Rush Hour update · 22 September 2026
CS2 chicken pets: eggs, breeds and feeding
Rush Hour added pets to Counter-Strike 2 without a word about them in the patch notes. Players found out when a Chicken Egg turned up in their Weekly Care Package.
Here is how to get one, when it hatches, how to keep it alive, and what it means for your inventory. Short version on the last part: the pet stays on your account, but chicken stickers and charms do not.
How to get a chicken egg
- 1Have Prime StatusThe Weekly Care Package is a Prime feature, and so is the egg.
- 2Rank up once that weekYour first rank-up of the week unlocks the Care Package. It resets early every Wednesday, UTC.
- 3Pick the Chicken EggIt takes both of your picks, so that week you give up the two drop items.
- 4Find it on the main menuThe egg sits in a nest next to your agent, not in your inventory. One pet per account at a time.
From egg to hen
A pet grows through four stages on a timer, roughly a week each, and only keeps growing while it is fed.
Stage 1
Day 0
Egg
Sits in a nest next to your agent on the main menu with a countdown on it. It needs feed to hatch.
- Inspect it from the main menu
Stage 2
Day 7
Chick
Hatches after about a week. From here on, everything comes from the game files: nobody has a chick yet.
- Give it a name
- Pet it and inspect it up close
- Rides on your agent's shoulder
- Photo booth and HatchBook
Stage 3
About day 14
Pullet
A young hen. The full colours come in.
- Joins you in matches
- Other players see it in the lobby
Stage 4
About day 21
Hen
Fully grown. After a while she retires for good, and so does a pet that goes unfed.
- Final look
- Her HatchBook stays on your profile
When will my egg hatch?
Enter the day you claimed it. You get the hatch date, rough dates for the later stages, and the weekly resets where you can pick up more feed so it does not go hungry.
Pick a date and you get the day it should hatch, when it grows up, and every weekly reset where you can pick up more feed.
The hatch after about a week is what players are seeing on their eggs. Valve has published no timings for the later stages, so those dates are estimates.
The three breeds
The game files hold about 35 looks across three breeds. You do not choose, and Valve has not published odds. The odds lists going around come from small samples of datamined files, so treat them as guesses.
The farm chicken
Standard
The classic look most players know from the map chickens, also listed as Catalana. The largest spread of colours, from plain tan and white to gradients and two-tone heads.
Fluffy all over
Silkie
Soft, fur-like feathers that hide the shape of the bird. Colours range from white and orange to leopard and splash patterns.
The crest
Polish
A tall pom-pom of feathers on the head. Colours include pink, brown, and white or black heads over a contrasting body.
Feeding
Feed comes from the Weekly Care Package and rank-up rewards. Taking it from the Care Package uses both of that week's picks, same as the egg. The game warns you when your pet is getting hungry. Let it run out and the pet leaves for good.
- Chick starter bagFor the young bird.
- Adult chicken bagFor the grown bird.
Photo booth and HatchBook
The HatchBook is a scrapbook for your pet, with a chapter each for the chick, the pullet and the hen. The photo booth fills it: pose the chicken with your CT or T agent, then add hats, stickers, filters and effects.
The book outlives the pet: when a chicken leaves, its HatchBook stays on your profile. Neither the booth nor the book opens until the egg hatches, so all of this comes from the game files and nobody has used it yet.
Can you trade or sell a CS2 chicken?
No, not today
Eggs, feed and chickens cannot be traded or listed on the Steam Community Market, and the pet is tied to the account that hatched it. Valve has said nothing about changing that. If pets ever become tradeable, they will show up here with live prices.
What it does to the market
Nothing direct, since there is nothing to buy. The one side effect: taking the egg or a bag of feed costs that week's two drop items, so players raising a chicken send fewer drops to the market.
The chickens you can trade today
Your pet stays on your account, but CS2 has had chickens on the market for years. 36 chicken stickers, charms and patches are listed right now, starting at $0.03. Prices are the cheapest listing from the last hourly refresh.
Chicken CapsuleA whole sticker capsule about chickens, 17 stickers from paper to foil.Stickers (34)
Charms (1)
Patches (1)
The rest of Rush Hour
The pets were the surprise. This is what the patch notes did cover.
Rush
A new 3v3 mode with short rounds, built for quick games.
Silent reload
Hold reload for a slower reload that makes less noise.
Premier map picks
The pick and ban rules for Premier matches were reworked.
Zeus vs. chickens
Chickens now take damage from the Zeus. It is the only line about chickens in the whole patch notes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you get a pet in CS2?
- Claim the Chicken Egg from your Weekly Care Package. You need Prime Status and one rank-up that week to unlock the package, and the egg uses both of that week's picks. Feed later costs both picks too.
- How long does a CS2 chicken egg take to hatch?
- About a week, as long as it has feed. Eggs claimed on release day, 22 September 2026, should hatch around 29 September. The egg timer on this page works out the dates for yours.
- Can you trade or sell CS2 chickens?
- No. Eggs, feed and chickens cannot be traded or listed on the Steam Community Market, and the pet stays on the account that hatched it. Valve has not said whether that will change.
- Can you choose which chicken you get?
- No. The breed and colours are rolled for you from about 35 looks across three breeds: Standard, Silkie and Polish. Valve has not published the odds.
- What happens if you do not feed your chicken?
- It leaves for good. The game calls this retirement. Its HatchBook, the photo album you filled while raising it, stays on your profile.
- Can you have more than one chicken?
- Not at the same time. It is one pet per account.
- Do chickens affect gameplay?
- No, they are cosmetic. From the pullet stage your chicken can come into matches with you and other players see it in the lobby, but it does nothing to your stats or your weapons.
- How do I put a chicken on my weapon?
- With a sticker or a charm. There are over thirty chicken stickers on the market, the Chicken Lil' charm, and a whole Chicken Capsule, all tradeable and listed on this page with live prices.
Details come from the game client and early player reports. Valve has not documented the pet system. SkinGrind is not affiliated with Valve Corporation.