Economic Analysis Of Small Scale Poultry Production In Zaria, Kaduna State (Case Study Of Shika Brown Layers)

The study examines the production of Shika Brown commercial layers from day old to full cycle layer production (0-72weeks). A total of fifty (50) farmers were purposively interviewed using structured questionnaires. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, farm budgeting analysis, production and profit functions. Fixed and variable costs were estimated and deducted from gross returns to give net cash returns. The major investment includes cost of day old chicks and feeding. Feeding constitute the highest, accounting for 86% of the total variable cost of production from (0-72weeks). Sales of egg constitute the highest returns accounting for about 90% of the total returns from a full cycle production. The profit function shows that net revenue increases as the capital and number of birds increases. The returns to naira invested per bird was found to be 1.00, total cost of production equals 1831.09 while the net income was 1997.33 . Keywords: Small-scale Poultry production; Shika BrownJOAFSS Vol. 4 (1) 2006: pp. 37-4