There are a lot of people that are interested in raising chicken and it is something easy enough that most people can raise a few birds for their own consumption. The difference comes when you want to raise chicken for eggs or meat and make a profit from it.
There are two basic types of birds. There are meat birds sometimes called Broilers that once born they are ready for market in about two months. It takes between six and ten weeks for the birds to be large enough for sale. It also depends on how large you want the birds to be when you sell them. To gain this much weight in a short period of time takes a lot of food and care. You will need to feed them a high protein diet and you will need to feed them as much as they will eat.
The second type of bird is an Egg Layer. They take between 18 and 30 months before they begin laying eggs once a day. Mature birds will normally lay one egg a day. Sometimes they will miss a day and also there is reduced production during molting and in winter months when it gets colder. Also egg production can be reduced depending on other nutrients in their diet.
Which Type Of Bird Is Best For Your Farm?
There are farms that only produce one type of chicken. The choice can be based on what is best for your local market or if you can produce enough for a larger market. If you are rural you will also have to consider that the average home in your area will likely be raising a few chicken of their own. They may have half a dozen birds they keep for egg laying but want meat birds because they won’t be killing off their flock if they want to continue gathering eggs. This means that you really need to know what you can sell before you start production.
If you are just starting your farm then even if you are choosing egg layers it is a good idea to raise a number of meat bird batches that you can sell while you are waiting for your egg layers to mature. In the time it takes one egg layer to mature and lay eggs regularly you will be able to raise up to 12 batches of meat birds which can help offset the costs of your egg layers. Remember your egg layers will be consuming food and requiring care but not producing for about 24 months.
Additionally you will learn the process of caring for many more birds and also the process of selling your product to consumers and resellers. The business side of chicken farming is as important as the raising of the birds.
Reducing Your Costs Means Increasing Your Profits
Whatever you can do to reduce your costs will help in the overall profits of your business. This is true in any business but in farming and raising birds it can be a delicate situation. The investment in food, shelter and care can be quite a lot in the beginning. You may only want to start off with a small batch of birds and see how you like the experience. This might be 100 or 1000 birds at the beginning it will depend on the resources you have and the money you have saved to begin your farm.
Very important although it is possible to borrow money for chicken farming you are better off not doing that. Yes you may need a loan for the initial purchase of the farm if you don’t have land already but when it comes to the cost of chicks, shelter, bedding, feed and other needs you should really be starting out of pocket that way you are not going to lose an investment that is too big. In reality the most expensive part might be the shelter and you should not be building high dollar shelters when you are first starting.
You should also be starting small and reinvesting all of your profit along with other money into your business. This means you will need to keep your outside job until production gets to the point it is enough to live off of plus enough to save money for your future and for expansion.
What You Need To Do Before You Begin
There will be so much that you need to learn before you begin your poultry business. The first part is how to raise and care for the birds but just as or more important is how you will sell your product. Depending on where you live there will be regulations specific to your area.
You will need to learn about BioSecurity to protect your farm animals from outside infection. You will need to learn about regulations on keeping records of everything you do on your farm from where you buy food, monthly water quality testing, veterinary care and records, and what licensing and inspections you might need. It is much more than just picking up a bag of feed and raising some chicken like you might do for yourself.
You will also need to look into Business Licensing, Taxes, Business Insurance, Short Term Credit from your bank and maybe a business credit card. It sounds more difficult than it really is and taxes tend to scare everyone but if you can do your own personal taxes then it is normally only slightly more difficult to manage a business. You need to save receipts and have good records and account for everything but if you need help there are accountants that can get you going.
Final Note
Starting a Chicken Farm for production and sale is not the most difficult thing to do but you must understand the process before you begin. The more that you know the better you will do. If you can find training on a professional farm then this is probably the best way to learn but often all you will learn is the care of the birds and not the business side. I find that people that run businesses are very shy to talk about the technical aspects of running a business because half the time they are unsure they are doing it right themselves even if they have been successful for many years.
Much of it you will have to learn on your own but if you have the mentality that you want to follow the rules and that you seek out help from professionals, local government and USDA Field Offices and you ask for help and do your best then you should be ok. You have to expect you will make mistakes this is a 100% certainty because even the big companies do but if you are open, keep good records and act responsibly then you will do fine.
Remember most regulations aren’t there to stop you they are there to help you and to help you provide a safe food product for the general public.
If you are a consumer now and you purchase food from a market or a local farm you don’t even question if they are following the rules you just expect it to be done so you can eat safe food. Well if you want to become the supplier then you take on all that responsibility to do things right.