Production Performance and Economic Appraisal of Broiler Farms in Anand District of Gujarat

The production performance of different sizes of broiler farms has been studied by collecting data from 60 broiler producers of Anand district during 2005. To examine production performance, the average feed conversion ratio, livability percentage, average body weight and age at marketing have been worked out. Though broiler production is capital-intensive, it has been found profitable. The average cost of production per broiler has been found to be ` 64 and per kilogram live weight of broiler as ` 32. The variable cost and fixed cost constitute 84.5 per cent and 15.5 per cent of total cost, respectively. The major cost components have been found as feed cost (58.6%), chick cost (21.5%) and depreciation on buildings (10.7%). The net profit per broiler as well as per kilogram body weight has been found as ` 7.20 and ` 3.59, respectively for the sample as a whole. The benefit-cost ratio has worked out to be 1.11 for the sample as a whole and it increases with increase in farm-size, indicating that as farm-size increases, the net margin over the rupee invested on broilers also increases. The break-even analysis has revealed that the producers have to maintain minimum of 1531, 2611 and 10437 broilers, respectively on small, medium and large farms to meet the cost incurred in production of broilers