperature, with no free-range supplementation.

The actual amount varies in predictable ways:

• Heavy breeds eat about 20 percent more. A Jersey Giant or Brahma at 9 pounds eats roughly a third of a pound daily. That extra ounce per day adds up across a flock of 6 birds.
• Bantams eat about 40 percent less. A Sebright at 1.5 pounds eats about 2.5 ounces daily. A flock of 6 bantams costs roughly 60 percent of what 6 standard hens cost.
• Roosters and non-laying hens eat slightly less. Active laying takes calories. A retired or moulting hen drops to about 22 percent below a laying hen.
• Chicks consume way less than people expect. A day-old chick eats about half an ounce per day. By week 8 they are eating closer to 3 ounces. The ramp is steep but the totals stay low for the first two months.
• Pullets (8 to 20 weeks) eat about 70 percent of an adult layer. They are growing fast but not yet laying.

Multiply daily intake by flock size and you have daily flock consumption. Multiply by 365.25 and you have annual consumption. Divide by bag size to get bags per year. Multiply by your local feed price and you have annual feed cost. The calculator above does this in real time.

Which feed at which age

Feed type matters as much as feed amount, because protein and calcium requirements change as birds grow:

Starter feed (0 to 8 weeks): 18 to 20 percent protein. Sold as fine crumble so small beaks can handle it. Chicks grow fast and the protein supports it. Medicated versions protect against coccidiosis; skip the medicated type only if your chicks were vaccinated for it.

Grower feed (8 to 20 weeks): 16 to 18 percent protein. Lower protein than starter, and critically, low calcium. Pullets are building frames, not eggshells. Layer feed at this age forces excess calcium through kidneys that cannot handle it yet.

Layer feed (20+ weeks): about 16 percent protein plus added calcium. The calcium goes directly into shell production. Switch when the first eggs appear or at 18 to 20 weeks, whichever comes first.

Each switch should be gradual, mixed over 7 to 10 days rather than swapped overnight. The Feed Transition Calculator builds that mixing schedule for you, day by day.

Why bag size matters more than people think

Most beginning keepers buy 25-pound bags of feed because they look manageable. The math says they should be buying 50-pound bags. The price difference is significant and consistent across feed stores in the US.

A 50-pound bag of layer feed at Tractor Supply typically runs $20 to $28. A 25-pound bag of the same feed runs $14 to $19. On a per-pound basis, that is roughly 50 cents per pound for the 50-pound size versus 65 to 75 cents per pound for the 25-pound size. The smaller bag is 25 to 50 percent more expensive per ounce of actual feed.

If you have storage space and a sealed container with a tight lid (galvanized trash cans work, food-grade plastic bins work), buy the 50-pound bag. If you have rodent problems or live in a humid climate where feed goes stale in 2 weeks, the smaller bag might be worth the markup. Otherwise it is just extra cost for the same product.

Free-ranging is not free

A common assumption is that free-range birds eat zero commercial feed in summer. This is wrong, but the right answer depends heavily on what they are foraging on.

Birds with access to diverse pasture (mixed grasses, weeds, insects, fallen fruit, kitchen scraps within the 10 percent diet rule) typically reduce commercial feed intake by up to about 20 percent in peak summer months. The reduction drops to nearly zero in late autumn through early spring when pasture quality crashes.

Birds with access to a small grassy run that they have already grazed bare? They reduce feed intake by about 5 percent at best. The "free-range" label hides a lot of variation. A flock with a quarter-acre of mixed pasture eats fundamentally less feed than a flock with a 6 by 10 foot run of dirt.

The calculator settings (none / partial / heavy) try to capture this. If you are not sure which applies, watch your birds for an hour. If they spend the time scratching and finding things to eat, you are at "partial" or "heavy." If they spend it standing around waiting for you to refill the feeder, you are at "none" regardless of how much outdoor access they have.

The cost-per-dozen-eggs figure

For adult laying hens, the calculator divides annual feed cost by annual dozens of eggs produced (assuming average 230 eggs per hen per year). The result is feed cost per dozen eggs. This is the number that tells you whether backyard chickens compete with grocery eggs on price.

A flock of 6 standard layers eating standard feed at $25 per 50-pound bag produces a feed cost of about $2.40 per dozen eggs. Compare that to grocery store prices in 2026, which run $3.50 to $6 per dozen for commodity eggs and $6 to $9 for pastured organic. On commodity comparison alone, backyard eggs are cheaper. On organic-pastured comparison, the savings are dramatic.

But this is feed cost only. It does not count your time, the coop investment, electricity for heated water in winter, bedding, predator-proofing, vet bills, or replacement birds. When you include those, backyard eggs frequently cost more than commodity grocery eggs and roughly match pastured organic prices. The exact break-even depends on the calculator on this page, plus the Egg Production Calculator, plus your honest accounting of setup costs.

