Starting a Backyard Flock: A Priced-Out Budget
A realistic six-bird starter flock priced at today's actual hatchery medians, not forum guesses — budget, classic, and colored-egg versions.
Published July 29, 2026 · figures recomputed from data through September 4, 2026 · by Chick Price Index
"How much does it cost to start chickens?" usually gets answered with round guesses. This budget prices the birds from live hatchery medians — the same numbers on our breed pages, computed from 6 hatcheries' current listings — and is honest about the part nobody budgets for: the chicks are the cheapest line item in the whole project.
Six pullets, three ways
All three recipes assume six sexed females (pullets) — the standard beginner flock: enough for 4–5 eggs a day at peak, small enough for a backyard coop, and no rooster lottery. Prices are today's cross-hatchery pullet medians; your exact total depends on which hatchery you order from (each breed link shows the per-hatchery table).
The budget flock — $35.94 in chicks
Color-sexed hybrids: cheapest guaranteed hens, hardest-working layers.
| Breed | Birds | Pullet median | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Sex Link | 3 | $5.99 | $17.97 |
| Black Sex Link | 3 | $5.99 | $17.97 |
The classic flock — $39.45 in chicks
Four beginner breeds, brown eggs, calm temperaments.
| Breed | Birds | Pullet median | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buff Orpington | 2 | $6.69 | $13.38 |
| Barred Plymouth Rock | 2 | $6.55 | $13.09 |
| Black Australorp | 1 | $6.49 | $6.49 |
| Rhode Island Red | 1 | $6.49 | $6.49 |
The colorful-basket flock — $54.38 in chicks
Blue, green, olive, and brown eggs in one coop.
| Breed | Birds | Pullet median | Subtotal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Easter Egger | 2 | $8.36 | $16.72 |
| Olive Egger | 2 | $8.99 | $17.98 |
| Marans | 1 | $12.99 | $12.99 |
| Buff Orpington | 1 | $6.69 | $6.69 |
Want the flock cheaper? Straight run cuts the bird cost by roughly a third — but half the hatch will be cockerels needing homes (the real math of that trade). Want it fancier? Swap in birds from the colored-egg family or the collector tier and only the bird line moves.
The rest of the budget — the part that dwarfs the birds
Plan on the chicks being well under a tenth of first-year cost. The big lines, roughly in order: the coop and run (the wildcard — anywhere from a weekend build to four figures), then shipping and the hatchery minimum (day-olds ship in group minimums for warmth; freight often exceeds the birds), then brooder equipment, then the first year's feed. None of those numbers are in our dataset, so we won't invent them — but every one of them is the same whether your six chicks cost $25 or $150, which is worth knowing before economizing hard on the bird line.
Before the box arrives
Disclosure: the Chewy links below are affiliate links — if you buy through them we earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. This never affects which breeds appear in the budgets above or the prices we report. Details.
Day-old chicks need heat, chick feed, and clean water working before the shipping box arrives. Chewy — a pet-supplies retailer, not one of the hatcheries this index tracks — carries chick starter feed, brooder heat plates, and chick feeders and waterers.
Timing the order
The one thing you can't save by waiting is money: chick prices hold still day to day (we measured). What waiting costs you is choice — popular breeds book out weeks ahead in spring (how availability actually moves). Off-season orders against a published hatch date get the breeds you actually want.
Bird prices as of September 4, 2026; every figure recomputes at the daily build. A flock recipe only renders while all its breeds are listed at 2+ hatcheries with a pullet price.