Poultry farming is becoming more popular in Nigeria today. With the economy’s strength continually tilting towards agriculture, it is easy to see why many people are beginning to venture into livestock farming, with special cognizance given to layer chickens. This breed of hen is known for their laying of eggs, which has its own market.
In this post, we will take a look at how much it costs to rear 500 layers in Nigeria today. We will also consider the processes involved in the planning and core factors to put in mind when budgeting to rear the layers.
Cost of Rearing 500 Layers in Nigeria
With many people looking to go into rearing layers in recent times, it is essential to estimate the cost of rearing this unique chicken breed today. While this might not pose serious challenge for many people that have been in the business for a while, it is usually tricky for people that are just going into the business. In this section, we will take a step-by-step guide to help estimate how much it’d cost to rear 500 layer chickens in Nigeria today.
Cost of Developing the Poultry House
This is the first project that should come to your mind when you are planning to start rearing layers. You will need to put in consideration where the layers will be housed. You should also note that this comes in different forms and experts advise having two different habitat – a temporary habitat and a permanent habitat in mind.
This is because, when you buy your one-day-old chicks, you are expected to keep them in a temporary habitat where they can develop easily for a few weeks, before you move them to the permanent habitat where they can lay eggs more comfortably without them trampling on the eggs. There are also some factors to put in mind when selecting the location for the poultry.
You need to be sure the poultry is not very hot, neither is it very moist. You can settle for a battery cage, as it is advised as the best poultry house for layers. The total amount you will spend on the poultry house depends on the location of the farm, and some other basic factors like the materials to be used, and the design you are going for.
Cost of Buying Day-old Layer chicks
Once you have the poultry house sorted, then you can go on to making plans to buy the layers. If you are looking to rear layers, then you have to buy them when they are a day old. 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 five hundred layer chicks to go for N250, 000, although one can be almost certain that because of the number you are buying, it will very likely go for lesser amount. It is however safe to have this estimated budget in mind to avoid surprises. So, estimate N250, 000 to purchase 1-day old layer chicks.
Cost of Vaccination
If you are looking to rear 500 layer chicks, then you need to take vaccination very seriously, considering how diseases can be transmitted between chicks easily. Asides 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 effect of Newcastle disease, which is one of the most common diseases that afflict chicks, can be largely curbed by vaccination. Vaccinations are generally not very expensive. You can reach out to any expert in that field to help analyse the kind of vaccination the chicks require and how much it’d go for.
Cost of Feed for the Chicks
Layer chickens do not eat as much as broilers, yet, one still needs a considerable amount of feed to make sure they are healthy and lay eggs as expected. Generally, you might not need more than 1.5 kg of feed to feed a layer chick for a month. Estimating how much to spend on feed is quite straightforward. If a layer chick requires 1.5 kg feed for a month, then 500 layer chicks will need 750kg for the first month.
You can expect their feeding rate to go up after a month, for another month, to say, 1.75 kg per chick. This means that you’d need an extra 875kg of feed for the second month. You will require between 25 – 28 bags for the first month and an additional 30 to 34 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 estimated 56 – 60 bags is expected to cost between N336, 000 – N360, 000. Hence, you can expect to spend between N340, 000 – N360, 000 for feeding the layers from a day old till they are big enough to start laying eggs.
PRICES LAST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 18, 2022.
