Poultry farming is proven to be a lucrative business and for people that are looking to build a new source of income, this would be highly advised as it would serve a purpose and give you time to focus on your mainstream income.
Poultry farming involves raising various domestic birds mainly for commercial purposes like the production of meat, eggs, and even feathers. If you're looking to start a new business, this article would provide you with basic and key information on how to start and bloom in the poultry farm business.
Most beginners want to focus more on chicken because they are a major domestic bird and easy to care for. Chickens are seen even randomly everywhere, it's advised that beginners start from chicken before diversifying to other aspects. You can start small-scale poultry and then build on the income to build a large-scale commercial business and even offer other people opportunities to earn money from your business.
Most poultry businesses out there are just wholesalers selling to retailers.
If you're passionate about livestock agriculture and interested in domestic birds, poultry farming is a suitable business if runs under the right circumstances, methods, and conditions that will foster the growth of the domestic birds and yield more increase to the business owner. It is wise to learn more about the business before starting so you can understand the operational requirements and principles that will help you make a profit.
A successful poultry farm business needs a lot of work and dedication but is also easy at the same time, if well understood, you need to have a plan and do everything in time so you won't lose your money to the business
STARTING THE POULTRY FARM BUSINESS
Here's a step process of the important things you'll need to consider when you're starting your poultry business.
1. A proper investment
Every business needs money to run, you should ensure that you have enough money to start or you can apply for bank loans if possible. You should note that you may need to start with lesser birds if your money isn't enough.
2. Determining production type
You need to know what type of poultry farm you want to have. For example, broilers are raised mainly for meat purposes and layers for the production of eggs. Your production purpose will help you know how to plan for the business
3. Selecting farm location
You should look for a favorable location for the birds and a place that has the required facilities. It's important to note that the farm should not be too far from residential areas because they are your target market in the same light, it shouldn't be set up in the residential areas because of the offensive odor of the farm. You should understand that the transportation system and other essential resources are also prioritized.
4. Constructing the poultry house
After selecting your farm location, you need to construct a good house for the domestic birds. To have all required facilities for the growth of poultry birds. You can construct houses based on intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive.
An intensive system structure is most convenient for commercial use. Birds can be raised in a cage structure or a well-tidied floor. There should be a proper lighting and ventilation system in the poultry house. For building the construction you can use the help of an experienced personality
5. Buying important equipment
You will need to purchase some required equipment and facilities for your poultry. Here's a list of equipment that you will need for proper running.
• Cages
• Incubators
• Nests
• Feeders
• Bird Coops
• Crates
• Waterers
• Egg tray
• Lighting instruments (Bulbs)
• Brooders or heaters
• Ventilation system
Manpower is also important for proper running depending on the number of birds, if you plan on raising more than 500 birds you will need to hire labor/manpower for effectiveness.
6. Buying the chicks
When you have everything ready to cater to the birds, you can now purchase healthy chicks from a trusted breeder and start caring for them. For beginners, it is wise to start with day-old chicks instead of older chicks, and don't forget to start from a number you're sure you can handle.
7. Feeding
This is a key part of the poultry farm business, you will spend a large amount of money buying food and feeding your birds. More than 50% of your expenses will be spent on feed. You can either buy ingredients and make the feed or buy ready-made poultry feeds from the market.
8. Birds health management
You must ensure proper management of the health of the birds because poultry birds are susceptible to having different kinds of diseases and you may run at a loss if your birds keep dying. Vaccinate your birds timely and let them have access to clean and fresh water and healthy food. You can restock vaccines to help them and prevent them from getting infected or sick.
9. Massive marketing
You need the profit from your business and you in turn would need great marketing strategies to ensure your business is running. You might have a hard time starting at first or have a great start then the business drifts for some time. You must market your business and products properly to show your customers what they would be missing if they don't patronize you and how differently your business operates from other ones.
These are the few basic things you need to start your own poultry business, it is also wise to emphasize that before you start, learn about the business and you can even take a feasibility study of poultry farms near you. It's not bad to consult with other farmers to learn from their experiences and ask questions.
You can start with a minimum amount of birds for the first time to gain experience and do a test run of whether you can handle the business well before you proceed to expand your farm and even add more variety of birds or have subsidiaries.
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