Chicken Startup Cost Calculator
Gives you an itemized estimate of the one-time cost to set up your first flock.
| Chicks (6 × $4) | $24.00 |
| Coop | $400.00 |
| Run / fencing | $150.00 |
| Feeder + waterer | $50.00 |
| Bedding (initial) | $20.00 |
| Starter feed (first bag) | $22.00 |
| Brooder setup | $75.00 |
| Estimated startup total | $741.00 |
What a typical first flock costs
Starting 6 day-old chicks with a $400 prefab coop and a $150 run budget comes to about $741 all-in — chicks, coop, run, feeder and waterer, brooder gear, bedding, and the first bag of starter feed. Adjust every price above to match your plans; coop and run budgets vary more than everything else combined.
How this calculation works
The calculator adds up the one-time purchases nearly every new keeper makes, using typical 2026 retail figures as defaults — every one of them editable, because chicken math varies wildly by region and by how handy you are. Equipment lines that don't apply (a $0 coop because you're converting a shed, a $0 run because you free-range) drop out of the list automatically.
The coop dominates. Honest prefab coops for 6 standard hens start around $400–800, walk-in quality runs $1,000+, and a self-build from new lumber lands somewhere between. Before setting this number, size your coop with the Coop Size Calculator — buying a coop that's too small twice is the most expensive way to do this.
Starting with chicks vs. pullets changes the brooder line. Day-old chicks need about $75 of brooder equipment — heat source, thermometer, chick-size feeder and waterer — plus four to five months of feed before the first egg. Started pullets cost $20–30 each instead of $4, but skip the brooder entirely. Pick "started pullets" in the calculator and the brooder line disappears.
What's deliberately not here: ongoing costs. Feed, bedding refreshes, and the occasional vet supply are monthly money — the feed cost calculator handles the biggest of those. This page is only the check you write before the first egg.
A worked example
Frugal version: 4 chicks at $4 ($16), a Craigslist coop refurbished with $60 of hardware cloth entered as the coop budget, $75 of run fencing, $50 feeder/waterer, $75 brooder, $20 bedding, $22 starter feed — about $320 all-in. Turn-key version for the same 4 birds: $800 walk-in coop, $200 professionally fenced run, same everything else — about $1,180. Same chickens, same eggs. The difference is entirely in the housing decisions, which is why those two numbers are inputs here, not assumptions.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to start keeping chickens?
- Most first-time keepers spend $500–$900 to set up a 6-hen flock from day-old chicks: roughly $400+ for a decent prefab coop, $150 for run fencing, $50 for a feeder and waterer, $75 for brooder gear, and small amounts for chicks, bedding, and the first bag of feed. Repurposing a shed or building your own coop can cut that in half.
- What’s the single biggest startup expense?
- The coop, by far. Prefab coops honest enough to house 6 standard hens start around $400–$800, and quality walk-in coops run past $1,000. It’s also the worst place to cheap out — undersized coops cause the pecking and health problems that make people quit.
- Are chicks or started pullets cheaper?
- Chicks cost less up front ($3–5 each versus $20–30 for a point-of-lay pullet) but need about $75 of brooder equipment plus 4–5 months of feed before the first egg. Pullets cost more per bird and skip the brooder, the wait, and the early losses. For a first flock of a few birds, the total cost difference is smaller than it looks.
- What can I safely skip to save money?
- Skip the branded accessories: chicken swings, coop curtains, specialty treats, automatic everything. Don’t skip hardware cloth (chicken wire keeps chickens in but doesn’t keep raccoons out), adequate square footage, or a second waterer in hot climates. Free or scavenged materials work fine for runs and roosts.
- Will my eggs be cheaper than store eggs?
- Not for the first year or two once you count the coop. Six hens laying well produce about 100 dozen eggs a year against roughly $220 of feed — competitive with store prices per dozen — but the startup investment takes a few years of laying to pay back. Most keepers decide the fresh eggs and the birds themselves are the real return.