Cost Per Egg Calculator
Cost Per Egg Calculator
“Free eggs” are not quite free — the feed bag sees to that. Enter your flock size, laying rate and feed price to find your honest cost per egg and per dozen, and how it compares with the store.
Your true cost per egg
Against a store price of $4.00 a dozen, you save $1.40 more per dozen by keeping your own hens — before counting better taste.
How it works
A laying hen eats about 0.25 lb of feed a day, which is 7.5 lb a month — the standard planning figure in extension poultry guides. The calculator multiplies that by your hens, prices it from your feed bag, adds any extra monthly costs you enter, and divides by the eggs you collect (hens × eggs per week × 52 ÷ 12 for a monthly total).
Worked example with the default values: 6 hens eat 45 lb of feed a month, costing $28.13 from a $25 / 40 lb bag. They lay about 130 eggs a month, so each egg costs about $0.22 — $2.60 per dozen, against a $4 store dozen. Change any input above and your own numbers update instantly.
Cost per egg by flock size
Using the default feed price ($25 per 40 lb bag) and 5 eggs per hen per week, feed only:
| Hens | Feed per month | Feed cost per month | Eggs per month | Cost per dozen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 hens | 15 lb | $9.38 | about 43 | $2.60 |
| 4 hens | 30 lb | $18.75 | about 87 | $2.60 |
| 6 hens | 45 lb | $28.13 | about 130 | $2.60 |
| 8 hens | 60 lb | $37.50 | about 173 | $2.60 |
| 10 hens | 75 lb | $46.88 | about 217 | $2.60 |
| 12 hens | 90 lb | $56.25 | about 260 | $2.60 |
| 20 hens | 150 lb | $93.75 | about 433 | $2.60 |
Notice the cost per dozen stays flat — feed and eggs both scale with flock size. What actually moves your cost per egg is the feed price and the laying rate, not the number of hens. Not sure how many hens you need? Start with the how many chickens calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much feed does a laying hen eat?
About 0.25 lb (roughly 110 g) of layer feed per day — around 1.75 lb a week and 7.5 lb a month. That is the standard planning figure used by feed companies and extension guides, and it is what this calculator uses.
What does one backyard egg cost?
With 6 hens laying 5 eggs a week and a $25 bag of feed, the worked example on this page gives about $0.22 per egg, or $2.60 per dozen, feed only. Your number moves with your feed price, laying rate and how many extra costs you include.
Why are my home eggs sometimes more expensive than store eggs?
Scale. Commercial farms buy feed by the tonne and house thousands of hens per worker, so their cost per egg is very low. A backyard flock wins on freshness, taste, food miles and enjoyment — and often beats free-range or organic store prices, even when it cannot beat the cheapest battery eggs.
Which costs should I include besides feed?
Feed is usually 70–80% of the running cost. Bedding, grit, oyster shell, treats and the occasional replacement hen make up most of the rest. Add them in the optional monthly costs field for a fuller picture. One-off setup costs (coop, fencing) are not included — spread over years of eggs, they add a few cents per egg.
Does cost per egg change through the year?
Yes. Hens eat roughly the same amount all year but lay fewer eggs in winter and during moulting, so your cost per egg rises in those months and falls in spring. The calculator uses your average laying rate, so use a realistic yearly average (4–5 eggs a week for most breeds) rather than a spring peak.
How can I lower my cost per egg?
Buy feed in larger bags or on offer, store it dry so none is wasted, choose productive breeds, and keep hens through their best laying years. Reducing feed waste — raised feeders, rodent-proof storage — is usually the single biggest saving.