No. It's a planning estimate for space and running cost. It excludes one-off setup such as housing and fencing, which vary too much by build to estimate with a single figure.

Where do the numbers come from?

From the site's other calculators: the species' housing standard, the land-needed figures, the bedding depth and the feed and cost tools. The Sources & Methodology page lists them.

Why is the housing bigger than the per-pig figure times the number of pigs?

For one to three pigs the published per-head allowance is a share of a group pen and can be smaller than the animal, so the planner uses the small-group minimum-pen estimate instead, as the pig calculator does.

Yes, in this browser. It isn't an account and isn't shared.

Plan My Setup

Pick a species and headcount to see housing, outdoor land, bedding, feed and running cost together in one place — this combines the site's other calculators rather than introducing new figures, so every number here traces back to the same sourced calculator you can open on its own.

Species

Number of animals

Your local feed price (£ per kg)

Starts from about £1.10/kg — Heygates Country Chicken Layers Pellets, £21.99 per 20kg at one UK retailer. Enter what you actually pay.

Vet & health allowance (£, per animal, per year)

A rough starting point sourced from US pricing data, converted to £ using an approximate exchange rate (not a live quote) — routine vet costs vary a lot by region regardless. Edit this to match rates in your own area.

Other costs (£, per animal, per month)

Your setup — 4 chickens

Housing0.44 m²

UK legal minimum / RSPCA Assured coop space

Outdoor / land8.00 m²

Bedding to start44 litres

Feed£3.48/week

Estimated running cost£55.42/mo

This doesn't include one-off setup — housing and fencing vary too much by build method and location for a single figure. See the chicken hub to price your own build.

See the detailed calculations:

What this planner combines

Pick a species and headcount and the planner shows housing, outdoor land, starting bedding, weekly feed cost and estimated monthly running cost together. It introduces no figures of its own — each number comes from the same sourced calculator you can open on its own, and the links beside the result take you to it.

For pigs, the weight you enter sets both the pen size and the feed stage, so the two can't disagree. The housing figure applies the same small-group floor as the pig pen calculator, so a single pig isn't given a pen smaller than the animal.

You can save a setup in your browser to compare options. Saved setups stay on your device only — nothing is sent anywhere — and loading one switches to the region it was saved in.

Common questions

Is this a quote?: No. It's a planning estimate for space and running cost. It excludes one-off setup such as housing and fencing, which vary too much by build to estimate with a single figure.
Where do the numbers come from?: From the site's other calculators: the species' housing standard, the land-needed figures, the bedding depth and the feed and cost tools. The Sources & Methodology page lists them.
Why is the housing bigger than the per-pig figure times the number of pigs?: For one to three pigs the published per-head allowance is a share of a group pen and can be smaller than the animal, so the planner uses the small-group minimum-pen estimate instead, as the pig calculator does.
Can I save my setup?: Yes, in this browser. It isn't an account and isn't shared.

Want to see what keeping a backyard animal is actually like?

Try My Backyard — a simple interactive simulation. Adopt one, feed it, play with it, keep its bedding clean, and see how it gets on.

Play My Backyard →

Plan My Setup

What this planner combines

Common questions

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