How Much Does a Chicken Cost? Chicks, Pullets, Hens, and Coop Setup

Author: Elliott Garber, DVM

The bird itself is cheap. A day-old chick of a common production breed like a Rhode Island Red was running about $4.50 to $5.65 straight run across the four in-stock hatcheries we could compare for unsexed birds, a small sample rather than a survey, or roughly $5.30 to $7.15 for a sexed pullet across five, before shipping, and a point-of-lay pullet a few weeks from her first egg was running about $35 to $46 at the three hatcheries we could compare when we checked in mid-July 2026. Exhibition-strain and rare breeds cost more per chick. But the price of the chicken is the smallest line in the whole budget. What actually costs money is the coop and setup you buy before the birds come home, which for a small flock commonly runs from a few hundred dollars to well over a thousand, plus the feed and bedding you will pay for every month the flock is alive.

So the honest answer to “how much does a chicken cost” is that a single bird is a few dollars, a laying-ready hen is a few tens of dollars, and getting a small backyard flock up and running for the first year is realistically a few hundred to somewhere north of $1,500 once housing and supplies are counted. This guide breaks each of those numbers down by life stage, breed, and source, so you can budget for the flock you actually want.

To see current availability and asking prices, you can browse the chicken marketplace on Creatures.

How these prices were checked (method, checked 16 July 2026). Chick and pullet figures are per-bird asking prices read that day from the published listings of eight US mail-order hatcheries across seven states you can check yourself, with straight-run and sexed-pullet prices kept separate and production, exhibition, and rare breeds kept apart. The chick ranges are derived only from hatcheries in stock, quoted before shipping, and selling the same production tier: Cackle in Missouri, Murray McMurray and Hoover’s in Iowa, Ideal in Texas, and Townline in Michigan. Ideal’s straight-run Rhode Island Red was sold out at the check (its pullets were available), so the straight-run band rests on four of those hatcheries and the sexed-pullet band on all five. Three sampled hatcheries are deliberately left out of that range rather than blended into it: Sunnyside in Wisconsin lists cheaper commercial layer strains but its published prices include dealer delivery or mailing, so they are not comparable with before-shipping figures, and Valley in Ohio and Chesapeake in Maryland were sold out when we checked, which is normal mid-season. The point-of-lay pullet figure rests on just three comparable hatcheries (a fourth, Purely Poultry, is excluded because its price includes shipping), so treat it as a small set of observed asking prices rather than a survey. Exhibition and rare-breed chicks are given as individual listings, not ranges, because only one or two sellers published each. Genuinely mature laying hens sell mostly farm to farm with no comparable published price. Feed and rearing figures use Oklahoma State University Extension. Prices swing with season and disease outbreaks, so price two or three local sources.

Chick, pullet, or hen: what each life stage costs

The single biggest swing in the purchase price is how old the bird is when you buy it. You are essentially paying for the weeks of feed, heat, and care that someone else has already put in.

Day-old chicks are the cheapest way in. Common production breeds usually cost about $4.50 to $5.65 each straight run (either sex), and roughly $5.30 to $7.15 each for sexed pullets, the guaranteed females most egg keepers want. Those are per-bird prices at the smallest order each hatchery sells, before shipping, and shipping for a small order can rival or exceed the cost of the birds. Two things move you off that range. Ordering more brings the per-bird price down at every hatchery we looked at. And fancier heritage breeds sit above it: Murray McMurray listed Silver Laced Wyandotte chicks at $6.05 straight run and $9.90 sexed, against $4.95 and $7.15 for its own production Rhode Island Reds. The catch is that a chick is months away from an egg and needs a brooder: a warm, draft-free box with a heat source, bedding, and chick-specific feed. Oklahoma State Extension notes that a chick eats roughly a tenth of a pound of feed a day and will go through about 13 to 15 pounds of feed before it reaches laying age. Those figures fit together at about 20 to 22 weeks to point of lay (13 to 15 pounds at a tenth of a pound a day is roughly 130 to 150 days), which also matches OSU’s own poultry FAQ; a “six to eight months” figure that circulates on the same budgeting sheet does not reconcile with the feed math, so plan on roughly 20 to 22 weeks. Chicks also cannot go outside until they are feathered, and a portion will be cockerels unless you buy sexed pullets, so if eggs are the goal you should budget for a few extra birds or pay more for sexed chicks.

Started pullets are young females most of the way to laying, usually sold from about six weeks up to point of lay. They cost more, and the near-lay birds sold at 15 to 22 weeks ran about $35 to $46 each at the three hatcheries we could compare in July 2026, a small sample rather than a survey; younger started pullets cost less. A fourth hatchery listed one at a similar price but bundles the shipping into it, so it is not comparable and is left out of the range. Shipping a live bird is its own line and often costs more than the pullet, so buying nearby or in a group pays off. Either way you skip the brooder stage and the long wait. University of Minnesota Extension puts the start of laying at about 20 weeks in one guide and around six months in another, so a point-of-lay pullet is close to earning its keep. For a first-time keeper who wants eggs this season without raising chicks under a heat lamp, pullets are often the sensible middle path.

