HOW TO START POULTRY FARMING

Chicken is a good source of protein and is much
healthier to eat than red meat which is high in
cholesterol. Due to its high value it’s mostly used
during festive periods and special occasions. The
production of chicken is called poultry farming.

Poultry farming business is highly profitable if it is properly run under acceptable methods and
conditions conducive for the birds.
Each type of
livestock farming, poultry included, follows specific
operational principles if they must run profitably, but
when such principles are ignored by the farm
management, it results in serious losses. The over riding motive for starting any business is to
make profit. It is unfortunate however, that many
poultry farmers do not take the time to learn why
some poultry farmers failed. It is widely known that
many poultry farmers have been forced out of
business when they could not operate profitably. To achieve success in poultry farming, a lot of work is
involved. According to an expert, “it is not a lazy
man’s business.”


As a small starter, it is better to start with day-old
chicks than with older chicks. It is advisable for a
beginner to start with about 500 day-old chicks if he is interested in the production of eggs and selling off the
layers when they are old.
It takes about 18-20 weeks
(5 months) to feed and nurture the birds before they
start laying eggs. On the average, 100 birds will
produce a minimum of 80 eggs daily. So if an
entrepreneur starts with 500 birds and all the 500 survive, he will be getting a minimum of 400 eggs
daily, which is good output. Once the birds start laying,
they will do so for 74 weeks, after which they become
due for disposal. However, the birds could still lay
after 74 weeks, if properly fed.


Technical knowledge for running a poultry farm. Going into poultry farming without a practical
knowledge of the venture is direct invitation to failure.
It is very important for the would-be farmer to know
how to keep the chicken or birds in an acceptable
manner.


Housing / Feeding
Two basic housing methods are available:

THE DEEP LITTER SYSTEM and THE BATTERY CAGE.
Both
methods are good, provided that proper hygiene is
maintained.


In the deep litter system, the pullets are placed on
bare floor that has been covered with saw dust. Careful consideration is given to the method applied in
feeding the birds. Removing the dropping usually
poses no problem. You can either pack off the entire
saw dust with the dropping or cover the dropping
with fresh saw dust.

Normally, the day-old chicks are housed using the brooder method before they grow up. They can be
transferred to the battery cage when they approach
their egg-laying period, or left in the deep litter floor.

The battery cage housing allows for the droppings to
fall on a separate platform directly under the cage. It
is uniquely constructed to make feeding and drinking quite easy for the birds. The birds feed on marsh,
which have been properly compounded. The marsh
should be given according to an expert’s advice. In
some cases, inappropriate feeding can lead to excess
fat, which can result in mortality. In fact, defective
feeding can lead to low egg production. In fact, it has been experienced in the past where a whole stock of
birds produced no egg, due to wrong feeding.


Health

One of the critical factors that account for the success
or failure of poultry farming is the way the health of
the birds is handled. If the source of the day-old chicks, or the foundation
stick is compromised, or the necessary drugs are not
properly administered, poultry farming can turn in to
a nightmare.
The intending farmer should seek (and take seriously)
expert advice on the type of drug to administer on the birds as well as the dosage.
When birds are hatched, there is a vaccination time
table to be followed; if this is not done, the farmer that
buys this stock from the source may have serious
problems.
Again, the farmer should take pain to do it by himself or hire a qualified and honest consultant / veterinary
doctor in order to get the desired result.


Cost Consciousness

A prudent poultry farmer must keep a close watch
over the cost of running the farm; he must avoid
unnecessary spending, which tends to eat away his profit. The labour, feeds, drugs and other input costs
must be in line with standard farm requirements,
otherwise such expenses should be ignored. All forms
of wasteful spending must be eliminated, no matter
how insignificant the amount may seem to the
management.


