“We want to educate, support, finance and nurture the capabilities of our aspiring young entrepreneurs so that they can build their own businesses and achieve financial freedom and success”.
We want to create a collaboration between potential entrepreneurs, the public, business, media, government, the South African Poultry Association and its members, independent expert advisers and non-governmental organisations to support and help our new entrepreneurs.
Eggcademies will essentially be working egg farms where students can learn first hand what the egg business entails, and where sound business practices are taught via the B.O.R.N concept under the guidance and with the study materials provided by GEI.
The Eggcadamies are equipped with Hellmann rearing cages in a rearing house; with E-cages in the layer chicken house.
An E-cage is a standard Hellmann layer hen's cage, with automatic manure conveyor belts - but without egg collection, feed chains or feed hoppers . This work has to be done manually, which reduces the costs of the equipment and is ideal for start up businesses that would like to begin with any number, between 2000 and 10000 laying hens.
At any point in time the E-cages can be fully automated.
We would suggest that an Eggcademy would be equipped for 10000 hens. The eggs, manure for compost, extra point of lay hens and spend hens will be sold to cover the costs of the investments in the institutions. These revenues are significant - as I will outline underneath.
Egg Business In-A-Box would like to suggest that the institution that founds the egcademies, would consider purchasing equipment for a surplus above 10000 layer hens, so that newly trained farmers who are ready to begin their own company, can lease-to buy the extra E-cages of the desired and approved quantity – for instance 4000 hens- and could thus start operating as egg producers under Egg Business in-a- Box guidance.We will persuade the department of education to make fees available to supply an egg a day to every poor child in no fee schools, by our graduates that succeeded to become egg-entrepreneurs, supplied by them to the closest no fee school from their egg farms.
- The South African Poultry Association, (Sapa)- should preferably fulfill a guiding role in this. Their (bigger) members could choose to supply teachers, could help to finance the Eggcademies's added costs of accommodation, food and well being for the 8 weeks stay of students on the Eggcademy farm while we teach the students all there is to know about egg farming processes and other skills. - Sapa commits itself to the marketing of Egg Business in-a-Box and the Eggcademies themselves, - Sapa launches an orchestrated media advertising campaign to increase the consumption of eggs per capita of the population. We are currently, according to SAPA, on 138 eggs per capita in South Africa. Mexico is on 350 per capita - so there is enormous growth for the industry as a wholeto be gained.
SA Poultry Association's Chris Mason - Sustainability and Development manager, described Egg Business In-A-Box as:
'The initiative for meaningful transformation that Ticks all the boxes'
How will we achieve this goal? By firstly: Opening up a working egg farm that is profitable and sustainable and create a market for it. Set the example. And Learn. Most start up businesses fail because their founders refuse to learn or to adapt, they are married to their own idea. We cannot fall into that obvious trap. I want all to help make this a success. The farm should thus be equipped with Hellmann Poultry Equipment's E-cages for 10000 laying hens, and rearing cages for 10000 chicks/pullets from 1-20 weeks. The farm will train it's employees in managerial and production skills as set out by the the B.O.R.N initiative. This working farm will be ready to welcome the first students as soon as it is fully operational and profitable, and with all the people involved who would like to teach, (including myself) to be skilled and experienced in all facets of egg farming, from start to sale.
Part 1. Egg production financial estimates
Egg production.
Here under follows a rough sketch of the costs and profits that are to be expected from this initiative as far as the working farm goes. (Prices and costs are indicative and fluctuate with demand and supply.)
Costs vs Profits.
For the egg production department of an Eggcademy, I estimate that an investment of R2 to 2,5 million would be sufficient. Another million or so would be need to get the rearing of laying hens into reality. 10000 laying hens producing at 80% ( normal for a layer hen's productive live) gives 8000 eggs for sale a day.
These eggs can easily be sold at R1,40 each packaged/ 1,30 without package, in this way undercutting the lowest retail price at Pick n Pay of R1,90 per egg by 46%. The public will fight over them! Pull them out of our hands!
