If you are just starting poultry farming as a beginner, then definitely, you will need to think of how to maximize profit in your business. This idea of making a profit is not just for beginners alone. Even expert poultry farmers are looking for new ways to improve their poultry production and make more money. After all, who doesn’t like to make more profit?
Considering the high cost of poultry farm inputs today, these tips for maximizing your poultry farm profits will come in handy. In this article, you will find core ideas that will help you to optimize your poultry farm activities and increase profits. So, if you are ready for this, let’s dive right in.
Making a profit in your poultry business may not require you to increase the cost of your chickens. You can gain a competitive advantage over other poultry farmers by optimizing your current operations. Let us break it down.
A lot of cost factors go into the production of chickens. If you can effectively optimize the cost of producing your chickens, you will remain profitable even when others are struggling. So, what can you do to increase profits in your poultry business?
Start by choosing the best chicken breeds:
If you truly want to maximize profits in your poultry business, then you must get this one right. That’s because everything you do as a poultry farmer hinges on this one decision. If you select a poor breed of chicken from the start, then you will likely suffer a lot of losses down the line. Starting with the best set of chicken breeds is the only decision that can save you from this mess. But the issue now is how to select the best breeds of chicken for your poultry business. Here are a few things that you can do to guide your decision.
Decide the purpose of your poultry business:
This is fundamental because it will help you to choose the right breed for farming. You need to decide ahead of time whether you want to do meat production which is broiler farming. In this case, you can now decide which breed of broiler chicken is the best for you. Choose a broiler chicken that can gain table-size weight within a short time, say 8 weeks. On the other hand, if you intend to go into egg production or layers chicken farming, then you have to choose from a list of layer chickens. Only choose breeds that are highly prolific layers and are disease resistant. If you don’t know how to make this decision, then you may need to consult a vet or ask other farmers in forums.
Contact a good hatchery to supply chicks:
Now that you know the purpose of your poultry farming business, the next thing is to contact a good hatchery for the supply. Buy your chicks from hatcheries with a track record of producing good chicks. If you get your chicks from any random hatchery, you may face serious problems which may hinder you from making much profit. Also, ensure that the chicks are properly vaccinated. Without proper vaccination, you may end up bringing disease-carrying birds into your farm and destroying your flock. So, you must be careful about that.
Beware of middlemen:
If you buy a small number of chicks to start your poultry farm, then there is the possibility that you may not get from the hatcheries. That’s because most hatcheries prefer to sell in larger quantities to their buyers. Many middlemen exist who buy in bulk from the hatchery and resell to smaller farmers. The only problem with this is that some of these middlemen are not honest. Some will deliberately pack low-quality chicks in cartons belonging to high-quality chicks- suppliers. So, when you come to buy that high-quality breed, they will just give you the repackaged chicks at the price of the standard chicks. This is evil in broad daylight. But men would do anything for money. The only thing I can tell you is that you have to be careful with these middlemen and only buy from tested and trusted ones.
Optimize your poultry feed:
Another important factor that can help you to maximize your poultry farming profit is feed optimization. Feed optimization is very important because feed takes up a major part of the cost of chicken production. In addition, the birds need feed and water which they convert in their body to produce meat and eggs. Therefore, to maximize your poultry profit, you must cut down on the cost of feeding the birds. One good way of achieving this is by supplementing their feed with alternative feeds like fodder and black soldier fly (BSF). You can learn how to grow fodders or learn how to rear black soldier flies as supplementary feeds for chickens.
Another idea would be to invest your money in getting a standard feed formula for your chickens to maximize profit. You can pay a professional nutritionist to come up with a formula for you or you could just buy formula for your chickens. A good place to get quality feed formula for your chicken is on Afrimash. It’s an e-book, so you can choose to invest in getting this formula and join other farmers using this strategy to make more profit for yourself.
Choose organic over synthetic medication to maximize poultry profit:
After the cost of food, another item that takes up a lot of cost in poultry production is the cost of medication. A lot of farmers spend so much on synthetic drugs for their birds. At the end of the production period, you would have spent so much with very little profit available to claim. One sure way of averting this and maximizing your profit is by opting for organic medication instead.
The organic medication of chickens comprises herbs and spices that help to combat poultry disease and improve their immune system. Now, you can thrash all those synthetic drugs and make more profit by leveraging the use of organic substitutes. These organic medications will help you to reduce poultry mortality and increase profits. The only thing left is for you to get a coach to guide you in the production of these organic medications.