Viability
The market for poultry products is quite enormous.
This confirms the huge market that poultry products
have in Sierra Leone. It is noteworthy that all parts of the birds are marketable including the feather and the
droppings (for manure).
If a farmer starts with 500 day-old chicks and, say,
400 mature to the point of lay, the entrepreneur is
bound to reap a fortune. On the average, 100 birds
will lay 80 eggs everyday, meaning that 400 will produce 320 eggs daily. The poultry farmer should be
able to identify both the immediate and potential
markets for his or her products before starting the
business otherwise the management might not be
able to sell the products at the appropriate time.
It is not profitable to continue feeding chicks meant for a long time after maturing, without selling them. The
eggs produced do not stay indefinitely without going
bad. In fact, the shelf life of eggs is very short and if
they are not sold off in good time, they may go bad,
thereby resulting in loss.
The cause of high failure rate in poultry business

(a)Lack of Technical Know-how:
It is regrettable that many people and organizations
have ventured into poultry farming without technical
knowledge. Knowledge of poultry farming techniques
are required before anyone can operate the business
profitably.

(b)Management Problem:
An incompetent management may not be able to
operate a profitable poultry farm. The managers of
the farm must know what they are employed to do
and posses the ability to do it. Some poultry managers
fail to recognize the peculiarity of poultry farming in their management style, thereby preparing good
ground for losses in the venture. Many managers do
not recognize the need for timely planning and control
in running the farm.


(c) Diseased Breeds:
Some fertilized eggs meant to be hatched in the incubator could be infected with disease from the
parent stock. This means that before the eggs were
hatched they had been diseased. If the disease are
not detected and treated on time, the affected birds
may die sooner or later.

(d)Hygiene Deficiency:
There is a minimum hygiene condition that must exist
in any poultry farm if the birds are to remain healthy
and produce maximally for profit. The poultry farm
must be kept clean always; the droppings should be
cleared on time before they constitute an agent of
disease .

(e)Poor feeding condition and wastage of feed:
The birds need to be fed well in the pens in order to
produce maximum meat and eggs (either of which
may be the purpose for running the farm). The birds
are fed with varying quantities of feed at different stages and with the appropriate feed. The various
feeds are chicks mash, grower mash and layer mash,
which must be sufficiently rich to give the birds the
required nutrients to grow healthy and produce
optimally.

(F) Security A poultry farm must be established in a secured place
to ward off enemies of birds, such as rats, soldier
ants, snakes, wild birds, etc. Most of these enemies
are agents of disease that could lead to an epidemic
on the farm, and they kill the birds directly as well.
There must be strict check on the farm workers who may be stealing the fowls and the eggs. Also, visitors
may constitute a problem to the farm if they are not
properly checked.

(g) Housing:
Birds need minimum space and convenient place to
grow well and produce maximally meat and eggs. Birds are spaced on the farm according to their ages;
while the chicks need little space, growers and
mature birds need more space and ventilation to
perform well. The services of a consultant may be
needed to determine the appropriate spacing for the
birds without which they may suffocate to death, which will be a big loss to the business.

(h) Inability to prevent, detect and control disease
It is often said that prevention is better than cure, as
far as disease are concerned and this is a true
statement and relevant one to poultry farming. A
poultry farmer should know how to prevent poultry disease, as well as how to cure them. If he or she
does know anything about preventive measures, the
services of consultants in the field should be engaged
for good result.

(i)Marketing:
A marketing plan is absolutely necessary for successful commercial poultry farming, as any farmer
ignorant of his or her marketing needs is bound to run
into serious losses and eventual failure. It will be
ridiculous to start poultry production without knowing
when, where, how and to whom to sell the fowls,
eggs, feathers and droppings as they are produced. We cannot talk of profit if the meat and eggs have no
ready market. Eggs have a very short shelf life and if
they are not sold quickly, they will go bad, and no one
is interested in buying bad eggs. Also, birds not sold at
the appropriate time will be fed at an extra cost that
may make the business unprofitable. Therefore, adequate marketing strategies are needed to sell all
the poultry products at the appropriate time and
prices.

(j)Ignoring the role of livestock consultants:
There are always practicing experts in every
profession or occupation who function as consultants. They are there to proffer solutions to problems that
exist in such professions at a minimum cost. Where a
livestock farmer doesn’t have adequate technical
and managerial experience, he or she can consult
experts for necessary advice to bridge the gap. Even
where the farmer thinks he or she has all it takes to run a farm successfully, there may be need to seek
the services of experts in the field, as it is usually said
that two heads are better than one.

Source: www.awoko.org