Poultry Farming Business Plan Information

Introduction to Poultry Business

Today, Let us talk about poultry farming business plan.

Poultry farming is a type of agricultural method in which the birds are raised commercially. This is done for the production of meat and eggs. Basically, poultry farming involves chicken, ducks, turkeys, young pigeons. But chicken is the one which has huge market demand across the globe and hence most of the poultry farmers prefer growing chicken when they set up a farm.

Because of the population, which is raising across the world, the need for the poultry food is also becoming high because of the protein content present in it.

Advantages of Poultry farming

1. The chicken will produce meat and also eggs. This will be two ways of food resources. The eggs can also be sold along with the meat on the farm.
2. The price of the chicken is also at a very good rate in the market.
3. You can also start the farm with less capital and gradually grow up as per the circumstances and the market.
4. The return on investments will be very good in poultry farming.
5. It makes use of less water when compared to other types of farming for cleaning and also drinking. 2 liters of water will be sufficient for 10 birds.
6. The dropping of the poultry will be rich in the content of nitrogen and the materials which are organic. Hence, these can be used as fertilizers to the plants. The poultry farmer can sell the manure to the crop farmers in the locality.

Read: Poultry Farming Loan and Application Process.

Business plan for Poultry farming:

The poultry industry has many sub-sections in it as it is a very broad one. It is not only about the breeding of chicken and it has many sections to take up as a business. It has many sections like

• Production of eggs, which is also called a layer breeding.
• Production of meat which is also called broiler breeding.
• Production of feed of poultry.
• Manufacture of the equipment required in poultry.
• Processing of eggs and meat.
• Packaging and marketing the eggs and meat.
• Marketing the poultry.
• You can also start a consultancy for poultry which would help the farmers.
• This selection of the section of poultry farming you need to choose can be done by analysing your local market first. After analysing your market, you need to meet the poultry farmers in your locality and discuss the profits and losses of the farming.
• Then you need to choose the type of birds you want to rear in the poultry farm. There are many kinds of birds which come under poultry farming and some of them are chicken broilers and layers, pigeon, turkey, duck, quail etc.
• You also have a choice between rearing of layers or broilers. Layer farming will be done to raise the birds only for the purpose of the production of eggs. If you want to produce meat, then you need to go with the broilers as broilers have much ability to gain the weight with less feed which in turn leads to better returns.
• Then you need to choose the investment you were ready to make in order to set up a poultry farm of your choice of bird and section. You also have an option of starting a poultry farm as a small scale firm as it can be grown gradually depending on the returns.
• For a small-scale poultry farm, the investment would be generally from Rs. 35,000/- to Rs.1, 05,000/-. If you want to start a poultry farm on a medium scale, then the investment would be from Rs.1, 40,000/- to Rs.3, 50,000/-. To start a poultry farm on a large scale, then the investment would be up to Rs.7, 00,000/-.
• After selecting the capital, you need to go with the selection of a good location for your poultry farm. The location you choose will be the main scope for success. The location of the poultry farm should be in such a way that the land over there should be cheap and the locality should have a good population for consumption.
• You should also make sure that the poultry farm is close to the market area so that the transportation costs would be reduced. You need to choose a place which is convenient for you in terms of capital and also customers.

Read: Poultry Diseases, Causesm Symptoms and Control.

