Poultry farming is a business opportunity many people have ventured into as other sources of income.
It is the process of raising domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food.
A poultry farmer, Mr. Olakunle Jimoh, said poultry farming is one of the most lucrative farming businesses one can do in Nigeria, especially when it is setup and managed properly. Currently, farmers are not producing enough poultry and will not even be enough in the next ten years. This aspect of livestock farming presents one of the finest opportunities for entrepreneurs to make good money within the shortest period of time.
He explained that; “with over 160 million consumers in the country who buy poultry products on a daily basis, the market is always there waiting to be tapped. The demand for eggs is so high that people go about everyday looking for where to buy.”
Jimoh noted that anyone can engage in poultry farming business, it doesn’t matter your educational or financial background. You can start at any level and grow as big as you want with time. The most important thing is that you are interested in starting somewhere.
“One of the factors that make poultry farming business ideal is because chickens grow very fast. Unlike goats that take two to three years to mature, a chicken can be ready for the market within 28 weeks from birth. That is why it is considered ideal business for loan takers who may actually invest the loan and within 30 to 40 weeks, they may start paying back through the money realised from sales. That is if everything goes well as planned,” he said.
In starting up poultry farming business, he warned that although poultry is a very viable and lucrative business, it can be a risky business suddenly; especially when one is not concerned about poultry feed management.
“Poultry birds require energy. In order to obtain desire growth rate, you must have to purchase and provide highly nutritious poultry feed,” he said.
Poultry location: Farm Location
The major thing to acquire before starting a poultry farm is a suitable piece of land. Generally, a plot of 120×60 square metres is suitable for a medium sized poultry farm. The size of land depends on the number of birds you want to raise and the farming
system. Acquire the land from far towns and big cities. It’s advisable to buy a land in the rural area. Because lands and labour are highly available in cheaper rate. Select a fresh environment and pollution free area.
Establishing a poultry farm in a rented land is absolutely a bad idea. However, while selecting land, keep in mind some important facilities like great source of water, free from all types of animals and predators, a market near the farm, proper transportation facilities amongst others.
Housing: Housing system depends on your poultry breeds and farming method. The poultry house has to be well ventilated; Well ventilation keeps the bird healthy and productive.
Make a suitable system for entrancing sufficient amount of fresh air and light inside the house, try and make the house north to south faced, In the case of making numerous houses; the distance between one houses to another house should be about 40 feet.
Before bringing the chick into the farm, clean the house and the entire farm area properly, make deep liter clean regularly. You can use some cheap materials like wooden material or rice ban for making liter, keep the feeding and watering equipment in proper distance from each other according to the number of birds and farming system. And always clean all types of equipment every day. The house must have all required facilities for poultry birds. Feeding: Good and high quality of food keeps the birds healthy and highly productive. Good quality fresh and nutritious food is the key success in poultry farming business. It’s advisable to provide adequate amount of food according to the age and number of poultry birds. Along with feeding with good food, always supply sufficient amount of clean water according to the daily demands of the birds.
Poultry feeds include: wheat which is one of the best grains to be used as poultry feed ingredients. For this reason you should include a certain amount of wheat in the poultry feed ratio. During the wheat harvesting season, you can feed the poultry birds as mash or as scratch feed. You can also use wheat as poultry feed throughout the year.
Barley: Generally, barley is not as delicious like wheat and oats. But it contains fiber and a great source of
fat.
Corn: Corn can be very effective grain for your poultry birds. You can feed whole, cracked or grinded. You can feed ripe corns to your hens.
Millet: It has good advantages as poultry feed. You can use millet in growing, laying and fattening ratio. Millet is easily digestible and helps to increase body temperature of the birds. Poultry is very sensitive and may be infected by diseases easily. Generally, they suffer various types of viral, bacterial, fungal, nutritional and parasitic diseases. Proper vaccination is a must for keeping your birds diseases free, healthy and
productive.
