Poultry dealers in Abuja are facing long delivery delays and heavy chick deaths about two months before Christmas, Daily Trust reported on October 15, 2026. Day-old chicks now arrive three to four weeks after ordering, compared with under a week at the same time last year, and dealers often receive less than half of what they order.
Most chicks sold in the Federal Capital Territory come from hatcheries in Ibadan, Oyo State, and elsewhere in the South-West, with Kaduna State and other northern locations as alternatives, the report said. Dealers blamed higher transport costs driven by fuel prices above last year's levels. Hatcheries say they still have outstanding orders from earlier customers.
Orders Cut Short
Rita Onis, a supplier in Kubwa, Bwari Area Council, said her latest order fell well short. "I booked about 1,800 birds three weeks ago, but I was able to get only 250 birds this morning," she told Daily Trust. "During the same period last year, you could place an order on Saturday and receive the complete supply by Tuesday," she said.
Deaths on the Road
Another supplier, Juliet Nwaokoro, said she ordered 10 cartons of chicks and lost about four in transit, while her sister ordered 20 cartons and lost 11. Dealers blamed poor roads from Ibadan through Kogi State to Abuja, and late deliveries; chicks due on a Friday arrived on the Saturday. The supplying company blamed the drivers, saying the chicks were alive when handed over. "They said we should hold the driver responsible for the losses," Nwaokoro said, according to Daily Trust.
Ochai Daniel, who has run a poultry business in Abuja for more than 14 years, said he paid ₦140,000 to move 40 cartons from Ibadan to Abuja, or ₦3,500 per carton.
What Chicks Cost in Abuja
Day-old broiler chicks sell for ₦2,150 to ₦2,200 each in Abuja, Noiler chicks for about ₦1,100 and layer chicks for ₦3,200 to ₦3,400 depending on location, the Daily Trust investigation found. Foreign-breed turkey poults cost ₦10,300 to ₦10,500 and local turkey poults ₦3,700 to ₦4,000.
A Recurring Supply Problem
Chick supply has strained the egg market before. In March 2026, Mojeed Iyiola, chairman of the Poultry Association of Nigeria in Lagos State, blamed a shortage of day-old chicks for egg scarcity and rising prices, saying hatcheries were fully booked and farmers faced waits of five to six months, the News Agency of Nigeria reported. He linked the shortage to limits on licences to import parent stock.
National data currently points the other way for eggs. Eggs were among the items whose average prices fell in September 2026, the National Bureau of Statistics reported, according to Vanguard.
FoodPrices Nigeria tracks medium-sized egg prices by the crate across Lagos markets. Shortfalls in chick supply now would show up in egg and broiler availability in the months after Christmas.
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