How To Sell Chicken Eggs In South Africa

Below is How To Sell Chicken Eggs In South Africa

This is a guide on how to start an egg farming business in South Africa.

Egg farming can be very lucrative and profitable, it’s one of the quickest ways to make money in the farming field and it has very high returns. Chickens are different, there are chickens that are raised for their meat, these are known as broilers and there are chickens that are raised specifically for eggs, known as layers.

Here is what you will need to start an egg farming business in South Africa.

Operating premises

Chickens are either raised indoors or outdoors.

Raising chickens indoors in a controlled environment is known as intensive farming. Letting chickens roam freely in a fenced yard is known as free-range farming.

You need to do intensive farming if you want to maximize production while minimizing costs. Chickens are kept at high stocking densities in confined spaces at a large scale. Modern machinery and technology are used to control the conditions of the environment like the climate where these birds are kept.

Costs of setting up operating premises are not that high, you might pay a lot to get land, unless you use your own yard or get and in rural villages. All you need is to build a structure that will house the chickens, you may spend R20 000 building this structure. Additional costs will be setting up the environment so that it is good enough for chickens. This includes installing heaters and air conditioning systems.

Machinery and Equipment

You don’t need a lot of machinery and equipment but if you plan on producing commercially then you must have equipment to meet the demands of running a commercial chicken farm.

Feeder.

Water Pot.

Heater.

Fencing.

Proper flooring.

Egg handling nest.

Incubator.

Registration

You need to register your egg farming business with the CIPC. This is not expensive, it only costs R175. It’s recommended that you register your business as a private company.

Growth period

Hens (layers) begin laying eggs between 16 – 21 weeks and some breeds of hens can lay up to 300 eggs in a year. production may decline after 25 weeks of age.

Feed

Chickens are omnivores and will eat just about anything, however, low-quality feed leads to slower growth, low egg production and it leaves your hens vulnerable to diseases. The high-quality feed should include corn, soybean (high protein), omena, and additional vitamins and minerals to meet the nutritional requirements for the chickens.

Antibiotics

Hens on antibiotics grow 50% faster and lay more eggs, they’re also healthier, have low mortality rates, and are less susceptible to illness. Don’t use any growth hormones or steroids at any point.

Selling

Farming chicken eggs is nice but how are you going to sell them? You will have to first package them into egg trays. Doing some branding like including your logo could be very beneficial to you.

Approach grocery stores like Spar and Pick N Pay and try to sell them your eggs.

This might be a very daunting task and you might not be successful; the alternative is to sell your eggs to local spaza shops. Local spaza shops are not likely to refuse to buy and sell your eggs. You might make it a win-win and give them at a discounted price.  

Is selling eggs profitable in South Africa?

This is a guide on how to start an egg farming business in South Africa. 

Egg farming can be very lucrative and profitable, it’s one of the quickest ways to make money in the farming field and it has very high returns.

How do I start selling eggs in South Africa?

You can start your layers egg farming business by buying point-of-lay layers or day-old layer chicks.

If you buy day-old layer chicks, you will have to raise them till they are 19 weeks, which is the time they will start to lay eggs.

How much does it cost to produce an egg in South Africa?

Egg prices

According to Statistics SA (Stats SA), the average producer price for 2017, for all sizes, was R17.13/dozen compared to R15. 34 for 2016; an 11.7% increase. The expected grade-out was used to calculate a weighted average of the sizes.