- ✓Know the six types of chicks and who they suit
- ✓Understand the difference between a short cycle (white broiler) and a long cycle (layer)
- ✓Choose your production from three simple questions: my market, my money, my time
A chick is a trade
In Côte d’Ivoire, many entrepreneurs go into poultry farming with a house and money, but without having chosen their trade. They take “some chicks”, then discover that the white broiler demands a buyer ready on the day, or that the layer requires months of feed before the first egg. The choice of production decides almost everything that follows: the house, the equipment, the feed, the staff, the cash flow.
There are six types of chicks at NEXTEKCI. They fall into three families: short-cycle broilers, medium-cycle coloured broilers, and long-cycle layers. The white cockerel is an economical way in.
The six types, in plain terms
| Type | For which trade | Time before sale | Point to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| White broiler | Commercial broiler, short and regular flocks | About 35 to 45 days | Demands a ready buyer, a complete feed and a well-run house: every day of delay costs feed |
| Premium red broiler | Hardy coloured chicken, often called “red chicken” | About 3 to 4 months | Copes better with heat, is sold at the time the farmer chooses, firm meat that is appreciated |
| Premium barred grey | Dark coloured chicken, very hardy | About 3 to 4 months | Suited to semi-free-range and simple houses |
| Premium hybrid | Red, barred grey or mixed-colour cross | About 3 to 4 months | A balance between growth and hardiness |
| White cockerel | Males of a layer breed, an economical option to start with | Depending on the target market | Lighter weight than a broiler: aim for the right customer |
| Brown layer | Egg production | First egg at around 18 to 20 weeks, then about a year of lay | A long investment: several months of feed before the first income |
A detail that matters: the brown layer is vaccinated against Marek’s disease at the hatchery (certificate on request). The other chicks receive no vaccine at the hatchery: their vaccination is done on the farm, following the protocol of your local veterinarian. We will come back to this in level 3.
Short cycle or long cycle: two ways of earning a living
The white broiler is a machine for turning feed into meat in six weeks. It is the fastest trade, but the most demanding: it needs an equipped house, a complete feed in three phases, daily supervision, and above all a customer ready to buy on the right day. Past the sale weight, the bird keeps eating and the margin melts away. The entrepreneur who chooses the white broiler chooses a market first.
Coloured chickens (red, barred grey, hybrid) are heavier, hardier birds, reared for three to four months. They cope better with heat and simple houses, and the farmer can sell when it suits them: before a festival, at the market, to a restaurant. It is the most flexible trade, the one that best forgives a beginner’s mistake.
The layer is a long-term investment: you feed a pullet for four to five months without any income, then she lays for about a year. The income is then regular, almost daily, but the start requires solid cash flow and precise management (light, feed, calm). You do not start layers with money borrowed short term.
The three questions that decide
- My market: who will I sell to, when, and in what form (live, slaughtered, eggs)? If the answer is vague, the white broiler is risky. If I have a regular buyer (reseller, restaurant, slaughterhouse), the white broiler becomes attractive.
- My money: how much can I put up without income for 6 weeks (white broiler), 4 months (coloured) or 5 months (layer)? Feed is the largest share of a flock’s expenses, well ahead of the chick.
- My time and my team: who will be in the house morning and evening? A trained technician? Myself? The white broiler does not forgive a night without supervision in the first week.
Many successful entrepreneurs started with a flock of coloured chickens or cockerels to learn the trade with limited risk, then moved on to white broilers or layers once the market and the team were in place. This is not a step backwards: it is a method.
And the prices?
Chick prices change with the seasons and demand (end-of-year festivities, Easter, Tabaski). In this School, we never give a fixed price: you ask for the price of the day on WhatsApp at +225 07 07 72 78 67, and you do your calculations with that figure, as we will do in lesson 5.
For the entrepreneur
- ›Write down your market before writing your order: the buyer’s name, the quantity they take, how often, at what weight.
- ›Count the money for feed over the whole cycle, not just the money for the chicks.
- ›For a first flock, prefer a forgiving trade: coloured chickens or cockerels, 200 to 500 birds.
For the technician
- ›Before the chicks arrive, ask the entrepreneur for the exact type ordered: brooding temperature, stocking density and feed are not the same for a white broiler and for a layer.
- ›Write the hatch date and the type on the house record sheet: it is the starting point for all age and weight calculations.
The 3 questions to ask your technician this week
- Which type of chick is arriving, and which starter feed do we already have in stock?
- If it is white broilers, on what date do we plan to sell, and is the buyer confirmed?
- How many birds can the house hold at sale age, not just at brooding?
Key points
- •Six types of chicks = three trades: short-cycle broiler, medium-cycle coloured, long-cycle layer.
- •The white broiler demands a buyer ready on the day; the coloured chicken is sold when the farmer decides.
- •The layer requires several months of feed before the first income.
- •You choose with three questions: my market, my money, my time.
- •Prices are asked for on the day; you never calculate with an old price.