Coop Criteria

Flock Economics Calculator

The start-up bill, the yearly feed bill, and the price of eggs at your store — flock decisions usually get argued without putting the three on one line. This calculator does exactly that, including the outcome the marketing skips: sometimes eggs alone never pay back the start-up. When they do, you'll see in how many years. The feed math reuses our feed cost calculator; the laying rates come from the flock-size guide.

The math behind the numbers

  • Feed: ~0.25 lb per standard layer per day, your bag price and feeder waste rate — the same math as the feed cost calculator, derived in our no-waste feeder guide.
  • Egg output: your eggs-per-week entry × 52. That's a first-year average with a winter gap priced in — breed rates and the year-two ease-off live in the egg calculator and our flock-size guide.
  • Store price: the $3.00 default is a placeholder, not a forecast — wholesale benchmarks have moved hard in both directions (USDA weekly shell egg reports put conventional large eggs near $1.07/dozen in late September 2026, with organic at $5–6 the same month). Set your own receipt price; it's the only one that pays your bills.
  • Break-even: start-up ÷ (store value of your eggs − yearly feed). If the yearly bill outruns the egg value, eggs alone never recover the start-up at your numbers — the calculator says so rather than hiding it.
  • Counted and not counted: this math covers feed plus whatever start-up number you enter. Bedding, treats and replacements are real but belong on your own yearly line, not in a default.

Sources: eXtension — Feeds and feeding of poultry, Penn State Extension — small flock guide (consumption and laying rates); egg-price benchmarks from USDA weekly shell egg reports (checked October 2026). Shopping with real prices? Our coop picks and winter waterer picks keep verified prices on every entry.