What does it cost to feed backyard chickens?

The honest math: ¼ lb per hen per day is the planning number. Everything else is price-shopping and loss control.

Monthly feed by flock size

Standard-size layers, 16% layer pellets. Winter: add ~20%. Bantams: subtract ~40%. Meat birds: multiply by 2–3× depending on age.

Cost per egg — the real number

A hen at an 80% lay rate produces about 24 eggs a month. Six hens eating $20 of feed produce ~146 eggs: about 13–14¢ per egg in feed alone. That beats organic boutique eggs, ties store specials, and loses to the loss-leader dozen — but you're not doing this to save 40¢. Still, the number matters when someone tells you chickens are free food. They aren't. They're 13¢ eggs, minus the coop, plus the entertainment.

Where the money leaks

Spill: trough feeders waste 10–15% to scratching. Gravity or treadle feeders pay for themselves in a season. Rats and mice: a rat eats an ounce a night and contaminates far more; metal cans, not plastic. Wrong feed: scratch grain runs 8–9% protein — laying hens need 16%. Feeding scratch as a staple is how flocks stop laying. Free tampering: scratch grains are a treat under 10% of diet.

Cutting cost without cutting lay rate

Buy by the pallet when prices dip (feed stores run spring sales), split with a neighbor — a 50 lb bag holds 6-7 weeks for one hen but only a month for six. Fermenting feed cuts consumption 10–20% and improves yolk quality; a food-grade bucket and water is the entire equipment list. Black-soldier-fly larvae and kitchen scraps trim a little, but treat them as supplement — the 90/10 rule still applies.