Poultry feed is a major input in poultry production. As it is known, poultry feed accounts for not less than 75 percent of the total cost of poultry production. Commercial poultry feeds given to poultry birds comes in different types and forms; we have the layer mash, grower mash or pellets, and finisher mash; the prices of poultry feed varies with the type of feed (finisher, grower, layers, starter feed), commercial brands producing poultry feeds (Topfeeds, Animal care feed, chikun feed, etc.) and form of the feed (mash, pellets, and crumbles). Here is the current price of commercial livestock feeds from various brands such as Top Feed, Amo, Animal Care, Vital Feeds, Chikun Feeds, Etc.
Poultry feed is a blended mixture of various feed ingredients in a specific proportion to provide nutrients to meet the nutritional demand of a particular poultry species. The quality and quantity of the feed served to chickens are the determining factors of the efficiency and utilization of the feed by the poultry species. In any poultry feed, it is important to have the following sources of nutrients present:
- Energy source: Maize, Millet, Sorghum, etc.
- Protein source: Soybean, Groundnut cake, Fishmeal, Feather meal
- Mineral source: Salt
- Energy diluent or filler: Wheat offal, Rice bran
- Vitamin source: premix
These ingredients are blended in a way that makes them palatable and able to release their nutrients for utilization by the poultry birds. The poultry birds are domesticated birds and they include chicken, turkey, duck, geese, etc. Poultry birds are the best source of protein consumed by man.
The price of poultry feed is usually influenced by several factors such as the price of feedstuffs or feed ingredients, climate and weather conditions, transportation, and power among others. The most important factor affecting the price of poultry feed in Nigeria is the price of ingredients or feedstuffs, particularly the protein source. Hence, the higher the crude protein content in a feed, the higher the price of the feed.
Understand the Poultry Feed Better
The chicken feed comes in different types in accordance with the developmental stage of the chicken. Each of these types is formulated to meet a specific need in the developmental stage of the chicken. The following are the types of chicken feed available for poultry production.
- Starter feed
- Grower feed
- Layer feed
- Finisher feed
These types of chicken feed are different in quality and not quantity. Quality in the sense that each contains the specific nutrient composition to meet a particular demand. For clarity, the starter feed is specially formulated for chickens between 0 – 4 weeks of age; this chicken feed is rich in nutrients to enhance the growth and development of the young chicken to a certain age.
The same goes for Growers which can be said to be a maintenance feed served to chicken prior to their production or harvesting stage. they are relatively low in nutrient density compared to the starter feed. If you are raising cockerel and pullets, the grower feed is what you need from 5 weeks to about 17 weeks when the pullet is about to start laying.
The layer feed is specifically for laying birds. The formulation is meant to stimulate egg production by the virtue of its formulation; it is carefully formulated because the nutrient density must not in any way add to the weight of the laying bird and at the same time it must facilitate a strong egg shell.
Lastly is the finisher feed. Finisher feed is usually given to broilers and turkeys within a relatively short period. It is heavily dense with nutrients to boost the weight of the bird prior to slaughter. Starter mash is the richest of all types of chicken feed.
The major currency of exchange in poultry feed is Crude protein (CP). The crude protein is the available protein present in the feed for uptake by livestock. The crude protein serves as a base on which other ingredients are added to make the feed suitable for meeting the bird’s nutritional demand. The starter feed is around 22 – 24 percent crude protein for broilers and turkey, the grower contains about 16 percent CP while layer feed contains 18 percent crude protein, and lastly finisher is 20 percent CP.
For a better understanding of the chicken feed, I recommend you read Chicken Feeds: Difference Between Starter, Grower, And Finisher Feeds
Commercial Feed Brands In Nigeria and Prices
There are A-lists of feed manufacturers in Nigeria, we talk of Top feed, Vital Feeds, Amo Byng Feeds, Stellar Feeds, Animal Care Feeds, Breedwell feeds, Hybrid feeds, Chikun or Ultima feeds. Each of these commercial poultry feed manufacturers produces all types of poultry feeds. Although, they appear in different forms.
In this article, I will provide the price of each type of poultry feed from notable commercial feed brands.
