How Many Chicks Should I Order?

Why ordering six chicks gets you four hens

Two things eat into every chick order, and most people plan for neither.

Sexing is not perfect. A hatchery guarantee of 90% on sexed pullets means roughly one bird in ten grows up to crow. That is not a defect — it is the stated accuracy, and it is why the guarantee exists at all.

Some chicks do not make it. Even a well-run brooder loses the occasional chick, almost always in the first week and usually to chilling, overheating, or simply never finding the waterer.

Stack those together and wanting 6 laying hens means ordering 8 sexed pullets — from which you should expect 7 hens, about 1 unplanned cockerel, and 0 that do not survive the brooder.

Straight run is not half price

Straight-run chicks are unsexed — you get whatever hatched, which averages near a 50/50 split. They are cheaper per chick, which makes them look like the economical choice. For the same 6 hens you would need 13 straight-run chicks instead of 8, and you would raise about 6 cockerels to point of lay before finding out.

That is the real cost: feed, brooder space and coop space for birds that will never lay, plus a decision to make at 16 weeks when they start crowing. For meat birds it does not matter. For eggs, straight run is a trade of money now for a problem later — and in plenty of urban areas it is not a legal trade at all, because hens are permitted and roosters are not. Check your local rules before you order, not after.

Why these two numbers are inputs, not constants

Most figures on this site come from a university extension publication. These two do not, and the page says so rather than quietly presenting them as though they did.

Mississippi State Extension's page on sexing day-old chicks describes vent and feather sexing in detail and publishes no accuracy percentage at all. The research literature puts skilled vent sexing near 97% and feather sexing around 80–90%. Hatcheries typically guarantee 90%, which is the number a keeper is actually planning against, so that is the default here — the conservative end, because ordering short is the failure that costs a season.

Brooder mortality has no applicable extension figure either. The 5% default is ordinary keeper experience for a well-run brooder. Both are sliders because your supplier, your setup and whether the chicks were shipped all move them, and your own last hatch is better data than any default we could pick.

Frequently asked questions

How many chicks should I order to get 6 laying hens?

About 8 sexed pullets, or 13 straight-run chicks. Two things eat into any order: sexing is not perfect, so some "pullets" grow up to crow, and a few chicks do not survive the brooder. Order exactly six and you will reliably finish with four or five.

How accurate is chick sexing?

Most hatcheries guarantee around 90 percent on sexed pullets, which is the figure worth planning against. Skilled vent sexing is reported in the research literature at roughly 97 percent, and feather sexing nearer 80 to 90. Notably, Mississippi State Extension's own page on sexing day-old chicks describes both methods without publishing an accuracy figure at all — which is why this calculator treats it as an editable input rather than a fixed constant.

What is straight run and should I buy it?

Straight run means unsexed — you get whatever hatched, which averages out near a 50/50 split. It is cheaper per chick, and for meat birds it makes no difference. For eggs it means ordering roughly twice as many chicks and having a plan for the cockerels, because half of what you raise will not lay. Check your local rules first: plenty of urban areas allow hens but ban roosters outright.

What do I do with the extra cockerels?

Decide before they hatch, not when they start crowing at 16 weeks. The realistic options are raising them for meat, rehoming them, or returning them if your supplier accepts it. Rehoming is harder than people expect — everyone has spare cockerels at the same time of year — and many towns prohibit them entirely. This calculator shows the expected number precisely so it is a decision rather than a surprise.

What is a normal brooder mortality rate?

A well-run brooder with steady heat, clean water and dry bedding usually loses very few — the 5 percent default here is ordinary keeper experience rather than a published figure, and no extension service publishes one that applies to a backyard batch. Losses cluster in the first week, and the usual causes are chilling, overheating, or chicks not finding the waterer. Shipped chicks tend to fare slightly worse than ones collected locally.

Should I order a few extra chicks just in case?

That is exactly what this calculator does, and it rounds up rather than to nearest for a specific reason: ordering one chick too many costs the price of a chick, while ordering one too few costs a season. The next hatch is weeks away and those pullets then lay months later. Do check your coop can house the number you order, though — planning for hens and housing for hens are different sums.