Also, you need to learn how to administer the medications including knowing the dosage as well as the schedule. But ultimately, it’s wise to maintain proper hygiene in your poultry farm. That’s because proper hygiene will help you to prevent the development and spread of diseases that lead to high poultry mortality.
Build strong structures:
The cost of setting up poultry housing takes up a large chunk of the cost of starting a profitable poultry farming business. As a result, you must give careful attention to this so that you do it once and for all. Whether you are using the deep litter poultry farming system or the battery cage system, you just have to do it right. If there is an error when building your poultry house, then you will continue to spend in the long run trying to fix the error. So, when building your poultry house, only use the best materials for construction. A strong structure will help you to save the cost of repairs and allow you to maximize your poultry profit.
Get durable equipment:
This one is just like the case of building a strong structure for your poultry farming business. Nothing trumps using materials and equipment that will stand the test of time. When setting up your farm, you must consider buying quality equipment for starting the poultry. Everything from feeders to drinkers and other necessary equipment must be durable enough. A strong feeder will help to prevent feed spillage and feed waste in the poultry pen.
Also, a strong drinker will not start leaking water after a short time thereby requiring a replacement. The essence of all these measures is to ensure that you don’t start spending afresh for things that should be a one-time cost.
Go for cheap but experienced labour:
To maximize your poultry profits, you must cut down on the cost of labour. But how can you reduce labour costs in your poultry business? One good way to do that is by locating your poultry farm close to rural areas where labour is cheap. Alternatively, you can get someone who you can train on the job while he helps you in taking care of the chickens. The cheaper the labor that you can get, the more you can increase your profit.
Always sort your chickens according to their sizes:
Even though your chickens are of the same age, when they feed, they gain weight differently. Because of this reason, you need to sort your birds to separate the weightier ones from the rest. When you do this, you can sell the weightier ones at higher prices and make more gains. But, if you decide to keep the birds together, buyers will select the bigger birds in your flock and buy them at cheaper prices. Therefore, sorting is very vital if you want to increase your poultry profit.
Have a strategic marketing plan:
Before you set out to start your poultry farming business, one of the first things to do is market research. Doing market research will help you to know the demand for your product. Also, you can only get valuable contact from potential buyers that will buy your products when you do proper research. The reason you need a comprehensive marketing plan is so that you don’t spend so much on keeping your chickens when you should be selling them. This tip is mostly applicable in broiler chicken farming.
Broiler chickens require about 8 weeks to get mature under normal circumstances. By the time the chickens get to that age and you don’t sell them off, you will be at loss. That’s because the feed conversion rate of the birds will drop from that point on. Any amount of feed they consume from then on will not result in any significant change in their body weight and size. This is why you need to plan your sales ahead and secure your buyers before you start to raise your birds. If you are into egg production, you need to know when your birds should be replaced; when their egg production no longer justifies the feeding cost. Everything you do in poultry farming requires you to be strategic in order to increase your profits.
Conclusion
If you want to maximize poultry profit as a poultry farmer, then you will have to practice the 8 tips above. They will help you to cut down on unnecessary costs and put you on the path that leads to more profit for your poultry business.
I believe that applying these strategies will be a game-changer for you. Don’t forget to leave a comment to tell us the strategy you are going to start using immediately. Will you start planning your marketing ahead or are you going to get the best breeds for your poultry business? Let us know in the comment section. Please, share this article with everyone you know to help them to increase their profit.
Frequently Asked Questions about how to maximize profit in poultry farming
Is chicken farm profitable?
Running a chicken farm is a profitable business if you do it right. It is always recommended to get training from an expert before starting.
Which poultry farming is most profitable?
In a large-scale poultry farming business, layer chicken farming tends to be the most profitable in the long run. The reason is that after laying eggs for a while, you can still sell the chickens as meat.
How do poultry farmers make money?
Poultry farmers make money from selling chicken eggs, day-old chicks, chicken meat, chicken manure and some make money by offering consultancy services to other poultry farmers.
How many chickens do I need to make a profit?
With about 16 hybrid chickens, you can get up to 8 dozen eggs a week. But making a profit with this number of chickens really depends on the demand in your area. If you have a high demand for chicken eggs then you have an assurance of selling off all your eggs every week and making profits.
