Backyard Chicken Startup Costs: What to Budget For

Startup costs decide whether your first year looks reasonable or painful. Here is every category worth pricing before you buy a single chick.

By the Egg Cost Check team · Published 2026-10-18 · Updated 2026-10-18

Why we list categories, not prices

Prices for coops, fencing and birds vary widely by region and by how much you build yourself. Associated Press, February 15, 2025 gathered keeper reports of setup and upkeep costs that ranged a lot. We do not publish an average, because it would not match your quotes. Get two or three real prices and put the total in the setup field of the calculator.

The one-time cost checklist

Housing and protection

• Coop sized for the number of birds you plan to keep
• Run or fenced area, including predator protection such as hardware cloth and a secure latch
• Nest boxes and roosts
• Ventilation and any winter or summer adjustments for your climate

Equipment

• Feeder and waterer
• Storage bin for feed that keeps pests out
• Bedding and a first supply of it
• Tools for cleaning

The birds

• Chicks, started pullets or point-of-lay hens. Older birds cost more up front but lay sooner.
• Delivery or pickup costs

If you start with chicks

• Brooder, heat source and thermometer
• Starter feed until they are old enough to switch
• Months of feed before the first egg. Put those months in the "weeks without eggs" field.

Easy to forget

• Permit or license fees where your city or county requires them
• A plan and budget for illness or injury
• Replacement hens when production drops

How to get a number you can trust

1. List what you will buy new, what you will build and what you can borrow.
2. Get at least two prices for the big items: coop and predator protection.
3. Add the total to the setup field and add a cushion for items you missed.
4. Compare with and without the setup field to see how much it drives year one.

Penn State Extension: Should You Raise Poultry? recommends thinking about space, shelter, bedding, food, health and your time before you begin. It is a good companion to this list, and our pre-purchase checklist covers the non-money side.

See how setup changes the cost per dozen →

Sources

• Associated Press, February 15, 2025
• Penn State Extension: Should You Raise Poultry?

More guides

• Are Backyard Chickens Cheaper Than Buying Eggs?
• How Much Feed Do Laying Hens Need? A Simple Way to Budget
• Before You Buy Chickens: A Practical Checklist

How we write: we link the sources we use, we label examples as examples and we do not claim hands-on results we have not had. See our method. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.