Garden & Water Utilities
Egg production and feed cost.
Enter your hens, the share that lay each day, and your feed price. Get eggs a week and a year and the feed cost of a dozen and of one egg. Feed only: it leaves out coop, bedding, and your time. Runs in your browser.
Your hens
Eggs and feed cost
Fill the form and press Calculate.
Worked example
Ten hens at a 70 percent lay rate give 10 × 0.70 = 7 eggs a day, 49 eggs a week (4.1 dozen). Feed is 10 × 0.25 = 2.5 lb a day, which is 2.5 ÷ (7 ÷ 12) = 4.3 lb per dozen. At $28 for 50 lb ($0.56 a lb, an example price) that is $2.40 per dozen, $0.20 per egg.
How it works
Eggs a day = hens × lay rate. Feed a day = hens × pounds per hen. Feed per dozen = feed a day ÷ (eggs a day ÷ 12), and cost per dozen = that × price per pound. The 0.25 lb feed default is from Backyard & Small Poultry Flock Management Series: Feeding the Laying Hen (Alabama Cooperative Extension System). For lay rate there is no one standard: Feeding Chickens for Egg Production in Small and Backyard Flocks (eXtension Poultry) says selection has produced a chicken that can lay almost 300 eggs a year (about 82 percent), and the Economics of Small Poultry Flocks (University of Maryland Extension) budget shows 800 dozen from 25 hens over two years, about 192 eggs per hen a year (about 53 percent). That budget also puts feed at about five pounds per dozen. Your own default of 70 percent is a placeholder, not a published standard; count your eggs and enter the real rate.
Sources (opened 2026-10-08): Backyard & Small Poultry Flock Management Series: Feeding the Laying Hen (Alabama Cooperative Extension System); Feeding Chickens for Egg Production in Small and Backyard Flocks (eXtension Poultry); Economics of Small Poultry Flocks (University of Maryland Extension).
FAQ
How many eggs does a backyard hen lay a week?
It varies with breed, age, season and daylight. A hen laying on 70 percent of days gives about five eggs a week. eXtension notes the best-selected layers can reach almost 300 eggs a year.
How much does it cost to feed chickens per dozen eggs?
Divide feed cost by eggs. With the example of 10 hens, 70 percent lay and $28 per 50 lb bag, feed is about $2.40 a dozen. A University of Maryland small-flock budget uses about five pounds of feed per dozen.
Is this the full cost of an egg?
No. It counts feed only. Coop, bedding, supplements, vet bills and time are not included.
Why does my lay rate fall in winter?
Laying slows with shorter days, age and molting. Use a lay rate measured over a few weeks, not a best day.
Disclaimer
Cost planning only. Real egg numbers depend on breed, age, light and health. Not veterinary advice.