Starting a poultry farm is not so easy as being perceived by the general public in Nigeria. From types of chicken, the equipment to use, to diseases control and treatments, you will need to make sure you have fundamental knowledge of them. I have put together plan below to help out reach your poultry faming business objective. It is advisable to follow them:
- Poultry location: If you are looking to choose a good location for your poultry, there are several factors that you have to consider and they include; drainage, wind direction, topography, waste management, natural disaster, utilities, public amenities, and other environmental factors. Carefully consider these factors to choose a good location for your poultry.
- Start-up capital investment: The question is how much does it cost to start a poultry farm in Nigeria? Well, the start-up capital depends on the scale, type of management technology and the location of your farm. You have to decide on these factors and make sure that you have enough capital to start the business. In this article, you will find out the prices of chicks and poultry equipment.
- Fencing options and poultry housing system? Poultry owners face a lot of challenges like predators which might harm or kill their birds. That is why it is important to consider an effective fencing option when setting up your poultry farm. The major fencing option available is Chicken Netting and Chicken Wire (Rabbit Wire). The choice you make on the most effective chicken fencing option largely depends on the following factors which are; climatic condition of the location, type of predators and the geographical composition of your preferred location.
- Accounting: Accounting entails the keeping of records in poultry farms and the provision of automation of various business activities. Other things to note include; accounting for egg production, processing, and production accounting, accounting for the incubation costs, accounting for sales of finished goods, accounting for poultry body weight and population. etc.
- Health: Good health management of poultry is an important factor that is critical to the development of your poultry farming business. Therefore, it is advisable to follow these three principles to prevent the outbreak of diseases which can negatively affect your production. The three principles are; prevention of disease, early recognition of the disease and early treatment of disease.
- Poultry farm staffing and manpower: When considering the number of staff and manpower required for poultry business, you also have to relate it to the size of your farm because it makes no sense employing multitudes of people to help manage a small-scale poultry business. Whatever the case may be, it is advisable to hire personnel who will reside permanently on the farm to oversee the affairs.
- Product Marketing: For instance, if you are engaged in egg production, you can market this product to the hotels, supermarkets, market women, etc. The fact is that every business needs hard work, discipline, and determination to succeed. Also, there are different avenues whereby you can promote and market your poultry products. Examples are social media platforms, the printing of promotional logos, etc.
- Projected Return on Investment (ROI): The return of investment of commercial poultry farming is very high. In fact, it is possible to generate profit within a very short period. If you intend to make a huge profit within a short period, it is important to avoid unnecessary spending. The feeds, drugs, equipment and other input costs must be aligned with standard farm requirements, otherwise, it is better to avoid such needless expenses.