How To Start A Poultry Farming Business
Poultry farming refers to the process of rearing different domestic birds such as chicken, turkey, duck, goose, quail, guinea fowl, and peacock, etc. commercially to produce eggs, meat, and feather. Chicken’s meat and egg are a source of animal protein and are consumed in large quantities all over the world, apart from pork, beef, and fish.
Chicken is greatly consumed in a country like the US. America consumes chicken more than any country in the world; egg consumption in America is said to be up to 95 million dozens every year. America also exports 18% of poultry products, making the country the second-largest exporter of chicken in the world.
According to the US Poultry and Egg Association, the poultry industry contributed about $46.3 billion to the US economy in 2018 while the National Chicken Council says that about 25,000 family farmers through 30 companies raised 95% of broiler chickens
Poultry farming can be considered as one of the most lucrative agri-business in most countries as you can start it from the comfort of your home if enough space is available, and with a small amount of capital too.
Though I am not a farmer I think the poultry business is suited for retired people, particularly those that are passionate about farming since it is not considered a labor-intensive venture. If you have the desire and are passionate about going into the poultry farming business, the time is now because the world population is on the increase and poultry products are in great demand worldwide.
In this article, we shall journey together from conceiving the idea of launching your poultry business. It is a straightforward exercise, only that you may need a veterinary medical practitioner to examine the birds and administer drugs in the extreme case of an outbreak of disease and/or at other occasions as the case may be.
Benefits of Poultry Farming Business
Many benefits accrue to poultry farming which includes the following:-.
Can be started with a small capital outlay: One of the major benefits of poultry farming is that with very low capital you can start the business and watch it grow. The point is that the start-off chicks are not expensive and can be purchased and raised under 20 weeks within which they are producing eggs or they are due for slaughter. .
Small Space can do: Poultry farming doesn’t need a big space to start unless you plan to farm on a large scale. You can begin raising birds in your compound with some coops of cages. However, you need to be familiar with the basic process before you launch your business otherwise you risk losing all of your chicken because of avoidable mistakes..
Expected High Returns within a Short Time: The commercial poultry farming business guarantees a quick return on the capital invested. Poultry birds like layer chickens start laying eggs by the age of between 12 – 18 weeks and continue non-stop till the age between 70 -72. Broiler chicken on the other hand while taking a shorter duration of time to mature and begin generating profit. Poultry products are not so dear and can be afforded by most people
No Need for High Maintenance cost: Maintenance cost is minimal in poultry farm structures. Besides, you can minimize diseases infecting the birds by following proper hygiene rules and proper maintenance and care. Some poultry birds such as quails, turkeys, etc. are less prone to diseases than others.
A license may not be compulsory: It must be noted that, in most cases, you don’t need any license to operate a poultry farm since almost all types of poultry birds are domestic. Besides, even if a license is required to a poultry farm, the process of procuring a license from the relevant authority is relatively simple and easy. However, you need a business license in the US to run your poultry business.
Poultry products are in high demand: There is a growing demand for poultry products in almost all countries of the world because of their fresh and nutritious food value. Therefore, consumers of poultry products prefer them due to their nutrients and freshness, as well as their health benefits.
Marketing poultry products is simple: Marketing poultry products is simple. This is because there is an established market for the products in every country of the world. So you can likely sell the poultry products in your local market.
Possibility of employment opportunities: Poultry farming generates income and employment opportunities for citizens. It is a great opportunity for the unemployed educated youth and women to make a good income while raising poultry commercially.
Bank Loan is made simple: Banks approve a loan for businesses of this kind. So, bear in mind that starting this business commercially isn’t going to be hindered as a result of a lack of funding. All you have to do is to have a business plan that is laid out properly and then apply for a poultry loan to your local bank.
The poultry business is profitable: Factors that contribute to making poultry farming business a profitable venture.
Low start-up capital: To start the poultry business, particularly on a small scale, the capital requirement is not very high since as little as $500; you can start a poultry business and over a short time make rapid growth if you apply due diligence..
The payback period is a little longer but adequate: For the poultry business, the time required for poultry business to start yielding profit is about 18 weeks, i.e. the average time for layers to begin laying eggs and for the broiler to be big enough for slaughter. While some production businesses will take quite long, the poultry business takes less than six months for the business to start generating profit.
Birds are consumed for food: Food is the fundamental need of human beings and regardless of the level of poverty in the land, man must eat. With the growing population of the US and the increasing demand for chicken, the business will continue to be viable in the foreseeable future.
Bird meat is healthier: With the increased warning by doctors of the risks posed by red meat, more people are now consuming white meat and birds are the only source of white meat. The demand for white meat is on the increase and it is not expected to go away soon.
US population on the increase: With the US population heading to 300,000 million, it would be expected that the consumption of chicken for its white meat is also on the increase. Besides the demand for chicken products in America, the export of meat is also on the increase.
Risks cum challenges of starting a poultry farming business
The poultry farming business is without a doubt very lucrative and it is one of the most important aspects of the livestock farming business. But like every business of this kind where the life of birds are involved, there are risks and challenges to contend with. I have stated below some of the risks and challenges associated with poultry farming.