Mature laying hens are the most expensive per bird, because someone has carried them all the way through the unproductive months. Hatcheries mostly stop at point-of-lay pullets, and older hens already in lay tend to change hands farm to farm rather than through a published price list, so there is no single reliable national figure to quote: plan on at least what a point-of-lay pullet costs, and check local listings for real asking prices near you. The trade-off is that their best laying years are partly behind them. University of Minnesota Extension puts peak production in a hen’s first two years, after which she tapers off, so a bargain “adult hen” from an unknown source may be an older bird near the end of her productive run. Ask the seller how old she is.

Why breed and source move the price

Two chickens of the same age can cost very different amounts, and it comes down to genetics and where you buy.

Breed and purpose. Everyday production breeds and hybrids (Rhode Island Reds, Australorps, sex-links, Plymouth Rocks) sit at the bottom of the price range and are bred to lay reliably. Penn State Extension notes that commercial-type hybrids can lay 240 to 280 eggs a year, while heritage breeds tend to lay 50 to 100. Rare, heritage, and show-quality birds command a premium, because they are scarcer and often bred to a standard rather than for output. In July 2026, for example, Cackle Hatchery listed its exhibition-strain Rhode Island Red chicks at $15.99 not sexed, against $4.49 for its production Rhode Island Red. The rare all-black Ayam Cemani was listed by only two hatcheries, and they are far enough apart that averaging them into a range would invent a precision nobody published: Cackle listed one at $44.99 and Meyer at $57.08. Two listings are two listings, not a market rate. The premium is breed-specific rather than automatic, though: some common ornamental breeds such as Silkie bantams stayed under $10. If you want a specific fancy breed, expect to pay for it. You can see how breed shapes both price and temperament on a breed page like the Empordanesa chicken guide, a Catalan breed from northeastern Spain kept for its unusually dark brown eggs and its hardy free-range behavior.

Source. Where you buy changes the price and what you know about the bird.

• Farm store or mail-order chicks are usually the cheapest and most available, especially in spring, but you rarely know the individual bird’s parents or health, and shipped chicks carry some transit risk.
• A local breeder costs more but tends to give you known genetics, birds raised in your own climate, and a person you can ask later. For a specific breed or a small group of pullets, this is often the best value once health is factored in.
• Farm auctions and secondhand birds can be very cheap, but they are also where disease and unknown-age hens change hands. Buy from flocks you can see, and keep new birds separated from any existing flock for a couple of weeks.

Prices across all of these have drifted up in recent years, and chick availability in particular swings with the season and with poultry disease outbreaks, so treat every figure here as a planning range rather than a fixed quote. You can see what is actually listed near you on the chicken marketplace and search trusted breeders and farms in the Creatures directory.

The coop and setup: the cost new keepers underestimate

This is where the budget surprises people. The birds might cost you $40, and the housing might cost you ten times that. A coop and the basic gear are the largest one-time expense in backyard chicken keeping, and skimping here usually costs more later in escaped or lost birds.

Assembled coops range from a couple hundred dollars for a small prefab up to several thousand for a large, well-built unit with an attached run. A modest, safe setup for four to six hens, including the coop, a run or fencing, a feeder, a waterer, and bedding, commonly totals a few hundred dollars to around $1,000 or more depending on whether you build or buy. Penn State and Oklahoma State Extension both treat the coop and equipment as fixed costs: you pay once and use them for years across many birds. Spread over the life of the flock, an expensive coop is not as expensive as it first looks.

What actually needs to be in the budget:

• The coop. Enclosed, weather-tight, with roosts and nest boxes. Extension space guidance runs from about 2 square feet of indoor space per bird (Penn State) to 3 to 5 square feet (University of Minnesota), with roughly one nest box per four to five hens.
• A run or fencing. Predators are the real threat to a backyard flock, from raccoons and hawks to neighborhood dogs. A secure run with buried or apron fencing and a covered top is not optional in most areas.
• Feeder and waterer. Inexpensive and reusable, these are the kind of fixed cost you buy once.
• Brooder gear (chicks only). A heat source, a safe brooder box, and a thermometer if you are starting with day-old chicks rather than pullets.
• Bedding. Pine shavings or straw for the coop floor and nest boxes, an ongoing but small cost.

Ongoing costs: feed, bedding, and the occasional vet bill

Once the flock is set up, the recurring spend is modest and predictable, and feed is almost always the biggest part of it.

Feed. A laying hen eats about a quarter pound of feed a day, per Oklahoma State Extension, so a 50-pound bag of layer feed lasts a handful of hens roughly a month. Those bags commonly run about $20 to $30, with organic and specialty feeds higher. Layer feed matters nutritionally once birds start laying, at about 20 weeks per University of Minnesota Extension, and hens also need constant access to clean water and, for good shells, a source of calcium such as oyster shell. A small flock’s feed bill usually lands in the range of $15 to $30 a month, more if you feed organic.