• The housing system for the poultry is the most important factor as it contributes up to 35% of the success of your poultry farm. The housing systems which are commonly used are
  • Extensive housing system: This is the oldest system which is followed in poultry farming. This system of housing is the one which allows the birds free on the ground which is called the range. This range will be providing the poultry with feed, water, shelter, etc. The birds will search for the food and have it. Even the shelter provided to the poultry will be a roof which is temporary and will be supported by the poles. Up to 400 birds can be reared at a place by using extensive housing system. But the land for an extensive farming system should be more as the chicken should be free to move from one place to another.
  • Semi-Intensive system: This type of housing system is carried by the small-scale firms of poultry farming. In this method, half of the rearing is done in the cages and in the other half, the poultry would be freed from the cages and live on the ground which is also called a field. The birds will be kept in the houses at night times mostly. The house will be very simple with a rood which is thatched and the floor slatted. These houses will help the birds by protecting them from bad weather conditions and few predators. 5 birds will be stocked per square meter in the houses.
  • Deep-litter system: In this system of housing, the birds are kept in large pens on the ground. This system is mainly followed while raising broilers. The floor will have straw, sawdust, or leaves. These will be at a depth of 3 inches from the ground. Up to seven birds will be raised per square meter in this type of housing. The feed and access will be provided easily to the birds in this system and the eggs laid by the birds also can be collected easily.
  • Slatted or wired housing systems: These houses will be small with their floor with wooden slater wired mesh. The slats will be placed at a height of 4 feet from the ground. Up to eight birds can be grown in a square meter. Feeding the birds and watering them can be done from the external environment of the house. Even the collection of eggs can be done from outside. These houses have a low temperature which makes the environment in it cool. Because of this, it is always advisable to raise adults in such houses.
  • Battery-caged housing system: In this system of housing, the cages are constructed in the building by using metals. The birds will be kept in these cages. The cages will be divided into compartments. Then the birds will be made as groups and placed in these compartments. The cages will have containers for feeding and watering. The birds can also lay eggs in the nests provided in the housing system. The dropping of the birds will be falling on the ground and the cleaning is done by using a scraper which is machinery used. This is very effective methods in terms of production of eggs as well as the most expensive one as it involved more equipment and maintenance.

    

• The equipment required for the poultry farming will be in large numbers. The houses should be provided for the birds, feeders should be bought for feeding the birds, you need to have a system of waste disposal, water sources, providing heat and also the light, storage facilities for eggs and meat. So, in order to get everything, you need to make a list of all the items or machinery required. Then make an inquiry regarding the prices of those machineries in different stores. Come to a conclusion of where to purchase by selecting the store which gases reasonable prices with good reviews. The equipment required for poultry farming would be feeders, nests, incubators, heaters, egg trays, cages, waste disposal bins or systems etc.
• Feeding of the poultry birds is the most important factor in poultry farming. Most of the expenses will be occurred for feeding the birds. The feed can be bought from the stores as well as produced by yourself. The production of feed on the farm itself will help you to reduce the cost and also maintain the health of the birds. By preparing the feed by yourself, you can also sell it to the farmers in your locality which will make it a good business. If the formula for feed is right with the right ingredients, then it will help to improve the health of the birds.
• To operate the poultry farm, labour is required. It would be easy for you to install technology for your poultry farm so that there would be less dependent on the labor. Coming to the manpower required to maintain a poultry farm, this is completely dependent on the size of the farm. The size of the farm indicates the number of birds in it. There should also be a supervisor who would manage the entire manpower and check if all the responsibilities are carried accordingly. You can also use the supervisor as an accountant. It would be better if you recruit a person who would manage the accounts as a supervisor so that you can get the costs reduced. It would also help you if you have a person who would permanently stay in the fam for the sake of security so that he can check if there is any problem in the flow of the farm when there is no one available.
• The poultry farmers generally ignore the accounting and records which will create major problems further. The records should be maintained on a regular basis in order to keep track of the production, egg laying, performance of birds, etc. If you do not have any dedicated person to maintain the records, it would be better to install a software which will help you in the management of the farm.
• The birds in the poultry farm should be checked regularly in terms of health. The vaccination should be done at the proper time to prevent the diseases which they are prone to. The medicines also should be given at the proper time in order to ensure healthy growth. It would be better if you have a personal veterinary doctor in your farm who would be taking care of the vaccinations and the medications of the birds in your poultry farm.
• Marketing is the most important thing which needs care when you are running a poultry farm. You need to make sure that you are reaching the right customers by following the techniques of marketing. You should make use of the marketing strategies if you want to be a good producer in the market.

Read: Integrated Farming of Fish and Livestock.