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Outline
Introduction
Most people who are into poultry out there are poultry farmers. You will not be
that. You will be a poultry entrepreneur after reading this course.
Let me quickly remind you that this article is solely about chicken, especially
layers and broilers.
Though we have so many other poultry birds like turkey, goose, duck, and
others, chicken has a very large market demand in your country and since
your goal as a farmer is to make a profit, it’s smart that we concentrate our
effort on what the market wants.
That’s the reason why we’ll “talk” mainly about chicken in this course.
Not even all chicken, but layers and broilers. We won’t talk about cockerel
because it’s not as profitable as broilers could be.
1. Feeders
The feeder is where a farmer drops the bird’s food for the chickens to eat
from. It is of different designs.
It is what you see as red in the above picture.
2. Heater or Brooder
This is the instrument farmers use to regulate the temperature of the poultry
farm, especially during brooding (the time when chickens are very small) and
the raining season or cold period.
Many farmers simply use the locally versioned heaters (coal or stove) as the
brooder could be beyond your budget.
4. Incubator
An incubator is an electronic machine the hatchers use to hatch fertile eggs.
You don’t need this equipment except you want to go into the hatchery part of
the poultry business.
5. Egg Tray
This is the equipment used to set eggs and to transport them to the customers
7. Poultry Cages
Cages are used to keep poultry birds.
8. Protective Clothing
Hair caps, disposable sleeves, boots and overall for humans so has to prevent
contamination from humans to the birds or from birds to humans
9. Electricity
Electricity is as well important, either you’ll use government-supplied power,
generator or locally made lamps (more on this later)
Cost Analyses
Here is it.
You want to know how much you’ll need to raise your birds before they start
bringing in returns.
It’s foolish to start with 1000 birds if all your resources could handle is 500
birds.
You need an estimate so you’re going to take your pen and paper.
After analyzing all these, then you’ll move to the main expense; poultry feeds.
Poultry feeds are where the real expenses lie so let’s take some time to talk
about feeding your chickens, the kinds of feeds you need at a given time and
then the estimated quantity in the section below.
Broiler
Broiler eats far much more than layers. They should be eating virtually all
round the clock. Not really that they will be busy eating every minute but they
should have food around them (always) so they could pick at their convenient
time.
The reason for their heavy eating is because they are expected to grow so
fast and be sold (7 or 8 weeks).
This is the reason why serious farmers light up their pens all night because
chicken (either broiler or layers) don’t eat in the dark.
The good news is that these birds can convert almost half of their feeds to
meat. That is if we feed our broiler 4kg for instance, it could weigh 1.8 kg
thereabout.
There are two kinds of feeds our broilers need at different stages of their lives.
The first is known as Broiler Starter.
This is the first type of food (feed) they should be given as it’s very rich in
protein and other necessary vitamins.
Broiler Starter should be given for the first 3 weeks of your broilers.
The second type of feed for broiler is called Broiler Finisher. This should be
given from week 4 till your chickens are sold (hopefully at week 7 or week 8)
Layers
The first feed to be given to your layer is called Layer Starter or Chicks
Smash. Chicks smash will be given your layers from day 1 to 8th week.
This feed contains a very high percentage of protein to help them in quick
growth.
Grower smash is to be given from week 8-18
Layer Feed is the feed that prepares and enables your layers to lay eggs
properly. This is to be given starting from week 18th till your layers are spent
(tired) and sold.
Warning
Layer smash should not be given until your bird reaches week 18. This is
because this feed contains calcium than can permanently damage the
kidneys, cause kidney stones, reduce lifetime egg production, and shorten the
bird’s life span.
The only reason to give Layer feed to your layer is if they have started laying
before week 18.
Supplemental Calcium
Ordinarily, your layer feed contains a good quantity of calcium. However,
there may need to supply them with additional calcium once in a while as they
start laying. This decision could be reached if you’re advised by your
veterinary doctor or a nearby expert who thinks the egg production is not as
expected.
1. With your present capital or resources, like how many layer or broiler
birds can you conveniently raise?
