Short answer: In a poultry outgrower scheme, a company supplies chicks, feed and sometimes vaccines, and a farmer raises the birds and is paid a fee or a share of the sale price. It gives a small farm a ready market and cheaper inputs, but the farmer carries the labour, the housing and most of the mortality risk. Read the payment formula, the mortality clause and the exit terms before you sign anything.
Key takeaways
- An outgrower scheme pays for growing birds, so your income depends on how well you raise each batch, not only on how many you raise.
- Ask for the payment formula in writing, with a worked example, before the first chick arrives.
- Mortality, weight and feed conversion are the three numbers that decide whether the scheme pays you.
- Check who carries the loss when birds die from disease that the company's own chicks or feed may have caused.
- Keep your own records, because a dispute is easier to win with a dated batch sheet than with memory.
What an outgrower scheme is, in plain words
An outgrower is a farmer who raises birds on someone else's inputs. The company, which we will call the integrator, brings the chicks, the feed and often the vaccines and the veterinary advice. The farmer brings the house, the labour, the water, the electricity and the litter. When the birds are ready, the integrator collects them and pays the farmer according to an agreed formula.
Farmers who call us about these schemes usually have one question on their mind: is the company taking the risk, or am I? The honest answer is that the risk is shared unevenly. The integrator takes the market risk, meaning it finds buyers and absorbs price swings in the sale. The farmer takes the production risk, meaning the birds have to live, grow and reach weight in a house the farmer built and manages.
That split can work well for a farmer with a good house and steady hands. It can go badly for a farmer who was promised a fixed income and finds that the formula depends on feed conversion and mortality in ways nobody explained.
How the money is paid: fees, shares and formulas
Outgrower payments come in a few common forms, and each one moves the risk in a different direction.
- A flat fee per bird or per cycle. You are paid for housing and labour, whatever the bird weighs. This is the most predictable income, but the integrator may be less careful about the quality of the chicks it gives you.
- A fee that depends on performance. You are paid a base fee, plus or minus an adjustment for mortality, weight gain and feed conversion. This rewards good management, and it is where most disputes start.
- A share of the sale. You receive a percentage of what the birds sell for. This ties your income to the market, which can be good in festive months and poor in the rains.
Whatever the form, the formula is the contract. A scheme that says "fair payment based on performance" without a worked formula is asking you to trust a number you cannot check. Ask for a sheet that shows, step by step, how a batch of a given size and weight becomes a payment.
A worked example with 2,000 birds
The figures below are an example only, built to show how the formula works. They are not terms from any real scheme, and they are not Halaal Farms' own figures. Use your own numbers in your own negotiations.
Imagine a performance-based contract for 2,000 broilers per cycle. The integrator supplies the chicks, and the chick price is set at 20 cedis each, the starting price we list for Ross 308 at the time of writing, which is confirmed at order. That is 40,000 cedis of chicks that the company has put in, and it is the first number to check against the market before you accept any deal.
The farmer's base fee is 3.50 cedis per bird placed. The performance bonus is 0.50 cedis for each percentage point that mortality stays below 5 per cent, and the same amount is deducted for each point above it. If the flock ends at 4 per cent mortality, the farmer receives the base fee plus a bonus of 0.50 cedis on every bird placed. If the flock ends at 8 per cent, the deduction is 1.50 cedis per bird. The example shows why mortality is the number to watch: a few percentage points move the payment more than a month of extra feed would.
| Scenario (example) | Mortality | Adjustment per bird (GH₵) | Fee per bird (GH₵) | Total on 2,000 birds (GH₵) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strong batch | 3% | +1.00 | 4.50 | 9,000 |
| On target | 5% | 0.00 | 3.50 | 7,000 |
| Weak batch | 8% | -1.50 | 2.00 | 4,000 |
| Bad batch | 12% | -3.50 | 0.00 | 0 |
Look at the last row. In this example a bad batch pays nothing, even though the farmer still paid for the labour, the water and the electricity. That is a clause you must read twice. Some schemes cap the deduction, some do not, and some pay a minimum regardless of performance. Find out which one you are being offered.
What a farmer gains from an outgrower deal
The strongest benefit is the market. Many small farms struggle less with raising birds than with finding a buyer every six weeks. An outgrower scheme removes that problem, because the integrator has already sold the birds before they hatch, or at least has a standing buyer for them.
The second benefit is inputs. Bulk buying lets a company offer chicks and feed at a price a single small farm cannot match. Some schemes also bring a vet visit schedule, a vaccination programme and record templates, which saves a beginner from learning every lesson the hard way.
The third benefit is credit. Some integrators advance chicks and feed and recover the cost from the final payment. That can open a door for a farmer who has a house and labour but not the cash for a full cycle. The catch is that the debt is real, and it comes off the top of your payment whether the batch goes well or badly.
What a farmer risks, and where it gets ugly
The risks are not hidden, but they are easy to skim past when the first contract looks generous. Four come up again and again in the calls we take.
- Disease that starts with the inputs. If chicks arrive weak or feed is contaminated, the farmer pays for losses caused elsewhere. Ask who pays for a post-mortem and who decides the cause.
- Late payment. A farmer who has bought feed on credit cannot wait three months for a cheque. Agree the payment date and the penalty for late payment in writing.
- Changing terms. A formula changed after the chicks are placed is a common complaint. Insist that changes are made in writing and signed before the next placement.
- Exclusivity. Some contracts stop you from selling birds to anyone else, or from buying chicks elsewhere. That can trap you in a poor deal for years.
When a scheme goes wrong, it usually goes wrong slowly. The farmer keeps raising birds because the next batch might be better, while the debt grows. We would rather a farmer walked away after one cycle than stayed in a contract that makes money only for the company.
