The Nigerian poultry industry has grown steadily since the ban on poultry imports in 2003. The industry is estimated at ₦80 billion ($600 million) and is comprised of approximately 165 million birds which produced 650, 000 MT of eggs and 290,000 MT of poultry meat in 2013. Poultry keeping is one of the most profitable businesses in the Nigerian agricultural sub-sectors.  

However, high input costs have caused flock expansion to effectively ceased, especially the high cost of poultry feeds and day-old chick (DOC).

Despite the high input costs, you can maximize your profits with proper marketing strategies, poultry management, and feasibility study on costs and profits. The feasibility study will not only serve as a template for a good saving plan but also a guide on your expenditures

 

My students and I in layers pen for morning duties

Here, I am will walk you through a cost/profit estimate for rearing 200 layers in Nigeria. The first stage will be on

• Cost amount for 200 layers, and second stage on
• Profit amount from 200 layers.

Get a pen, a piece of paper and a calculator let get down to business.

 So,

Also read: 8 Best poultry feeds in Nigeria with their prices for optimal birds' growth

 

How much does it cost to rear 200 layers in Nigeria?

Let assume you have a structure already in place, and the manpower/labour for this number of birds will be done by you and your family. 

These are the major expenses:

1. 200 day old chick (DOC) at ₦350 = ₦70,000

2. 2 pieces of plywood for making a brooder =₦3000

3. 2 bags of charcoal for heating the brooder at ₦3,000 =₦6,000

4. 1 brooding charcoal burner at ₦5,400 =₦5,400

5. How many bags of chick-mash feed for 200 layers?

       

 1 chick feeds 45gms of chick-mash per day

         Therefore 200 chicks feed 45gms x 200 chicks = 9000gms

           1000gms = 1kg

           Therefore 9000gms = 9.0kg 

      Chick-mash is fed to chicken for 60 days

      Therefore 60 days x 9.0kgs =540kgs

      1 bag = 25kgs which = ₦ 5,305

      21.6bags = 540kgs = ₦ 114,588

   

CHICKMASH for 60 days (21.6bags) = ₦ 114,588

From left to right: mash, crumble, and pellet feed for layers

Also read: 6 Best Multivitamins for Poultry in Nigeria With Their Prices

How many bags of grower will feed 200 layers?

1 pullet feeds 70gms of grower-mash per day

 200 pullets feed 70gms x 200 chicks = 14000gms

                       1000gms = 1kg 

Therefore 14000gms = 14kg

Grower mash is fed to chicken up to point of lay (POL)

POL is approximated to be day 120 

Day 120 end of grower mash – Day 60 end of chick-mash = 60 days

Therefore 60 days x 14gks = 840kgs

1 bag = 25kg which = ₦ 4,900

33.6bags =840kgs ₦ 164,640

   

Growermash for 60 days (33.6 bags) =   ₦164,640

Approximately 37 bags of grower will feed 200 layers for 60 days

  

How many bags of layer mash will feed 200 layers?

I pullet feeds 90gms to 105gms of layer-mash per day

90gms at the start of laying and 105gms at maximum

  Laying on average (90 + 105)gms/2 =97.5gms

Therefore, 200 pullets feed 97.5gms x 200 pullet = 19,500gms

             1000gms = 1kg

Therefore 19,500gms = 19.5kg

Layers mash is fed to chicken up to menopause (week 72 or day 504)

 POL is approximated to be day 120 

Day 504 (end of layers mash ) – Day 120 ( start of layers mash ) = 384 days

Therefore 384days x 19.5kg = 7,488kg

   1 bag = 25kg = ₦5,465

299.52bags =7,488kg ₦ 1,636,876.8

  Cost for  LAYERSMASH for 384 days =₦ 1,636,876.8

Approximately 300 bags of grower will feed 200 layers for 384 days days

Also read:: 10 ways to sell and market your broiler chickens fast that are proven to work

6. Vaccine cost for 200 layers

 200 doses of Newcastle Disease(ND) IB Lasota strain =₦ 850

200 doses of ND Lasota plain = ₦ 1400

200 doses of Gumboro =₦ 1,400

200 doses of intermediate Gumboro =₦ 1,000

200 doses of fowl pox = ₦ 400

The total cost of vaccines =₦ 5,050

Ocular vaccination of DOC

7.  Cost for Vitamins and Antibiotics for 200 Layers

• Vitamino trace oral = ₦3,800
• Alamycin spray ( for open wound especially during cannibalism 100ml = ₦760
• 2 litres Dewormer (50ml per 20 litres of water) = ₦3000
• Alicerlyle 2kg ( for gastrointestinal infection prevention and multivitamins )= ₦1,000 

 

The total cost of Vitamins and Antibiotics =₦8,560

 

8.Cost for Feeder and Drinker for 200 layers

10 feeders at ₦1,500 /feeder 5kg = ₦15,000

10 drinker at ₦230/drinker = ₦2,300

Total cost for feeders and drinkers = ₦17,300

Total expenses = Cost for DOC + plywood + charcoal burner (Jiko) +Chickmash + Growermash + Layermash + Vaccines + Vitamins and Antibiotics + Feeders and drinkers

Total Cost = ₦ (70,000 + 3,000 + 6,000 + 5,400 + 114,588+ 164,680 +1,636,876.8 +5,050 + 8,560 + 17,300 ) =₦ 2,031,454.8 

Kindly note that these are the major costs. The majority are capital costs, meaning they shall not be incurred in subsequent production.

Moreover, you can cut down costs if you can improvise some of this equipment and materials like cartoons, wood shavings, feeders, and even drinkers too. 

In total you need at least =₦ 2,031,454.8

You do not need all this cash at a go to start; you may even need a quarter. So don’t be scared by the huge sum of money ok, just start before you know it you see yourself overcoming the challenges. Start Now!

 Ok, enough of these ‘spending’ talks, it is time to smile. Let talk about profits

Part 2: Profit Amount from 200 layers

 

What is the Profit Amount from 200 Layers in Nigeria?

Note: In part one we estimated the cost of rearing 200 layers up to week 72. Here our profit margins shall be as well up to 72 weeks.

Let get down to it:

A bird starts laying between week 18 and week 22.

From week 18 and week 22, the cumulative egg per bird is approximated to be 329 eggs

 Remember not all birds will survive to week 72.

Therefore cumulative mortality at week 72 is assumed to be 4% when all factors are held optimum.

Thus cumulative mortality shall be, 200 x 4/100 = 8

Total laying birds = 200 – 8 = 192

Total eggs = 192 x 329 = 63,168eggs

     1egg = ₦50

Therefore 63,168 x 50 = ₦3,158,400

Year 1 (profit) 

Total Sales – Total Cost = Profit

₦ (3,158,400 – 2,031,454.8 )= ₦1, 126,945.2

Profit Amount from 200 layers = ₦1,126,945.2

That is a huge sum of money, despite the high input, especially from feeds. However, as I stated earlier, you can cut down your expenses by improvising some of this equipment from cheaper materials. 

You can also formulate your feed to cut down your expenses to at least 30% or 40%, which is the main cause of high input in poultry farming. Again, you can also make extra profit and take care of other minor expenses after selling them off as old layers. 

I am wishing you a profitable production as you venture into egg production.

Please, comment and share with family and friends.

• Tags:
• layers,
• Market

Share on Twitter Share on Facebook