2. In the long run, like how much could your profit?
These facts and figures are what will give you confidence.
After discussing the importance of cost analyses and the different kinds of
feeds you need for your chickens, let’s go into two other important things you
have to understand about poultry farming which will help your cost estimate
and general knowledge about the great poultry business…
Egg Production
As said earlier, 100 layer birds cannot produce 100 eggs every day. The
reason for this, as analyzed by some experts is because chickens don’t lay an
egg every 24 hours. Instead, they lay every 26 hours.
Some other people believe that some chicken lay every day while some every
two days.
We may not be able to tell which theory is correct, but we know that you
cannot get the exact numbers of eggs from the numbers of chickens you
have.
The best estimate is between 80-85% daily egg productivity. That means if
you have 1000 laying birds on your farm, you could be picking between 800-
850 eggs every day.
That’s around 28 creates of eggs. Multiply 28 by the amount they are selling
create of egg in your locality and you’ll see something. Deducting that from
the cost of layers’ feed and labor and you can see where the profit lies.
After discussing the egg production and the mortality rate, let’s take a moment
to talk about it.
Chickens’ predators
Predators are those other animals or insects that feed on or find pleasure in
hurting or killing chickens. E.g. hawks, raccoons, foxes, snakes, soldier ants,
dogs, etc.
While chicken predators are everywhere, certain places have more violent
and hard to control predators, so you may not locate your farm in such places.
After we have talked about getting the appropriate location for your farm, let’s
now talk about how your bird’s pens (houses) should be constructed.
Brooding Pen
This is where you will house your chicks from the very first day you get them
to your farm till they become “adults”.
The ideal way to build this pen is to construct simple two blocks round your
intending brooding location, then use Tarpaulin (and wood) to cover the
remaining space up.
The brooding stage of your broiler chicken is about two to three weeks while it
may take 6/7 weeks for layers to be brooded.
Now about layers or “adult” broilers’ pen.
This could be a little simpler. You could just build two blocks (as of broodings
pen). You could then cover up the remaining space with net (strong net, not
mosquito’s net. Lol) or woods.
The roofing sheet, as earlier said, must not be constructed with light iron or
metal roofing sheets. Instead, with Asbestos or Thatch-roof
Please Note:
Your broodings’ pen must not be built near the broilers’ or layers’ pen.
The first reason is that your chicks cannot withstand the odor from the layers
or broilers’ pen.
The other reason is that layers or broilers could be carriers of certain germs
that though could do them no harm, can easily kill the chicks.
After sometimes when your farm has grown and you’re having chicks and
layers, you must have SEPARATE staff to be dealing with them.
Your workers who are working with the layers’ pen must not be entering your
broodings’ pen and those in broodings’ pen too must not be entering the
layers’ pen, so they won’t carry some germs from the layers’ pen and infect
your chicks.
Prevent Stampede!
As said earlier, a stampede is when chicken run over each other and step on
each other. This could lead to injury and death of your birds.
To prevent this from happening, first, always enter your pens gently. When
you or any of your workers rush into your pens, the chicken may run away
(usually to the building’s edges) and step or lie on each other. The result may
be injury or death.
Second, you may put some sacks together in one and put it at each edge of
your pen. In this way, when your birds run to the edge of your pen, they won’t
be wounded because the sacks will “bounce” them back.
Poultry Vaccines
Chicken’s Vaccine is the substance given to stimulate chickens’ body’s
production of antibodies and provide immunity against diseases.
As human beings, we have various kinds of immunization programs where
different vaccines are administered to our children at different ages to prevent
their health from certain diseases (polio, etc.)
The same applies to the chickens. From the very first day, there are certain
vaccines to be administered to the chicken.
Vaccine for day 1 of the chicken’s life; Marek‘s Disease Vaccine.
This vaccine must be given to the chicks the very day they are hatched. This
vaccine should have been administered by the hatchery where you got your
chicks from, even before you buy them.
