Hi Hive,
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Just a few weeks ago, a friend of mine told who planned to restock his broiler chickens told me to make enquiries since I'm the one that usually order for his day old chicks. Everything was ready — he has already clean his pen, feeders set, and water available. He was so excited because he wanted to start another production cycle and hopefully make some profit.
But when I contacted the hatchery for the price of day-old broiler chicks, I was shocked. The price had increased again.
At that moment, I had to pause and ask myself some questions: What exactly is going on in this country? How did we get here?
But after making more inquiries, I realized something very important and that the rising cost of fuel is one of the biggest reasons why day-old chicks spike price in Nigeria.
🔥 The Hidden Truth: Fuel is the Backbone of Poultry Production
Most people don’t even realise that fuel is what keeps most of the poultry industry running.
Hatcheries depend heavily on generators because electricity in Nigeria is not stable. To maintain the temperature needed for egg incubations, these machines can run almost 24 hours a day because in the absence of constant heat, the eggs won’t properly hatch.
Now imagine the cost of running generators when fuel prices keep increasing every week.
Hatchery owners are spending more everyday just to keep their operations running smoothly. And at the end of the day, they transfer this cost to us , we the farmers by increasing the price of chicks.
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🚚 Transportation Has Become a Major Challenge
Another painful part is the transportation.
The cost of delivering the chicks to my location, it was almost unbelievabl when I checked. Transporters complained about fuel price, and there was nothing farmers could do about it.
You cannot delay day old chicks or transport them carelessly because they are very sensitive.. So, no irrespective of how high the transport cost is, farmers are forced to pay. And you will even suffer more if you are far from the hatchery companies.
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🥚 It Starts from the Breeder Farms (Eggs Production)
The problem doesn’t even start at the hatchery but it begins from the breeder farms where eggs are produced.
These farms also use fuel for:
Pumping water
Running equipment
Providing light and ventilation
The cost of producing eggs increases, as fuel becomes more expensive. This automatically affects hatcheries and eventually leads to increase of chick prices.
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📉 The Reality for Small Farmers Like Me and My Friends
Honestly, this situation is discouraging.
Instead of buying 100 chicks like my friend planned, he had to reduce the number because of the high cost. And this means:
Lower production
Smaller profit
More stress
Because poultry farming especially broiler farming is a business of numbers.
Some of the farmers I know have completely stopped production for now. Not because they don’t want to farm, but because the cost of starting is too high.
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🔄 The Chain Reaction We Can’t Escape
Fuel price increase is creating a serious chain reaction:
➡️ Fuel becomes expensive
➡️ Hatchery costs increase
➡️ Transport becomes expensive
➡️ Price of chicks rises
➡️ Cost of chicken production increases
And in the end, consumers complain that chicken is too expensive.
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🧠 What Can We Do?
As farmers, we may not have the power to control fuel prices, but we can try to adapt:
✅ Plan ahead and book day old chicks early
✅ Buy in bulk with other farmers to reduce transport cost if you have farmers around you
✅ Source from nearby hatcheries but that is if they have good past records.
✅ Manage feed and resources efficiently
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🌱 Inconclusion
The rise in fuel price is silently killing poultry farming in Nigeria and it is affecting everything, starting from hatcheries to small farmers like me.
If nothing is done, many small-scale farmers may be pushed out of poultry business because some of my friends have done so in the past.
But despite all these challenges, I still believe agriculture is the future. We just need to be smarter, more strategic, and ready to adapt to any kind of situation because no business without its flaws.
Thanks for stopping by on my blog and have a wonderful day