Broiler profit calculator: margin per bird and per batch
Broiler profit is decided by four numbers: what you paid per chick, what you spent on feed, how many birds you actually sold, and the price per kilogram you achieved. This calculator puts all four together and shows the break-even price — the figure worth knowing before you agree a sale.
Calculator
The values below are the worked example. Change them to match your own farm — the results update as you type, and nothing you enter leaves your browser.
- Birds sold (birds)
- 475
- Total revenue (currency)
- 11,970,000
- Total cost (currency)
- 6,196,400
- Profit (currency)
- 5,773,600
- Profit per bird sold (currency)
- 12,155
- Break-even price (currency/kg)
- 6,212
- Feed share of cost (%)
- 67.7
Placed chicks less mortality. Every dead bird carries its feed cost with no revenue against it.
Birds sold x average weight x price per kilogram.
Chicks plus feed plus everything else. Feed is normally the largest line by a wide margin.
Revenue less cost. A negative number means the batch lost money — check feed price and mortality first.
The number to compare between batches and against other farms.
The lowest price per kilogram at which this batch does not lose money. Know it before you negotiate.
Usually 60–70%. Much lower often means a cost has been left out of the calculation.
Method, assumptions and limits
What this tool calculates
Estimates total cost, revenue, profit and break-even selling price for one broiler batch.
Who it is for
Broiler farmers deciding whether a batch is worth placing, and farmers negotiating a sale price who need to know their floor.
Inputs it needs
- Chicks placed — Day-old chicks placed in the house.
- Cost per day-old chick — Use your own local currency consistently across every field.
- Total feed used — From the broiler feed calculator, or from your own records.
- Feed price — Delivered price per kilogram, not per bag, so the maths stays consistent.
- Mortality — Percentage of placed chicks that did not reach sale.
- Average live weight at sale — Weigh a sample of at least 20 birds rather than estimating.
- Sale price — Live-weight price at the farm gate.
- Other costs — Vaccines, medication, litter, brooding fuel or power, labour, transport.
Formula
birds sold = chicks placed x (1 - mortality % / 100)revenue = birds sold x average sale weight x price per kgtotal cost = (chicks placed x chick cost) + (feed kg x feed price) + other costsprofit = revenue - total costbreak-even price per kg = total cost / (birds sold x average sale weight)
Worked example
500 chicks at 3,500 each is 1,750,000. 1,614 kg of feed at 2,600 per kilogram is 4,196,400. Add 250,000 of other costs and the batch cost 6,196,400. With 5% mortality, 475 birds are sold at 2.1 kg each — 997.5 kg. At 12,000 per kilogram that is 11,970,000 in revenue, leaving a profit of about 5,773,600, or roughly 12,155 per bird sold. The break-even price is about 6,212 per kilogram, so there is real room to negotiate before the batch stops making money.
Assumptions
- All money fields use the same currency. The calculator does no conversion.
- Birds are sold live, by weight, at the farm gate.
- Feed quantity is what you actually used, including wastage.
- Family labour is only counted if you enter it under other costs — many farms leave it out and overstate profit as a result.
Limitations
- It does not account for housing depreciation, land, or the cost of capital.
- It assumes one sale price for the whole batch. Staggered sales at different prices need a weighted average.
- It does not model dressed-weight or per-bird pricing; convert those to a per-kilogram equivalent first.
- It is not financial advice — it is arithmetic on the numbers you supply.
Why break-even price is the number that matters
Most farmers know roughly what a batch cost and roughly what it sold for. Far fewer know their break-even price per kilogram before they walk into a negotiation. That single figure changes the conversation: it tells you exactly how far you can move on price and still be ahead, and it tells you immediately when a buyer's offer is below the cost of production.
Break-even is total cost divided by total live weight sold. Note the denominator — it is weight sold, not birds placed. Mortality pushes break-even up twice over: it removes weight from the sale side while leaving the feed those birds ate on the cost side.
Where the money actually goes
| Cost line | Typical share | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | 60–70% | Feed price per kg, feed conversion ratio, wastage, days to sale. |
| Day-old chicks | 15–25% | Hatchery price, chick quality, transport losses. |
| Health and biosecurity | 3–8% | Vaccination programme, disease pressure, medication. |
| Brooding energy and litter | 2–6% | Fuel or electricity price, ambient temperature, litter availability. |
| Labour and transport | 3–10% | Whether family labour is costed, distance to market. |
The three levers that actually move margin
- Cut mortality before anything elseDropping mortality from 10% to 5% on 500 birds adds 25 saleable birds with almost no extra cost. Brooding temperature in the first week and clean drinking water are where most of that is won.
- Buy feed on price per kilogram, not price per bagBag weights vary and a cheap bag can be a dear kilogram. Feed is the majority of your cost, so a 5% saving here beats almost any other economy you can make.
- Sell on weight you have actually measuredWeigh a sample of at least twenty birds before agreeing a price. Farmers who estimate weight by eye consistently underestimate, and give the margin away.
What happens to the numbers you type
Everything is calculated in your browser. No cost, price or margin figure is sent to a server, stored, or turned into a shareable URL. To keep a permanent record across batches, use the expense and sales records in the Poultrix Hub app, where the data is tied to your own account.
Sources
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