Poultry farming guide for beginners and intended poultry farmers

POULTRY-- Simply means domesticated fowl or birds.
POULTRY FARMING--This Is a kind of animal rearing or keeping which deals with the raising of domesticated fowl or birds,e.g broilers, ducks, layers, turkeys, etc for the production of poultry meat and eggs for human food and production purposes.

TYPES OF POULTRY FARMING.

1.  CHICKEN FARMING
2.  TURKEY FARMING
3. GUINEA FOWL FARMING
4. GEESE FARMING
5. DUCK FARMING
6. QUAIL FARMING
7. PIGEON FARMING
   
   EXAMPLES OF POULTRY FOWL OR BIRDS AND THE PURPOSE OF FARMING ARE

1. Broilers -- for meat
2. Layers -- for eggs
3. Boilers -- for meat and egg
4. cockerels -- for meat
5. Turkeys -- for meat.
6. Ducks -- for meat.
7. Quail -- for egg and meat
8. Pigeon -- for meat.etc.

POULTRY FARMING SYSTEMS

Poultry farming can be practised in the following systems

• Intensive system (most practised by farmers and discussed).
• Semi-intensive syestem.
• Extensive system.

1. INTENSIVE SYSTEM -- This is a system that allows the rearing of birds in a particular building with limited space to move around, providing all the essential needs for proper growth. This system is further divided into two namely--
   (a) Deep litter system.
   (b) Battery cage system.

DEEP LITTER SYSTEM 

This system involves the reading of birds on a concrete floor covered with beddings and the building roofed with asbestos to reduce heat stress.

ADVANTAGES OF DEEP LITTER SYSTEM

1. Cheap to construct compared with the battery cage system.
2. Good for fertile egg production.
3. Culling sick birds is easier.
4. Can house a large number of flocks.
5. It protects birds from hatch weather conditions

DISADVANTAGES OF DEEP LITTER SYSTEM

1. Wastage of feed by birds.
2. Encourages cannibalism and eating or breaking of eggs by birds.
3. Increased in the production of dirty eggs due to stains from the litter or beddings.
4. Encourages disease outbreak and circulation due to picking from infected beddings.
5. Getting old bedding material is a problem and it causes respiratory infections.

BATTERY CAGE SYSTEM 

In this system, birds are kept in a cage called a battery cage with limited space, Slanted to enable eggs to roll down and an aperture for faeces to pass through, this structure provides all the necessities for healthy growth and production.

ADVANTAGES OF BATTERY CAGE SYSTEM

1. Culling sick birds is very easy
2. It makes vaccination easy
3. Reduces disease outbreaks.
4. Enhances neat egg production and cannibalism
5. The best system for egg-laying birds or egg production.
   
   

   DISADVANTAGES OF BATTERY CAGE SYSTEM

1. Lack of freedom.
2. The high cost of construction.
3. It can't be used in the production of a fertile egg.
4. It enhances the quick spread of disease.

AIMS OF POULTRY FARMING.

1.  Production of meat for human consumption and food processing industries.
2. Employment opportunities
3. Production of eggs for human consumption and industries.
4. Generation of income.
5. Production of raw materials for production industries.
6. For the easy conversion of plant protein to animal protein.
7. Poultry manure or waste serves as a good source of organic manure for crop production.
8. Increased production of animal protein for human consumption.

BASIC POULTRY equipment /MATERIALS FOR BEGINNERS

1. Thermometer
2. Hygrometer.
3. Lighting equipment.
4. Heat source.
5. Feeding equipment.
6. Drinking equipment.
7. Bedding material
8. Feed
9. Water.
10. Medications.
11. Brooding guard.
12. Brooding pen.
13. The grow-out pen

