When our 15 meat chickens first arrived at The Tart Farm, they cost just $1 each. Eight weeks later, those tiny chicks had become whole roasting chickens weighing between 5 and 6½ pounds each.
So, did each chicken really cost us only one dollar?
Not even close! Let’s do some meat chicken math!

The one-dollar price paid for the chick. However, raising an animal also requires food, bedding, equipment, time, and work. That makes the cost of raising meat chickens a great real-life math problem. We rounded some of our numbers to make the calculations easier. Therefore, our answers are close estimates rather than exact accounting figures.

Start with the Chicks

We raised 15 chicks, and each chick cost $1.
15 × $1 = ?
How much did we spend on chicks?
Write down your answer before moving on.

Now Add the Feed

Growing chickens eat a lot.
During their eight weeks at the farm, our flock ate about four bags of organic grower feed. Each bag actually cost $24.50, but we will round that to $25 for our math problem.
4 × $25 = ?
How much did we spend on feed?
Now add that amount to the cost of the chicks.

Don’t Forget the Bedding

We also used about $15 worth of wood shavings during the eight weeks. The shavings helped keep the chickens’ living area clean and dry.
Add another $15 to your total.
So far, you have included:

• 15 chicks at $1 each
• 4 bags of feed at about $25 each
• $15 in bedding

What is your total?