Are you thinking about starting your own poultry farm in Nigeria? If yes, then make sure you are properly prepared and consider every aspect of poultry farming before you start your own poultry farming business.
No doubt, poultry farming in Nigeria has proven to be easy and lucrative.
Before you start your poultry business, you need to know some of the basic information, equipment required to raise birds, and the market available for your business because there are other poultry farmers to compete with.
This post is deliberately composed to share important poultry farming tips for anyone who has interested in knowing everything on poultry farming in Nigeria either as a hobbyist or as an entrepreneur.
I have been raising poultry of different sorts successfully for quite a long time, and I am excited about sharing my insight and experience trusting it will address every one of your inquiries on poultry farming in Nigeria.
You can use some of the knowledge you will get from this guide and your passion for poultry farming to start your own profitable poultry farm.
WHAT IS POULTRY FARMING?
Poultry farming is simply the practice of raising various domesticated birds such as chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese for the production of meat, feather, eggs for food, or hatching of more birds.
REASONS TO INVEST IN POULTRY FARMING IN NIGERIA
- The Market: Besides beef and fish, poultry birds are the major source of protein we consume in Nigeria. Domestic poultry farming satisfies a major part of the protein demand for the average Nigerian family.
- The Employment Opportunity: Also, in the commercial farming business world, the poultry farms are the most common because of the market size and the fact that they offer Nigerians self-employment opportunities and a means for reliable earning.
- Availability of Resources: Since poultry farms are already common in Nigeria, getting the practical knowledge, equipment, and other required resources you need for your own poultry farming will be relatively easy.
TIPS FOR POULTRY FARMING IN NIGERIA
Starting your own poultry farm in Nigeria is generally simple if you prepare well and have basic knowledge of what it takes. Below are 8 important tips every poultry farming must know before starting a poultry farm in Nigeria.
- Before you start your own poultry, it is important to have a little of practical knowledge of poultry farming. You can get this knowledge by associating with people who are already in the business.
- Decide the main product you want to focus on. Are you going to raise poultry birds to produce meat, eggs or you want to set up a hatchery for small chicks?
- Choose a suitable location to raise your birds. For small scale poultry farmers in Nigeria, locating your poultry farm close to your residence may be a good idea because it makes it easy for you and potential customers to access the farm.
- Build a suitable house or cage and make sure it is properly equipped with all required poultry equipment you need to make your farming hassle-free.
- Cultivate the habit of keeping records of main activities like treatment and vaccination, expenses and income. The records you keep can be of great importance in overcoming future challenges and tracking returns on your investment in your poultry farming business.
- Research and select the best bird breed that will ensure the best production. Some breeds are good for egg production while some are for meat. Depending on what you want to achieve, try to choose the best breed
- Take proper care of your birds. Feeding, Ventilation, and other areas of the general well-being of your birds must be taking seriously to reduce the risk of diseases and other things that can increase the cost of production or loss of birds.
- Associate with other poultry farmers and a vet around you. The best time to look for professionals that can help you is not when there is an emergency. It will be better to identify and create relationships with people who can add value to your business even before an urgent need arises.
IMPORTANT EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR POULTRY FARMING IN NIGERIA
For your poultry farming to be hassle-free, you need to get some important equipment for your farm. Below is a list of some equipment you may need for your poultry farming business:
- Space (Land)
- Poultry Feeders
- Poultry Waterers
- Egg Nests
- Ventilation system
- Poultry Cages
- Egg Crates
- Egg Incubator
- Egg tray
- Coops
- Lighting instruments
- Heating Instrument
- Perches
- Waste disposal system
TIPS FOR BUILDING YOUR POULTRY HOUSE
For the safety and general well-being of your birds, it is important to construct a conducive house to keep your birds.
The birds’ house is usually made up of 3 major parts which are the Floor, The Walls, and The Roof.
The Roof of your poultry house can be made with metal roofing sheets or concrete to protect your birds against rain and too much heat from direct sunlight.
Other materials such as asbestos, palm leaves, and grasses can also be used to cover the roof of your poultry house.
For the walls of the poultry house, you can erect them using cement blocks, wooden planks, and sheets, or even mud blocks but remember to block the windows with iron net.
TIPS FOR KEEPING YOUR BIRDS AND POULTRY FARM IN SUITABLE CONDITION
Below are some tips for keeping your birds healthy and poultry farm in a suitable condition.
- Because the sun rises due east and sets due west, it is preferable for the poultry house walls to be designated in the east-west direction. This will reduce the side walls exposure to direct radiation from the sun.