1. Thermometer -- This Is an instrument used for measuring the coldness and hotness (temperature) of a pen to regulate the warmth in the brooding pen.
2. Hygrometer -- This Is an instrument used for measuring the dampness (humidity) of the air in the brooding pen.
3. Lighting equipment -- This is an instrument used to illuminate the brooding pen to enable the newly hatched chicks to feed at all times.
4. Heat source -- Is used to aid the newly hatched chicks by increasing the normal room temperature or the warmth of the brooding pen to the required warmth needed by the chicks e.g charcoal pot, kerosene stove, electric bulb, gas brooder, infrared bulb, etc.
5. Feeding equipment -- They are used in serving feeds to the chicks in the brooding pen. e.g chicks tray.
6. Drinking equipment -- It is used to serve water and medications to the chicks in a brooding pen. e.g plastic drinker, nipple drinker, etc.
7. Bedding material -- It is used on the floor of the brooding pen to prevent contact with the floor. e.g wood shavings, rice husk, paper, etc.
8. Food -- Is a nutritious substance that animals feed on to grow and live.
9. Water -- Is an odourless and tasteless liquid at room temperature taken by animals to sustain life.
10. Medications --These are the basic drugs given to the newly hatched chicks when brooding to prevent and treat diseases or to help boost the immune system of chicks.
11. Brooding guard -- This Is a wooden material or hardboard that is used to restrict movement or divide chicks in the brooding pen.
12. Brooding pen -- This is the pen newly hatched chicks are placed or kept while providing all essential needs for proper growth till they can regulate their body temperature.
13. The grow-out pen -- This is where the flocks of birds are been transferred after brooding till they are matured for disposal or sales.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE STARTING A POULTRY FARM

1. You must be passionate about poultry farming.
2. It is a Labour and capital-intensive kind of venture.
3. You have to start small to grow bigger as you understand the business better.
4. Don't see poultry as only a farming venture, also see it as a business venture if you want to excel in the business.
5. Avoid procrastination as a poultry farmer because it kills.
6. Always be informed or source information on the latest farming system.
7. Avoid negligence and always act fast whenever you discover something is wrong in your poultry farm.
8. You have to be security and biosecurity oriented.
9. Be a good marketer and entrepreneur.
10. Farm or stock birds according to your budget to avoid the problem of underfeeding your birds or selling off birds when they are not ready due to no money to feed.
11. Get basic knowledge of poultry farming before venturing into it.
12. Poultry farming like every other business has its ups and downs, therefore it is not a get-rich-quick venture but can be very interesting and highly profitable if you understand the basics of poultry farming.
13. Always practice the approved poultry farming system in other to maximize profit and minimize losses.

PROBLEMS OF POULTRY FARMING

(1) FACTORS OF PRODUCTION-- These are tools used for the production of goods and services--
(a) land
(b) labour
(c) capital
(d) entrepreneur.
The unavailability or inaccessibility of the above-mentioned factors of production to a farmer willing to own a poultry farm is a big problem.
(2) DISEASES — This is a condition in which the structure or function of all or part of an animal is adversely affected, resulting in weakened immune systems in flocks and resulting in losses in the poultry farming industry.
(3) Unavailability or inaccessibility of poultry-related information and training centres for farmers
(4) Unavailability or shortage in supply of good, original, reliable, and active drugs and vaccines at a reduced cost for poultry farmers.
(5) High prices of poultry feed ingredients and general poultry farming material in the market.
(6) The high cost of day-old chicks (doc) and high supply of poor, unhealthy chicks from some unreliable and untrusted hatcheries, producers, dealers and middlemen in the day-old chicks market.
(7) The high cost of production and low-profit margin after production is due to the high cost of materials and other related causes.
(8) Poor and inactive poultry farming regulatory bodies.
(9) Poor government involvement in promoting, helping, funding, and training farmer in the poultry sector.
(10) Increasingly deceptive practices in the chicken industry recently.
(11) Importation of poultry products and poultry-related products into the country leads to a shortage in demand for locally produced poultry products.

CONCLUSION
Getting much-needed fundamental knowledge and training on poultry farming is very important because it educates an intending poultry farmer based on the business and its ups and downs and also equips the farmer to avoid the huge loss of capital and other related damages due to bad poultry farming practices.

NEED MORE HELP?

I believe that this article has equipped you with the basis and fundamental knowledge you need to start a poultry farm and run it successfully, but if you need my help, assistance or advice regarding this article you can drop your comments and questions on the comments section below and it will be replied soon.