About PoultryCalc

PoultryCalc is a set of free calculators for backyard poultry keepers: coop sizing, flock capacity, incubation schedules, feed budgeting, startup costs, nesting boxes, and first-egg timing. No accounts, no apps, no fluff — enter your numbers, get your answer.

Where the numbers come from

Backyard chicken advice online is a swamp of contradicting forum posts and marketing claims. We built PoultryCalc on a stricter rule: every real-world figure in these calculators is sourced, preferably from university extension programs. Where extension guidance doesn't exist (per-breed laying ages, current equipment prices), we say so on the page and use widely published hatchery figures or editable defaults instead. Each calculator lists its sources at the bottom of the page, so you can check our work — and disagree with it intelligently.

The extension programs we lean on most:

• Virginia Cooperative Extension — Small-Scale Poultry Housing (pub. 2902-1092)
• Colorado State University Extension — Brooding and Space Requirements for Poultry (2.502)
• University of Minnesota Extension — Raising Chickens for Eggs
• Mississippi State University Extension — Incubation Duration Periods
• Alabama Cooperative Extension System — Feeding the Laying Hen
• Oklahoma State University Extension — Simple Budgeting and Pricing Calculations for Backyard Hens
• Ohio State University Extension — Raising Meat Chickens (Ohioline ANR-0161)
• University of Minnesota Extension — Raising chickens for meat
• Ohio State University Extension (Fairfield County) — Let's Learn About Proper Egg Storage from Your Backyard Chickens
• Oklahoma State University Extension — Backyard Flock Production (fact sheet ANSI-8202)
• Cornell Cooperative Extension — Formulating Rations with Pearson Squares
• N.C. Cooperative Extension — The Pearson Square — the Tool for Balancing Rations
• University of Georgia Extension — Nutrition for the Backyard Flock (Circular 954)
• University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension — Planning and Designing Suburban-Urban Poultry Housing (AEN-161)
• Poultry Extension (Small and Backyard Flocks) — Ventilation in Small and Backyard Poultry Flock Housing
• Poultry Extension (Small and Backyard Flocks) — Space Allowances in Housing for Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks
• Penn State Extension — Management Requirements for Laying Flocks
• Poultry Extension (Small and Backyard Flocks) — Litter Material for Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks
• University of Minnesota Extension — Caring for Chickens in Cold Weather
• Penn State Extension — Brooding of Domestic Fowl
• University of Florida IFAS Extension — Raising Backyard Chickens for Eggs (AN239)
• Mississippi State University Extension (Tabler) — The Only Good Broiler Breeder Egg Is a Fertilized Egg (P3670)
• Mississippi State University Extension — Space Needs of Bobwhite Quail
• Virginia Cooperative Extension — Why Have My Hens Stopped Laying? 5 Factors that Impact Egg Production (2902-1097)
• University of Georgia Extension — Management Guide for the Backyard Flock (Circular 969)
• University of Florida IFAS Extension — Factors Affecting Egg Production in Backyard Chicken Flocks (PS029)
• Penn State Extension — Artificial Lighting for Winter Egg Production
• University of Arizona Cooperative Extension — Lighting Schedules for Arizona Backyard Laying Flocks
• Penn State Extension — Poultry Manure Production and Classification
• Utah State University Extension — Preserving Eggs with Water Glassing
• University of Maine Extension — Winter Care of Backyard Chickens (Bulletin #2026)
• Cornell University Cooperative Extension — Fermenting Feed for Backyard Poultry
• Mississippi State University Extension — External Parasites of Poultry: Mites and Lice (Pub 3822)
• University of California ANR Extension — Predator Management for Small and Backyard Poultry Flocks
• Ohio State University Extension — Low-Voltage Solar and Automation for Homestead Coops

How we research and review

We're transparent about what this site is: a carefully sourced reference, compiled and maintained against published poultry-science guidance — not a personal blog dressed up with a fictional backstory. Here's the process behind every number:

1. Extension first. When a university extension service publishes a figure (coop space, feed intake, incubation days), we use it and cite it.
2. Consensus where extensions are silent. For things no extension tabulates — like per-breed first-egg age — we cross-check several hatchery and breed-registry sources and use the consensus range, noting on the page that it's hatchery guidance rather than extension data.
3. Honest defaults for prices. No one publishes authoritative current equipment or feed prices, so those are clearly labeled editable defaults you can tune to your region.
4. Dated reviews. Each calculator shows when its figures were last checked against their sources. They were last reviewed in August 2026.

Corrections & accuracy

Getting the math right matters more to us than shipping fast — a wrong coop size or hatch date is worse than no calculator at all. If you spot a number that doesn't match your extension office's guidance, please tell us via the contact page; we correct verified errors promptly and update the review date when we do.

What this site is not

PoultryCalc is planning guidance, not veterinary or legal advice. Space recommendations are extension minimums for healthy flocks — your climate, your breeds, and your local ordinances may demand more (or different). When a bird is sick, call a vet, not a calculator.

How the site is funded

PoultryCalc is free to use. To keep it that way, pages may display advertising and some links to products (incubators, coops, feeders) may be affiliate links — meaning we may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Advertising never changes the math: the numbers come from the sources, not the sponsors.

Get in touch

Spotted a number that doesn't match your extension office's guidance? We genuinely want to know — that's the whole point of the site. Reach us via the contact page.