Broiler Profit & Does the Batch Pay?
Counts feed
Enter chicks placed, mortality, market weight, FCR, feed price and sale price to get batch profit, profit per bird, cost per kg and margin %.
Plan your batch
Next: cut cost per kg by improving FCR (quality feed, biosecurity, ventilation) and trimming mortality; lock a sale price or contract before placing chicks when the market is volatile.
Feed ≈ FCR × live weight (a planning approximation; birds that die also eat). Prices and FCR vary by breed, season and management.
Broiler profit — key facts
- Live birds
- chicks × (1 − mortality%)
- Live weight
- live birds × market weight
- Feed used
- live weight × FCR
- Feed cost
- feed × feed price
- Total cost
- feed + chicks + other
- Revenue
- live weight × sale price/kg
- Profit
- revenue − total cost
- Biggest cost
- feed (≈ 60–70%)
Where a broiler batch makes or loses money
A broiler batch is a fast, tight business: chicks go in, grow for a few weeks, and ship out at market weight. The economics are simple but unforgiving. Feed is by far the biggest cost — birds eat several times their body weight, so feed used is your live weight times the FCR, and that one line dwarfs everything else. Mortality silently bleeds the batch, because every bird that dies has been fed and bought but never sold. Get FCR and mortality right and the rest of the budget falls into place.
This tool turns your inputs into the numbers that matter: batch profit, profit per bird, cost per kg, margin %, total live weight, revenue and total cost in 8 currencies. Margins are thin, so use it to test the levers that actually move them — better feed and FCR, tighter biosecurity and ventilation to cut mortality, and a locked sale price or contract when the live-bird market is volatile. Pair it with the Feed Conversion Ratio, Poultry Stocking Density and Poultry Brooding tools to run the whole batch well.
Know the bottom line
Batch profit and profit per bird before you place chicks.
Watch your cost per kg
Compare production cost to the market sale price.
Pull the FCR lever
See how feed efficiency moves the whole result.
Cut the mortality drag
Test how losses eat into revenue and margin.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is broiler profit calculated?+
Start with live birds = chicks placed × (1 − mortality%). Total live weight = live birds × market weight. Revenue = live weight × sale price per kg. Total cost = feed cost + chick cost + other costs (labour, medication, litter, power). Profit = revenue − total cost. The tool also returns profit per bird, cost per kg and margin %, so you can see the batch from every angle.
Why is feed the biggest cost in broiler farming?+
Feed typically accounts for 60–70% of the cost of producing a broiler. Feed used = total live weight × FCR, and feed cost = feed × feed price. Because birds eat several times their body weight, even a small change in FCR or feed price moves your profit more than almost anything else, which is why it dominates the calculation.
What is FCR and why does it matter so much?+
Feed Conversion Ratio is kilograms of feed eaten per kilogram of live weight gained. A lower FCR means birds convert feed to meat more efficiently. Modern broilers run around 1.5–1.7. Shaving FCR by even 0.1 cuts a large slice of your single biggest cost, so it is the central efficiency lever in this calculator.
How does mortality affect the result?+
Mortality reduces the number of birds that reach market weight, so it directly cuts both live weight and revenue while the feed and chick cost for those dead birds is largely already spent. The tool applies mortality% to chicks placed to get live birds, so higher mortality lowers revenue and margin sharply.
What is cost per kg and why track it?+
Cost per kg = total cost ÷ total live weight. It is the production cost of one kilogram of live bird. Compare it to your sale price per kg to see your margin at a glance: if cost per kg is close to or above the market price, the batch is at risk. It is the cleanest single number for benchmarking efficiency.
What counts as 'other costs'?+
Everything besides feed and chicks — labour, medication and vaccination, litter (bedding), electricity and brooding fuel, water, transport, and a share of shed depreciation. Lumping these into one 'other' figure keeps the model simple while still capturing the running costs that separate a profitable batch from a break-even one.
How can I improve broiler margins?+
Margins are thin, so the wins come from efficiency: feed better-quality, balanced feed to lower FCR; tighten biosecurity and ventilation to cut mortality and disease; brood well so chicks start strong; and buy feed and chicks well. Small gains across FCR, mortality and feed price compound into the difference between profit and loss.
Why lock in a sale price or contract?+
Live-bird prices can swing hard between batches, and a price drop at sale time can wipe out a thin margin even when production was good. Where the market is volatile, a contract or forward price gives you a known revenue per kg, so you can plan inputs against it instead of gambling on the spot price.
Does the tool work in my currency?+
Yes — it supports 8 currencies. Enter feed price, chick cost, other costs and sale price in your own currency and every output (batch profit, profit per bird, cost per kg, revenue and total cost) is shown in the same currency, so it works for broiler producers anywhere.
Is this an exact projection of my profit?+
No — it is a planning estimate based on the figures you enter. Real results depend on actual FCR, mortality, market weight at sale, feed and chick prices, and unplanned costs like disease outbreaks. Use it to budget a batch, test 'what-if' scenarios and benchmark, then reconcile against your real records.