Is Layers farming in Kenya really profitable?

How much money can you make in poultry farming in Kenya? In this post, we give you a costs and profit analysis for rearing 100, 200, 500 and 1000 layers chicken.

We assume you are raising hybrid chicken breeds in a confined chicken house for eggs.  You will have costs to buy commercial chicken feed, vaccination to control diseases and labor among other expenses. In Kenya, Layers chicken mature in 20 weeks and lay eggs till they are 80-84 weeks old.

Facts about layers farming in Kenya

Kenya has an estimated population of 5.58 million layers according to the 2019 census results. Together with the indigenous chicken, they supply 1.6 billion eggs per year according to the FAOSTAT, 2019.  In terms of trade, their value of the eggs was $167.4 million.

 In terms of demand, the nation’s annual per capita consumption of eggs is 45 eggs per person. The domestic supply is inadequate, excess demand is imported from her neighbors especially Uganda. This unfilled demand opens a profitable opportunity for local farmers to raise layers for profits.

Key assumptions for layers farming in Kenya

The cost-benefit analysis makes the following assumptions for input quantities, prices for selling chicken and eggs and the costs of buying feed and vaccine supplies.

• The selling prices for an ex layer chicken, a tray of eggs and a sack of chicken manure are Ksh 400, Ksh 320 and Ksh 30, respectively.
•  The Kenchic layers prices in Kenya is Ksh. 100 for one-day-old chicks. You will then need to brood them for 21 days till they develop true feathers
• We include a vaccination schedule in the analysis. The Fowl Typhoid and Fowl Pox vaccines are available in packages of 1,000 dozes only.
• You need three types of commercial layers chicken feed. So how many bags of feed do you need for 100 layers?
  • 60g of chick Mash per chick till the young chicks are eight weeks of age (6 kg for 100 layers per day for 56 days).
  • 90g per bird from week 9 to week 18 or 19 till when they start laying (9 kg for 100 layers each day for 77 days) of growers mash feed.  
  • 120 g of layers mash feed per laying hen from week 20 to week 84 (12 kg for 100 layers each day for 455 days.)
  • The costs or price of buying chick mash, growers mash and layers Mash is KES 3,300, KES 2,400 and KES 2,550 respectively for a70kg bag.
• The cost of labor is KES 4,000 per month, for 21 months. When raising, 1000 birds, you employ two workers.
• One round Feeder can serve 30 laying birds while a round drinker serves 50 chicks in the poultry house.
• Use the plastic or the carton egg trays. A plastic one is Ksh 88, while the carton one’s trade for Ksh 40 from l Jumia.

Costs of rearing 100 Layers in Kenya

The following is the projected revenue and cost analysis of raising 100 layers chicken in Kenya. It uses the current market prices and recommended feed and nutrition needs. 

Read Next: FAQs on Layers Chicken Rearing in Kenya- Best Answers

The total sales revenue for selling the ex-layers, eggs and poultry manure is Ksh. 313,090. It assumes a loss of 10 per cent for both eggs and birds throughout the production period. Poor feeding, hygiene and vaccination management can cause more loss than used here. Better practices such as hygiene will give you more revenue.

The cost of rearing 100 layers in Kenya is Ksh. 276,940. It comprises the expenses for buying chicken feed and one day old chicks, vaccines, and treatment. The cost of layers is highest at around 95 % of the total cost. It is incurred to buy chick mash, growers and layers feed. Vaccines and treatment is almost negligible in comparison to feed at Ksh. 1680 only.

The gross revenue for raising 100 layers chicken is KSh. 36,150. After deduction of Ksh 84,000 as cost of labour, you will get a net loss of KSh. 47,850. You can improve your profits by securing better farm gate prices.  For instance, a simple addition of Ksh 30 per tray would yield a gross profit of Ksh 96,350 and a net profit of Ksh 12,350.

For Beginners in poultry keeping, you will incur a one-time capital expenditure of Ksh 72,030. It will be for constructing a layers chicken house and getting brooding equipment like layers cages, waterers, feeders and egg trays.

Profit margin of eggs chicken farming in Kenya- 200 birds

The following is a cost-benefit analysis for 200 layers of chicken in Kenya. The analysis uses the current market prices and the above assumptions.

The revenue of selling ex-layers as live birds, eggs and poultry manure is Ksh. 626,180. Most of this is from selling 1,720 trays of eggs at Ksh 550, 400.

Most production costs of raising them is getting chicken feed at KSh. 529,100. The total operating cost is Ksh 552,780 giving you a gross profit of Ksh 73400.  Similar to raising 100 chicken, the labour cost is Ksh 84,000 getting you a net loss of Ksh 10,600.

As a beginner, you will incur a one-time capital expenditure of Ksh 144, 060. The overall costs and profits for keeping 200 laying chickens are as shown below.

Read Next; How Profitable is Broiler chicken farming in Kenya?

Cost of rearing 500 Layers in Kenya

Is layer poultry farming profitable? The following is a projection of revenues and costs of raising 500 layers of chicken in Kenya. The analysis uses the current market prices and the above assumptions for feed quantities and vaccines.

The gross revenue for 500 layers poultry farm is Ksh 1,565,450.  Key sales are from selling 4,300 trays of eggs at Ksh 320 each for each tray.

The operating costs for a 500 layers chicken are KSh. 1,364,000. It will give you a gross profit of Ksh 201,450 and a net profit of Ksh 117, 450 after deducting labour costs of Ksh 84,000.

As a startup venture, you need a capital expenditure of Ksh 366.525 for a fully functional 500 chicken house.  The overall costs and profits for keeping 500 laying birds are as shown above.

Profit analysis for rearing 1000 Layers in Kenya

The following is a layer farming profits analysis analysis for a 1,000 chicken farm that raise eggs.  It uses the current market cost, prices and the above assumptions required farm inputs and labour. 

You will get a total revenue of Ksh 3,130,725 after marketing your ex-layers, all eggs and poultry manure.

The cost of rearing 1000 layers chicken is Ksh. 2,636,900 for 84 weeks. It excludes the one-time capital expenditure of Ksh 455,100 if you are a first time chicken farmer. The most significant expense is buying commercial chicken at a total value of Ksh 2,607, 800.

The projects’ gross revenue is Ksh 493,850. The only additional cost is labour at Ksh 168,000 getting you a net profit of Ksh 325,850. The overall profits for keeping 1000 layers are as shown below.

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Top FAQs in eggs chicken farming

The following are the most frequent asked questions by layers chicken farmers.

How many bags of feed for 1000 layers per day

The number of bags needed to feed a thousand layers chicken varies by their age and feed type; chick mash, growers mash and layers.

The recommended maximum feed per day for each bird is 60g of chick Mash for the first 56 days. This is equal to 60 kilograms or almost 1 bag of 70 k for a 1000 layers per day.

For the next 77 days, each bird should be fed 90g of growers mash till when they start laying. This is equal to 90 kg or a bag a third for a 70 kg bag for your 100O birds.  

120 g of layers mash feed per laying bird is needed from from week 20 to week 84. This is equal to 120 kg or 1.5 bags for 1000 layers per day.

Wondering how you can make more money in layers of chicken farming in Kenya? watch the YouTube video below that lists down 13 Profit making tips in layers chicken farming. They include

1. using Homemade Feeds: Formulate your chicken feed to control quality, reduce costs, and customize nutrition for optimal bird growth and health.
2. Contract Farming: rear eggs on behalf of larger poultry companies, providing a reliable income stream and access to their markets.