How to Start a Poultry Farm Business

HOW TO START A POULTRY FARM

Poultry Farming

In our last article we discussed about the basic Factors to Consider before Starting a Poultry Farm and we did cover both the advantages and disadvantages of poultry farming as well as some of the frequently asked questions concerning poultry farming this is to give aspiring poultry farmers to have a little knowledge of what they are getting into and also the feasibility research on what to look out for while starting the business.

In this article we focused mainly on the basis steps involved to start a poultry farming business, but before we dive straight into the steps let's take a look at the equipments needed to start a poultry business.

EQUIPMENTS NEEDED TO START A POULTRY FARMING BUSINESS

1: Coop 

it is a place Where the birds will be staying, Coops are usually made by carpenters or purchased from the market and we have different types of Coops, you can do your research on the exact type you want and it should be based on the size of your arena.

2: Drinkers 

This is what enable the birds to access drinking water, it is were the birds drink from.

3: Feeders 

This is where you will place the feed of the birds.

Type of birds – well, you are going into poultry farming for a specific bird which could be chicken, turkey, ducks etc, you should have an idea of the exact type of bird you want to farm and their species.

4: Incubators

 If plan to hatch the eggs yourself, then you will be needing an incubator for the eggs, by placing the bird's eggs for a period of time before they get hatched.

5: Cages

 in a situation where by you don't want to involve in the free-range farming, which gives access to the birds to walk freely then you will be needing a cage which can be made by a carpenter or purchasable from the poultry market or private vendors.

HOW TO START A POULTRY FARMING BUSINESS

Now that you have gotten a list of Equipment needed for your poultry farm let's take a look at the steps required to start a poultry farm.

1. Create a Business Plan

The very first step you should take while starting a Poultry Farming business is to have a business plan, a business without a plan cannot succeed and it is filled with high volume of risk. 

Hence you need a well written business plan highlighting the list of equipments needed, the types of birds you plan to farm, the location and cool/cage, feeding and the cost to start the business.

A well written business plan will not only save you stress but will serve as a guide to your business.

If you can't write a business and financial plan you can hire an expert to assist you in getting a well documented business plan.

2. Seek Advice from Experience Farmers

After you must have document your business plan the next step is to seek for professional advice and get trained in the Poultry field.

Poultry farming is not an ordinary business as it takes a knowledgeable farmer to be able to carryout the business without having much issues.

Hence you need to seek for knowledge and learn more from those in the business, especially from those who have several years of experience.

If possible get a mentor, and you can easily relate with your business success, someone who will not only give you mere speeches but coach you practically on what to do when this occur and how to do it.

3.Do Your Research

You reading this article is obviously part of your basic research however you need to further your research by conducting some market survey and learn about the marketing aspect of the business.

Learn the best season and quarters of the year were the poultry business Sells more i.e most poultry farmers confirmed it that Festive periods are the best marketing season for poultry farmers like October to January and Easter Months, nonetheless it is important you do your due diligence in your area to understand your customers, you can also partner with eateries and restaurants who are into chicken, this will market your business very fast.

So explore the eateries and restaurants near you for marketing possibilities.

6. Decide The Quantity

When Planning on starting a Poultry Farm business you need to decide on the number of birds you want to begin with, this should be included in your business plan to avoid assumptions and underestimated budget.

Your decisions should be based on what you can afford, doing so will give you a financial budget.

7. Get A Space

Getting a space is as important as getting the birds themselves because the space will determine the quality it can take especially if you are going into large scale poultry farm.

If possible get a space far from the city to avoid pollution and noise however if you decide to raise the birds at your backyard it's not a bad idea afterall but map out the exact areas to use for the birds.

If you don't have enough space for your birds then you can either rent a space or buy a land which can be easily accessible.

8. Set Up your farm

Now that you have confirmed a Space for your poultry farm you need to start setting the farm immediately, this includes the clearing of bushes if there are any, cleaning the land off harmful substance and objects which could be harmful to the birds, building the coop and constructing the necessary Equipments needed for the birds.

You can hire a worker to do the job for you and explain exactly what you want and how it should be fixed.

9. Employe a worker

After setting up your space, the next step is to get a personnel who will be in charge of the poultry farm, especially if you and your family won't always be available on the farm, someone has to be hired and be in charge of the care of the birds.

If you have a security guard or a house maide you can train then on what to do and how to do it, the work should be feeding them and ensuring they are in good condition.

This should be based on an agreement between you and the person in charge, it shouldn't cost much and if your house isn't fenced, or lacking security you need to get a security guard on ground at night or better still purchase a dog to do the work, it's cheaper, safer and more alarming.

10. Purchase Your birds.

After you have come to an agreement with the affairs of the birds the next step is to purchase the birds, ensure to buy from a reliable source and be specific on the type of birds and species you are farming on as well as their feedings.

It is advisable to start with small quantity to observe the turn out of the birds, after you get a good satisfaction then you can increase the quantity.

11. Choose the type of Feeds

The feeding of the bird is another major factor to consider while starting a Poultry Farm business because there are several types of feeds manufactured by various companies.

So you have to ascertain on your exact type of feed and the availability of that feed in the market, ensure the feed is always available and not a scarcely feed.

Also consider the authentication of those those feeds, expiration and registration as well as the companies reliability in the general market.

System

After you purchase the feed the next step is to ensure that you set up the right management system for the birds which should include:

The Feeding of the birds - if you want to make good profits from the poultry business you need to make sure that the birds are well fed and at the right time, feeding the birds will not only increase productivity but helps to extract bigger eggs if you are into layers.

Healthy Farming Culture- Having a hygienic environment is also important as it will reduce the possibilities of harvesting a sick bird, keeping your birds in a ventilated are will also make them grow faster and prevent diseases that spread fast from venturing into your birds.

A clean environment will keep the birds safe.

Train Your Workers 

as I mentioned earlier while explaining the Employment of a worker, I made mention of training them, this is very important because a trained staff will help process a good management system hence very reasonable for the farm owner to also have an idea of the poultry farm business so they can easily lecture the staffs and workers of the farm as there are several aspect to train your staffs on which includes

Collection of eggs

Hatchery Method

Feeding the birds

And cleaning of the Coop etc.

13. MARKETING

The last but not least aspect of starting a Poultry Farming business is the Marketing aspect.

While explaining the Researching section I mentioned that you need to know were your customers will come from, are they going to be direct customers or other business vendors like restaurant and eatery whatever the case may be you need to do your research as early as possible even during your business plan so as to have an idea of how your marketing will be.

This will enable you approach your customers before marketing seasons.

Another way to step up your marketing strategy is by mounting up billboards, flyers or banners near your farm to let customers know that there is a poultry farm around that Axis.

If you are into egg production ensure to also get the information passed to the right vendors, because the marketing of eggs happen faster than expected.

CONCLUSION 

Poultry farming is an all round profitable business to venture into at the same time very risky and time consuming and that is why you need to do a thorough Planning and Research to keep you on the right track and ahead of unexpected situations.

The cost involved depends on the type of birds, the size, quantity and processes nonetheless you can start a poultry farming business according to your budget, as a matter of fact the regular household usually train their birds in a native way which still bring high returns of investment.

The poultry farming business is indeed a wealth creation farming business to venture into, I hope this article has been able to give you a full detailed explanation on what to expect in Starting a Poultry Farm.

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