How to Start a Poultry Farm in Nigeria: A Complete Guide for Aspiring Farmers and Investors
Poultry farming in Nigeria is not just another agribusiness trend — it is a multi-billion naira industry that directly answers one of Africa’s most pressing challenges: protein deficiency. Every day, the demand for eggs and chicken meat rises, yet supply struggles to keep up. Nigeria still imports poultry products to bridge this gap, meaning there’s huge room for local farmers and investors.
But here’s the truth: poultry farming is capital-intensive and knowledge-driven. Many who rush into it without proper planning lose money, birds, and even hope. Success requires the right housing, equipment, birds, feed, and above all, professional guidance.
At Poultry Care, we’ve helped hundreds of farmers across Nigeria — from smallholder setups of 500 birds to large automated farms of 50,000 layers. Drawing from that experience, here’s a complete guide to starting a poultry farm in Nigeria the right way.
Step 1: Define Your Poultry Vision
Every successful farm starts with clarity. Ask yourself:
Are you interested in layers (egg production), broilers (meat), or a combination?
How many birds do you want to start with — 1,000? 5,000? 10,000+?
Do you have the capital to sustain the farm until breakeven? (Layers take 18–20 weeks before eggs start dropping).
💡 Tip from Poultry Care: Never start without a Bill of Quantity (BOQ). We prepare this document for all clients. It details the cost of turning a piece of land into a complete farm: pen construction, roofing, cages, water systems, boreholes, birds, feed to breakeven, staff, and more. A BOQ saves you from abandoned projects.
Step 2: Choose the Right Location
Your farm’s location will directly impact your cost, productivity, and market access. Consider:
Land size & expansion potential – don’t lock yourself in a corner.
Accessibility – roads for bringing in feed and taking out eggs or chickens.
Water – essential for birds’ survival, this is first investment you should make on your new farm land. birds can survive for days without food but not water. so, ensure that your proposed farmland has potential for sufficient high water yield and quality water.
Security & biosecurity – At Poultry care, we have biosecurity system for farmers to adopt to keep pathogens aways from your precious flock. in addition, when purchasing land, ask about the security challenges over there.
Step 3: Decide Your Housing System
The two main housing systems are:
Deep Litter System: Birds are kept on the floor with wood shavings. Lower startup cost, but labour-intensive and less hygienic.
Battery Cage System: Birds are kept in tiered cages. More expensive upfront, but more efficient, reduces feed waste, eases egg collection, and improves production.
👉 For farms above 1,000 capacity, we strongly recommend battery cages. At Poultry Care, we install non-automated, semi-automated, and fully automated cage systems, depending on your budget and long-term plan.
Step 4: Budget for Equipment & Infrastructure
Your poultry farm is only as efficient as the equipment you install. Key items include:
Battery cages (3–6 tier depending on space).
Drinkers & feeders (bell drinkers, nipple lines, trough feeders).
Manure management (manual or manure scraper systems).
Power supply (generator or solar system — a 20–30 kVA generator is usually required for automated equipment).
Water systems (overhead tanks, boreholes).
💡 Tip: Cheap equipment will cost you more in the long run. Many farmers lose millions because cages rust, collapse, or waste feed. Always invest in durable, professional-grade equipment.
Step 5: Secure Healthy Day-Old Chicks (DOCs)
This is the foundation of your farm. Poor-quality chicks = poor results, no matter how good your housing is. At Poultry Care, we screen and handpick chicks, sending out thousands across Nigeria every hatching day. Each chick is checked for vitality to give our farmers peace of mind.
Step 6: Plan Your Feed-to-Breakeven
Feed takes up 80–96% of poultry production cost. For layers, you must budget feed until they start laying (18–20 weeks). Many farmers abandon projects at week 14–16 because they underestimated feed costs.
At Poultry Care, we help farmers run feed-to-breakeven analysis so they know exactly how much is required before the farm starts generating income. This is the difference between surviving and failing.
Step 7: Staffing & Training
Even with the best housing and equipment, untrained staff can ruin your investment. A 10,000-bird automated farm may only need 3–4 trained staff, but their knowledge makes all the difference.
We don’t just build farms — we train farm workers, attach supervisors, and co-manage farms until staff are competent. This ensures the farm runs smoothly after handover.
Step 8: Think Long-Term (Cash Flow + Asset Growth)
Poultry farming is a 2-in-1 investment:
Your birds generate daily/weekly cash flow from eggs or meat.
Your land and infrastructure appreciate in value. Even drilling a borehole or installing cages increases land value.
For example, a 1,200-layer farm can generate at least ₦1 million per month in egg sales — while the land itself continues to appreciate. This is why poultry farming is one of the smartest investments in Nigeria today.
Step 9: Partner with Professionals
Poultry farming is not guesswork. Too many people lose money because they try to figure it out by trial and error. At Poultry Care, we handle everything:
Farm design & construction
Cage installation
Borehole & water systems
Sourcing of chicks
Feed-to-breakeven planning
Training & co-management
This is why our clients succeed where many fail.
Conclusion: The Time is Now
Nigeria’s poultry industry is still in its growth phase. The population is rising rapidly, but only a fraction of the demand for eggs and chicken is being met locally. In the next 10 years, this industry will be dominated by those who started early.
So the choice is simple: spend your money on short-term impressions… or invest it into a farm that guarantees steady income and long-term growth.
At Poultry Care, we don’t just build farms — we build futures. Let’s help you set up your poultry farm today, the right way.