This article aimed to determine the cost, return, and profitability of poultry production in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. . The profitability of urban poultry keeping here is assessed by studying the cost and revenue for a hypothetical producer who owns different size and type of birds for one year production period and for each house hold per farm, per flock size. Primary data were collected through face to face interview. From the respondents a total of 100 sample farmers were selected by using purposive sampling technique. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis. The study revealed that the flock size per farm ranged from 50 to 500 birds. 84%, 4% and 11 % of the poultry were reported to be exotic, local and hybrid, respectively. About 64%, 15% and 21% were layer, broiler and both layer and broiler producers, respectively Producers reported that the highest costs were in feeds, which accounted for 90% of total cost of production followed by stock cost. The findings suggest that, the government should subsidize poultry farmers by providing enough feed for chicken so as to improve efficiency and profitability of the sector.

Keywords: layer, broiler, profitability, gross margin, stock, income