Short answer: The cheapest feed is the feed that turns into weight, so a cut only counts if the birds still grow at the same rate. Keep a ledger of feed used per kilo of live weight gained, change one lever at a time, and sell at the weight where another week costs more than it adds. Check today's market before you decide which cuts are worth testing.
Key takeaways
- Track feed per kilo of weight gained each week, not feed per bag.
- Pull one lever at a time, and only on a house you can compare against a control.
- Waste, feeder height and storage losses are safe cuts. Protein, premix and water are not.
- The last week of a batch can cost more in feed than it returns in weight, so watch the ledger.
- Heat and dust cut intake quietly, and a cheap bag that the birds leave uneaten is not a saving.
Growth is the product you are selling
A cheaper bag that leaves each bird a little lighter on sale day has not saved you anything. It has moved the cost from the feed sheet to the sales sheet, where it is harder to see and easier to blame on the buyer.
So the question for any cut is not whether it lowers the feed bill. The question is whether the birds still gain weight at the same rate, and whether they reach the sale weight on the same day. A cut that passes both tests is a real saving. A cut that fails either one is an expensive habit.
Keep a feed-per-kilo ledger, not a feed-per-bag ledger
Most farms track how many bags went into the store. That tells you how much was bought, not how well it was used. The number that tells you whether the feed is working is feed per kilo of live weight gained. Work it out each week for each house.
To do it, write the feed used in the week, in kilos, and weigh a sample of birds at the start and end of the week. Multiply the average gain per bird by the birds alive, then divide feed used by total gain. The example below uses a house of 240 birds with no deaths, so you can follow the arithmetic.
| Week | Feed used (kg) | Average gain per bird (kg) | Total gain (kg) | Feed per kg gained |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 108 | 0.35 | 84 | 1.29 |
| 5 | 199 | 0.55 | 132 | 1.51 |
| 6 | 252 | 0.60 | 144 | 1.75 |
Read the trend, not the single week. The figure rises as birds age, so you are looking for a rise that is faster than the age alone explains. Compare the gains with a benchmark such as our broiler weight chart by week. If you changed the ration in week five and week six shows a jump, you have a lead to follow up. Our guide to broiler feed conversion ratio explains the benchmark numbers in more detail.
Which levers are safe to pull, and which are not
Not every cost is worth the same attention. Some are waste, and waste can be cut with no effect on the birds. Others are the nutrition the birds need, and touching them is how growth disappears. Sort your levers into three groups before you change anything.
| Lever | Safe to cut? | How to test it |
|---|---|---|
| Spillage under feeders and in the store | Yes, always | Sweep test and a monthly store count |
| Feeder height and pan depth | Yes, adjust with growth | Watch the floor and the crop fill at the end of day |
| Protein and energy below the formula | No | Check the bag specification against the mill's sheet |
| Premix, vitamins and minerals | Not without the mill's advice | Ask the mill to confirm the cut is safe for each age |
| Water supply and drinker access | No | Count drinkers and check flow each morning |
| Cheaper lot of the same ingredient | Maybe, if quality matches | Compare a sorted sample and run a small house trial |
The middle group is where most of the mistakes happen. A premix cut looks like a saving on the invoice and shows up weeks later as slow feathering, flat growth or a lower egg count. Ask the mill before you touch it, every time. For the spillage line, our article on reducing feed wastage shows where the leaks usually sit.
The last week can cost more than it earns
In a broiler batch, growth per week slows as birds get older, while the feed they eat keeps climbing. Somewhere in the final weeks, another week in the house adds less saleable weight than it costs in feed, house time and labour. That point is the most overlooked saving on most farms, because nobody measures it.
Test it with your ledger. Compare the extra weight you expect to gain in the next week with the feed that week will take, then price both. The extra kilos are worth the price you get per kilo at sale. The feed is worth the price you pay per kilo, multiplied by the kilos eaten. Add the house and labour for that week. If the kilos are worth less than the total, sell earlier, provided the buyer will take the lighter birds at the price you agreed.
The live and dressed prices on our list are 110 and 120 cedis for a broiler, which gives a rough sense of what a kilo of meat brings. Your own price per kilo, from your own buyers, is the figure to use.
Cuts that protect growth while they save money
There are savings that leave the birds alone. Most of them are about timing, not composition. Change to the next phase when the birds are ready for it, not on the calendar date in your head. Keep the feeders topped up but not overflowing, so the birds eat steadily through the day without tipping feed onto the floor. Buy ingredients in the harvest window if your store can keep them dry, and test every new lot in one house before it goes everywhere.
Our article on phase feeding sets out how the grower and finisher steps fit together. Use it to check the timing on your own farm before you decide the switch is early or late.
Heat and dust cut intake without anyone noticing
A bird that eats less in a hot house grows less, and it does so quietly. The bag level goes down more slowly than you expect, and you think the flock is doing well on less feed. It is not. It is simply hot. In the dry season the harmattan brings fine dust into the house in December and January, and that dust can irritate the airways and reduce how much the birds want to eat.