Things this calculator cannot capture

A few costs that show up but are hard to estimate:

Winter feed bumps. Birds burn calories to stay warm. In cold climates, expect feed intake to rise 10 to 25 percent from November through February. The calculator assumes annual averages, so add a buffer if you live somewhere with real winters.

Wasted feed from bad feeders. Birds scratch out feed onto the ground with their beaks. Bad feeder design (open trays, low lips) can waste 20 to 30 percent of what you pour in. Treadle feeders, anti-scratch feeders, or PVC feeders with vertical access cut waste to under 5 percent. The difference is bigger than the price of the feeder over a year.

Free choice oyster shell and grit. Laying hens need supplemental calcium. Grit helps digestion when birds are not free-ranging. Both are usually fed free-choice in separate containers. The calculator does not include these because they are cheap (a few dollars per year per flock) but they are real line items.

Treats and kitchen scraps. Mealworms, scratch grains, garden trimmings, leftover oatmeal. All fine as long as they stay under 10 percent of total diet. The calculator assumes the bird is on a complete commercial feed. Heavy scrapping shifts the math in unpredictable ways and is not always cheaper.

Storage waste. Feed stored in humid conditions or accessible to rodents goes stale or gets eaten by mice. A galvanized trash can with a tight lid solves both problems for $20. It pays for itself in a month.

Common mistakes that inflate feed bills

1. Buying premium "organic non-GMO" feed by default. Organic feed runs 60 to 100 percent more than standard layer feed. If your goal is cheap eggs, this is the wrong feed. If your goal is matching organic grocery prices on quality, it is fine. Pick a goal first.
2. Feeding layer feed to chicks. Layer feed has too much calcium for growing birds. Chicks under 8 weeks need starter feed. Pullets 8 to 20 weeks need grower feed.
3. Switching feed brands constantly. Birds adjust to a feed over a few weeks. Constant switching can cause temporary intake drops and laying disruption.
4. Underestimating the chick ramp-up. The first 8 weeks look cheap, but consumption triples between week 1 and week 8. If you are budgeting for a hatch, plan for the week 6 to 8 figures, not the week 1 figure.
5. Not accounting for non-layers in the flock. A rooster eats feed but does not produce eggs. So do retired hens. They are not problems, but they shift your cost-per-egg calculation upward.

Where to go next

Feed cost is one input into the bigger question of whether the whole operation makes sense. Connected calculators:

• The Coop Size Calculator tells you how many birds you can responsibly keep in a given space. Coop size constrains flock size, which constrains feed cost.
• The Egg Production Calculator takes your feed cost figure as an input and computes break-even on the coop investment. This is the calculator that answers "is this whole project worth it" in real numbers.
• The Feed Transition Calculator builds the day-by-day mixing schedule for switching between starter, grower, and layer feed.
• The First-Year Cost Calculator puts feed alongside birds, coop, and equipment for the complete startup budget.
• If you are raising chicks, the Brooder Calculator handles space and heating during the first 8 weeks when feed costs are different from adult birds.

Sources

• Layer feed intake (about 0.25 lb / a quarter pound per day): University of Kentucky — ASC-233, "Feeds and Feeding for Small-Scale Egg Production" and Alabama Cooperative Extension — "Feeding the Laying Hen". Only this standard-layer figure is directly published; the heavy, bantam, rooster, pullet, and chick figures are body-size and life-stage derivations from it, not separately published numbers.
• Protein levels by life stage (starter 18–20%, grower 16–18%, layer ~16%): Alabama Cooperative Extension — "Nutrition for Backyard Chicken Flocks".
• Layer feed harms growing chicks (excess calcium): Alabama Cooperative Extension — "Nutrition for Backyard Chicken Flocks" states that feeding an immature bird a layer diet supplies calcium so high it causes improper bone formation, kidney failure, and possibly death.
• Foraging feed savings (partial 15%, heavy 20%): ATTRA/NCAT — "Pastured Poultry Nutrition and Forages" puts pasture at roughly 5–20% of the diet, and SARE producer estimates run about 5–25%; a peer-reviewed study found ~20%. Our partial (15%) and heavy (20%) settings sit inside that range. (We could not confirm a single clean canonical SARE page, so that figure is left as an unlinked attribution rather than pointing at an unverifiable source.)
• Egg yield (≈230 eggs per hen per year, used for the cost-per-dozen figure): Penn State Extension — "Management Requirements for Laying Flocks" puts egg-type birds at roughly 200–260 eggs a year; 230 sits mid-range.

Only the 0.25 lb standard-layer baseline is a directly published per-bird figure. The heavy, bantam, rooster, pullet, and chick rows, along with the foraging and cold-weather adjustments, are our derivations from published guidance, not separately published numbers.