- Always ensure the farm is clean and disinfect the farm area as required.
- Ensure a good ventilation system and maximum space is available inside the bird’s house.
- Feed the birds well.
- The best floor for your poultry house is concrete, the concrete floor will be safe and easy to clean.
- When building your poultry house, it is important to cover cracks and openings in walls to prevent other animals that can pray on your birds or cause infection from gaining access.
- When building your poultry house, remember to consider space, ventilation, and lighting.
TIPS FOR PREVENTING POULTRY DISEASES
You can reduce the risk of diseases in your poultry farm by using the following preventive tips.
- Keep your poultry farm clean
- Prevent wild birds from gaining access into your poultry house.
- Regularly remove old litter beds from the floor of your bird’s house or cage.
- Serve fresh and clean water to your birds
- Feed your birds with good feed from trusted vendors
- Don’t allow visitors to enter your bird’s house without being sanitized.
- Know the important vaccinations and take them at the appropriate time
- By giving adequate space per bird.
- Remove dead birds and quarantine infected birds.
- Take caution when adding new birds to the existing flock.
RISKS OF POULTRY FARMING IN NIGERIA
Every business has its own challenges, there are risks involved in poultry farming.
For instance, extreme weather conditions can be detrimental to poultry farming in Nigeria.
There is also a risk of a high mortality rate of poultry birds due to infectious diseases like coccidiosis, but this can be mitigated by vaccination.
There is the risk of attack by predators.
Other factors such as inadequate finance, unstable power, poor storage facilities and fluctuating prices also make poultry farming in Nigeria a challenging business.
TYPES OF POULTRY DISEASES
- Behavioral diseases
Environmental factors like overcrowding and temperature can bring about behavioral health challenges in poultry birds.
Stress from competition for resources such as food and water can also bring about aggression and feather pecking & plucking.
- Infectious diseases
contagious diseases are one of the most common poultry diseases in the world that can be detrimental to the productivity of poultry farming because they affect all bird species.
One popular infectious poultry disease is Fowl typhoid, a contagious bacterial disease that can be acute or chronic. It can be contacted by allowing wild birds into your poultry farm.
- Nutritional diseases
This is a kind of disease that challenges poultry farming as a result of malnutrition or feeding birds with food that contains harmful substances.
The popular nutritional disease includes Rickets and Osteomalacia also known as Cage layer fatigue.
- Parasitic diseases
Birds suffer from many parasitic diseases, some of which includes;
- Coccidiosis
- Cryptosporidiosis
- Histomoniasis
- Lice and Mites
- Parasitic Worms (or Helminths)
- Toxoplasmosis
- Trichomoniasis
MARKETING YOUR POULTRY FARM IN NIGERIA
If the purpose of starting your poultry farm is to make money, you need to get clients to know your business exists and patronize you.
Thanks to social media, it gives everyone a means to connect with people easily. Use social media to create awareness for your poultry business.
You can also use word of mouth to market to potential clients by talking to your neighbors and friends about your poultry farm.
On social media, you can design and share e-Flyers with pictures of your products and contact details to make it easy for people to reach you.
MARKET DEMAND
The supply of one-day-old chicks has a high demand in both rural and urban areas in Nigeria throughout the year. The market for one-day-old chicks, two weeks old chicks, eggs, chicken meat can be produced anywhere within the country to reduce the cost of transportation. Poultry harvests can be sold within neighboring cities and towns to Meat sellers, Restaurants, Provision stores etc.
COST OF STARTING POULTRY FARMING IN NIGERIA
Starting a new business requires a huge initial capital which isn’t affordable for most entrepreneurs. It also takes a long time for a startup to start yielding returns on investments. But in poultry farming, the time is relatively short and the capital needed for starting is not so high.
You can start your poultry farming in Nigeria with as little as N100,000.
This 100k can be used for purchasing a few day-old chicks and taking care of them. If everything goes well, you can realize between 80% to 100% return on your investment in six months or less.
You can start earning after one month of starting your poultry business if you are rearing 1-day old chicks and selling them after two weeks or one month.
FINAL WORDS
Maybe not everything on poultry farming in Nigeria, but I hope this poultry farming guide has given you a general hint about poultry farming.
It is important to note that there is no one-size-fits-all solution for profitable poultry farming, so if you know other ways to increase the profitability of your poultry business, I encourage you to blend the information you have gotten from this piece with what you already know to run your poultry business successfully.
You can also share your insights or ask questions relating to poultry farming in the comment session below.
Thank you for taking the time to read this piece.
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