Check the house at midday, not at dawn. Look at how the birds are standing, whether they are panting with open beaks, and whether they are crowding the drinkers. If the house is hot, improve airflow first, then the drinker supply, and only after that consider the ration. Our guide on feeding poultry in hot weather covers the adjustments in more detail.
The cuts that cost you chicks later
Some savings do not show up on the feed sheet at all. They show up in mortality, in condemned birds at the buyer, or in a batch that never reaches weight. The three most common are overcrowding to get more birds into the same house, cutting litter management so the bedding goes damp, and skipping the vaccine or medicine that the vet has scheduled.
Overcrowding is the one to watch closely. A house with more birds than it can carry gives more bird weight on paper, but the birds grow less evenly, pick at each other and wet the litter. Our article on broiler stocking density explains how to set the number for your house. Follow your vet's schedule for any vaccine or treatment, because that is not a cost you should try to cut.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Run a four-week trial, not a gut decision
When you have a cut in mind, set up a trial that a neighbour could check. Use two houses of similar birds, the same breed, the same age and the same drinkers. Keep one house on the current ration and move the other to the change. Record the ledger for both houses every week for four weeks. Make the decision at the end of the trial, not halfway through.
- Choose one change and write down exactly what it is.
- Pick two houses that match in breed, age and drinker supply.
- Record feed used and average weight in both houses every week.
- Work out feed per kilo gained for each house at the end of each week.
- Decide at week four: keep, reverse, or repeat with a smaller change.
Mistakes that look like savings on paper
The first mistake is to cut premix on the grounds that the birds are eating well. The second is to feed a grower ration to layers because it is cheaper, and then wonder why the lay falls. The third is to keep birds in the house past the point where they are earning their feed, out of hope. The fourth is to change three things in one week and then credit whichever result you like best.
A fifth, and the one we see most often, is to judge a cut by the feed bill alone. The bill goes down, the birds gain less, and the saving was never real. Judge every change by the ledger and by the sale weight, and you will not fall for that.
A monthly review that takes less than an hour
Set one hour a month aside for the review. Do it in the store, with the ledger in front of you and the birds in view through the door.
- Feed per kilo gained for each house, for each week of the month.
- Any week where the figure rose faster than the age explains.
- Spillage count and any store losses, with photos if the damage is clear.
- Any ration or supplier change, and the trial result it produced.
- The sale weight planned for the next batch, and the cost of one more week.
If the review shows a trend you cannot explain, bring the ledger to your vet or to your feed supplier. A clear record makes the advice faster and cheaper, because the first question will already be answered.
Setting up the next batch with the ledger in hand
The ledger does its best work before the next batch arrives. Use last cycle's figures to choose the breed, the sale weight and the number of birds to place. If your ledger says feed per kilo climbed early, look at the chick quality, the brooding and the first two weeks before you blame the ration. If it climbed late, look at market age and the last week.
Before you restock, send the breed and number you are considering to us on WhatsApp at +233 24 915 1503. Fast-programme details are on our broiler day-old chicks page, and the order form is there once the numbers are settled. Our page on the breeds we hatch shows which birds suit a slower, cheaper growing programme and which suit a fast one.
Questions farmers ask
How do I work out feed per kilo of growth on my farm?
Add up the feed used in a week, in kilos, for one house. Weigh a sample of birds at the start and end of the week, then multiply the average gain per bird by the birds alive to get the total gain. Divide the feed used by the total gain. Do this every week, for each house, and keep the sheet with the batch record.
Can I cut protein a little to save money on feed?
Not without a formula from your mill that confirms the change is safe for the age and the breed. Lower protein usually slows growth and feathering, and the saving is lost in extra weeks in the house. Ask your supplier for the specification of any feed you buy, and compare it with what you intend to feed.
Does the ledger tell me when to sell my birds?
It helps. Compare the extra weight you expect in the next week with the feed that week will take, and add the house and labour cost. If the extra kilos are worth less than that total, selling earlier is the better choice, as long as the buyer will take the lighter birds at the agreed price.
Why did my feed per kilo go up in the hot season?
Heat and dust reduce how much birds want to eat, and that can change the ratio in ways that look like a ration problem. Check the house at midday, look for panting and crowding, and improve airflow and drinker supply before changing the feed. If the figure stays high, review the ration with your mill.
Is it safe to cut vaccines or medicines to save money?
No. Keep to the schedule your vet has set. A missed vaccine can cost far more than the feed you saved, and a disease outbreak can wipe out a batch in days. If the cost is a problem, talk to your vet about the programme, rather than skipping doses yourself.
How long should I run a trial before I decide?
Four weeks is a practical minimum for a broiler trial, with two houses that match in breed, age and drinker supply. Record feed and weight every week, then decide at the end. Stopping after one good week tells you very little, and stopping after one bad week can throw out a change that would have worked.
