02/09/2026
🐔 RAISING 100 BROILERS PROFITABLY: THE COMPLETE 6–8 WEEK GUIDE
Thinking of starting broiler farming with just 100 birds?
Don’t start by buying chicks.
Start with a plan. 👇
Raising 100 broilers can be profitable, but your results will depend on four things:
🐣 Quality chicks
🌾 Good feed
🏠 Proper management
💰 A ready market
Here is a practical guide for beginners:
🐣 1. PREPARE BEFORE THE CHICKS ARRIVE
Have everything ready BEFORE buying your chicks:
✅ Clean brooder
✅ Proper ventilation
✅ Feeders & drinkers
✅ Clean water
✅ Broiler starter feed
✅ Wood shavings/rice husks
✅ Reliable heat source
✅ Vaccination/health plan
✅ Market for your finished birds
Never buy chicks first and start preparing afterward.
🏠 2. HOUSING FOR 100 BROILERS
The poultry house should be:
✔️ Dry
✔️ Clean
✔️ Well ventilated
✔️ Free from drafts
✔️ Easy to disinfect
✔️ Protected from predators
✔️ Not overcrowded
During brooding, keep chicks in a manageable area where temperature and access to feed and water can be controlled.
As they grow, gradually provide more space.
🔥 3. BROODING: DAY 1–21
The first three weeks are critical.
Start around 32–35°C at chick level and gradually reduce the temperature as the chicks grow and feather.
Watch the chicks—not just the thermometer.
🥶 Huddling under the heat?
They are probably cold.
🥵 Moving away from the heat and panting?
They are probably too hot.
🐥 Evenly spread, active and feeding?
That's what you want.
Give chicks clean water and easily accessible starter feed from the beginning.
💡 4. LIGHTING
Young chicks need sufficient light to find feed and water.
However, broilers don't need continuous 24-hour lighting throughout the entire cycle.
A proper lighting program should provide enough light for feeding while also allowing a daily period of darkness for rest.
🌾 5. BROILER FEEDING PROGRAM
A simple feeding program is:
🐣 STARTER: Day 1–14/21
🐔 GROWER: Approximately Week 3–5
🐓 FINISHER: Approximately Week 5–7/8
Follow the recommendations on your particular feed because formulations and feeding programs can vary.
📦 6. HOW MUCH FEED FOR 100 BROILERS?
This is one of the most important numbers in broiler farming.
Feed consumption varies according to breed, feed quality, temperature, health and management.
As a rough planning figure:
1 bird ≈ 3.5–4 kg feed
Therefore:
100 birds × 3.5–4 kg = 350–400 kg feed
If using 25 kg bags:
350 ÷ 25 = 14 bags
400 ÷ 25 = 16 bags
👉 Budget approximately 14–16 bags of 25 kg, while monitoring actual consumption and allowing for some wastage.
Never assume your flock will consume exactly the same amount.
💧 7. WATER IS CRITICAL
Broilers can drink roughly 2–3 litres of water for every kilogram of feed, and water consumption can increase considerably during hot weather.
Always provide:
✅ Clean water
✅ Enough drinkers
✅ Shade
✅ Good ventilation
✅ Fresh water throughout the day
No water = reduced feed intake = reduced growth.
🦠 8. HEALTH & BIOSECURITY
Prevention is cheaper than treatment.
Before chicks arrive:
CLEAN → WASH → DISINFECT → DRY → PREPARE
During production:
🚫 Limit unnecessary visitors
🧼 Keep equipment clean
👢 Maintain proper biosecurity
🐀 Control rodents
🐦 Keep wild birds away
☠️ Remove dead birds promptly
🐔 Don't mix different age groups
Follow the vaccination program recommended by your hatchery or veterinarian.
⚖️ 9. WEIGH YOUR BIRDS EVERY WEEK
Don't wait until selling day to discover your birds are underweight.
Every week record:
📌 Average bird weight
📌 Feed consumed
📌 Number of birds alive
📌 Mortality
📌 Expenses
If growth is poor, investigate immediately.
Possible causes include:
❌ Poor feed
❌ Disease
❌ Heat stress
❌ Poor ventilation
❌ Insufficient water
❌ Overcrowding
❌ Poor chick quality
💰 10. WHEN SHOULD YOU SELL?
Don't automatically keep broilers until 8 weeks.
Sell according to your target market weight and economics.
If customers want 2–2.5 kg birds, keeping them much longer may increase feed costs without giving you enough extra profit.
The question isn't:
"How big can I make the chicken?"
The better question is:
"At what point does keeping the chicken longer stop being profitable?"
📊 11. EXAMPLE: 100 BROILERS
Let's assume:
🐣 Chicks purchased = 100
Mortality = 5%
Birds sold = 95
Average selling weight = 2.3 kg
Total live weight:
95 × 2.3 = 218.5 kg
If your selling price is KSh 400/kg:
218.5 × 400 = KSh 87,400
That's your revenue—not profit.
From this amount, you still have to deduct:
🌾 Feed
🐣 Chicks
💊 Health costs
🔥 Heating
🪵 Bedding
💧 Water
💡 Electricity
👨🌾 Labour
🚚 Transport
📦 Other expenses
🧮 12. KNOW YOUR COST PER BIRD
This is where serious farmers separate themselves from casual farmers.
Total production cost ÷ Number of birds sold = Cost per bird
For example:
If your total cost is KSh 70,000
And you sell 95 birds:
70,000 ÷ 95 = KSh 737 per bird
If each bird sells for KSh 920:
920 – 737 = KSh 183 gross margin per bird
95 × 183 = KSh 17,385 gross margin
Your actual figures will depend on your local prices and farm performance.
🔥 13. HOW TO INCREASE YOUR PROFIT
Don't only focus on increasing the number of chickens.
Focus on increasing profit per chicken.
Reduce:
❌ Feed wastage
❌ Mortality
❌ Disease
❌ Poor-quality chicks
❌ Unnecessary costs
❌ Late selling
❌ Transport expenses
Improve:
✅ Feed conversion
✅ Growth rate
✅ Biosecurity
✅ Record keeping
✅ Market price
✅ Direct selling
🐔 THE GOLDEN RULE OF BROILER FARMING
KNOW YOUR MARKET BEFORE YOU BUY YOUR CHICKS.
Ask yourself:
👉 Who will buy my 100 chickens?
Restaurants?
Hotels?
Butcheries?
Wholesalers?
Events?
Neighbours?
Direct consumers?
A chicken that grows well but has no buyer is not yet a profitable business.
🏆 FINAL LESSON
Starting with 100 broilers is manageable.
But don't think:
❌ 100 chickens = profit
Think:
✅ Efficient production + controlled costs + good market = profit
Start with 100.
Learn your numbers.
Control your costs.
Build your market.
Then scale:
🐔 100 → 300 → 500 → 1,000
Build the system before you build the flock.
📌 SAVE THIS POST if you're planning to start broiler farming.
💬 How many broilers are you currently keeping—100, 500, 1,000 or more?
