Steps To Set Up a Poultry Farming Business In Nigeria.

Poultry Farming Business in Nigeria has a lot of profitability, capable of employing millions of people, growing GDP and making you millions of Naira.

Poultry farming is  the most common animal farming business in Nigeria. If you want to go into the poultry farming business in Nigeria, you need to be aware of the cost and profit potentials.

To set up a poultry farming business in Nigeria, there are  four important areas you should take note in order to analyze the profitability of poultry business. These are:

• Capital
• Business type
• Available Market
•  Land Acquisition

Poultry farming could be considered as one of the most lucrative agricultural business ideas in Nigeria today.

It requires not huge capital to start as you can start from the comfort of your house if you have enough space to take the number of birds that you desire.

Poultry Farming Business in Nigeria  is of different types such as duck rearing, rearing chicken, quails, turkey, emu, broiler, etc. However, the principles and practices underlying are the same.

Steps To Set Up a Poultry Farming Business In Nigeria:

Amongst all kinds of poultry farming (chickens, turkeys, geese, and ducks), chicken is the most common one as farmers get a great number of chickens regularly either the egg for food or the farming meat.

The high consumption of the end product; chicken and egg are in constant demand in the marketplace and even at various homes in Nigeria today and this makes poultry farming very lucrative as it seems to be a potent source of animal protein outside fish, pork and beef.

Below are the basic steps you need to follow to set up a poultry farming business in Nigeria:

1. Do Market Research

Market research is the first step to setting up a poultry farming in Nigeria. Determine whom your buyers would be, Who are you planning to sell to. Market research helps you find out the best way to sell your products and make more profits.

Many poultry farmers target the festive period like Christmas, Easter, New year, and so on. For example, you can stock broilers at October-end if you want to target Christmas and have them ready for sale by the 3rd week of December.

Your target market will determine when to harvest or sell. If you select layer hen farming for egg production you will have a year-round market, as layers need over 52 weeks for the completion of the laying cycle.

2. Conduct Research on type of Chicks

Second step is by conducting a research on the best chicks to start with. Choosing chicks might bring economic benefits. Usually, one day-old chicks are very cheap.

There are 3 basic types of chicks – broilers, cockerels and layers. Broilers is fast growing chicken, farmed for meat production. Cockerels are also reared for meat production although they’re not fast growing. Layer hens are reared for egg production.

As a new farmer, choose, and specialize in one breed to begin your farm.  Once you have gained the knowledge of how to produce that breed very well, you may consider adding other types to the farm.

 3. Land Acquisition:

After your market research and the type of chicken you want to rear is accomplished, Land  as we have mentioned is the next step to considered. Land prices vary from state to state and from neighboring, location and  large cities. All you need to do is search and negotiate to get low-cost breeding Land.

Depending on your budget you can either rent or buy a land. When you acquire the land, you fence it to prevent thieves and unwanted persons from entering into your farm and stealing your birds.

4. Construct Poultry House:

Construction – we mean build cages for poultry to live in. In addition, you should consider other buildings, such as a warehouse for all equipment and a farmhouse for workers.

There are important points to note when building your poultry house.

The main feature of a poultry house is a cross ventilation system.  The cross ventilation system helps circulate gases in the poultry house and prevent respiratory problems for the birds.

It also helps to regulate temperature in the poultry house since it allows warm air to leave and cool air to come in.

The second  feature is building the poultry house in the east-west orientation. The east west orientation conforms to the rising and setting of the sun in the East and West respectively. Building with this orientation helps protect the poultry house from heating up as a result of sunshine.

The building design and position of the poultry house will determine the success or failure of your  poultry farming venture.  Temperature, which is controlled by the ventilation will determine your poultry growth and feed conversion.

5. Sort your Poultry Facilities

This  depends on the size of your farm and the nature of your business. If you want to incubate chicks and sell them, hatchery equipment are a good choice. Second, if you want to do meat processing related business, you need other special equipment.

6. Vaccination

Since vaccinating poultry and ensuring their healthy growth will directly affect your profits, it is necessary to spend some money on this.

7. Feed your Chickens Regularly

This is probably the most important expense, as the quantity and quality of feed will later affect their health and productivity.

The diet of poultry varies with the life stage of the birds. Remember to provide them with high-quality feeds because it is unwise to save too much here.

If you want to reduce your feed costs, try producing your own poultry feeds. This may not seem necessary at first, but producing your own feeds will save you more money in the long run.

8. Labor Costs

If your farm is commercial, you may find it difficult to do all the work on your own. At this point you may consider hiring more people to help you.

9. Other Expenses

There are always other expenses, such as advertising, insurance, electricity, safety and transportation, and sales. So make sure you include that in your budget.

Cost To Set Up a Poultry Farming In Nigeria

Once you have settled on your location, you need to invest your capital. The bigger your project, the larger the investment required.

1. Cost Of Small scale Poultry Farming

You will need around ₦70, 000 to begin rearing chicken on small scale (around 50 birds) and keeping them in cages at your residence backyard.

2. Cost Of Medium scale Poultry Farming

You need about ₦500, 000 – ₦5 million to start a mid-scale poultry farm, which needs housing and other materials over land spreading 1-2 plots.

3. Cost Of Large scale Poultry Farming

commercial Poultry Farming in Nigeria startup costs:

•     500 birds (point-of-lay layers): N800,000
•     5 cages (96 birds-per-cage) to house the 500 birds: N400,000
•     Cage house or pen construction: N1,000,000
•     18-months’ worth of feeding (using packaged feeds): N4,968,000

Total startup capital for 500 birds (layers): N7, 168, 000

Around ₦10 million is needed for this type of intensive project.  This will involve many birds ranging to many hundreds,  a high degree of planning, use of equipment, professionalism and the use of advanced poultry farming techniques.

You should always look for healthy day old chicks from a good hatchery. The cost can vary from ₦200 to N300. In some cases, it can be even up to ₦500.  Do your research, and know what you’re looking for.