Organic chicken farming can be an incredibly rewarding and profitable business to start up. In fact, according to the USDA, the organic chicken industry accounted for $5 billion in total sales in 2017! And with demand for organic products only increasing year over year, starting your organic chicken farm could be the perfect way to capitalize on this growing market.
Are you interested in knowing how to start your organic chicken farm?
It can get really hard and frustrating to start an organic chicken farm when you don’t know how.
But basically, the key is knowing what you want.
Do you want a farm focused on meat production, egg production, etc... And what kind of chicken breed will you use to meet these objectives?
Here’s how to get started with organic chicken farming in 6 easy steps!
Best Ways on How to Start Your Organic Chicken Farm
- Select a poultry industry
Many people work in the poultry farming sector.
It is possible to raise broilers or layers in two different ways.
Meat-producing birds are known as broilers. A layer is an egg-laying hen that you keep for your use. Incubating eggs and growing chicks are also a part of the process.
Multi-sector operations are common in the poultry farming industry.
So, if you're thinking about starting a poultry farm, consider whether or not you want to operate in all sectors or simply one or two.
What types of poultry farming do you have access to?
- Production of meat (Broilers breeding)
- Formation of ovules (Layers breeding)
- Production of avian feed
- Breeding of hens (Hatchery)
- Processing of eggs and meat
But before you start your poultry farm business consider the certainty of sales.
Consider the dangers of starting a broiler-growing company, for example.
Your poultry farm company will fail if you can't find buyers for your broilers
If you want to start a broiler company, for example, you should wait until you have established relationships with local broiler producers.
- Choose the right breed
Many various breeds of chicken are available, and the best one for your situation will depend on what you want to accomplish. It is possible to run a free-range chicken farm to either sell meat or eggs, or both.
Raising Rhode Island Red chickens for both meat and eggs is a viable option. Each year, they lay around 250 eggs. As a result, the Light Sussex chicken is a multipurpose breed that may be used to produce both meat and eggs.
White Leghorn chickens are often employed as layer birds. In a year, they may lay as many as 300 eggs, each weighing no less than 55 grams. Bushveld chickens are often found in Africa, where they are well-adapted to the region's diverse climate.
With this breed, you'll be able to produce both meat and eggs. Others include the Golden Comet and Barred Plymouth Rock as well as the Golden Laced Wyandotte and the Australorp, to name just a few.
You may also read The Beginner's Guide to Chicken Breeds: An Introductory Guide to Choosing the Right Flock from Amazon.
- Understand the local laws
Investigate local and state regulations regarding the raising, processing, and sale of poultry on your property.
Poultry rules are designed to prevent the spread of disease-causing pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, fungi, parasites, and other microbes.
25 states have laws governing the processing of meats, while the other half follow USDA standards and have established exemptions for small-scale farmers and processors that sell their poultry products on the market.
Meat chickens sold to the public must be processed at a USDA-approved facility, which is a requirement in many states.
- Decide on a farm site
Choosing the best site for your poultry farm is essential.
All of the essential amenities must be available at the chosen site.
Make an effort to locate your poultry farm a few miles outside of town so that you may save money on land and labor.
Building the chicken farm too distant from the closest city will be an error. A town's population density is a key consideration when developing a marketing strategy to reach out to residents.
Furthermore, if your poultry farm is located too far from a city, transportation costs may be higher.
- Create a farm logo for your business
Create an eye-catching logo for your poultry farm. Your farm's brand should appear on every product you sell as part of your marketing strategy.
Use your logo on anything from business cards to websites.
- Make sure you know your customers
What are the demographics of your local customers?
Will your farm sell directly to the public?
How are you going to let others know about your existence?
Is your product going to be sold at restaurants?
- Plan your farm's future
Determine how many broilers you will grow for your first run after determining your market.
Just how big is this thing?
What supplies, like fencing, housing, waterers, and feeders, would you need for them?
Then choose your capital. What is the size of your bankroll?
How much will it cost to build a chicken house and raise a brood of chicks?
The price of the feed needed to produce the product. Make a note of any drugs or supplements you will be using or plan to use in the future.
- Raise the chickens
Get your chicks and you can begin.
The temperature of the incubator must be maintained at a consistent temperature, much as if the mother hen were present to keep the chicks warm.
Chicken meal is available in a broad variety of options. In addition, you'll have to keep an eye out for infections like coccidiosis and avoid issues like pasting up early on.
Your chick starts puberty at seven weeks, but they haven't yet reached sexual maturity.
At about 5 to 7 weeks, you should be able to distinguish between male and female chickens visually.
Females are known as pullets, while males are known as cockerels.
Cockerels' combs and wattles grow faster and are often bigger.
9. Feeding, Watering, and Collecting Eggs
10. Set Up Fencing and Shelters
Once you've chosen the general location for your farm, it's time to prepare for the animals. Be sure that you have some kind of shelter for them; this will probably be at least a shed with some sort of roof, but it could also be as simple as a pile of hay. In either case, put them in a corner or section of the property so they can get away from heavy winds and rain if necessary.
And don't forget to fence them in - this is your chicken version of child-proofing: they're not going anywhere they're not supposed to be, and so long as the fence is high enough, predators are out of luck too.
Final Thoughts
Starting a chicken farm is no easy feat.
You need to take care of finances, the quality of chickens, and most importantly maintain the quality of the farm.
Follow these steps on how to start your organic chicken farm and make sure you succeed at this new venture of yours:
- Select a poultry industry
- Choose the right breed
- Understand the local laws
- Decide on a farm site
- Create a farm logo for your business
- Make sure you know your customers
- Plan your farm's future
- Raise the chickens