What does it cost to feed backyard chickens?

The planning number is ¼ lb per hen per day. Other extension pages publish different weekly totals and a winter percent. The calculator applies none of those adjustments.

Built by Jeremy Panasuk. Updated October 6, 2026.

Monthly feed by flock size

Standard-size layers. Alabama Extension lists layer diets at 16% protein or more. Kentucky Extension says standard hens eat more than bantams. Minnesota Extension gives a higher intake, about 3 lb a week for a 6-pound hen. This table uses the quarter-pound figure. It does not apply a 20% or 40% adjustment, and it does not apply the 25 percent below.

Worked example through the feed function

Inputs: 6 hens, 4 weeks, $22 per 50 lb bag. calcFeed(6, 4, 22) uses 0.25 lb per hen per day and a 30.44-day month.

• Per day: 6 × 0.25 = 1.5 lb.
• Per month: 1.5 × 30.44 = 45.66, which the function rounds to 46 lb. Bags: ceil(45.66 / 50) = 1.
• Cost: (45.66 / 50) × 22 = $20.09.
• Per egg: the function assumes an 80% lay rate, so 6 × 0.8 × 30.44 = 146.112 eggs. $20.09 / 146.112 × 100 rounds to 14¢.
• Over the 4 weeks you typed: 1.5 × 7 × 4 = 42 lb, and (42 / 50) × 22 = $18.48.

Three other published totals sit next to that result and are not inside the function.

• Minnesota's cold-weather page says feed intake may increase up to 25 percent. The function does not multiply by 1.25. The raising-chickens-for-eggs page still says about 3 lb a week for a 6-pound hen, which for six hens is 18 lb a week, higher than 1.5 × 7 = 10.5 lb.
• Ohio's winter sheet says each laying chicken requires 2 lb of feed per week, and that chickens eat less in winter than in summer. Six hens on that weekly line are 12 lb a week. That is not 10.5 lb, and it is not a 25 percent increase.
• Missouri says 100 lightweight mature layers eat about 25 lb of feed a day (0.25 lb each, the same quarter pound) and 100 heavy birds eat about 30 lb a day (0.30 lb each). The function has no heavy-breed switch.

Chicks are a fourth mismatch. Twelve brown-egg chicks are 48 lb of starter through six weeks on Maryland's table, while calcFeed(12, 6, 22) returns 126 lb. That comparison is on the baby chick page. Daily drinking water for these six hens is on the water page: the 1.5 lb of feed is the input Kentucky compares with water by weight.

Run calcFeed

Common mistake

Taking Minnesota's "up to 25 percent" or Ohio's 2 lb a week and typing a fudge factor into a spreadsheet that already uses 0.25 lb. The function's job is the quarter-pound path Alabama and Kentucky state. The other sentences stay beside it, labeled. Scratch is the other leak. Maryland's feeding guide says scratch, if you use it, should generally be about 10 percent of daily intake because it dilutes a complete diet. Minnesota's cold-weather page says no more than a handful per 10 birds. A handful is not a weight on that page, so this page does not convert it to pounds.

Limits, and when to call someone

Maryland says the wrong ration shows up fast in a growing bird and is often irreversible. Homemade feeds are where diagnostic labs see curly toe paralysis, nutritional coryza, and rickets. A bird that cannot stand, or a flock on a mix you built yourself, is a veterinarian or extension call. Layer feed for chicks is the specific ban on the chick page: Maryland says the calcium can cause improper bone formation, kidney failure, and possibly death.

Cost per egg — the real number

The worked example above is the feed-only cost: about 14¢ per egg at $22 per 50 lb bag and the function's 80% lay rate. These pages do not publish a grocery-egg price.

Where the money leaks

Spill: open troughs let hens scratch feed onto the floor. Trough length is on the feeder space per chicken page. Storage: Minnesota names a metal garbage can. Maryland names covered plastic trash cans or wooden pallets, and says not to leave bags on concrete. Both sentences are in how to store chicken feed. Wrong feed: Alabama Extension lists layer diets at 16% protein or more. Scratch grain is not that diet. Maryland's feeding guide says scratch, when you use it, should generally be about 10 percent of daily intake. The worked example above is where that limit is spelled out. When the ration itself changes, from starter to grower to layer, is on the chick page.

