§1What this business is

You bring in day-old chicks and feed them in a shed for 35–42 days until they are ready as broiler chickens. They are sold to traders, meat shops and integrator companies. Many farmers tie up with an integrator (contract farming).

Capacity: UP report: ~5,644 chicks/batch; 6 batches in the first year, then 7.

§2Is it right for you?

Who it is for

Someone with their own land in a village who will be at the farm every day and follow biosecurity.

Who it is not for

Someone who cannot be at the farm every day, or whose site is in the middle of a town's population.

Advantages

  • Money turns over in 40 days
  • Needs little land
  • Tying up with an integrator removes the worry of chicks, feed and sales
  • Demand for chicken all year

Drawbacks

  • Bird flu or disease can wipe out a whole batch
  • Chicken prices swing a lot
  • A rise in feed prices means a loss
  • Mortality rises in summer; neighbours complain about the smell

Skills you need

  • Brooding & vaccination
  • Feed management
  • Biosecurity
  • Trader/integrator negotiation

Why difficulty 3/5: High disease and price risk; needs daily care.

§3Market

Who buys

  • Integrator companies that run contract farming
  • Live-bird traders and meat shops
  • Hotels and caterers

How it sells

  • Contract farming: the integrator supplies chicks and feed and takes back the grown birds
  • Independent sale of live birds to traders

Good to know

  • Integrators dominate the finished broiler market; NABARD asks banks to take extra care with independent farms.
  • For contract farming, NABARD looks for at least 5 batches a year from the integrator.
  • A broiler batch is ready in 5–6 weeks; poultry manure can be sold as fertiliser (UP MSME report).
  • NABARD Bihar unit cost: ₹5.88 lakh for 1,000 birds, ₹26.70 lakh for 5,000 birds (once in, once out).

§4Raw material & machinery

ItemQtyCost
Broiler shed with asbestos roofas per flock size₹190–210 per sq ft
Thatch-roof shed (contract farming)as per flock size₹250 per sq ft
Poultry equipmentper bird₹18–20 per bird

From: NABARD Andhra Pradesh RO – Comprehensive Guide of Unit Costs 2025-26 (2025)

  • Day-old chicks (DOC)₹35–47 each
  • Broiler feed₹40–50 per kg
  • Medicines, vaccines and other expenses₹20 per bird
  • Total running cost₹400–450 per bird

From: NABARD Andhra Pradesh RO – Comprehensive Guide of Unit Costs 2025-26 (2025)

§5Licences & registration

  1. Gram panchayat NOC
  2. UPPCB consent (for 5,000+ birds, as per CPCB guidelines)
  3. Udyam
  4. Animal Husbandry Department registration (for schemes)

We can do this registration for you

§6Schemes & subsidies

MUDRA covers allied agriculture (poultry); Stand-Up India covers agri-allied activities since 2019; CGTMSE on MSE loans. PMEGP rules for animal husbandry have kept changing — confirm with the DIC/KVIC. The UP Poultry Policy 2022 has separate incentives.

§7Money

How the investment is worked out: NABARD Bihar 2025-26 unit cost: broiler unit (once in once out) 1,000 birds ₹5.88 L; 2,000 birds ₹12.06 L; 5,000 birds ₹26.70 L. UP report: ~5,644-bird shed total project cost ₹15.01 L (capital ₹5.56 L + working capital ₹9.45 L).

Working capital: UP report: chicks at ₹15/bird, feed ~3 kg/bird; first-year working capital need is ₹23.6 L, of which 40% (₹9.45 L) is taken in the project.

NABARD 2025-26 (the latest); UP report 2024.

How to prepare a loan file

§8Export potential

Confirm the HS code in the DGFT ITC(HS) lookup before you export

0207 11 00Chicken, not cut in pieces, fresh or chilled0207 12 00Chicken, not cut in pieces, frozen

Export council / board: APEDA

  • Poultry meat falls under APEDA's Animal Products group.
  • Farms do not export directly; exports go through processing plants.

§9Risks — where people fail

  • Disease outbreaks (bird flu)
  • Price volatility
  • Feed cost
  • Heat stress mortality

§1030 / 60 / 90-day plan

A general plan that applies to any business. A plan for this business will be added after research.

  1. Days 1–30: Visit a working broiler poultry farm unit, ask 10 buyers about price and quantity, and get quotations from 3 suppliers.
  2. Days 31–60: Udyam and the licences you need (Gram panchayat NOC, UPPCB consent (for 5,000+ birds, as per CPCB guidelines)), a project report (DPR), and the scheme or loan file.
  3. Days 61–90: Space and machines, trial production, and first deliveries to 10 customers.

§11Who to connect with

Not verified yet

Associations, clusters and training institutes — the directory is being built. Connect

§12Watch

There is no episode on this business yet. Shows are coming soon on the Podcast page.

Want to start Broiler Poultry Farm?

DPR, loan file or registration — ask us on WhatsApp.

Get a DPR / loan file made

Sources

  1. NABARD Bihar RO – Unit Cost for Investment Activities in Agriculture & Allied Sectors 2025-26 (2025)
  2. UP MSME 1-Connect (Govt of UP, RAMP) – Project Report: Broiler Farming (2024)

Data review: 6 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Report it. For information only — not legal or financial advice.