It’s no secret that most new entrants to poultry farming go bankrupt. Jan Grobbelaar, training director at Dumela Poultry Solutions, discusses common errors and how to avoid them.
Over the past decade, Dumela Poultry Solutions has conducted more
than 80 evaluations of failed emerging poultry farms in northern Gauteng, the
Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere. In many cases it was found that
poultry houses were empty and in various states of dilapidation. These houses,
including equipment, chickens and other commodities, had invariably been
donated by different donors – private and government.
Why did they fail? This is difficult to answer, as poultry
production is a complex farming enterprise that can be compared to a wheel with
spokes – if one or more spokes break or malfunction, the wheel collapses.
Poultry production is dependent on various role players and crucial management
procedures. Here are some of the more common reasons these farmers failed:
1. No
feasibility study
In most cases, farmers made little or no effort to carry out a
feasibility study. This would have revealed the lack of suppliers and other
important role players in the vicinity of many farms. The most important of
these are the suppliers of day-old chickens, point-of-lay hens, feed, medicine,
disinfectants and vaccines. Also often missing from the area were veterinary
services, reference laboratories, abattoirs, processing and, crucially, a
reliable market. Some of the projects were located in areas difficult to reach,
especially during rainy season.
2. No
biosecurity
A biosecurity
programme is designed to avoid or prevent diseases from entering
or spreading on the farm. Two of the most critical aspects are access control
and disinfection of persons and vehicles entering the premises. It was found
that people and vehicles could enter and leave the premises at will, and buyers
were allowed to enter chicken houses freely. This is one of the surest ways of
introducing disease to the farm.
3. Inadequate housing
To become commercially viable, an emerging farmer must provide the
chickens with the correct type of housing for the production system practised.
Many enterprises failed to do so. Example, a house of 70 by 30 feet can contain
a 1, 000 laying birds.
The main purpose of poultry housing is to provide chickens with a
healthy, comfortable environment to ensure optimal production at an affordable
price. The following are important environmental conditions inside chicken
houses:
Temperature
Chickens are warm-blooded animals with a body temperature between
40.6°C to 41.7°C. When a chicken hatches, its body temperature goes down to
about 39.7°C. Chickens cannot maintain their body temperature. So in order to
maintain it inside the house, the roofs and walls must be insulated. During
investigations, it was found that the roofs and walls were often not insulated
and in some cases were built with corrugated iron or IBR sheeting. One
beneficiary admitted that a corrugated iron chicken house becomes an oven in
summer and a fridge in winter. When it is cold, the chicks gather at a corner
and climb on top of each other, resulting in several suffocating. Hot temperatures
also result in fatalities.
Air
flow
The purpose of air flow is to introduce fresh air, remove stale air
and control the temperature in the house. In open-sided houses, this flow is
controlled by means of plastic curtains. It is therefore important for these
curtains to open from the top to bottom, leaving a ‘skirt’ at the bottom; this
prevents cold air from blowing directly onto the chickens. In addition, the
curtains must be held in place on the side by solid panels to prevent them from
moving away from the house. Many of the curtains at failed projects closed from
the top to bottom or were controlled with poles.
Floor
space
Many emerging farmers do not have any experience in rearing chickens
and cannot manage a high number per square metre. In Dumela Poultry Solutions’
investigation of failed farms, up to 17 chickens/m2 were found. A
beginner farmer should have no more than 10 chickens/m2.
Feed
Broilers have been specifically bred to grow fast (38g to 2.5kg in
six weeks) but to reach this, the chickens must be provided with the correct
feed. Because feed cost is high (about 70% of production cost), some farmers
mixed good quality feed with lower grade feed, resulting in poor growth
performance. In addition, some projects were up to 100km from the nearest feed
company. Many farmers relied on public transport, which increased the price of
a 50kg bag of feed by about R30.
4. Marketing
This was one of the greatest problems faced by many. Most farmers
are unreliable, some failed to honour their contracts while others could not
handle their finances. Most did not put money back into the business. Because
of these problems, many ended up selling live birds – an unreliable market as
farmers often have to keep chickens for up to eight weeks before they are sold.
During this time, they consume the profit.
5. Training
It is advisable to go for training before starting poultry farming
business. 95% of the farmers did not receive training before starting, a fact
evident in the way they reared the birds.
This is where
we will be ending our discussion for today. Remember to share your comments, views and opinions.
Phone Jan Grobbelaar on 084 567 8975.
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