This will give a monthly turnover of 8000 eggs x R1,30 per day x 365 days a year, divided by 12 months:
for a monthly turnover off: R316,630
The following monthly costs have to be subtracted of this:
Salaries: R 60,000
Layer Mash: (food, R5000 per tonne) R150,000
Vaccinations: R 7,000
Electricity: -borehole and lights- R 3,000
Additives to mash for increased health of birds: R 2,000
General Maintenance, disinfectants, R 8,000
Fuel bakkie, gas heaters for cold nights and rearing chicks: R 3,000
Packaging of eggs, marketing: R 20,000
Armed Security outside working hours: R 7,500
Shortfall of exchanging spent hens with point of lays R 5,500
Total monthly running costs : (R0,9165 per egg) R265,500
Total estimated monthly profit after all costs R 51,130
The 'spend hens' are sold, either slaughtered and sold as 'Cornish chicken'. Or alive as 'hard body' chickens every 78 weeks. The live hens are known as 'hard body' chicken, because their bones are tougher then the supermarket chickens. They are very popular in townships. R40 for a live chicken each is very common. On 10000 birds this comes to around R 400,000. The flock is replaced with point of lay flock from the rearing house at R500000, or R50 each, every 18 months. The shortfall of R100,000 comes to around R5500 on a monthly basis.
This profit of around R51000 a month would therefore suffice to return the financial investment of around R2,5 million within a period of 4 years, a 25% return on investment therefore.
A very attractive investment on it's own. Regardless of the social benefits to society at large.
Part 2. Rearing house financial estimates.
Rearing the chicks. Where it all starts.
Secondly, by FIRSTLY start rearing our own point of lay hens from one day -just-out-of-the-egg chicks.
This is a continuous production process that compliments the production of eggs and makes the farm competitive: After 78 weeks, or every one and a half year, the hens start producing less eggs- under 80%. They need to be replaced by new ones.
They are replaced by the Eggcademies own reared layer hens, reared in the eggcademy's rearing house. The new point of lays are 'bought' from the rearing house at R50 each, their cost price.
This is mostly funded with the sale of the 10000 spent hens at approx R40-R50 each
For the rearing part of the Eggcademy, the financial expectations are as follows:
From one day chick to point of lay chicken takes 20 weeks, 5 months. The farm can therefore do 2 cycles of rearing chicks in one year, with enough time to thoroughly clean and disinfect the house in between rearing cycles.
Costs of 1 day old chicks: R 15 each or R 150,000 in total
Costs of feed for 20 weeks: R 23 each or R 230,000 in total
Vaccinations: R 2 each or R 10,000 in total
Labour: (2 workers, R6000 p/m) R 7 each or R 70,000 in total
Loss due to death: 6% R 3 each or R 30,000 in total
Total costs per laying hen at 20 weeks is therefore around R50 each.
We need to refresh our laying flock after 78 weeks, at a cost of R500000 for 10000 chicken. If we do not rear them ourselves, we have to replace them with point of lay hens of 20 weeks of age, costing us. R800000 or R900000.
We rear 3 x 10000 point of lay chicken in the 78 weeks of productive life from our first flog. We only need the last 10000, So we sell 18200 living birds (6% death rate) at the going market price of R80-90 per bird, a profit of between R30-R40 for each bird. This comes to in between R456,000 to R 638,000 gross profit. in a period of 78 weeks.
A 78 week cycle (18 months) at the rearing house production would therefore come to: 18200 point of lay hens sold at R80 each R 1,456,000
10000 internally sold at R50 each R 500,000
Total of revenues R 1,956,000
Total costs: 30000 point of lays at R50 each R 1,500,000
Gross Profit in 18 months R 456,000
Profit estimated for a year R 304,000
The only extra physical investment for the rearing of chicks on the Eggcademy are the house itself and the equipment in it. The rest of the costs are covered in the calculation of the egg production unit. The labour involved is covered in the R50 per bird layer rearing estimated costs. I estimate that the house and equipment should not exceed 1.2 million rands together. With an annual profit of around R300000, the 1,2 million will be paid for within 4 years. A 25% annual return on investment.
Some links:
Our business and management educational framework can be found here: https://www.eggboxafrica.org/the-b-o-r-n-initiative
Our egg production educational framework can be found here: https://www.eggboxafrica.org/egg-farming-course-outline
A suggestion of a nice spot with 4ha of space – more then enough- to get the very first academy with a reasonable price tag on it, is here:
The website of our supplier in Germany for best in the world cages and accessories is: https://hellmannpoultry.com/en-us/
The Southerm African distributor of these products can be found here:
https://www.sa-eggsperts.com/ ( I am a technical adviser for them) .Always be aware of scams. This industry is infested with internet charlatans offering things for cheap, to steal.
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