- Poultry farming has a little longer payback period (PBP)
- It requires high recurrent capital to contend with.
- Adulterated poultry feed poses a threat to the wellbeing of the birds.
- Lack of proper feeding of the birds can cause undernourishment and can seriously affect the health and proper growth of the birds.
- Pests such as rats, ants, etc. and particularly predators such as hawks, snakes can cause losses of birds.
- An outbreak of disease can inflict colossal loss on the poultry farm
How To Start A Poultry Business
- Choose your poultry sector
- Choose the type of bird to rear
- Create your farm logo
- Choose farm location
- Provide good housing and shelter for the birds
- Purchase required equipment
- Labor requirement
- Start-up capital investment
- Feeding your birds
- Keeping the birds healthy
- Promote and market your farm products
- Tip on poultry farming
Let’s discuss the steps you need to follow in more details if you want to start a poultry farming
Choose Your Poultry Sector
- Meat production (Broilers breeding): Before you begin your poultry farming business, you must be clear of what type of poultry breeds to farm.
Broilers: Young males and Females chicken are raised for meat production. They are either incubated and hatched later or sold as chicks from a hatch weight of about 40 g to a weight of approximately 1.5 to 2 kg within 6 weeks only. The demand for chicken is high and many families slaughter chicken daily for food and the price for one chicken is moderate.
- Egg production (Layers breeding)
Layers: The female chicks are reared for commercial egg production and then in due course killed for meat. Layer chickens are raised as soon as they are hatched, from one day old. They go into the production of eggs at about the age of 18-19 weeks and continue laying eggs non-stop until between 72-78 weeks of age.
Cockerels: Cockerels like broilers are raised for meat production and they are high in demand but their growth is slow compared to broilers that grow fast. The advantage of cockerels is that they are stronger than broilers and can survive under adverse weather environments.
- Poultry feed production
Poultry feed production falls into the following categories:
Chick/starter mesh: this category of feed is for chicks that are starting in life
Broiler mesh: this feed takes care of the broiler chicken – the chicken is kept for its meat production. The feed contains protein, minerals, and vitamins for bodybuilding and growth.
Layer mesh: this feed category is produced for layer chickens. The feed is specially made to help birds with important nutrients necessary for producing eggs.
Grower mesh: this feed ensures quick growth and development of the poultry chicken. The grower mesh is administered to the birds after the chicks have grown to a particular level.
- Chicken breeding
Broiler hatch egg farmers typically operate broiler breeder farms; they raise female (hens) and male (roosters) birds. The roosters and hens pal to create fertilized eggs which are then sold to broiler hatcheries for incubation. At the end of the incubation period, the eggs are hatched and the rearing of the chicks will begin.
- Egg and meat processing: This is the utilization of eggs and poultry meat in the manufacture of food products.
- Poultry equipment manufacturing: This is another dimension in the poultry business and refers to the production of any of the poultry equipment such as feeders, drinkers, crates, nests, etc.
- Poultry marketing and consultancy: If you are versed in the poultry business because of your academic qualification and on the job experience from a large organization, you can set up a consultancy business within the poultry industry. Through your consultancy business, you can make invaluable contributions to the industry while advising your clients on the best possible way to run their poultry farms for a fee.
Choose The Type Of Bird To Rear
The owners of poultry farms determine the types of birds to rear – they usually start by focusing on one, two, or three different birds and then include more birds later as the poultry business grows. The vast majority of poultry farmers focus on chicken as layers and broilers, goose, turkey, quail or guinea fowl. The birds you choose should depend on the outcome of your research in terms of how profitable the raising of the particular bird/s will be and your bird preferences.
Create Your Farm Logo
When starting a poultry farm, you have to craft a befitting name for it. Some good names can be accessed on the internet and picking the right name that is easily pronounced and remembered by the potential customers will do you some good. You may also choose a web page design for your farm so that you will be ready to promote your poultry farm at the appropriate time.
It is also essential to make a unique logo for your farm business that will be displayed in all your farm products when you put up your products for sale. You should also make the name available on all the marketing materials used for the business including the letterhead, invoices, receipts, vouchers, call cards, and the poultry website. In this case, your poultry business will look professional and will be seen as such by all and sundry.
Your farm location should be carefully selected to make sure it has all the necessary facilities. There is an advantage that the farm is located a little far away from the city so that the cost of land for the factory and the associated labor can be lower. But at the same time, don’t lose focus on the fact that the customers are the reasons why you are into commercial farming.
At the same time, don’t locate the poultry farm too far where important facilities such as security and access roads will be shortcoming and transportation costs are high. By and large, don’t locate your poultry anywhere it will constitute a nuisance to the people living around your area because of the odor. They will not be happy with you and consequently, may probably boycott your poultry products.
Provide Good Housing And Shelter For The Birds
Poultry farm shelter is important as soon as you secure a farm site. Putting up proper poultry housing is essential for the protection and survival of your commercial poultry birds. However, the housing system you select will depend on the types of poultry raising method you adopt.
