Surehatch Semi-Commercial Egg Incubators
An Overview for Entrepreneurs
Are you planning on starting your own hatchery? If so, then Surehatch is the answer to your needs. We manufacture small scale commercial egg incubators ideal for small to medium scale entrepreneurs who want to start their own hatcheries. It is a highly profitable business to start and your capital requirement is very small. No specialized knowledge is needed as we will provide all the necessary training and info in order to have you successfully run your own hatchery business. Surehatch has partnered with various organizations who aim to develop entrepreneurship and establish small scale hatcheries across Africa. We have been highly successful in assisting entrepreneurs in setting up small scale hatcheries across Africa.
If you are interested in starting your own hatchery and want to hatch day old chicks you will need some equipment such as incubators in order to start. Surehatch can supply you with all the equipment necessary to start your own hatchery business.
Why start a hatchery?
The short answer – it is a highly profitable business and there is a very big demand for chickens in Africa. The poultry industry is one of the fastest growing sectors in Africa. Chicken meat is the fastest growing protein of all proteins and the demand for poultry meat is ever increasing.
Do I need a lot of money to start a hatchery?
No, you can start with very little money and finance the project by selling the chicks and eggs that you produce. We have had clients who invested as little as R10 000.00 who now own hatcheries that produce over 10 000 chicks per week.
Where can I get the equipment and what will I need to start?
You can get all the equipment to start your own hatchery from us. We have the best equipment available on the market and have the best prices on poultry equipment.
The two most important items that you will need to start a hatchery are incubators and fertile eggs. We have the best incubators available on the market and have supplied to hundreds of satisfied customers over the last 30 years. You can buy a Surehatch Incubator with confidence as you are guaranteed that you are buying the best equipment available on the market.
Chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch, so how does weekly production work?
There are two processes to incubation. Firstly you have the SETTING Phase. This is where the eggs turn automatically for the first 18 days in the setter incubator. Secondly, you have the hatching phase, which is the last 3 days of the incubation cycle, from day 18 to 21. The eggs lay still in the hatcher during these last 3 days until they hatch on day 21.
In order to set up a weekly production of chicks, you will need separate setters and hatchers. Although chicken eggs take 21 days to hatch, you can in actual fact cut the production time down to 7 days. Take this as an example of how it is done – On Day 1 you load 1000 eggs into Setter No.1. 7 days later you load another 1000 eggs into Setter No.2. Now you wait until day 18 of the incubation cycle and you transfer Setter 1’s eggs into the hatcher. They now lay still until day 21 to hatch in the hatcher. This makes space for another 1000 eggs to be placed in Setter No.1. Next you wait for Setter 2 to reach 18 days, then you place Setter 2’s eggs in the hatcher. This then makes space for another 1000 eggs to be placed in Setter 2. By this time Setter 1’s eggs have already reached 18 days again and are ready to be transferred into the hatcher. By continuing this cycle you can maintain a weekly production of chicks. It therefore only takes 7 days to incubate the eggs, rather than 21 days.
The largest single unit that we manufacture is a 1000 egg unit. The reason we limit the size to 1000 eggs is because of practicality and cost. Our incubators need no installation and can simply be plugged in and switched on. This differs from other commercial units which often require installation and cannot be moved around freely. Another benefit to using multiple smaller units is in case of an accident or power outage. It is much easier to back up smaller units rather than one large singular unit. In case of a viral outbreak you will also only lose one unit’s production rather than an entire batch. It is therefore better to buy multiple smaller units, rather than one large unit.
Return On Investment: How much money will I make?
A common question that clients ask us is how long it will take to pay the initial capital investment off. The answer is between 4 and 6 months. Let’s take the following example:
If you invest approximately R50 000.00 into our Surehatch Commercial Option 1, you will be able to produce 1000 chicks per week. Your costs involved will be fertile eggs and electricity. If you get your fertile eggs for R2.50 per egg (If you use your own it will be about R1.00 per egg) and electricity costs around 10c per egg, your total cost to produce a chick is approximately R2.60. If you sell your day old chicks for R5.60 (conservative estimate, it can be more), you will make a profit of R3.00 per chick. If you multiply R3.00 with 1000 eggs per week, you will make R3000.00 per week. If you take your initial investment of R50 000.00 divided by your weekly profit of R3000.00, you will make your return on capital investment within 17 weeks = 4 months. If you change the figures a bit then the absolute longest it will take to pay your initial investment off will be 6 months.
It is therefore a very lucrative business to start due to the very high returns on investment that can be expected. Surehatch Equipment is the best in the business and will ensure that you receive the optimal results in order to maximize your profits.
Where do I start?
The most important thing is to decide how many chicks you want to produce per week and how much money you have to spend (your budget). As soon as you know how much you can spend on your equipment, look at our various options on weekly outputs. If you need any further advice on which option to purchase, feel free to contact our sales team who will assist you in choosing.
Contact the following organisations for funding:
