Beginner Guide To Profitable Chicken Farming

Hen taking care of chicks

Beginner Guide To Profitable Chicken Farming.

Chicken farming is an excellent venture for people who want to experience the pleasure of rearing and breeding poultry, and also generate an income from it. It is a relatively straightforward process, and with the right knowledge and skill, anyone can successfully start a chicken farm.

It is important that before one starts chicken farming that he or she equips herself with knowledge and posses the requisite passion for chicken. There is no inspiration known better than having the passion and knowledge.

This beginner’s guide to chicken farming will provide you with a step-by-step approach to starting your chicken farm.

Step 1: Plan Your Chicken Farm

The first step in starting a successful chicken farm is to plan your venture. You need to identify and analyze your market, your customers, and your competitors. You also need to decide on the type of chicken you want to breed and how you want to breed them.

Finding a purpose or goal in chicken  farming is vital and especially the beginners must focus on one area.

Chicken farming is about meat and eggs and a beginner needs to establish whether he or she wants to focus on broilers for meat, layers for eggs or wants the dual purpose chicken farming.

Step 2: Find A Suitable Location

The location of your chicken farm is vital to its success. You need a place that is suitable for the type of chickens you want to breed. The area should also be easily accessible with good road network that is passable in all seasons and close to a reliable source of water and electricity. You also need to consider the climate of your region.

Step 3: Build Your Chicken Coop

The chicken coop is where your chickens will spend most of their time. You need to ensure that the coop is comfortable and safe for the chickens. The coop should be spacious, well-ventilated to expel unwated gases and allows proper flow of oxygen and insulated to provide warmth during cold weather. The coop should also be easy to clean and maintain.

Step 4: Buy Your Chickens

You can buy your chickens from reputable hatcheries or local breeders. Select healthy birds that are known for their egg-laying abilities or their meat production. You should also ensure that the chickens are vaccinated against common diseases.

Step 5: Provide Proper Nutrition

To keep your chickens healthy, you need to provide them with a balanced and nutritious diet. You can feed them commercial chicken feeds or make your own feed blends. You should also provide them with clean drinking water.

Step 6: Provide Adequate Lighting

Chickens require a certain amount of light to lay eggs. You can either use natural lighting or artificial lighting to provide them with the light they need. The lighting should be consistent to ensure that they lay eggs regularly. Even broilers need 18 hours of light for optimum weight gain, with remaining hours left for sleep.

Step 7: Monitor Your Chickens

You need to monitor your chickens regularly to ensure that they are healthy., fed and are growing at the right rate or laying eggs at the right production.