Are you an up-and-coming farmer looking to generate a sustainable income? Chickens just might be the best option for you! Not only are chickens great multi-purpose animals, and a great source of eggs, meat, and fertiliser, they are also fast growing and provide an income quickly.

In addition to providing humans with companionship and food, poultry can also provide them with fibre, eggs, meat, and feathers. There are great benefits in choosing to start a small business based on using poultry and it’s by-products. Some of these are as follows:

· Less capital required than other agricultural or farming endeavours

· No need for a very large space

· You can expect high returns in short time period

· A high level of maintenance is not required

· There is a huge demand for poultry products, making it a wise investment

· Marketing can be approached simply

· Income and employment opportunities can be created for a group of people

Poultry is always in demand. And so with this in mind, we unpack a few things to consider before embarking on your small-scale poultry business.

If you’re a small-scale producer interested in starting your own poultry business, it’s important to decide which sector of the industry you want to serve. You will need to decide how to set up a business and how to earn money based on this.

There are two options for entering the poultry business: One is to hatch and sell day-old chicks to the big producers, a second is to buy day-old chicks yourself and grow them, selling their eggs or the chickens themselves as fully-grown chickens.

It’s important to choose the correct breed of chicken for the market you have identified. There’s layer-chickens and there are broiler-chickens, for eggs and meat respectively.

Think about where you’re going to keep your livestock: a good chicken coop should give your chickens a comfortable and healthy environment that is secure and clean and has enough space. It is also important that your chicken house is adequately ventilated to prevent the spread of disease.

Remember: When chickens are raised for meat, anything that disrupts their comfort in the poultry house will significantly affect their feed intake, resulting in reduced egg production and weight gain.

Zhaun’s has a range of agriculture machines which will help you kick start your small business. Discover our chicken layer, slaughter line machine and egg hatching incubator.