Free Chicken Feed Cost calculator with clear step-by-step results.
Feed is the dominant running cost of a flock. Daily intake per bird is scaled by head count, grossed up for spillage - which is easily 5-10% with open feeders - and priced over the period so you can compare bulk purchase against the cost per bird per month.
Daily feed
Daily kg = birds x grams per bird / 1000 x (1 + waste)
Period cost
Cost = daily kg x days x price per kg
A standard brown layer eats roughly 110-130 g of complete feed a day. Bantams eat around 70 g and heavy dual-purpose breeds can reach 150 g.
Treadle or tube feeders with anti-scratch grids typically halve waste against open trays, and filling to no more than two-thirds stops birds flicking feed out.