As Christmas approaches this year, it’s likely that the majority of families won’t be serving chicken for the holiday.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan on Thursday, a variety of consumers, poultry sellers, and producers explained this as a result of growing prices for chicken and other production supplies.

An average chicken was sold for between ₦15,000 and ₦17,000 in several major markets in Ojoo, Dugbe, Mokola, and Iwo Road, according to NAN’s observations.

Stephen Abidogun, a civil servant, claimed he had substituted chickens for Christmas since he could not afford to buy any.

Since the kids’ school fees are due in January, I’ll use whatever I can find to replace the chicken, whether it be fish, meat, or ponmo.

“The depreciation of the naira and the growing cost of living have rendered my take-home pay meaningless.”

“During this time, the cost of goods and services has tripled, but salaries have stayed the same.

One must live within their means given Nigeria’s current economic downturn, according to Abidogun.

Mariam Samuel, a vendor of chicken feed, claimed that the increased cost of feeds was one of the factors contributing to the rise in chicken prices.

According to Samuel, the cost of maize, a key component in feed production, has increased from ₦300 to ₦800 per ‘kongo.’

“Topfeeds, which used to sell for ₦10,200, now sells for ₦12,900, while Ultima finisher, which now sells for ₦17,000, was sold for ₦15,000.”

However, Peter Alabi, a poultry farmer, asserted that another reason driving up the price of chicken was the rising cost of day-old chicks, which he claimed to be the foundation of poultry production.

He said, “A day-old chick is now ₦1,000.”

Alabi added that the shortage of poultry for sale was primarily caused by the increase in the cost of maize and other ingredients used in the production of feed.