A good poultry farmer should possess the following qualities:
Technical Skills:
- Knowledge of poultry nutrition and feeding
- Understanding of breeding, genetics, and reproduction
- Familiarity with disease prevention and management
- Skill in handling and restraining birds
- Ability to operate farm equipment and machinery
Business Acumen:
- Financial management and budgeting
- Marketing and sales skills
- Understanding of market trends and demand
- Ability to negotiate with suppliers and buyers
- Basic accounting and record-keeping
Soft Skills:
- Attention to detail and observation
- Problem-solving and critical thinking
- Communication and interpersonal skills
- Time management and organization
- Adaptability and flexibility
Personal Qualities:
- Passion for farming and animal care
- Strong work ethic and willingness to learn
- Physical stamina and ability to work long hours
- Emotional stability and stress management
- Commitment to biosecurity and animal welfare
Management Skills:
- Leadership and team management
- Ability to train and mentor staff
- Strategic planning and decision-making
- Risk management and contingency planning
- Quality control and assurance
Sustainability and Best Practices:
- Knowledge of sustainable farming practices
- Implementation of environmental conservation measures
- Adherence to animal welfare standards
- Use of integrated pest management (IPM) techniques
- Commitment to continuous improvement and innovation
Certifications and Training:
- Formal education in poultry science or related field
- Certification in poultry production or management
- Training in biosecurity, animal welfare, and food safety
- Participation in industry workshops and conferences
- Membership in professional associations
Keep learning and earning ✌
Source: @somtochukwu
The causes of high failure rate in poultry business:
1) Lack of Technical knowledge.It is regrettable that many people and organizations have ventured into poultry farming without technical knowledge. Knowledge of poultry farming techniques are required before anyone can operate the business profitably.
2) Management Problem.An incompetent management may not be able to operate a profitable poultry farm. The managers of the farm must know what they are employed to do and posses the ability to do it. Some poultry managers fail to recognise the peculiarity of poultry farming in their management style, thereby preparing good ground for losses in the venture. Many managers do not recognize the need for timely planning and control in running the farm.
3) Diseased Breeds.Some fertilized eggs meant to be hatched in the incubator could be infected with disease from the parent stock. This means that before the eggs were hatched they had been diseased. If the disease are not detected and treated on time, the affected birds may die sooner or later.
4) Hygiene Deficiency.There is a minimum hygiene condition that must exist in any poultry farm if the birds are to remain healthy and produce maximally for profit. The poultry farm must be kept clean always; the droppings should be cleared on time before they constitute an agent of disease.
5) Poor feeding condition and wastage of feed.The birds need to be fed well in the pens in order to produce maximum meat and eggs (either of which may be the purpose for running the farm). The birds are fed with varying quantities of feed at different stages and with the appropriate feed. The various feeds are chicks mash, grower mash and layer mash, which must be sufficiently rich to give the birds the required nutrients to grow healthy and produce optimally.
6) Security.A poultry farm must be established in a secured place to ward off enemies of birds, such as rats, soldier ants, snakes, wild birds, etc. Most of these enemies are agents of disease that could lead to an epidemic on the farm, and they kill the birds directly as well.There must be strict check on the farm workers who may be stealing the fowls and the eggs. Also, visitors may constitute a problem to the farm if they are not properly checked.
7) Housing.Birds need minimum space and convenient place to grow well and produce maximally meat and eggs. Birds are spaced on the farm according to their ages; while the chicks need little space, growers and mature birds need more space and ventilation to perform well. The services of a consultant may be needed to determine the appropriate spacing for the birds without which they may suffocate to death, which will be a big loss to the business.
8) Inability to prevent, detect and control disease.It is often said that prevention is better than cure, as far as disease are concerned and this is a true statement and relevant one to poultry farming. A poultry farmer should know how to prevent poultry disease, as well as how to cure them. If he or she does know anything about preventive measures, the services of consultants in the field should be engaged for good result.
9) Marketing.A marketing plan is absolutely necessary for successful commercial poultry farming, as any farmer ignorant of his or her marketing needs is bound to run into serious losses and eventual failure. It will be ridiculous to start poultry production without knowing when, where, how and to whom to sell the fowls, eggs, feathers and droppings as they are produced. We cannot talk of profit if the meat and eggs have no ready market. Eggs have a very short shelf life and if they are not sold quickly, they will go bad, and no one is interested in buying bad eggs. Also, birds not sold at the appropriate time will be fed at an extra cost that may make the business unprofitable. Therefore, adequate marketing strategies are needed to sell all the poultry products at the appropriate time and prices.
10) Ignoring the role of livestock consultants.There are always practicing experts in every profession or occupation who function as consultants. They are there to proffer solutions to problems that exist in such professions at a minimum cost. Where a livestock farmer doesn’t have adequate technical and managerial experience, he or she can consult experts for necessary advice to bridge the gap. Even where the farmer thinks he or she has all it takes to run a farm successfully, there may be need to seek the services of experts in the field, as it is usually said that two heads are better than one.Knowledge is power 💪.
REASONS WHY LAYING BIRDS SUDDENLY DROP EGG PRODUCTION.
