A broiler batch makes money when the live rate on sale day is higher than your cost per kilogram. Most farmers know the rate, but few know their own cost per kg. Below we work through one example batch so you can do the same sum for your farm, find your break-even rate, and see which numbers really move profit.
Where the money goes in one batch
Research on broiler farms in Pakistan agrees on one point: feed is the biggest cost by far. A value chain study of the chicken sector in Pakistan (Aslam and others, Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020) reported feed at about 60 to 65% and chicks at about 25 to 35% of costs for independent farmers. A survey of open-house farms in Rawalpindi (Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 2011) found feed was the largest single item and that running costs made up about 93% of the total, with fixed costs like the shed only about 7%.
So when you try to save money, look first at feed and chicks. Litter and disinfectant matter, but they are small.
An example batch, step by step
These numbers are an example only, not today's market. Put in your own figures.
- Chicks placed: 5,000, at an example price of Rs 120 each
- Deaths: 4%, so 4,800 birds sold
- Average live weight at sale: 2.0 kg, so 9,600 kg sold
- FCR: 1.6, so feed used is 9,600 × 1.6 = 15,360 kg, about 307 bags of 50 kg
- Feed price: an example Rs 7,500 per 50 kg bag, which is Rs 150 per kg
| Cost item | Example amount (Rs) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Feed (15,360 kg × Rs 150) | 2,304,000 | 68% |
| Chicks (5,000 × Rs 120) | 600,000 | 18% |
| Medicine, vaccine, disinfectant | 150,000 | 4% |
| Gas, diesel, electricity | 120,000 | 4% |
| Labour | 90,000 | 3% |
| Litter | 40,000 | 1% |
| Transport, repairs, other | 60,000 | 2% |
| Total | 3,364,000 | 100% |
Feed and chicks together are 86% of this example. That is close to what the studies found.
Cost per bird and cost per kg
Two simple sums tell you most of what you need:
- Cost per kg live = total cost ÷ kg sold = 3,364,000 ÷ 9,600 = about Rs 350 per kg
- Cost per bird sold = total cost ÷ birds sold = 3,364,000 ÷ 4,800 = about Rs 701 per bird
The cost per kg is your break-even rate. In this example, any sale above Rs 350 per kg live is profit and any sale below it is loss.
What the same batch earns at different rates
Live rates in Pakistan go up and down fast, sometimes by a large amount in a week. Here is the same example batch at three example rates:
| Example rate per kg live | Sale value (Rs) | Profit or loss (Rs) | Per bird placed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rs 330 | 3,168,000 | loss 196,000 | loss Rs 39 |
| Rs 400 | 3,840,000 | profit 476,000 | profit Rs 95 |
| Rs 450 | 4,320,000 | profit 956,000 | profit Rs 191 |
Same birds, same work, very different result. You cannot control the rate, but you can control your cost per kg, which decides how bad a low rate hurts.
The numbers that move profit most
FCR
If FCR goes from 1.6 to 1.7 on the same 9,600 kg, the birds eat 960 kg more feed. At the example Rs 150 per kg that is Rs 144,000 gone. Feeder height, wastage, wet feed, cold nights and disease all push FCR up. Read more in our FCR guide and check your own batch with the FCR calculator.
Mortality
If deaths go from 4% to 8%, you sell 200 fewer birds. At 2 kg each and an example Rs 400 per kg, that is Rs 160,000 less sale, and those birds also ate feed before they died. Deaths late in the batch cost the most, because the bird has eaten almost all its feed.
Sale rate and weight
A change of Rs 10 per kg on 9,600 kg is Rs 96,000. Weight lost on the truck and a poor kanta reading also come straight out of profit. Our guide on selling broilers, rates and weighing covers how to protect your weight.
Feed bought on credit
Many farmers buy feed on udhaar and pay after sale. If the credit price is Rs 200 per bag higher than cash, 307 bags cost Rs 61,400 extra. That is real money hidden in the price. See feed dealer credit.
Costs farmers often forget
- Shed rent or your own shed's value, and repairs between batches
- Family labour: if your son runs the shed, his time has a value
- Dead chicks on arrival that the hatchery did not replace
- Feed left over at the end: count it, or your FCR and cost look worse than they are
- Gas and diesel during load-shedding, which can be large in a hot summer or a cold winter
- Interest or extra price paid for credit
If you leave these out, your profit looks better on paper than in your pocket.
A simple routine for every batch
- Write the chick price and count on day one.
- Write every feed bag delivered, with rate, and every expense, the same day.
- Weigh a sample of birds every week.
- Before sale, work out your cost per kg so far and add the feed still to be eaten.
- After sale, work out final cost per kg, profit per bird placed, FCR and mortality.
- Compare with your last batch of the same season.
If you write costs and sales in Poultry Curve as you go, it shows cost per kg and profit for each batch, so step 5 is already done when the truck leaves. You can also try your own numbers in the free profit calculator.
The short version
Feed and chicks are most of your cost. Know your cost per kg before you sell, because that is your break-even rate. Then work on the three levers that move real money: FCR, mortality and the rate and weight you get on sale day.