Poultry farming is a business that can help you to make money when done properly but only a few are into this business.
A true life experience of Hajiya Hassana Idris a Nigeria who is resident in Kaduna will explain it all; Hajiya Hassana Idris, who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, described poultry farming as a lucrative business a woman could do with little stress. She also described poultry farming as the ideal business for women, because of its short gestation period and the potential to generate over a million naira in a month.
According to her, chickens grow very fast, unlike goats and other livestock businesses that take two to three years to mature. “Poultry farming is a goldmine because layers start laying eggs within 28 weeks, meaning you get turnover of investment in just seven months and turnover from broilers in just four months.
“I started with 50 birds in an uncompleted building and now I have 1,500 birds in modern facilities, and I get at least 50 creates of eggs daily,“ she said.
She said that with 50 crates daily, selling at N850 per crate, the business had the potential of generating N42,000 per day and N1.3 million in a month. “But due to demand fluctuations in the market, I currently make an average sale of 17 crates per day, thereby making N15,000 daily and N450,000 in a month. This is a good deal.” She said that house wives, including working class women, could start a poultry business to support their husbands and family to meet up with increasing financial needs. She, however, said that poultry farming required effective management skills for better yield and returns on investment. (NAN)
Cost Analysis
1. Land-: Determine whether you are leasing or buy your own land. Then choose a safe location and one that can easily be accessed.
2. Construction Costs-: Determine the structure to construct and at an affordable cost.
3. Chicks-: The next thing you would have to spend on is getting chicks to start your farm with. As a beginner, you wouldn’t have chicks of your own yet so you would have to buy from other poultry farmers. The number of chicks you would need depends on the size of your farm and the capacity of the poultry housing you have constructed. The price would also depend on the size of the chicks.
4. Poultry Equipment-: This is yet another thing that is dependent on the size of your poultry farm and the nature of your business. If you want to hatch and sell chicks for instance, you would have to buy hatchery equipments. If you want to process meat for sale, you would also need meat processing equipment. The same thing goes for if you want to produce your own poultry feed yourself.
So as for cost of equipment, you would really have to sit down and decide on the nature of poultry farming you want to do and find out the type of equipment you would need but you should have a budget.
5. Vaccination-: Your birds must be given the necessary medical attention so that they can grow properly and produce efficiently. You have to include the costs of vaccination in your business plan. This cost would also include costs of drugs and payment to the medical consultant that would be called upon to give the birds the required medical attention. Again, you should have a budget.
6. Feeding-: This is like the most important expense you would undertake in this business. Feeding is very important because the growth and productivity of your birds would depend on how well you feed them. There are different types of poultry feeds for different stages in the bird’s lives.
There is the starter for when they are little chicks, there is the grower for optimal growth and strength and there is the finisher for when they are getting close to the selling stage.
7. Cost of Labor-: If you are setting up a commercial poultry farm, it is unlikely that you would be capable of handling all the tasks yourself. You may have to employ people to assist you and you would need to pay them.
8. Other Expenses-: You should also make out a budget for electricity, transportation, advertising, security, insurance as well as selling and distribution expenses.
– Note that the cost analysis was copied from Profitable Ventures to guide you in estimating and determining your cost of venturing.
To get a detailed and accurate cost of setting up your poultry farm, it is advisable for you to carry out your own feasibility study.
