Whole Chicken Weights, Sizes & Servings (In Charts)

Have you ever wondered about the average weight of whole chickens, both raw and cooked? This article discusses the various weights of whole chickens. I provide detailed charts and guides to help you understand how much meat you can expect from a chicken, while considering factors like cooking and different sizes. I also talk about the nuances of chicken sizes, cooked weights, meat yields, and serving sizes, offering a comprehensive view into managing chicken as a culinary ingredient.

How Much Does a Whole Raw Chicken Weigh?

Whole raw chicken weights vary pretty considerably, and they’re usually categorized into various sizes to make it easier for consumers to know what size they’re buying.

In general, whole raw chickens that you buy from stores, supermarkets, and butchers range in size from the smallest at around 1kg (2.2lb) to the largest at about 2.5kg (5.5lb).

A raw average-sized medium chicken weighs around 1.4kg (3.1lb), and a chicken of this size will feed about 4 people.

When cooked, the chicken will reduce in weight due to loss of fluids. I’ll cover how much cooked chickens weigh and how much meat you can expect per chicken later on in this article.

Whole Raw Chicken Size Guide

To keep things simple, I’ve categorized chickens into sizes as they’re generally sold in supermarkets and stores.

The chart below shows average chicken weights in both metric and imperial, from small to extra-large:

Whole Raw Chicken Size	Weight in kg & lb’s
Small	1-1.3kg / 2.2-2.87lb
Medium	1.3-1.7kg / 2.87-3.75lb
Large	1.7-2kg / 3.75-4.4lb
Extra Large	2kg plus / 4.4lb plus

How Much Does a Whole Cooked Chicken Weigh?

The amount that chicken reduces in weight when it’s cooked, depends on the quality of the chicken and whether it has added water.

Once you know how much weight a whole chicken weighs after cooking, it’s easy to calculate the cooked weight and potential meat yield.

How Much Weight Does a Whole Chicken Lose When Cooked?

Because a whole chicken contains bones and is covered with fatty skin it retains more liquid than skinless and boneless chicken which will dry out more during the cooking process.

As a general rule, a good quality free-range chicken with no added water will reduce in weight by around 25% when it’s cooked.

So to calculate the weight of a cooked whole chicken, you will need to deduct 25% from the original raw weight.

Whole Cooked Chicken Size Guide

The chart below shows how much you can expect a chicken to weigh after cooking for each size category, in both metric and imperial weights.

These figures are based on average amounts and assume that a chicken will reduce weight by around 25% during the cooking process.

Whole Chicken Size	Raw Weight in kg & lb	Cooked Weight in kg & lb
Small	1-1.3kg / 2.2-2.87lb	750-975g / 1.7-2.1lb
Medium	1.3-1.7kg / 2.87-3.75lb	975g -1.3kg / 2.1-2.9lb
Large	1.7-2kg / 3.75-4.4lb	1.3-1.5kg / 2.9-3.3lb
Extra Large	2kg / 4.4lb plus	1.5kg / 3.3lb plus

How Much Meat is There on a Whole Chicken?

I’ve done some experiments to determine how much meat you can expect from a whole-cooked chicken based on each size category.

This information is based on average weights and assumes that the bone and skin account for around 60% of the overall weight of a whole chicken.

Please note, weights will differ slightly between each chicken depending on the size and other factors such as age.

The chart below shows the average cooked meat yield for each size of whole chicken (including the brown and white meat).

Whole Chicken Size & Raw Weight	Cooked Weight in kg & lb	Average Meat Yield (cooked)
Small 1-1.3kg / 2.2-2.87lb	750-975g / 1.7-2.1lb	300-390g
Medium 1.3-1.7kg / 2.87-3.75lb	975g -1.3kg / 2.1-2.9lb	390-520g
Large 1.7-2kg / 3.75-4.4lb	1.3-1.5kg / 2.9-3.3lb	520-600g
Extra Large 2kg / 4.4lb plus	1.5kg / 3.3lb plus	600g -800g

How Many People Can You Serve Per Chicken?

Based on the recommended serving size per person, the chart below shows how many people you can expect to serve from average-sized chickens in each size category.

Whole Raw Chicken Size	Weight in kg & lb	Number of servings (people)
Small	1-1.3kg / 2.2-2.87lb	2-3
Medium	1.3-1.7kg / 2.87-3.75lb	4-5
Large	1.7-2kg / 3.75-4.4lb	5-6
Extra Large	2kg plus / 4.4lb plus	6-8

Please note that meat yields can vary and these figures are based on averages. If you’re feeding a hungry crowd, it’s always a good idea to use the lower number of servings and cook an extra chicken or a larger size to make sure there’s enough to go around.

More Whole Chicken Weight FAQs