Agriculture remains one of the most lucrative sectors of the economy with poultry farming at the top part of the list. Poultry products are popular because they are consumed daily. The most popular poultry products are eggs, chicken, and turkey. This does not in any way restrict opportunities as poultry farming could be diversified. Poultry farming and its market is vast and lucrative, you just have to know the best angle to venture into. it covers; egg production, raising chicken, meat production, medicine production, fed production, equipment production and sales. If you’re still in doubt, below are the major reasons why poultry farming is considered one of the most lucrative businesses in agriculture.
- Poultry products are ever present on food menus.
- It’s a fast track business; poultry animals have a fast reproduction and growth rate.
- Startup capital for poultry farming is relatively low (depending on the scale you want to start at) yet the turnout is always huge.
If you’ve made up your mind on venturing into poultry business here are a few things you should consider before you draw up a plan.
- LOCATION; it is essential that you consider the area where you want your farm to be situated. It’s rather ideal to set up a poultry farm in a remote area rather than an urban area to avoid running into problems with the law regarding the health implications of your farm on individuals living around it. It shouldn’t be located far off either so that your customers will not have problems commuting.
- CAPITAL; poultry farming is rather capital intensive depending on how big a farm you intend to set up. Before venturing into poultry farming make an analysis based on the size of farm you want, and make sure your capital is sufficient to start you off. Keep in mind that the size of your capital and ultimately the size of your farm, directly affects the size of your turnover
- HOUSING, EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES; these three factors are essential to the establishment and success of your farm. It is of utmost importance that you decide on which poultry housing system will be more ideal for your farm (cost and productivity wise). It could be any of the three types of poultry housing systems; the battery cage system, the free roam system, and the deep liter system. The battery cage system is the most organized and most effective system especially if you’re considering going large scale. Other facilities and equipments that you should consider are feeders, drinkers, crates, nests, heaters, waste disposal systems, lightning systems, egg trays, incubators, among others. With an adequate housing system and proper equipments, your farm stands a huge chance at success.
- MEDICAL ADMINISTRATION AND COST; for your poultry to generate huge turnover you need to secure the health of your birds. The healthier the birds, the bigger the farms turnover. pay close attention to what vaccines you might need and ensure that you have the costs covered
- LABOUR; needing an extra hand to take care of things is inevitable. Division of labour does not only lighten one’s load but makes work faster. Consider how many people you might need to employ, what role they’ll play, and what financial implications employing them might have on the farm.
- FEEDS; did you know that in poultry farming, about 70% of your total expenditure goes to feeding? This is why you need to carefully plan and strategize how you intend to go about feeds for the birds. Manufacturing feeds is a great idea and save cost but might only be practical for large scale poultry farm. either way ensure that you plan for the costs that come with feeding the birds
Having considered these issues discussed above, you should be able to make a practical business plan for your poultry farm. Of course like every other business, poultry farming comes with its risks but with proper management you’ll be able to keep risks as minimal as possible.