Your assumptions. Clear numbers.
Plan your small coop.
From four hens to a plan for the whole household. With space and first-year cost.
How we calculate
How many hens do you want to start with?
A small flock can cover part of your household’s needs.
I want to enter a different number of hens
How many eggs does your household use?
Enter what you actually eat, not a recommended portion.
This is a calculation scenario, not dietary advice. Children’s and adults’ portions may differ.
Your flock and your eggs
Pick a period you have your own records for.
The cost covers the feed, expenses and reserve you entered. Yearly figures are scaled from the chosen period, not a laying forecast.
Go to your records in the app (in Polish)Check the space you have
We count the indoor coop and the outdoor run separately.
The layout is a planning aid. It doesn’t assess the shape of your plot, sunlight, ground or local rules.
Prices where you live
The amounts below are an editable example in Polish złoty (PLN).
Detailed assumptionsLaying, set-up, care
Laying changes with age and season. This simplified model repeats the same yearly assumptions; it doesn’t simulate the flock ageing.
Space for hensCoop and run
A smaller area needs an assessment of the living conditions. These values are not a universal legal minimum. More space and rotating the run can help keep plants growing, but grass isn’t guaranteed.
Own eggs and purchases month by month see seasonality
| Month | Laid | Own eggs used | To buy | Surplus |
|---|
Assumptions, limitations and sources
Planning model 1.0.0
A year has 365 days. Monthly laying follows an example seasonality profile. In each month, own eggs used are the lower of production and demand. You buy the shortfall at your price, and surplus eggs are not automatic income.
The later yearly budget covers feed, other costs, a reserve for replacing hens and buying the eggs you’re short of. The first year covers set-up, buying the flock, upkeep and the missing eggs, including while you wait for laying to start. It doesn’t add the replacement reserve again for the hens you just bought.
The detailed cost adds equipment wear and your own value of labour. The rough payback period ignores price changes, flock age and the cost of capital. Starting amounts are example assumptions in Polish złoty, not current market prices.
Space and everyday care
The starting point is 1 m² indoors and 4 m² of run per hen. Guidance for indoor space and free-range systems varies; none of these figures automatically confirms that a particular flock meets local requirements. The plan assumes 25 cm of perch per hen and one nest box per five hens, at least two.
- RSPCA — care, housing and equipment
- RSPCA — laying hen systems
- University of Minnesota — backyard chickens
Inspiration for one of the scenarios
Videos by the Rodzeń Brothers (in Polish) inspired one of the egg-count scenarios. This doesn’t mean any cooperation with, or endorsement of 4Kurki by, their authors. The calculator doesn’t set a diet.
- First Rodzeń Brothers video (in Polish)
- Second Rodzeń Brothers video (in Polish)
- Short Facebook video “How many eggs should you eat?” (in Polish)
On the nutritional value of eggs: Polish National Centre for Nutrition Education (in Polish). Links checked: 13 September 2026. The image of the hen on the home page was generated with AI.
All worked out
That calculation cost you nothing
This calculator exists so that nobody has to guess how much space, feed and money a small flock needs. There are no fees and no ads. If it saved you a mistake or a pointless purchase, you can buy me a coffee.