Chicken Feed Calculator
Figure out exactly how much feed your chickens eat and what it costs. This chicken feed calculator uses published poultry extension intake tables for layers, broilers, chicks, and pullets to size daily rations, monthly feed budgets, and 50 lb bag counts.
Free chicken feed calculator for any flock size
Use the calculator above to enter your bird type, flock size, and feed cost. It returns daily, weekly, and monthly feed totals along with cost and a bag count. The intake numbers come from land-grant university poultry extension data, which is also what commercial producers use.
Layer chicken feed calculator
A standard layer hen (Leghorn, Rhode Island Red, Plymouth Rock, Orpington) eats about 0.25 lb, or 4 ounces, of feed per day. That works out to:
- Per hen per week: 1.75 lb
- Per hen per month: 7.5 lb
- Per hen per year: 91 lb, or roughly two 50 lb bags
- Six-hen backyard flock per month: 45 lb (about one 50 lb bag)
Feed a 16 to 18 percent protein complete layer feed. Provide free-choice oyster shell in a separate hopper so hens can self-regulate calcium intake for strong shells.
Meat chicken feed calculator and broiler consumption
Broilers grow fast and eat a lot relative to their body weight. A standard Cornish Cross broiler eats approximately 15 to 17 lb of feed over an 8-week grow-out to reach a 5 to 6 lb dressed carcass, producing a feed conversion ratio (FCR) near 2.0. Here is a typical 100 broiler chicken feed consumption chart for an 8-week Cornish Cross cycle:
- Weeks 0-3 (starter): ~2 lb/bird, 200 lb total for 100 birds
- Weeks 4-6 (grower): ~5 lb/bird, 500 lb total for 100 birds
- Weeks 7-8 (finisher): ~8 lb/bird, 800 lb total for 100 birds
- Full 8-week total: ~15 lb/bird, 1,500 lb or thirty 50 lb bags for 100 birds
This is the same data you'd find on a broiler chicken feed calculator pdf from your local extension service. The slight variation between 1,500 and 1,700 lb comes down to feed form (crumble vs pellet), ambient temperature, and how much feed the birds waste. Use a feeder with an anti-scratch ring to cut waste by up to 20 percent.
Free-ranging, scraps, and pasture
Pasture-raised layers on good forage eat about 10 to 20 percent less commercial feed. Chicken tractor broilers eat roughly the same amount of feed as confined birds but produce firmer, darker meat. Kitchen scraps should stay under 10 percent of total intake so the complete feed still carries nutrition.
Feed storage and cost saving
Store feed in galvanized trash cans or food-grade buckets with tight lids to keep out rodents and moisture. Feed starts losing nutritional value about 90 days after milling, so buy only what you'll use in 3 months. Buying in 50 lb bags is typically 20 to 30 percent cheaper per pound than 10 lb bags, and bulk (1 ton or more) can save another 15 percent.