Chicken Startup Cost Calculator
Enter your flock size, how you plan to house them, and your local feed price to see what the first year of keeping chickens actually costs, split into one-off setup and ongoing running costs.
First-year total$1,112
One-off setup$800
— coop$560
— birds$30
— brooder$120
— feeder, waterer, hardware$90
Running cost, year one$312
— feed$192 (9.6 bags)
— bedding$72
— grit, shell, sundries$48
Running cost per month$26
What it costs to raise chickens the first year
Most people budget for feed and are surprised by everything else. In year one the setup usually costs more than the birds and the feed put together, and almost all of that is the coop. After that first year the cost collapses to feed and bedding, which is why keeping chickens looks expensive at the start and cheap later.
One-off setup costs
- Coop and run — $150–$400 to build from scratch, $350–$700 for a flat-pack kit, $900–$2,000 for a premium ready-made coop. The single biggest line.
- Birds — about $4–$6 for a day-old chick, $25–$30 for a started pullet already close to laying.
- Brooder setup — around $120 if you buy chicks: heat plate, chick feeder and waterer, bedding, thermometer. Not needed for pullets.
- Feeder, waterer, hardware — roughly $90 for the adult gear plus hardware cloth for predator-proofing.
Running costs
A laying hen eats about a quarter pound of feed a day, so a 50 lb bag lasts one hen roughly 200 days, or six hens about a month. At $15–$25 a bag that is $15–$30 a month for a typical backyard flock. Add bedding at about $12 per bird per year and another $8 or so for grit, oyster shell and sundries. The chicken feed calculator breaks the feed side down precisely, and the yearly feed calculator tells you how much to buy at once.
What this calculator leaves out
Vet bills, because backyard-poultry vets are rare and prices vary enormously. Electricity for a heat plate or winter waterer heater. Fencing beyond the run itself. And replacement birds: hens lay well for two to three years but live much longer, so a flock you keep for a decade needs restocking. Treat the result as a solid planning figure, not a quote.
Wondering whether any of this pays for itself? It usually does not on eggs alone — see do backyard chickens save money on eggs and the egg savings calculator for the honest maths.
How we calculate it
First-year total = setup + running. Setup = coop (tier base + per bird) + birds + brooder (chicks only) + equipment. Running = feed (0.25 lb per hen per day, chicks at half rate for their first 90 days) + bedding ($12 per bird per year) + grit and sundries ($8 per bird per year).
Based on:
- A laying hen eats roughly a quarter pound of feed per day (Penn State Extension)
- Startup and ongoing costs of a backyard flock (Oregon State Extension)
- Housing and space requirements for small flocks (Poultry Extension)
Figures are typical guidelines for planning. Your birds, breed, climate, and feed will vary.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start raising chickens?
Expect roughly $600 to $1,200 for a flock of 4 to 6 birds in year one. The coop dominates that: $150–$400 to build one yourself, $350–$700 for a flat-pack kit, or $900+ ready-made. Feed then runs about $15–$30 a month.
Is it cheaper to buy chicks or started pullets?
Chicks cost about $5 each versus $25–$30 for a pullet, but they need a brooder setup of roughly $120 and will not lay for five months. For a flock of five or more, chicks usually work out cheaper overall; for two or three birds, pullets often win.
What is the biggest hidden cost of keeping chickens?
The coop and run, especially predator-proofing with hardware cloth. Most beginners budget for feed and forget that a secure run costs more than the birds themselves, and that one predator breach can wipe out a flock.