Once the chicks leave the hatchery, this vaccine is no longer as effective as it
should be, so it has to be administered in the hatchery.
The vaccine is to prevent Marek’s disease tumors and paralysis Newcastle
Disease Vaccine
This vaccine should be given within 10 and 35 days of the chicken and to be
repeated every 3-month to maintain a sufficient level of immunity for your
birds against Newcastle Disease
This vaccine could be given through your birds’ drinking water, or as an
eye/nose drop.
Infectious Bronchitis Vaccine
This vaccine could be given within day 10-35 of your birds. It’s often combined
with the above vaccine (Newcastle).
Fowl Cholera Vaccine is another vaccine that should be administered only
when you have or suspect cholera in your farm or a nearby farm
Infectious Bursal Disease Vaccine;
This is usually for layers’ birds. To be administered on the 14th day of your
birds (or as advised by your vet doctor). This is also to be repeated on the
28th day. It could be administered through drinking water.
Other poultry vaccines are available to be administered whenever a disease is
suspected or heard of in the neighboring farm or town.
Your vet doctor or consultant will be of great help in guiding you about
when it’s necessary to administer some of these vaccines and how to go
about them, even the emergency ones (if need be).
Infectious Laryngotracheitis Vaccine, Inactivated Newcastle-Bronchitis,
Laryngotracheitis Fowlpox AE, etc. are the vaccines chickens may need as
the need arises for them.
All of the poultry diseases could be categorized into the above four categories.
So let’s see one or two common poultry diseases.
1. Pay attention to proper sanitation practices. Daily wash the feeders and
drinkers. Always clean all your equipment with proper disinfectants
(Dettol etc)
2. Minimize or eliminate the introduction of new chickens to your flock
because they could be carriers of some germs or
3. Limit visitors’entrance to your farm and if they must enter, let there be
disinfectants at the entrance of your farm where everyone going into
your pen (including you) will wash there hands and fits. (Example
disinfectant is a bowl of water you’ll put anti-germs chemicals like Dettol,
Izal )
4. Quarantine unhealthy chicken as quickly as possible. By this, I mean
that you should separate any chicken suspected to be sick into an
isolated
This should be done to prevent the spreading of the diseases among the
flock.
healthy, it’s better you know on time. Since you know how your birds live
and behave in good days, it’s not too difficult to know if one of them is sick.
If you could master all we have explained so far, you shouldn’t have much to
worry about.
Now let’s see common mistakes you have to avoid in the poultry farming
business;
I have said this before. Your brooding house (where your day-old chicks live)
must not be too close to the rearing or layers pen. Some people with large
land space give a space of like three electric poles while others simply locate
brooding pen into an entirely different location
This sounds foolish when you look at the nature of chickens. How can a
younger chicken cope when the time comes for it to struggle with the older
ones to eat? Don’t you know that chickens (like humans) do fight? How can
younger chickens cope when the older and stronger ones step on them
(stampede)?
This is one of the reasons why some ignorant farmers lose their investments.
Now, even if they are of the same nature (i.e. layers), they shouldn’t be in the
same pen together if they are from different hatcheries.
Why?
Because their foundation is different and they may not grow or be fruitful alike.
Some people hawk chicks all around the town. Some are hatchers by mere
name. The reason why you must not buy your chickens just anywhere is that
there are meticulous processes the professional hatchers have to go through
to hatch eggs.
If any of these processes are left out or omitted because of ignorance, it will
tell for the rest of the chickens’ life. How do you know a good hatchery?
Ask from the farmers in your vicinity. If they prove hard to approach, ask from
the poultry feed sellers. They will be friendlier with you (because they want to
sell you feeds)
6. Overcrowding.
I met with a man a few days ago and he was sharing with me his experience
in some places in Lagos, a situation whereby 7 to 12 people could be sleeping
in a single room.
That’s call overcrowding.
It’s affecting their health but because there is no alternative, “man must live”
However, in the case of birds, “birds can die”.
When they are still day-old, chickens could be hundreds in a pen but as they
grow up you’ll have to be spacing them because that pen may not be
conducive for them any longer.
