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Enter how many laying hens you keep, how much feed each hen eats per day in ounces, and the price of a 50 lb bag in your own currency. The calculator converts ounces to pounds, scales daily feed up to a 30-day month, then divides by 50 to show how many bags you need and what they cost. The default of 4 oz per day matches what most laying hens eat, but watch how much feed your chickens actually eat per day and adjust. It is built for backyard chicken keepers who want a quick, honest feed budget before the next bag runs out. These are planning estimates based on your inputs, so treat the result as a starting point and adjust for your real consumption.
The math runs in four steps. First, daily feed in pounds equals the number of hens times the ounces each hen eats per day, divided by 16, because there are 16 ounces in a pound. Second, monthly feed equals daily feed times 30 days. Third, bags per month equals monthly feed divided by 50, the standard bag size. Fourth, monthly cost equals bags per month times the price you pay per 50 lb bag. Each step uses your own inputs, so the estimate follows your flock instead of a national average.
A standard laying hen eats about 4 ounces (one quarter pound, roughly 115 grams) of layer feed per day. Bantam breeds eat noticeably less, often half that, while fast-growing broilers eat more. Chicks eat very little in their first weeks and work up toward adult amounts as they near laying age. Weather matters too: hens eat more in winter to stay warm and less on hot days. Free-ranging birds that forage for bugs and greens need less purchased feed. Start with 4 oz per day and adjust the input after watching your own feeders for a week.
Start by choosing your currency, then type in the number of laying hens in your flock. Next, set the feed each hen eats per day in ounces; the default of 4 matches the common rule of thumb. Finally, enter what you pay for one 50 lb bag of feed. The calculator instantly shows daily feed in pounds, monthly feed in pounds, how many 50 lb bags that is per month, and your total monthly feed cost. Rerun it with different bag prices to compare stores, or nudge the daily intake up in winter.
Suppose you keep 12 laying hens, each eating 4 oz of feed per day, and a 50 lb bag costs $22. Daily feed is 12 times 4 divided by 16, which is 3 lb per day. Over a 30-day month that is 90 lb of feed. Dividing by 50 gives 1.8 bags per month, so you buy about two bags. The monthly cost is 1.8 times $22, which is $39.60. That works out to about $3.30 per hen per month for feed.
This calculator is tuned for laying hens, which eat a steady amount day after day. Broilers are a different project: they eat on a rising curve for 6 to 8 weeks, finishing near 18 lb of feed per bird, so budget by batch rather than by month. Chicks start on starter feed with high protein and eat only a fraction of an ounce per day, stepping up through grower feed until they reach laying age around 20 weeks. If you raise mixed ages, run the numbers separately for each group and add them up.
Buy the biggest bag your storage can keep dry, because feed per pound usually drops with bag size, and a sealed metal bin keeps pests out. Fermenting feed for 24 hours can cut waste and improve digestion. Letting hens free-range or feeding measured table scraps lowers the purchased feed bill, but keep treats under about 10 percent of the diet so laying stays steady. Fix leaky feeders, since spilled feed is the most common hidden cost, and track how many days each bag actually lasts to spot creeping consumption early.
A laying hen eats about 4 ounces, or one quarter pound, of feed per day. Smaller bantam breeds eat less, broilers eat more, and chicks eat only a little at first. The best approach is to start with 4 oz per hen per day in the calculator and adjust after watching your real feeder use for a week.
At typical prices of $15 to $25 per 50 lb bag, one laying hen costs roughly $0.05 to $0.10 per bird per day for feed. Over a month that is about $1.50 to $3.00 per hen. Organic and specialty feeds sit at the higher end of that range.
Divide your flock's monthly feed in pounds by 50. For example, 12 hens eating 4 oz per day need 90 lb a month, which is 1.8 fifty-pound bags. Enter your numbers above and the calculator does this step for you.
Standard layer feed usually costs $15 to $25 per 50 lb bag, broiler feed is in the same range, and organic or non-GMO feed runs $25 to $35 or more. Prices vary by region and store, so use your local receipt for the most accurate monthly cost.
For one hen eating 4 oz per day, a 50 lb bag lasts about 200 days. For 12 hens at the same rate it lasts about 17 days. Bigger flocks burn through bags fast: 100 hens eating a quarter pound each per day go through 15 bags a month.
Yes. Hens that forage for bugs, greens, and kitchen scraps eat noticeably less purchased feed. Keep treats and forage to a sensible share of the diet, though, because layer feed carries the protein and calcium hens need for steady egg production.
Yes, plan for roughly 10 percent more in cold weather because hens burn extra energy staying warm. Bump the daily intake input up in winter months so your budget and your feed order stay realistic.
It depends on your feed price and flock size. At $22 per 50 lb bag, 12 hens cost about $39.60 a month in feed, which often beats store egg prices per dozen. Free-ranging flocks with low waste usually come out ahead, while tiny flocks on premium feed may not. The calculator gives you your own number so you can compare honestly.
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