Poultry Training

Eggs and chicken are part of our everyday meals. Poultry farming is a lucrative business.

List of the Advantages of Poultry Farming
1. Poultry farming can include more than chickens.
Although over 5 billion chickens are raised each year in just the United States to be a source of food in both eggs and meat, that is not the only option that is available to you in poultry farming. You can raise a variety of birds, including turkeys, geese, and ducks for a variety of unique products. Some farmers even take care of their birds because they harvest their feathers as a material product for stuffing.

If you don’t like the idea of slaughtering chickens, then you can get involved by raising some layer hens and incorporating other poultry products into your portfolio to still create a profitable business.

2. It doesn’t require much capital to become a poultry farmer.
This advantage is one of the most significant to consider for many households when they begin to contemplate the idea of starting an agricultural business. You only need to have the capital available that can help you to start raising poultry in the first place. Research from the University of Wisconsin indicates that your net income per bird, not including family labor or capital, is approximately $2.24 if you run an operation with at least 4,000 chickens sold. If you go up to 10,000 birds, then your net income is $2.19 per bird. As long as you can afford the initial purchasing cost, feed, and protective structures for the animal, you can start a small-scale operation for less than $5,000 in most situations. Many families can begin a poultry farm for less than $1,000 with a few birds.

3. You don’t need a lot of available space to begin poultry farming.
Unless your plans involve the start of a significant commercial poultry farming operation, then you won’t need a lot of space to get this business opportunity off of the ground. Many households will raise their first few chickens in their backyard using a single coop or cage to protect them from nighttime predators. Raising the chicks can be as simple as having a heat lamp in a garage and a children’s plastic swimming pool for them to wander around in with a little bedding.

The spatial requirements are so minimal that many suburban communities offer zoning options that allow for families to raise chickens in their backyard, even if they have less than 0.25 acre of space.

4. Poultry farming can be immediately lucrative.
If you decide to take your poultry farming idea to a commercial scale, then there is an excellent opportunity to ensure that you receive a significant return on your initial investment. Because some poultry birds, like broiler chickens, only take a couple of months to reach a mature stage, you can raise several “crops” of birds for meat products over the course of a year using the same infrastructure that you initially purchased for the first batch. If you are dedicated to the process, it is not unreasonable for a first-time farmer to produce 3-5 batches of chickens that can then be sold to your family, friends, and neighbors.

5. There are fewer maintenance requirements to consider for poultry farmers.
A poultry farm does not typically require a high level of maintenance, especially if you are thinking about operating your business as a family operation. When you follow the recommended guidelines for hygiene and care when working with your birds, then you can easily prevent the spread of disease and illness throughout your population. This effort will prevent the transmission of germs from them to you as well.

Even if you have robust concerns about the health of your family when pursuing the idea of being a poultry farmer, you can choose birds that have an exceptionally low risk of disease development. Turkeys and quail can be just as profitable as chickens in some markets, especially if you establish organic growing conditions that the government can certify for you.

6. Most poultry farmers do not require a license to get started.
Most of the birds that you will consider raising as a poultry farmer are domestically-based, which means there is no need for a special import/export license before you can get started with your work. Most households will select a farm or poultry catalog, choose the species they want to raise, and then pick up their chicks at the local post office when they arrive. You can then purchase an incubator to start hatching your own eggs at home to continue building a chain of food products for sale.

That does not mean you can be completely license-free as a poultry farmer. Most jurisdictions will require that you hold a business license to sell your products. A health inspection of your property may be necessary. If you want your poultry items to be certified as organic, then additional regulations may also be necessary.

7. You are raising agricultural products that have immediate demand.
New poultry farmers do not realize how easy it is to market their products until they actually start trying to do so for the first time. The average price per pound that you can receive for a chicken is about $2.20, with some markets seeing double that rate because you’re offering a homegrown product. People eat poultry products all of the time, and there is also a growing desire to know exactly where the food comes from before eating it.

This advantage means that you are providing a food product that is nutritious and fresh. You can supplement those profits with additional items like eggs and feathers. Then you can work with the established marketplace to create sales almost anywhere. There is even an excellent chance that you could have your products represented in your local grocery store.

8. It creates employment opportunities on multiple levels.
Because a poultry farm is typically a family business, you can teach your children the benefits of holding down a good job from an early age. They can be actively involved in the care of the poultry, collect the eggs, or even capture the animals as they get shipped off to the local processor. It can provide income as a side hustle while you work a full-time job, or it can be a large-scale commercial enterprise if you have enough capital and land to get your farm started. If you grow large enough, then you can hire people from your community to earn some extra income as well.

The demands of a poultry farm for workers is quite minimal. Almost anyone can complete the necessary chores while still maintaining their usual daily activities.