Your pens can never be too big, but they can be too small.
7. Bad litter management
You must have a place on your farm where you pack the birds’ feces. This
could be a hole at a distance or something similar.
8. Assuming that all will be well, all the time or estimating that all layers will
lay an egg every day
This may sound pessimistic but you see, nobody smiles all the time. No
known method will keep all your chicken alive. Some will die. If you have 500
layers, you cannot get 500 eggs every day.
I have explained this earlier
Some layers may not lay eggs while some lay each 26 hours. If you think
about that, you’ll know the reason why you cannot pick 500 eggs from 500
layers.
9. Underestimating Predators.
10. Not knowing when the chickens are uncomfortable and how to
attend to them.
11. Using Metal Roofing for poultry pens. As mentioned earlier, this
causes heat, affect egg productivity and health of the
12. Not preventing stampede.
I have explained this earlier. Take note. Stampede kills human beings (as
strong as we are). Imagine how much effect that could have on the fragile
chickens.
Don’t go all alone. Make friends and relate with poultry farmers in your locality.
Have some experienced people (one or two) who you can call at any time and
ask questions.
If possible (a must for a real farm), have a veterinarian at hand. Anything can
happen at any time. He might have to diagnose to see what exactly is wrong
with some unwell birds.
Let me warn you; DON’T GO ALL ALONE.
If some of these professionals and consultants require a certain fee, rather
negotiate the fee than to go alone without them.
You may want to save 100 dollars and lose 1,000 dollars.
Executive Summary
Business Overview
Vision Statement
Mission Statement
Marketing Strategy
Business Requirements
Cash Flow Analysis
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Raising poultry birds involves the production of broiler meat and chicken eggs.
It’s one lucrative and wide industry that has attracted millions of investors over
the years. Niches related poultry farming include
setting up a hatchery
raising broilers
egg production through layer birds
marketing and distribution of table eggs
production of poultry farm equipment like drinkers, feeders, debeakers,
etc.
sales of poultry vaccines, drugs, feeds, and supplements
feed mill operation
the construction of poultry pen and battery cage installation
This facility will only produce layer birds to prevent an overlap of ideas and
due to the limited resources available. Meaning that in the future, Goody
Poultry Farm might decide to bring in more ideas.
It is expected that in the first year of production, the farm should be able to
produce about 60 crates of egg daily and generate more than 1 million as
revenue. Spent layers should be sold at the end of a year of laying and the
money should be used in getting replacement birds.
The business has decided to collaborate with experts and investors because
the business involves bringing together all available industrial facilities that a
single business might not be able to provide.
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
The most popular form of poultry farming business is layers production
because egg consumption cuts across all nations. There are different niches
in the poultry business. These include broiler, layer, quail, turkey, ostrich,
geese, and duck production.
Because of these various forms, it is advisable to focus on one aspect and
then add other aspects with time. This is one industry with great potential.
The main things that serve as hindrances in this industry are high-interest
rate, lack of electricity, absence of credit, high cost of products, and so on.
Presently, the demand for day-old chicks, eggs, and broiler meat remains very
high.
VISION STATEMENT
The vision statement of Goody Poultry Farm is to ensure the production of
good and nutritious eggs, create employment opportunities, and create wealth
for investors.
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of this farming business is to build an efficient mechanized
poultry farm that is rewarding at the same time. We are looking at a
successful poultry farm that is highly developed and maintained.
MARKETING STRATEGY
Goody Poultry farm will as a marketing strategy employ a marketer at full
capacity, the marketer will be employed to sell the eggs produced in the farm
from one egg depot to another. Through this marketing activity, many clientele
bases will be created.
To make the marketing easier and more efficient, we will allocate a date for all
our customers so each customer will have a day when they will be supplied
eggs either by picking up the eggs or have it delivered to them at a price.
Also, adverts will be placed on several online media which will also serve as a
form of marketing.
BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS
The poultry business will be needing several equipment and tools for the
smooth management of the business and they include: