This post contains 8 beginner guides in poultry farming in Nigeria. I pledge to you that if you follow these 8 guides diligently, you shall be able to start up your own poultry farm confidently- From buying the right breeds to making good sales.

                                       

 

 Layers in battery cage system

Also read: 6 smart tips to increase the bodyweight of your broiler chicken

Poultry farming over the years has proven to be one of the most lucrative businesses in Nigeria. There is a high demand for poultry products in the Nigerian market to satisfy the cravings for animal protein.

The fact is that Nigerian farmers can only produce 30% of this demand.

Also, the president of the Poultry Association of Nigeria (PAN), Dr. Ayoola Oduntan, stated that while the local demand for frozen chicken is above two million metric tonnes annually, Nigeria farmers are only capable of producing 300,000 metric tonnes, leaving a wide gap of more than 1.7 million metric tonnes. So, there is ever a ready market to be seized in this business.

                                                                  

However, the Poultry business, just as every other business has its challenges, these challenges

Include management issues, disease, and medication, and high cost of the input (such as prices of feeds), source of water, selecting better stocks, housing, etc. And as a beginner, it is usually confusing and scary to take the first step, especially when you cannot handle the negative talks from people who have tried and failed.

Nevertheless, this blog post contains 8 basic steps that will guide to successful poultry farming.

Before I present the eight basic steps in poultry farming for beginners, you have to answer these questions sincerely

(1) Are you knowledgeable about poultry keeping? At least with the basics

(2)Are you passionate about this business? And finally, 

(3)Will you be available? Perpetual absence is bad for the poultry business.

 If your answers are yes, congratulations! Welcome to the family.

Ok let get down to business,

Wondering how to start poultry farming in Nigeria? Here are some awesome guidelines for you. Follow these steps for successful poultry farming in Nigeria

8 basic steps in poultry farming for beginners in Nigeria

Step   1: Choose your Poultry Niche

Poultry farming is a process of rearing or keeping domestic fowls, including chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks for the production of meat or eggs. With this definition, you can carve out two to four niches and choose the niche most suitable for you. However, chicken is a more staple meat in Nigeria than other poultry meats, so I will stick to chicken in this post

 

Following are the niches you can choose from.

 

Meat production (Broilers breeding)

Egg production (Layers breeding)

Poultry feed production

Chicken breeding (Hatchery)

Egg and meat processing

Step 2: Choose the Type of Bird

Choosing your breed of chicken depends on what niche you selected. In Nigeria today, aside from locally grown chickens, two major breeds are common among poultry farmers (broilers and layers which are solely reared for meat and egg production respectively). Other hybrids include cockerels and noilers- They are mostly dual-purpose chickens.

                                                       

    

                                                                     

       A white Broiler and a Brown layer

As a beginner, I suggest you start small for easy management, and in case things didn’t turn out well your loss will be less.  Also, it is more preferable to start with broilers because you can get your return on investment in a short time.  You can sell your Day Old Broiler faster after six to twelve weeks, unlike layers which can take about 18 to 22 weeks to get to point of the layer. And of course, you have to spend more money feeding them, except you are buoyant enough financially.

                                  

Step 3: Chose Farm Location

Choosing your farm location is one decision you have to brood about because once chosen, it cannot be changed easily. Many factors have to be considered in locating your farm. If you have enough land in your backyard and can’t afford to acquire a new site, you can start with what you have but make it a priority to get a better farm as soon as you can afford it.

                                 

                                  Broilers' Pen

In Case you want to locate or relocate your farm, You should think of setting your poultry farm at the most appropriate location. The location must have all the necessary facilities.

Try to build your poultry farm a little away from the town so that you can have the land and labor at a cheaper cost. Also, the site must be free of poultry enemies and predators.

The site must be easily accessible from main roads to ease the transportation of farm products when they are ready for sale.

Also read:  How Can I Make My Broiler Eat More? Follow These 5 Steps. 

Step 4: Get Financial Help

Getting financial help in Nigeria today can be so tasking and thought draining. Setting up a poultry farm needs sufficient funding. You will be buying a lot of equipment such as feeders, drinkers, perches, lighting systems, heaters or brooders, and many more.

If you are creative, you can improvise some of this equipment yourself. Moreover, most of these expenses are one-off, that is you don’t need to buy them again while reinvesting.

So, how do you source the fund? They are five common ways to source for fund

• Bank Loan:

• I will not advise you to apply for a bank loan as a beginner, because about 75% OF first-timers fail during the first year, Only 25% make it to the third year. The risky is very high. This is only suitable for established farmers.   

                                                       

      Run from a bank loan as a beginner

• Investor:

• You will have a very tiny chance to succeed with this approach because investors will want to see proof that your farm is well established. No investor will want to put his or her money in a try and error project 

 

• Friends and Families

  :
• Friends and families are some of the best ways to source your fund as a beginner. Most of the time you don’t need to pay them back because it was given out of their free will to support you.
• If it didn’t work out fine, you don’t need to go through the stress of paying them back. Let  them know about your plans, the money will not be that huge, but it will go a long way

 

• .Crowd Funding:

• In this case, you need to look for beginners like yourself or partners that are ready to go into partnership. The profit will be shared based on the percentage invested.

 

 

• Savings:

• This is the best way to source a fund, especially for those who find it difficult to approach people for help. However, saving requires discipline.
• Discipline is all you need at this stage, no matter how small, save something every month or periodically, base on your sources of income will make a huge difference.

 

Step 5: Provide Good Housing and Shelter For The Birds

There are different things you need to consider when building pens for your poultry. These things will inform the kind of housing system you will adopt for raising your healthy chickens. House systems are grouped as intensive, semi-intensive, or extensive systems. For a beginner in poultry farming, you have to select a rearing system that suits your purpose/capital available.

 

    Layers on free-range Extensive system

The extensive and semi-intensive system is majorly adopted by backyard farmers or farmers with access to large acres of land where the birds can graze freely with good access to forage and sunlight. Poaching is a major disadvantage to this system and large-scale farmers cannot win with this method.

   

  Layers in Cage (Intensive system)

In the intensive system, birds are confined to battery cages or deep-littered houses where ventilation and illumination must be factored into the construction of the housing system. And Proper biosecurity measures are situated at strategy points

The equipment used for rearing poultry is relative to the rearing and housing system adopted. Common equipment used is feeders, drinkers, heaters, brooders, cages, crates, with diverse types, brands, and specifications all dependent on factors such as capital available, housing, and rearing system.

Also, read: 9 Best poultry feeds in Nigeria with their prices for optimal birds' growth

Step 6: Feeding and Medication OF the Poultry Birds

This stage is critical because 80% of your expenditure will be on feeds, water, and medications and any mistake made at this point will be detrimental. At every stage in the chicken's life, even as a day-old chick, you should ensure you feed your birds well with the right amount of food.

Get your feed from a reputable feed mill, and give them clean water. For me, if I cannot drink the water, I don’t give it to my birds to drink ether. Always put yourself in their shoes.

                                  

               

                    Poultry medications

 

 

And most importantly, always follow a standard medication/vaccination schedule against various disease-causing organisms. I suggest you seek the advice of a veterinarian at this point when administering vaccines to the birds.

Take care of them, make them happy and in return, they will make you happy with healthy eggs and meat.

Also read: Poultry vaccination and schedule in Nigeria for layers and broilers

Step 7: Marketing and Sales
 

I Presumed you have determined your target market before this venture. It is now time for serious marketing. You can start with your immediate markets around your area. Spread a word for your farm.

Visit restaurants, hotels, schools, the local market and tell them about your product. Don’t forget to give them your contact or business card. Packaging matters a lot in a competitive market like this.

                                       

            

  matured broilers soon to be slaughtered

Furthermore, take your business to the web. The world is going digital and digital marketing is gaining ground rapidly. Use social media like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Whatsapp, etc to promote your business.

Be consistent, no matter how discouraging it might be at the beginning, soon your phone will begin to ring none stop and it will be difficult for you to meet customers’ demands.

Tips: 

Sometimes the market might catch you off guard, especially when demand is low and your cost input is outrageously high. All you need to do is to process the chickens and store them in a deep freezer.

If you can afford the deep freezer, You can even make more profits this way, than selling to the middlemen.

Step 8: Record Keeping

Daily records keeping should be kept. These should include space records for mortality, age, feed consumption, water use, vaccination, and medications, daily egg production, and records of any management or disease problems-to help you keep track of your expenditure and profit and loss.

These records are very valuable in planning for future poultry projects, disease control programs, and making estimations and forecasts.

Also, read 40 Facts about chickens that will blow your mind!

Conclusion

Poultry farming in Nigeria has created and still creating a profitable business opportunity for Entrepreneurs and can provide a great employment source for job seekers. Be diligent in following all these basics steps.

Most importantly, be available for your birds, and don’t delegate duties if you are not going to supervise them. Nobody will take care of your birds more than the way you do. And lastly, go for training and be knowledgeable, this cannot be overstressed.

Take Way Tips

4 Sure Ways To Make Good Money in Poultry Farming in Nigeria-

 by  Dr.Josehp Deji Folutile (Chief Executive Officer World Farmers Centre)

1. Labour more on market than production

2. Associate with smarter farmers than you

3. Attach yourself to good experts

4. Keep reinvesting your profit.

You can watch the video below.

I hope you found this piece helpful? If you have any questions hit the comment box below or email me at [email protected].  

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