obnelly: Steel,if your production per day is 40eggs?my question is do you put heat stress into consideration while designing your pen? What is the orientation you choose in your design.if your chicken weight is less than 2kgs you will not get goos results.hope you will work on the afore listed points.

laposta: Hi fnk,

I'll like to meet you. I'm looking to restart my poultry. I was into layers but want to try broilers. My email is femmiedot@yahoo.com

Pls, send me an email. Let's discuss how we'll meet

obnelly: Jites a proper waste management can prevent the odour but how y dispose the litter is another constraint.if its not properly dispose it will have effect on the soil,water and air around the location you are dropping your litters.if you can manage to incorporate a bioreactor into your farm.the machine will not reduce the odour but will also give you clean energy to reduce your carbon emission on your farm I mean the green house gas.the reactor will convery the farm waste into usefil products such as biofuel , organic fertilizer NPK and bedding for your livestock.at the end you have cleam and odour free environment.remember you can use the fuel to power your genetator to produce electricity,the heat for cooking as gad and broodinh young chicks.you need a professional to do feasobilitu studies based on what you have on your farm or I send you a questionair by doing that I can assess what you have and give you the advise.hope it helps.shalom

obnelly: Theyjih,with the answers you provid to us via the questionnaire we can give you a report on what you can do with your farm waste if its going to be for heating,air conditioning or power generation on site.if you are interested you may send us a mail

basking4me: Hello Everyon its been a while, i have been awashed with other things reason I havent been around for a while. @Jites, really sorry I havent been as active as before. Now to your questions.

1. We stocked the birds (Day olds) mid last year (July & early August) and so they about 1year and 5months. At a time we were achieving 80-90% production but currently we are only getting 68%. This is a drastic cut given the cost of feeds now. Though we still break even on sales but the margin is very little now, reason, they have to go now and December is the best time to ship them out.
2. Indeed the business is very profitable. Making 2M in a cycle is relative, if you formulate your feed yourself or buy bulk feeds, you save more. Even if you dont make as much, you will definitely get close.
3. Our main challenge has been feeding them, it gulped quite a sum and mortality. I am really working on starting a feedmill now.
4. Reason I am looking to point of Lay now is the timing..if we wanted to do day olds, we ought to have bought them long ago so that the cycle continues but with the present situation, once these ones go..we have to get soon to start laying birds.
5. selling them is not difficult, I only posted here because this thread is the poultry Enthusiast's Thread and We might just get lucky to find someone who will buy them all at once on the thread.

If you have chickens (old layers & Cockrel) for Sale, Pl let me know because I doubt if We can actually meet market demand this December.

fnk: @Tayeni, I just sent it again, hope you can open it this time.

obnelly: I dont think anybody can give you the cost of building a pen it all depends on the size of your pen.
I have old layers that are one year and ten month old and their production is 62%.if yours is a year plus and you want to sell because of christmas i will say that isnt good enough.you sell layers because they have exhausted their laying period which is 18_20 months.

basking4me: Obnelly, thank you for your response but understand my angle to selling them. They were doing 90% at a time, cost of feed was 2300 then.

Now they are doing 68% and cost of feed is N2430.

Economic sense says I sell them now or else soon what I will be getting will only feed them with nothing to post as profit.

@latestsunny, with about 500k, your 1000layer pens should be ready if they will be housed in cages but if you plan to have them on litters, the amount will double.

Works include, block works and capentry mainly. The materials for construction is what take the bulk of the sum.

All the best.

basking4me: Jites, thanks for your compliments and belief in the thread. I really am sorry for abandoning the thread for so long. Am realli back now as I have proposals to throw to the house that will be of benefits to us all.

Now to you queries;
1.Yes you can get 90% ie 900 birds laying eggs at a stage during their laying cycle if they are well taken care of ie, feed and hygiene. You should achieve this for a few months before it starts dwindling.

2. What I mentioned in my previous post is PEN housing. Even if you will still house them in cages, you still need a roof for them to stay in the cages, cost of cages is not included. So my analysis is based on housing for 1000birds that will be in cages inside a pen. This is so because the cages will ensure space management but if they are to be on the floor at maturity, then they will take double space of the pen.

3. Cage system is by far better to manage layers than litter but funds are usually the challenge. Cages ensure very clean eggs and more production. Layers smatch and eat up their eggs if you dont pick them up from the litter system early but with cages, you can pick up your eggs anytime. Then the main issue is in the picking of the eggs, man one can have back problem picking 900 eggs everyday. Am talking from experience.

Again, layers die more on the floor than in cages. On the floor they eat anythin and achieve diseases easily. Hope I tried on this.

4. Variable cost?, okay-- from day old to start of laying for 1000birds goes like this.You cant spend more than 50k for drugs but the feeds is what I can't determine because this value is variant, however if u put a value of 900-1200 on point of lay and the initial cost of 200 for day olds, then u have cost of feeding them and medication at abt 700-1000. It will be less if you now do it yourself from day old ( but I advice experience before you start with doc or you get a consultant).

5.Indeed I know the cost of both acquiring and installing cages. For a cage of 90birds I can get you a cage for 45k. So for 1000 birds, you should look towards 500k.

Jites, I really appreciate you for giving me the reason to come back to our POULTRY BLOG, everyone on this thread mean everything to me, you all have kept me going especially with you comments, advice and observations.

Your interest not only signify interest in becoming self reliant but also in ensuring Nigerians have food on their tables.

We are a part of food sustenance for nigeria even without government support we still strive.

I hail all on the poultry blog.

Password77: Welcome back basking4 me and thumbs up to all who have kept this blog going.
I'm a fresh graduate and intends starting my poultry farm by next year(during my NYSC period).
I'll will be grateful if i can get feasibilty reports and any documents on poultry farming so i can read up and add to the little experience i've already.

pls... Fnk, basking4me and others send via my email... entityjoefrankdeelite@yahoo,com

thanks as i anticipate your replys/emails

Password77: Welcome back basking4 me and thumbs up to all who have kept this blog going.
I'm a fresh graduate and intends starting my poultry farm by next year(during my NYSC period).
I'll will be grateful if i can get feasibilty reports and any documents on poultry farming so i can read up and add to the little experience i've already.

pls... Fnk, basking4me and others send via my email... entityjoefrankdeelite@yahoo,com

thanks as i anticipate your replys/emails

sp2002: for poultry establishment/ consultation, you can contact us via:
SP2002 POULTRY & LAND CONSULTANCY
TJ.SP2002@GMAIL.COM
WWW.SP2002.GNBO.COM.NG
08137775986

we are farmers operating in lagos and also extend our service to any part of the nation. you can also get more info on the necesary things needed to venture into poultry.