Poultry farming is one of the most popular agricultural industries that tends to generate more income for both the investor and the farmer. The daily demand for poultry products increases daily despite the increase in the price of the commodity in the market.
On this journey into poultry farming, you need a pointer to guide you through the basics of being a successful farmer. Poultry farming is divided into different groups, which are: laying birds, which are for table eggs; breeders, which are to reproduce more birds, and meat-producing birds. There are different types of domesticated poultry birds, which include chickens, ducks, geese, quail, and turkeys. The principles and modes of practice inherent in them are the same.
STEPS TO TAKE IN STARTING A POULTRY FARM
Your foundation of poultry farming must by now be very strong, mostly the major challenges involved in the poultry business, the likes of diseases, and biosecurity measures involved. Below are some steps to be taken to become a successful poultry farmer.
STEP 1: SELECT YOUR FAVORITE POULTRY BIRDS
It's highly important to pick a particular breed of bird you intend to venture into. It's much more advisable to start with one breed and later advance with your experience in the field. Apart from locally raised birds, there are three major types of breeds in the poultry business.
Cockerels: These breeds are majorly grown for meat production just like broilers, with a maturity time of 8–12 months; sometimes they are majorly raised to target the Christmas and New Year festive seasons. It's also used by breeders' farmers to cross their laying birds for the fertility of eggs before hatching.
Broilers: These rare breeds of birds are known for their meat production, with a maturity age of 5–8 weeks depending on the type of breed, the feed given, and biosecurity measures involved. It is well known to most people as a bird raised majorly for festivities. Nowadays, it's no longer a seasonal bird as before. The importation ban levied by the Federal Government on agricultural products increased the demand for locally produced agricultural products, mostly frozen meat, in the market.
LAYERS: These are birds mainly known for their egg production, and they start producing eggs at the age of 18wks to 20wks, provided the management scope is done correctly. They always lay for 50 to 70 weeks depending on the breed, before production drops and they are ready to be sold.
STEP 2: CHOOSE A FARM LOCATION
The location of a farm contributes greatly to the growth and success of the farm. It's advisable to consider some of these things before picking a location;
- Your financial strength.
- Accessibility of the farm
- Accessibility to good water
- Biosecurity
- Pollution-free environment
If your backyard is big enough to contain a structure that can house the amount your financial strength can carry, please do it there and manage it well to avoid air pollution and disease spread. If not, search for a suitable location. Put it in mind to make sure you have a farmhouse on your farm location.
STEP 3: PEN CREATION
A pen is a place where poultry birds can call home; it is an important factor in successful poultry farming. It shields the birds from harsh weather, be it sun, rain, floods, or predators. There is a dimension drawn for the construction of a poultry house to aid good ventilation and free movement inside the pen. The dimensions schedule for a 100birds deep liter system is 200 square feet, that is, a 10ft by 20ft rectangular-shaped house with an 8ft height.
If egg production is your dream plan, a deep-liter system can also work out. But it has its demerits, which are usually egg-breaking, pecking among the birds, and the segregation issue of laying birds from barren ones. The most common practice is the cage system, in which a unit of the cage can house 90–120 birds.
STEP 4: MEDICATION AND FEEDING
As the adage says, "Health is Wealth." This also applies to animals. A good and nutritious feed helps the birds maintain their health and immune system. A bad diet does contain mycotoxin, which will allow fungus to operate in their system, leading the weak immune system to fight any disease that may be in their system, ultimately leading to serious complications.
Every breed of bird has its own traits of disease, which leads to their customized vaccination program and medication chart to tackle it before establishment. It's advisable to have an animal scientist or veterinary doctor for a checkup when issues are sensed or possibly for prevention's sake.
STEP 5: SALES AND MARKETING
Many farmers have experienced complications with the sales of their farm produce, mostly with the middlemen, usually called marketers by farmers. Due to the perishability of farm produce, it's a necessity to have a ready market for any produce a farmer is starting to avoid distressed sales and losses due to late sales.
There is a tactic mostly employed by the marketers. Once they sense the farmer has no other alternative market and no choice than to sell their produce, they tag the produce as a distressed sales commodity, which makes them price the produce to the point where the farmer ends up losing money. To avoid all this, it's best to get more than one buyer before your products reach maturity.
CONCLUSION
Poultry farming is very profitable if you know the right channel and have a good market. Have a good cycle of successful farmers around you; it's very possible to start with #50,000 and have a return of over #150,000 in 6 months. I make 40% of my capital as profit every 6 weeks, which I believe you can also do. If you wish to share your experiences or have a question, use the comment box and let's grow together.
No comments:
Post a Comment