What does a dozen of your eggs really cost?
Enter your feed price, flock size, and weekly egg count. The first time you see your true cost per dozen, it almost always surprises you. Free, no signup.
Cost per dozen
$1.84
Cost per egg
$0.15
Feed cost / month
$20.06
How the math works
Feed cost per pound × pounds your flock eats per month (hens × lbs/day × 30.4) gives your monthly feed bill. Add other monthly costs, divide by the eggs you collect in a month (weekly × 4.35), and that's your cost per egg — times twelve for the dozen. It moves through the year: better lay rates in spring push it down, molts and short winter days push it up.
Egg economics, answered
How much does it cost to feed a laying hen?
A standard laying hen eats roughly a quarter pound of feed per day — about 7.5 pounds a month. At a typical $20–25 per 50 lb bag of layer feed, that's around $3–4 per hen per month, before bedding, grit, oyster shell, and supplements.
Are backyard eggs cheaper than store eggs?
It depends entirely on your feed cost and lay rate — which is exactly what this calculator shows. A well-managed flock in lay often beats store prices for comparable pasture-raised eggs; a small flock in molt over winter usually doesn't. Knowing your number is the point.
How can I lower my cost per dozen?
The big levers: keep production up (light, protein, and healthy birds), cut feed waste (a better feeder often pays for itself), buy feed smarter (bulk or co-op pricing), and cull or retire hens that no longer lay. Tracking per-flock cost over time shows which changes actually work.
What should I count besides feed?
Bedding, grit, oyster shell, supplements, and any regular purchases belong in the monthly figure. For a full picture over a flock's life you'd also amortize birds, coop, and equipment — but feed plus consumables is the number most folks track month to month.
Stop estimating. Start knowing.
Homestead Paradise tags your real feed and vet spend to each flock and divides by what you actually gathered — true cost per dozen, per pound, per quart, updated as you log. And Harold, your Smart Advisor, flags the feed bill before it creeps.
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