Bedding and supplies. Replacement shavings or straw, plus grit and calcium, make up most of the rest of the monthly cost. None of these are large on their own.

Veterinary care. This is the cost people overlook: many backyard keepers never take a chicken to a vet, and avian or poultry veterinarians can be genuinely hard to find in some areas. When a bird does need care, a sick-bird exam and treatment can still run to tens or hundreds of dollars, and any decision about medication or a sick flock should go to a veterinarian, not a forum. Find a poultry-capable vet before you need one, not during an emergency.

The unproductive months. Hens still eat when they are not laying, including through winter and their annual molt, and the University of Minnesota Extension notes they lay most in their first two years and taper off after. To keep eggs coming, many keepers add a few young pullets every two to three years, which folds a small recurring cost back into the budget.

Before you buy: flock size, local law, and the hidden costs

A few things belong in the plan before the money goes out.

Chickens are flock animals. They should not be kept alone. Keepers generally treat three birds as the practical minimum, and four to six is a common starting point for a family, which is enough eggs without being overwhelming. That minimum shapes your whole budget, because you are housing and feeding a group, not one bird.

Local law varies and you must check it. Whether you can keep chickens at all, how many, and whether roosters are allowed is set by your city or county ordinance and sometimes your homeowners association, not by any national rule. Many municipalities cap flock size on residential lots (often somewhere in the range of a handful of hens), require setbacks from property lines, or ban roosters outright because of noise. Some require a permit or registration. Confirm the rules for your specific address with your local planning department or animal control before you buy, because a coop you have to tear down is the most expensive mistake on this list.

Eggs are not free. Penn State Extension puts it plainly: producing eggs in small flocks will always cost more. Once you count the coop, the grocery store is hard to beat on price. People keep chickens for the birds, the quality, and the self-reliance, not to save money on eggs. Go in with that expectation and the budget stops feeling like a surprise.

What chickens really cost over time

Put the pieces together and the shape is clear. The birds are cheap, the coop is the big one-time number, and feed is the steady monthly cost for as long as the flock lives, which can be a while. Penn State Extension reports that chickens in most small flocks live about 8 years and can reach 12 to 15, so a hen you buy as a chick may outlast her best laying years by a decade.

For a small starter flock of four to six hens, a realistic first year commonly lands somewhere from a few hundred dollars to around $1,500 or more, weighted heavily toward the one-time coop and run. After that the ongoing cost drops to mostly feed and bedding until you add or replace birds. The exact number depends on whether you build or buy the coop, how many birds you keep, and local feed prices.

If you are still deciding, the Creatures chicken species guide covers breeds, care, and housing in more depth, and if you are weighing chickens against another backyard bird, our guide to how much a duck costs runs the same numbers for waterfowl.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a single chicken cost?
A common production-breed day-old chick is about $4.50 to $5.65 straight run across the four in-stock hatcheries we could compare for unsexed birds, a small sample rather than a survey, or $5.30 to $7.15 for a sexed pullet across five, before shipping, when we checked in July 2026. A point-of-lay pullet at 15 to 22 weeks ran about $35 to $46 at the three hatcheries we could compare, also a small sample. Genuinely mature hens already in lay are mostly sold farm to farm with no single published price, so check local listings. Exhibition-strain and rare breeds cost more per chick: Cackle listed an exhibition Rhode Island Red at $15.99, and a rare Ayam Cemani was $44.99 at Cackle and $57.08 at Meyer.

Is it cheaper to buy chicks or grown hens?
Chicks are cheapest to buy but cost you months of feed, heat, and care before the first egg, and some will turn out to be roosters unless you buy sexed pullets. Grown hens cost more up front but lay right away, though their best years may be partly behind them. Started pullets are the middle path.

What is the most expensive part of keeping chickens?
Usually the coop and setup, not the birds. A safe coop, run, and gear for a small flock commonly runs from a few hundred dollars to $1,000 or more, often many times the price of the chickens themselves.

How much does chicken feed cost per month?
A laying hen eats about a quarter pound of feed a day (Oklahoma State Extension), so a small flock of four to six hens usually runs about $15 to $30 a month in feed, more for organic. A 50-pound bag of layer feed commonly costs around $20 to $30 and lasts a handful of hens roughly a month.

How long do chickens live and lay eggs?
Chickens in most small flocks live about 8 years and can reach 12 to 15 (Penn State Extension). They lay most heavily in their first two years and then taper off (University of Minnesota Extension), so many keepers add young pullets every two to three years to keep eggs coming.

Do I need a permit to keep backyard chickens?
It depends entirely on where you live. Flock limits, rooster bans, setbacks, and permits are set by your city or county and sometimes your HOA, not by a national rule. Check your local ordinance for your specific address before buying.

Do this next on Creatures

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