How to store chicken feed

Minnesota's cold-weather page says to store feed in an animal and moisture-proof container, such as a metal garbage can, to prevent contamination or spoilage. Maryland's feeding guide says nutrients in feed are broken down during extended holding times. Store feed in a clean, dry, rodent-free area. Do not store bags on a concrete floor, because feed picks up moisture from the concrete. Maryland recommends covered plastic trash cans, or wooden pallets so air can circulate under the bags. Those are two containers, not one: a metal can on the Minnesota page, and covered plastic cans or pallets on the Maryland page.

Maine's chick bulletin says to use fresh feed stored no longer than four weeks. The Merck Veterinary Manual's backyard poultry chapter says prolonged storage degrades vitamins and minerals. Store feed in a dry, cool area, use it by the expiration date, and avoid temperature extremes so vitamins and minerals do not denature. Merck says most feed and premixes expire in 3 to 6 months, and in as little as 2 months in summer. A flock on old feed is the case that chapter ties to vitamin deficiencies. That is a veterinarian or extension call.

Storage does not change the 0.25 lb per hen per day rate inside calcFeed. The price in the worked example is still the bag price you type.

FAQ

How much does it cost to feed 6 chickens per month?

At a quarter pound per hen per day, six laying hens eat 1.5 lb a day and about 46 lb a month. calcFeed(6, 4, 22) returns $20.09 a month at $22 per 50 lb bag. Alabama and Kentucky state the quarter-pound rule. Minnesota's cold-weather page says intake may increase up to 25 percent. Ohio says each laying chicken requires 2 lb a week. The calculator applies none of those adjustments.

How do I store chicken feed?

Minnesota says to store feed in an animal and moisture-proof container, such as a metal garbage can. Maryland says nutrients break down during extended holding times, to keep feed in a clean, dry, rodent-free area, and not to store bags on a concrete floor because feed picks up moisture from the concrete. Maryland's containers are covered plastic trash cans or wooden pallets. Maine says chick feed should be stored no longer than four weeks. Merck says keep feed dry and cool, use it by the expiration date, and expect most feed and premixes to expire in 3 to 6 months, or in as little as 2 months in summer.

Cutting cost without cutting lay rate

Buy by the pallet when prices dip, and split a bag with a neighbor. At a quarter pound a day, a 50 lb bag lasts one hen about 6–7 weeks and six hens about a month. Kitchen scraps are a supplement. These feed pages do not publish a fermenting-feed savings percent.

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Compiled with AI assistance from the sources below. Spot an error? Email jpanasuk@gmail.com.

Sources

• Alabama Cooperative Extension, "Feeding the Laying Hen." https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/farming/backyard-small-poultry-flock-management-series-feeding-the-laying-hen/. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
• University of Kentucky Extension, ASC-191, "How Much Will My Chickens Eat?" https://publications.mgcafe.uky.edu/files/ASC191.pdf. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
• University of Minnesota Extension, "Caring for chickens in cold weather" (reviewed 2026), for the "up to 25 percent" intake sentence, the handful of scratch per 10 birds, and storing feed in an animal and moisture-proof container such as a metal garbage can. https://extension.umn.edu/poultry/caring-chickens-cold-weather. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
• University of Minnesota Extension, "Raising chickens for eggs," for about 3 lb a week for a 6-pound hen. https://extension.umn.edu/agriculture/animals-and-livestock/poultry/raising-chickens-for-eggs.
• Ohio State University Extension, "Winter and Your Backyard Chickens," ANR-66, for 2 lb of feed per laying chicken per week. https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/anr-66. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
• University of Missouri Extension, G8350, for 25 lb a day per 100 lightweight layers and 30 lb a day per 100 heavy birds. https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g8350. Accessed Oct 3, 2026.
• University of Maryland Extension, "Feeding the Flock," for scratch at about 10 percent of daily intake, the warning on homemade rations, and feed storage (not on concrete; covered plastic cans or pallets). https://extension.umd.edu/resource/feeding-flock. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
• University of Maine Cooperative Extension, Bulletin 2219, "Giving Chicks a Good Start," for feed stored no longer than four weeks. https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2219e/. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.
• Merck Veterinary Manual, "Management of Backyard Poultry," for dry, cool storage, expiration dates, and vitamin loss in old feed. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/backyard-poultry/management-of-backyard-poultry. Accessed Oct 6, 2026.