Are your birds eggs dropping too much lately ? And
you have been wondering
what’s happening and its causes ? Read till the end to
know what to do about it.
There are different reasons
why your birds are not producing enough eggs and they keep dropping their egg production. Am going to discuss
about three reasons why layers egg production drops.
1) Heat Stress .
When there is heat or the
general temperature of the
environment is high,what
do you do about it to minimize its effects on your laying birds ? Hope you know your layers hate heat and
anytime they are stressed
unnecessarily they respond to
heat by dropping their egg production. When there is
heat stress make sure you
a) Feed birds at cool times of
the day, early in the morning
and evening.
b) Ensure birds drink fresh
and cool water.
c) Use fan or wate based
foggling machine to cool the
temperature.
2) Insufficient Feeding Or Feeding Low Quality Feeds.
When they start laying at 18
weeks, they should be fed 83-85 grams per bird.This should increase gradually, at 25weeks they are
expected to eat 113grams
per birds daily. Their feeding
is subject to weather, size of
feed particles, health status,
and availability of water amongst other factors.
3) Light Supply.
Do laying birds need 24hrs of
light supply? Layers don’t
need up to 24hrs of light to
give you their maximum egg production. They will perform
well with 16hours of light
supply and 8hours of
darkness. Layers normally lay eggs the
most between 9am(morning) -4pm in the evening because lighting stimulate the hormones that enables them to lay eggs.
IF YOUR LAYERS SUDDENLY DROP PRODUCTION AND ALSO REFUSE TO EAT LIIKE THEY DO BEFORE, ONE OF THIS SIX REASONS IS HAPPENING TO THEM.
Layers are very sensitive birds and will react and respond to almost anything
that can cause them stress.
The reasons why they suddenly drop their egg production and also reduce their
feeding may have been caused by
1) Sign Of Illness.- The 2 most
common poultry diseases that (Symptoms includes Shelless eggs,paralysis, and watery
green poops) Treatment – Lasota Vaccine.
(b) Fowl Cholera( Symptoms includes High mortality, Solid greenish diarrhoea, loss of appetite)
Treatment – Doxygen 20/20 or
Amoxy-Col or Centre Tydox.
Whenever laying birds are
infected with diseases you
will notice reduced egg production, loss of appetite and they will start consuming
less feed than before, but if you don’t seem to get what is
happening to them seek help
from external source.
2)Heat Stress/ Extreme Weather Conditions.
No matter what, laying birds
will drop egg production during heat seasons,and will
also feed lesser than they do before, . But how ever this
can be minimized by feeding
them very early in the morning
and late evening. Use fan or water based foggling machine to cool birds temperature. Ensure birds drink
cool and fresh water. Also
give multivitamins to help birds relax such as Amin
Total or Keprocyrl.
3) External And Internal Parasites.
Another cause of decrease egg production is lice/worms. You won’t see any
sign of disease in the chickens. They will be looking
very healthy and eating well
but sharp reduction in production.You can use Ivermectin to treat both internal
and external parasite or you
can Go to any large vetinary
shop and ask for a strong lice(ectoparasite)/worm
drug. Their egg production
will raise back and see a
sharp increase few days after
using the drug. But this will
only happen if it is actually
worm or lice that’s affecting them. External parasite
that affects them is also called (YoRo) in Yoruba.
4) Reduction In Their Feed Quality. start laying eggs. Poor feeding, malnutriting and rationing feeds for birds will
add more weeks and it will
take your birds more time
before they can mature enough and start egg production. Before layers can start laying
eggs they must weight
between 1.3-15kg and so if
you feed your birds low quality feeds or you ration feed for them it will take them longer
time before they can have
the required weight before
they start laying and it will also prolong the time it should take them before they
start laying eggs. If you have
200 point of lay birds, they
should not be eating less than
a bag a day,so your birds
should not be feeding less
than required a day. And before you change your layers feed from growers to layers ensure about 30% of
their number has started laying.
5) THE TYPE OF THE BIRD YOU BOUGHT.
It also depends on the type of
bird you bought. We have different hatchery in Nigeria
and they all don’t have the same quality of chicks so
some pullets from some
hatchery lay eggs as early as
17weeks why some from
other hatchery lay eggs around 22weeks. But don’t
worry layers are expected
to start laying eggs between 17-24 weeks as long as you
have done all required of
you for your birds they will
surely start laying eggs withing this time frame but if
they don’t then their is a problem you should seek for
help from those that can help
you.
6) DO YOU VACCINATE YOUR BIRDS?
Do you give your birds lasota
vaccine monthly ? Do you
deworm your birds?
You have to follow Vaccination schedule that works
and produce results.Because sickness and illness
will deteriorate and prevent your birds from laying eggs the week they should start laying eggs.Do you also remember to give your birds
KOMOROV vaccination at 7
weeks and what about gumboro vaccination when
they at day 11 did you give it
to them ?This are things farmers must take note of if
they want their birds to start
laying and producing at their appropriate time.
Keep learning and earning ✌️
Passionate farmers never quit farming 💯
@coach somtochukwu