Top Feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Top Feed Starter Mash | 7,500 |
| Top Feed Grower | 6,200 |
| Top Feed Layers | 6,200 |
| Top Feed Finisher | 7,500 |
Hybrid Feed
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Hybrid Feed Starter | 7,500 |
| Hybrid Feed Grower | 5,850 |
| Hybrid Feed Layers | 6,150 |
| Hybrid Feed Finisher | 6,900 |
Vital Feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Vital Feed Starter | 7,300 |
| Vital Feed Grower | 5,800 |
| Vital Feed Layers | 6,100 |
| Vital Feed Finisher | 6,000 |
Cornerstone Feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Cornerstone Starter | 7,300 |
| Cornerstone Grower | 5,900 |
| Cornerstone Layers | 6,200 |
| Cornerstone Finisher | 6,600 |
Animal Care Feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Animal Care Starter | 7,500 |
| Animal Care Grower | 5,850 |
| Animal Care Layers | 6,200 |
| Animal Care Finisher | 7,000 |
Breedwell feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Breedwell feeds Starter | 9,300 |
| Breedwell feeds Grower | 6,500 |
| Breedwell feeds Layers | 6,500 |
| Breedwell feeds Finisher | 9,500 |
Chikun Feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Chikun feeds Starter Mash | 7,350 |
| Chikun feeds Grower | 6,250 |
| Chikun feeds Grower Pellets | 6,400 |
| Chikun feeds Layers | 6,250 |
| Chikun feeds Finisher | 7,650 |
New Hope Feeds
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| New Hope feeds Starter Mash | 8,200 |
| New Hope feeds Grower | 6,550 |
| New Hope feeds Layers | 6,300 |
| New Hope feeds Finisher | 7,500 |
Hendrix Feed
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Hendrix feeds Starter Mash | 8,720 |
| Hendrix feeds Broiler Grower | 8,450 |
| Hendrix feeds Layers | 7,300 |
| Hendrix feeds Broiler Finisher | 8,470 |
Turkey Feed
| Class of Poultry Feed | Price (N) |
| Turkey Finisher Feed | 8,200 |
| Turkey Starter Feed | 11,900 |
Above is the updated price list of poultry feeds in Nigeria. This list will be updated periodically when there is a significant change in the price trend. Also, it is important to note that the standard size of a bag of poultry feed is 25kg, so if you are buying any of the above feed, you are buying 25kg.
Your Chicken is not Growing Well, why?
Well, it is possible you experience poor performance in your birds, issues like the broiler chicken are not gaining adequate weight but they eat, or your layers are not laying well or laying small eggs. These are issues poultry farmers are fast to conclude the feed is bad. Well, there are ways to do it.
If your laying bird is not laying well or the eggs are small in size, you may want to change your feed from one brand to another. It is safe to question the integrity of the feed served since the feed is what stimulates egg production, however, there are other feeding management practices you need to look into.
Firstly, check the water intake of the birds. Water is the most important nutrient yet the most neglected nutrient in poultry feeding. Probably because it is the cheapest that is why it is often neglected. Water must be available at all times. If you use a nipple drinker, ensure the nipples are delivering water always.
Also, you need to understand the weather dynamics. Heat stress can greatly affect the performance of both broilers and layers negatively. Ensure your poultry house is well ventilated and regulate the temperature of the drinking water to send the birds are taking cool water always.
Lastly, your medication schedule must be religiously followed. Deworm regularly and treat infections as best as possible. A regular serving of oral multivitamins can greatly help to boost feed intake in chickens.
If you have checked all the aforementioned considerations and none is faulty, then you can consider changing your feed from one brand to another. When poultry feed is considered not good enough, the following may be the reason.
- Nutrient imbalance: This simply means the supposed nutrient is not adequate, hence, the quality of the feed is reduced.
- Wrong formulation: If a feed is poorly formulated, the feed will not serve its intended purpose.
- Adulterated ingredients: Poor quality ingredients, such as weevil-infested maize have their nutrient composition altered, hence, its expected composition is affected.
- Expired ingredients: Micro ingredients such as premixes have an expiry period. These ingredients are less effective after the expiry period.
- Poor storage: When feed is poorly stored, there is a high chance of water permeation which will cause the feed to cake and eventually reduce the quality of the feed.
Feed and feeding of poultry is a very crucial aspects of poultry production. You should ensure you buy your feed from a reputable source always and if you have difficulty selecting a good feed for your birds, you can contact us at [email protected] or send a chat via +2348082681730.