You should bear in mind that the birds need space to be healthy and so the housing you put up must be spacious to allow free movement and give the birds sufficient space to roam around. Besides, the shelter should have sufficient ventilation and must not be exposed to sunlight.
There are three different types of a poultry housing system that you can select from to house your birds:
They are extensive, semi-intensive, and intensive. The intensive system is typically used in commercial farming where birds can be raised in cages or on the floor.
Broiler poultry on average is housed in 2.5 square feet of space while layer poultry needs about 4 square feet of space. For instance, on a farm of about 200 layers, you should have up to 800 sq. feet space available while in the cage system, about 4 square feet space may be required for a bird.
Purchase Required Equipment
You need to purchase some equipment for your poultry farm. The number of equipment required to run your poultry farm successfully are listed below:
Feeders, Waterers, Nests, Cage, Coops, Crates, Incubator, Egg tray, Lighting instruments, Perches, Brooders or heaters, Ventilation system, Waste disposal system,
Labor requirement
Depending on the number of birds you intend to begin with, you need commensurate manpower. As a newbie, if you start with about 400 birds, then you can manage your farm by yourself without having to hire any labor. But if you intend to raise more birds, then you will need additional manpower. Make sure cheap labor is insufficient supply in your chosen area.
Start-up Capital Investment
The poultry farming is more or less capital intensive and depending on your scale of operation, where located, and the managerial technology adopted. The essential thing to be mentioned is that there is some basic equipment that is necessary to run the poultry efficiently and effectively. But as has been said, the scale is important since it is directly linked to the amount of capital required to run the business.
For instance, if you set up a small poultry business in your country garden with only 200 chicks, you may not require more than $1,500 to set it up and run the business. But when you want to increase the number of chicks to 1,000, the scale of your operation has gone up and the amount of capital is also going to go up. In this case, it might go up to between $4,000 and $5,000
Feeding your Birds
Feeding the birds is a major aspect of poultry farming as well as the major aspect of recurrent costs. Indeed, about 60% of the recurrent costs go into feeding the birds. So it is necessary to work out how the birds are to be fed since feeding is constant. The birds can be fed in two ways, it is up to you to investigate the two ways and choose the cheaper method. The two methods are:
- Producing your feeds internally
- Buying poultry feeds from the market.
Producing poultry feeds will entail gathering both the equipment and tools for the production as well as the material ingredients. Unless you are well equipped and familiar with the production, you must either learn the production process or hire someone who has the skills in that area. It might be cheaper financially to produce the feeds but the other salient points such as the time consumed in producing the feeds, the probability that it will be prepared to standard, and also the probability of the availability of feeds from vendors when required will be considered before a final decision is made.
On the other hand, buying already prepared feeds has the advantage that it saves time and lets you concentrate on the important aspects of looking after the health of your birds
Keeping the birds healthy
The health of the birds determines whether you succeed or fail in this business. This is particularly important because of the risks associated with the outbreak of disease. Some infections can wipe out the birds and so it is vital to keep close eyes on the birds to prevent any health threat to them. So what are the precautionary measures that need to be taken to keep the birds safe?
The birds need appropriate vaccines and other medications to keep them fit and promote their growth. A veterinary doctor should be handy to conduct regular checks on the birds particularly at the time of disease outbreak. But at other times, the veterinary doctor should visit the farm according to the scheduled routine with the management of the poultry.
Promote and Market Your Farm Products
From the onset of your poultry business, you should produce a business plan with the marketing plan incorporated in the business plan. In the marketing plan, you should properly layout your marketing strategies for achieving your marketing goals. These strategies are partially all about marketing your finished products because without selling your poultry products, you have failed.
So you have to do the following before your products are ready for sale:
- Print flyers and distribute them to the target market, e.g. shops selling poultry products such as eggs, chicken, or other birds, live or frozen.
- Send direct mail to your prospective customers
- Locate your potential customers and speak with them face to face about your poultry business and your seeking for their patronage. Offer them irresistible incentives to woo them.
- Advertise in the local newspaper and radio.
- Get involved in community projects and get familiar with the local people.
- Create a website and have pictures of some of the birds and eggs your poultry has produced.
Tips on poultry farming
Dangers of dirty poultry environment
Poultry birds are averse to a dirty environment and a dirty poultry environment can make disease and infection inevitable. Chicken which most poultry owners breed is very sensitive to infection and disease and can easily be infected. They will be exposed to diseases such as bacterial infection if the poultry environment is dirty. So every effort must be made to keep the poultry environment clean at all times.
You must make it a standard policy to keep visitors at bay from the poultry farm by pasting a warning sign in front of the poultry farm that visitors are not allowed into the farm. Also, you must keep contaminated equipment, footwear, and vehicles away from the farm. Avoid using your hand on the birds without first sterilizing it. You must de-worm the birds and do check them regularly for exo-parasites, e.g. mites.
Adulteration and high cost of poultry food
The cost of poultry food is high and to produce healthy birds there is no need for an economy when buying poultry food and feeding the birds. Also, make sure you test the poultry feed for the birds before going for it. It is only in this way you ensure the birds’ well-being and proper growth.