Poultry farming can be undertaken in both rural and urban areas, as long as there is enough space available either in the front or backyard.
The demand for chicken meat or eggs is high, as these products are among the most nutritious, delicious and affordable food options.
Here, from MARID Agribusiness Digest (“Poultry Farming 101: General Guidelines to Ensure Success in Poultry Farming” by John Andrew Estialbo) are some pointers that will be useful when starting a poultry farm:
Choosing your chicken breeds
- Choose stock breeds only from reliable hatcheries.
- The stock breed should be free from diseases and deformities and have a uniform size and color; day-old chicks should not be less than 33 grams.
- For those who will raise chicken for meat (broiler), choose stocks that are fast growers; for those who will raise chicken for egg production (Layer), choose stocks that can produce quality eggs.
Caring for your chicken
- Chickens are more comfortable to colder environment, so make sure to remove excess heat, humidity, dusts and harmful odors and gases such a ammonia and carbon dioxide, which are emitted from the chicks’ feces. One way to capitialize on this is to recycle the feces and convert it into fertilizer.
- Provide fat to your chickens’ feeds to cool their bodies. They can gain weight more quickly that way. You can also add sodium or salt into their feeds, especially for layer breeds so they can grow more quickly. Generally, around 0.15 % sodium should be included in the feed mix.
- Keep your farm from any disturbances that can stress your chickens and affect their growth.
- To determine a poor layer breed: look for pale comb, dim eyes, irregular pecking and listless behaviour,
- Remember that eggs can easily spoil
What you will need
Raising chickens 101 from www.almanac.com warns, however, the project will not be a walk in the park. Here are the requirements:
- You’ll need a coop. It has to hold a feeder and water containers and a nest box for every three hens. It should be large enough that you can stand in it to gather eggs and shovel manure.
- Chickens need food (and water) daily. Feed may cost up to Php 800 per 50-pound bag and how long a bag lasts depends on the number of chickens that you have.
- Be sure the fowls get 12 to 14 hours of daylight. Expect to collect eggs daily, or even twice a day.
- All year ‘round, you’ll have to shovel manure.
(To be continued)