How Much Does it Cost to Start a Poultry Farm in Nigeria?

How Much Does it Cost to Start a Poultry Farm in Nigeria? The cost of starting a poultry farm in Nigeria depends on the nature and size of your farm. In this article, we will help you get the estimated cost analysis for any type of poultry farm you may want to start.

Poultry farming is one of the most profitable Agro-based businesses in Nigeria today the cost of starting a poultry farm in Nigeria depends on the size of the poultry you intend to own, the capital at your disposal, your goals and the quality of birds or eggs you want to produce. Availability of capital in this case may include land or space and labour i.e. that is the helping hands you might need to employ as you’re definitely not going to be able to do it alone.

Thus, most Nigerians except those who are in for a small scale poultry farming get special or separate land/space outside their residents which might incur extra cost if it is not readily available. But from research and experience, a good number of poultry Farmers in Nigeria are those who already own landed property.

Have you made up your mind to venture into poultry farming but bothered about the cost? We’ve got you covered in this blog post as we’ve taken time to give a breakdown of what a standard or average poultry farm will cost you to set up in Nigeria.

How Much Does it Cost to Start a Poultry Farm in Nigeria?

Let’s see the breakdown below;

1. Cost For The Construction of Pen or Cage House:

Bernadine Nonye has given a complete analysis of how much the construction of a pen house will cost you. However, as I stated earlier, it all depends on the size of the poultry you plan to set up and your budget. Nevertheless, a standard pen is generally estimated at N400,000

2. Cost of Birds Cage:

A cage of 96 birds per cage that houses about 500 birds is pecked at the cost of N250,000. However, there are lesser ones that go in between N60,000 and N130, 000.

3. Cost of Birds for Stating a Poultry Farm in Nigeria:

Although the analysis on agricdemy.com pecks a 500 birds point-of-lay layers at N675000, in-depth research shows the average worth of a point-of-lay bird or chicken lies between N1,300 and N1,500 which is within the range representing a breakdown of the preceding analysis done by Akinbobola  A. on livestock.net.

However, if you prefer starting your poultry farm with day-old chicks, the cost for set-up will be a different ball game entirely from what we have above.

What is The Cost of Day-old Chicks (Broilers) in Nigeria

Prices of Broilers or day-old chicks in Nigeria differ based on quality, Farmers or Dealers and species. However, the average prices for Broilers across Nigeria are within the range of N11,750 – N13,000 per carton of 50 chicks.

Meanwhile, some Dealers do provide additional chicks to makeup deaths before delivery depending on their benevolence.

Thus, the cost of investment for this section of your poultry farm depends like others on the size you have in mind and the budget on your plan.

By and large, in Nigeria 500 day-old chicks N117,500  – N130,000. A.further breakdown puts the price at a range of N200 – N260. By and large, before you go for either point-of-lay layers or broilers check out the benefits of going for either of the two.

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What to Benefit From Buying Point-of-lay Chickens When Starting a Poultry Farm

3. You will automatically roll out the daunting task of brooding and raising baby chicks
4. Assurance for quick profit if you purchase quality chickens.
5. It curtails your overall cost of operations, especially if the birds are in good form and health.
6. It will save you time both in the short and the long run.

Risks or Disadvantages of Buying Point-of-lay Chickens for Your Poultry Farm

The poultry farming business is not immune to some risks that might cause losses if not arrested in time. In spite of its advantages, it is still subject to the long-standing adage “ in every advantage there is a disadvantage”.

Thus, despite the benefits of buying Point-of-lay Chickens for your start-up poultry farm in Nigeria as stated above, there are certain disadvantages associated with it namely:

1. Health Condition of The Birds: The health history of the point-of-lay layer birds might not be ascertained hence putting your poultry farm at risk of the possible breakout of infections.

2. Differences in Age of Birds: one of the risks associated with buying Point-of-lay birds is that the chickens might not be of the same age-grade which would result in differences in laying of egg. That will result in delay in expected profit from your poultry farm.

3. Low-Quality Birds: The chickens might be of low quality and not properly fed till the time of purchase.

4. Additional Cost: Following point number 3 above, you might incur extra cost if the chickens bought are of low quality and not properly fed.

5. Wrong or Improper Vaccination: The Farmer might have abused the vaccination process or prescribe.

The Cost of Feed for Start-up Poultry Farm in Nigeria

In running a poultry farm feeding can be compared to recurrent expenditure in the running of a government because it involves continuous spending.

Therefore, the cost of feed when starting a poultry farm in Nigeria can take 70 – 80 percent of the expenses. That’s why it is necessary to give the cost of feeding special consideration when setting up a poultry farm. Nevertheless, the cost of feed for your poultry farm depends large on the type and quality you are going for.

However, below are the estimated cost of various types and quality of feeds for poultry farming in Nigeria:

1. 25kg bag Broiler starter mash (Hybrid brand) at N4,520
2. 25kg bag of (Facco brand) starter mash for Broiler chicks at N4,540
3. 25kg bag of pre-lay mash (Hybrid feed) at N3,720
4. 25kg bag of Topfeeds Broiler starter at N5,099 – N5115
5. 25kg bag of (Facco brand) layers mash at N3,890
6. 2kg bag of layer-1 mash chicken feed at N4,300
7. 25kg bag of Vital Feed Super Starter at N4,050
8. 25kg bag of Topfeeds for Grower sales for N3,690 – N5,340.

Data source: (afrimash.com).

In Summary!

All in all, the cost of starting a poultry farm in Nigeria depends on the size of poultry you want to operate, your taste, and your investment goals. Nevertheless, a general estimate from our survey lies within N250,000 and N1,000,000 for average poultry. Like I said earlier, the cost of starting a poultry farm in Nigeria depends on the nature and size of your farm. However, the cost of starting a standard poultry farm in Nigeria ranges from N50,000 to 5million naira and sometimes more.

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