The clauses to read before you sign
A contract is a set of promises, and each promise needs a number, a date or a named person behind it. Before you sign, look for these clauses and confirm each one is written down.
- The chick quality standard, including what counts as a dead-on-arrival bird and how it is replaced.
- The payment formula, with a worked example that uses real batch figures.
- The mortality cap and whether deductions are capped.
- Who owns the birds, the feed in the store and the litter at the end of the cycle.
- Who arranges collection, weighing, and what happens if the buyer does not come on the agreed day.
- The termination clause, the notice period and the amount owed on either side at exit.
- How disputes are settled, and whether you have a route that does not require a lawyer in Accra.
Questions to ask the company before the first chick
You are interviewing the company as much as it is interviewing you. A good integrator will answer these questions plainly, and a poor one will change the subject.
- How many farmers have you placed batches with in the last two years, and how many are still active?
- What is the average mortality across your farms, and what counts as a bad batch?
- When was the last time you changed the payment formula, and why?
- Can I visit a farm you already work with, without a company representative in the room?
- Who is my vet, and who pays for the visits?
If the answer to the third question is "never", ask the fourth question twice. Visits by appointment are normal in our own work too, and a company with nothing to hide will set one up.
Scheme or independent farm: how to choose
A scheme suits a farmer who has a good house, steady time and a need for a buyer more than a need for control. An independent farm suits someone who wants to make every decision and can carry the market risk.
Most farmers we speak to are somewhere in the middle. They want a buyer, but they also want to know their own numbers. The safest route is often a trial: one cycle, one house, one written formula, and a review afterwards. If the numbers look good on paper and in the batch sheet, you can expand. If they do not, you have lost one cycle, not a whole year.
If you are weighing a scheme against selling to traders, our selling guide lays out the other buyer types. For a worked view of whether the numbers justify the house, see our profitability article.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Keep your own records, whatever the contract says
A dispute is decided on paper. Keep a dated record for every batch: the chick count on arrival, a photo of the boxes, feed delivered and feed used, deaths by day, the weight at each weigh-in and the final weight at collection. Keep copies of every message that changes a price or a date.
Our own batch record is built the same way. It tells you how many chicks left the hatchery and what was vaccinated, so when a dispute starts, you have a fixed starting point. A farmer who can show a clean sheet is in a stronger position than one who says "the birds were fine last month".
Our record keeping article has a simple sheet you can start with, and the broiler weight chart gives you the weights to aim for at each week, so you can check the company's weigh-in against your own.
When to walk away
Walk away if the company will not put the payment formula in writing, if it asks you to build a house to its design and then refuses to explain the mortality clause, or if it pressures you to sign before you have shown the contract to someone you trust. Walk away if the chicks in the first placement are visibly weak, and if the first payment is late without a reason.
Walking away does not mean you have failed. It means you have bought information cheaply, which is the best thing a first cycle can give you.
Checklist before you sign
- Get the payment formula in writing, with a worked example on your own batch size.
- Confirm the chick price, the feed price and whether they are deducted from your payment.
- Check the mortality cap and the deduction limits.
- Read the exclusivity, termination and dispute clauses twice.
- Visit a working farm of the company without a representative present.
- Agree the payment date and the penalty for late payment.
- Keep a dated batch record from the first chick.
- Show the contract to an adviser you trust before you sign.
Our view, and what to do next
We think outgrower schemes can help a good farmer grow, provided the farmer understands the formula better than the company does. The farmers who get hurt are usually the ones who signed on trust and kept no records of their own.
If you are thinking about starting, get a quote for your first batch and use it as a baseline. Call or WhatsApp us on +233 24 915 1503 to talk through chick numbers, or place an order through the order form once you have the house ready. Our broiler chicks are sold in boxes of 50, and the delivery page explains how chicks reach every region. If you are looking at layers as well, our layer chicks page covers the other side of the business.
Questions farmers ask
What is an outgrower poultry scheme?
It is an arrangement where a company supplies chicks, feed and often vaccines, and a farmer raises the birds in their own house. The farmer is paid a fee or a share of the sale, according to a formula in the contract. The company takes the market risk, and the farmer takes most of the production risk.
Is contract farming better than selling independently?
It depends on your house, your time and your appetite for risk. A scheme gives a ready buyer and cheaper inputs, but it limits your pricing and can lock you in. Many farmers try one cycle first, keep their own records, and decide after the numbers are in.
What is a fair outgrower payment?
There is no single fair figure, because it depends on the chick and feed prices, the market and the risk you carry. A fair contract shows a worked formula, caps deductions, and pays the farmer for the work done even when a batch is weak. Compare any offer with your own cost per bird before you accept it.
What mortality rate do outgrower contracts usually allow?
Contracts set their own limits, so check the figure in yours. In our worked example, a 5 per cent mortality target is the benchmark, and each point above it reduces the fee. Ask what the company's own average mortality is across its farms, and ask for it in writing.
Who pays when birds die from disease?
This must be written into the contract. Some schemes share the loss where the cause is the chicks or feed, and others place it entirely on the farmer. Ask who arranges the post-mortem, who decides the cause, and how long a dispute can take to settle.
Can I leave an outgrower scheme?
Only if your contract allows it. Read the notice period, the amount owed on exit, and whether you must return unused feed or equipment. A clear exit clause protects you as much as the payment formula does.
What records should I keep as an outgrower?
Keep a dated record for every batch: chick count on arrival, feed delivered and used, deaths by day, weights at each weigh-in and the final collection weight. Keep copies of every message that changes a price or a date, because those records decide disputes.
