Layers are one of the most popular chicken breeds reared in Nigeria today. They are the female chicken largely reared mainly for the purpose of laying eggs. With many people venturing into poultry farming in recent times, the majority of livestock farmers have particularly paid more attention to layer chicken, as they are seen to be more profitable, considering the fact that they start laying eggs from just 6 months old.
While rearing layer chicken might not be as challenging for farmers that have been in the industry for a while, it can be a little tricky for beginners, especially when it comes to estimating how much it cost to actually rear a number of layer chickens. This post eases this. Here, we will take a look at how much it’d cost to rear 100 layers in Nigeria today.
Cost of Rearing 100 Layers in Nigeria
There are a number of things to consider when planning to go into poultry farming, especially when it comes to layer chickens. These breeds of chicken are primarily reared for the purpose of laying eggs, hence, the need for special attention. If you are going into this farming sector for the first time, then it is essential to estimate how much you will require to start. In this section, we will take a look at how much it costs to rear 100 layers in Nigeria today.
Building Poultry House
One of the first things to consider when planning to rear layers is the poultry house. Because of the delicacy of this breed of hen, you will need to be quite careful and picky when it comes to setting up their habitat. You need to consider the fact that you will be rearing the layers from when they are a day old to over 70 to 100 days.
You will require a place to put them when they are growing, say between 1 day to a few weeks old and then move them to a more stable and permanent habitat where they can easily lay their eggs and not trample on them. While deciding this, there are some factors you need to consider.
Firstly, you should be sure the cage or poultry house is well ventilated, as they require enough air. You can settle for a battery cage, as it is advised as the best poultry house for layers. The amount you will spend on the poultry house depends on the location of the farm, the materials to be used, and the design you are going for. There is no exact amount to state here as prices vary based on the factors already highlighted.
Buying 1-day old Layer chicks
Estimating how much a day-old layer chick goes for can be quite tricky. This is a result of the constant change in prices in recent times. Also, the more layer chicks you buy, the lesser the prices the layers might go for. Generally, a day-old layer chick sells for between N500 – N700, depending on where you are buying from and the number you are looking to purchase.
For the purpose of this article, we can settle for one one-day-old layer chick to cost N500. Based on this assumption, which is safe to a very large extent, we expect a hundred layer chicks to go for N50, 000. It is however safe to budget a little higher than this, considering the inconsistency in the prices of livestock in the market today. Regardless, considering the number of chick, we do not expect the total amount to be more than the estimated amount as above.
Vaccination and Drugs
Another very important factor you need to budget for is vaccination and drugs. Apart from the fact that vaccinations will help prevent the chicks from diseases, it will also help them develop well and stay healthy. This is even more important considering the fact that you are looking to bring a hundred chicks together.
The Newcastle disease is one of the most common diseases that afflict chicks. The vaccination helps prevent this to the barest minimum. There are various ways to vaccinate chicks. You can reach out to Veterinarians to get more information.
Feeding the Chicks
This is another core consideration you need to put in mind when budgeting for the cost of rearing layer chickens in Nigeria. Unlike broilers, layer chickens do not eat as much. In fact, you might not need more than 1.5 kg of feed to feed a layer chick for a month. Based on this estimation, you can expect to feed the 100 layers 150kg for the first month.
You can expect their feeding rate to go up after a month, for another month, to say, 1.8 kg per chick. This means that you’d need another 180kg of feed for the second month. You will require about 6 bags for the first month and an additional 7 to 8 bags for the second month. As it stands in the market, a bag of feed for layers cost between N6, 000 – N8, 000 depending on the location. For the purpose of this piece, we can settle for an estimate of N6, 000 per bag. Hence, the 14 bags is expected to cost between N84, 000 – 112, 000. While this is a rough estimate to give you an idea of how much feeds cost for 100 layers, it is largely reliable as prices and estimations are gotten from the current market.
PRICES LAST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 18, 2022.
