Chickens are not expensive to keep, but they are not free either. Put in your own numbers and see your real monthly cost, your true cost per dozen eggs, and when your coop pays for itself.
How This Calculator Works
Feed is estimated at the standard quarter pound per hen per day, priced from your bag cost. Your monthly cost is feed plus bedding. Eggs are counted from your eggs-per-hen number, and your cost per dozen is simply the monthly cost divided by the dozens your hens lay. Break even compares your egg savings against store eggs — it does not count the value of fresh eggs, garden fertilizer or the entertainment, which most keepers say is the real return.
The default numbers are examples, not promises. Egg prices and feed costs vary a lot by state and season, so change every field to your local prices for a number you can actually plan with.
