What do baby chicks cost right now?
Daily price and availability index across 6 US hatcheries: Cackle Hatchery, Murray McMurray Hatchery, Meyer Hatchery, Townline Hatchery, Sunnyside Hatchery, My Pet Chicken. Updated September 4, 2026.
Chick Price Index reads the public catalogs of 6 major US hatcheries every day and lines up what each one charges for the same breed. Every breed page compares each hatchery's current price for pullets (females), straight run, and cockerels (males), with availability as the hatchery publishes it and the next hatch date where one is listed.
In the table below, the median is the middle of the prices currently published across hatcheries — a fair "going rate" that one unusually cheap or expensive listing can't skew. Pullets cost the most (most buyers want hens for eggs), cockerels the least, and straight run — unsexed, as hatched — sits in between. "In stock at" counts how many of the hatcheries carrying a breed can actually ship it right now.
Timing matters as much as price. Chick buying is intensely seasonal: hatcheries take the bulk of their orders in late winter and spring, and popular breeds routinely sell out weeks ahead during the rush, while availability loosens up later in the year. Because the index checks daily and keeps a running record of when each breed sells out, you can see which breeds are scarce right now — and which ones to order early next season.
The index in numbers
- 69 breeds are stocked by two or more of the 6 hatcheries tracked, across 1,224 listings priced on September 4, 2026.
- Of the 60 breeds sold as pullets (sexed females), the middle breed's pullet price is $8.99 per chick, and individual pullet listings run from $2.70 to $69.99.
- Of the 64 breeds sold straight run (unsexed, as hatched), the middle breed's price is $6.99 per chick, from $2.97 to $49.99.
- Of the 69 breeds the index has tracked for at least 3 days, 14 (20%) have never posted a different daily median price.
- Across every individual listing seen on two consecutive tracked days, the price changed in 1 of 54,809 comparisons (the full study) — what moves daily is availability, not price.
- 0 of those breeds are currently sold out or unconfirmed at every hatchery carrying them.
Cite: Chick Price Index, "The index in numbers," data through September 4, 2026. https://chickpriceindex.com/
Breeds
| Breed | Pullet median | Straight run median | Hatcheries | In stock at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amberlink | $6.60 | $5.65 | 2 | 1 |
| Ameraucana | $23.77 | $21.38 | 4 | 4 |
| Ameraucana (Bantam) | $15.99 | $8.22 | 3 | 2 |
| Ancona | $9.75 | $7.00 | 3 | 2 |
| Austra White | $5.99 | $4.49 | 3 | 3 |
| Ayam Cemani | $63.54 | $44.99 | 3 | 3 |
| Barnevelder | $28.43 | $26.11 | 3 | 2 |
| Barred Plymouth Rock | $6.55 | $4.97 | 5 | 5 |
| Barred Plymouth Rock (Bantam) | $14.99 | $6.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Basque Hen (Euskal Oiloa) | $34.62 | $29.90 | 2 | 2 |
| Belgian Bearded d'Uccle (Bantam) | $15.99 | $8.22 | 3 | 2 |
| Bielefelder | $13.00 | $10.39 | 4 | 3 |
| Black Australorp | $6.49 | $4.99 | 5 | 5 |
| Black Sex Link | $5.99 | $4.49 | 4 | 4 |
| Brahma | $8.99 | $7.99 | 5 | 4 |
| Brahma (Bantam) | $14.99 | $6.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Branded Egger Hybrids | $6.37 | $5.44 | 3 | 3 |
| Buckeye | $8.99 | $7.99 | 3 | 3 |
| Buff Orpington | $6.69 | $5.42 | 5 | 5 |
| Cochin | $6.37 | $5.44 | 4 | 3 |
| Cochin (Bantam) | $14.99 | $6.99 | 4 | 3 |
| Cornish Cross Broiler | $3.19 | $3.87 | 4 | 3 |
| Cream Legbar | $12.99 | $10.39 | 4 | 3 |
| Delaware | $6.99 | $5.65 | 4 | 4 |
| Dominique | $6.49 | $5.19 | 4 | 3 |
| Dorking | — | $9.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Dorking (Bantam) | $19.99 | $9.99 | 2 | 2 |
| Easter Egger | $8.36 | $7.30 | 4 | 4 |
| Easter Egger (Bantam) | $19.99 | $8.49 | 3 | 3 |
| Egyptian Fayoumi | $7.68 | $6.72 | 4 | 3 |
| Faverolles | $8.99 | $7.99 | 4 | 3 |
| Freedom Ranger | — | $5.58 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Buff | $5.99 | $4.49 | 2 | 2 |
| Golden Laced Wyandotte | $6.89 | $5.85 | 3 | 3 |
| Hamburg | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Houdan | $10.18 | $8.65 | 4 | 3 |
| Japanese Bantam (Bantam) | — | $6.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Jersey Giant | $7.19 | $5.92 | 5 | 4 |
| Lakenvelder | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Legbar (other) | $48.54 | $29.90 | 2 | 2 |
| Leghorn (other) | $7.49 | $5.99 | 5 | 4 |
| Marans | $12.99 | $10.39 | 6 | 5 |
| New Hampshire | $6.24 | $4.74 | 4 | 4 |
| Old English Game (Bantam) | $14.99 | $6.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Olive Egger | $8.99 | $7.49 | 4 | 4 |
| Orpington (other) | $16.49 | $13.99 | 4 | 3 |
| Penedesenca | $12.99 | $9.17 | 3 | 3 |
| Phoenix | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Pioneer Broiler | $3.89 | $3.89 | 2 | 2 |
| Plymouth Rock (other) | $7.35 | $6.05 | 5 | 5 |
| Polish | $8.36 | $7.30 | 4 | 3 |
| Polish (Bantam) | $15.99 | $8.22 | 2 | 2 |
| Red Sex Link | $5.99 | $4.49 | 2 | 2 |
| Rhode Island Red | $6.49 | $4.99 | 5 | 5 |
| Rhode Island Red (Bantam) | $14.99 | $6.99 | 2 | 1 |
| Sebright (Bantam) | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Sicilian Buttercup | — | — | 2 | 1 |
| Silkie | $29.99 | $19.99 | 2 | 2 |
| Silkie (Bantam) | $29.99 | $19.99 | 4 | 3 |
| Silver Laced Wyandotte | $6.89 | $5.85 | 4 | 4 |
| Sultan | $11.99 | $9.99 | 4 | 3 |
| Sumatra | $7.68 | $7.99 | 4 | 3 |
| Sussex | $6.49 | $5.19 | 6 | 4 |
| Swedish Flower Hen | $29.99 | $25.49 | 3 | 2 |
| Turken / Naked Neck | $6.82 | $5.19 | 2 | 2 |
| Welsummer | $7.24 | $5.84 | 4 | 4 |
| White Leghorn | $6.60 | $4.95 | 4 | 3 |
| Wyandotte (other) | $9.90 | $6.05 | 4 | 4 |
| Yokohama | — | $9.99 | 2 | 1 |
From our data
Original analysis computed from the index's own daily tracking — updated with every data refresh:
- Do baby chick prices actually move? We measured every listing, every day. The answer changes how you should shop.
- The pullet premium, measured. What sexed chicks really cost — and the one bird where females are the cheap ones.
- What do baby chicks cost in 2026? The full price map, from $3 broilers to $70 collector pullets.
- All insights → market reports, bantam economics, and data-backed buying guides.