As Christmas approaches this year, most families will likely celebrate the day without chicken on the menu.

jerrymusa.com  reports that a group of poultry consumers, traders and producers who lamented in Ibadan on Thursday attributed this to the rising cost of chicken meat and agricultural products.

NAN gathered that in some major markets in Ojoo, Dugbe, Mokola and Iwo Road, an average chicken was sold between N15,000 and N17,000.

Residents Lament high prices in the sales of chicken.

Stephen Abidogun, a government official, said he couldn’t afford chickens for Christmas, so he decided to go for alternatives.

“Anything I can find within my means to replace chicken – fish, meat or ponmo – I will use, because i have children school fees to pay by January.”

“My take-home salary no longer makes sense due to the rising cost of living and the constant devaluation of the Naira.

“Salaries remained the same while prices of goods and services tripled during this period.

Mrs. Mariam Samuel, a seller of chicken feed said that prices of feeds have also increased, citing this as one of the reasons for the price increase of chicken.

Samuel said: “The price of maize, which is the main raw material for the production of feeds, has increased from N300 to N800 per “Kongo”.

“Ultima Finisher which currently sells for N17,000 was sold for N15,000 while Topfeeds which was previously sold for N10,200 is now sold for N12,900,” he said.

However, poultry farmer Peter Alabi said the rising price of day-old chicks, which he said were the basis of poultry production, was another factor responsible for the high cost of chickens.

“A day-old chick now costs N1,000,” he said.

Alabi also said that the increase in the price of corn and other food products had contributed mostly to lack of enough fowls for sale.