About the Chicken Feed Calculator
This chicken feed calculator estimates how much feed your flock eats and what it costs. For laying hens, enter the number and type of birds, how many eggs each lays a week, and the size and price of your feed bags to see daily and monthly feed, bags per month, monthly cost, and the feed cost per egg and per dozen. For meat birds, enter the target live weight, feed conversion ratio and grow-out length to see total feed and cost per bird.
A standard-size laying hen eats about a quarter of a pound (roughly 110–120 g) of layer feed a day, bantams about half that and big dual-purpose breeds a little more. Broilers such as Cornish Cross convert feed very efficiently — about 2 lb of feed per pound of live weight — but eat a lot in a short time.
Feed is the main running cost of backyard chickens, so this is the quickest way to answer “are my eggs cheaper than the store?”. Hens eat more in cold weather and less in summer heat, production drops in winter and during molt, and spilled feed adds up — use the waste allowance if your feeder is messy.
With the default inputs, the feed per day (flock) is 1.5 lb. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the chicken feed calculator
- 1Choose laying hens or meat birds and enter how many birds you keep.
- 2For layers, pick the bird type and how many eggs each lays a week.
- 3For meat birds, enter target live weight, feed conversion ratio and weeks to processing.
- 4Enter your feed bag size and price, plus a waste allowance if feed gets spilled.
- 5Read daily and monthly feed, bags needed and the feed cost per egg or per bird.
Formula and method
For laying hens, daily flock feed is the number of birds times typical intake — about 0.25 lb a day for a standard hen, 0.3 lb for heavy breeds, 0.125 lb for bantams and 0.2 lb for growing pullets — plus any waste allowance. A month is 30.44 days (365.25 ÷ 12). Feed cost uses the price per pound of your bag, and cost per egg divides monthly feed cost by the eggs laid in a month (hens × eggs per week × 30.44 ÷ 7).
For meat birds, total feed equals birds × target live weight × feed conversion ratio (FCR, lb of feed per lb of gain). Cornish Cross broilers average close to 2.0 to reach about 6 lb in 8 weeks; slower-growing and heritage breeds need 3–4 lb of feed per lb. Daily feed is the average over the grow-out — actual intake starts small and peaks near processing.
- lb per hen
- Typical daily feed intake per bird
- FCR
- Feed conversion ratio: lb of feed per lb of live weight
- price per lb
- Bag price ÷ bag weight
Worked examples
Six standard hens laying 5 eggs a week
Six hens × 0.25 lb = 1.5 lb a day, or about 45.7 lb a month. At $22 per 50 lb bag ($0.44/lb) that is $20.09 a month. They lay about 130 eggs a month, so feed costs roughly 15¢ an egg or $1.85 a dozen.
12 bantams, 3 eggs a week, 10% waste
Twelve bantams eat 12 × 0.125 = 1.5 lb a day, plus 10% waste = 1.65 lb. At $0.50 per lb that is about $25.11 a month for roughly 156 small eggs, or 16¢ per egg.
25 Cornish Cross to 6 lb in 8 weeks
25 birds × 6 lb × an FCR of 2 = 300 lb of feed, or six 50 lb bags. At $28 per bag the feed costs $168, or $6.72 per bird. Averaged over 56 days the flock eats about 5.4 lb a day.
Frequently asked questions
How much feed does a chicken eat per day?+
A standard-size laying hen eats about ¼ lb (110–120 g) of layer feed a day, or roughly 1.75 lb a week. Bantams eat about half that, and large dual-purpose breeds a little more. Intake rises in cold weather.
How much does it cost to feed a chicken per month?+
At ¼ lb a day a hen eats about 7.6 lb a month. With layer feed at $0.40–0.60 per lb, that is roughly $3–4.50 per hen per month before treats, grit, oyster shell and bedding.
Are backyard eggs cheaper than store-bought?+
On feed alone, a productive hen’s eggs often cost $1.50–2.50 a dozen. Once you include the coop, bedding, supplements and the months hens lay less or molt, home eggs usually cost about the same as or more than standard store eggs, though less than premium pasture-raised ones.
How much feed does a Cornish Cross broiler need?+
Cornish Cross broilers convert about 2 lb of feed into 1 lb of live weight, so a bird processed at 6 lb live weight eats around 12 lb of feed over its 8-week life. Slower-growing breeds can need 15–25 lb per bird.
How many 50 lb bags of feed do I need for 6 chickens?+
Six standard hens eat about 1.5 lb a day, so a 50 lb bag lasts roughly 33 days — about 11 bags a year. Hens eat more in cold weather, so expect to go through bags a little faster in winter.