What is Poultry Farming?

The Fundamentals

Poultry farming refers to the agricultural practice of raising domesticated birds such as chickens, turkeys, ducks, quails and guinea fowls for the purpose of meat and egg production. Chickens raised for the sole purpose of egg production are known as layers while those raised primarily for their meat are known as broilers. The White Leghorn is famous for egg production while the Cornish Cross is a popular breed of chicken for meat production. Commercial hens usually begin laying from 16 to 21 weeks of age. Meanwhile, broilers typically reach slaughter weight at 5-9 weeks of age. Furthermore, productivity of commercial chicken farms in recent times is especially high – approximately 1kg of feed is converted into 0.5kg of broiler while 1kg of feed typically produces half a dozen eggs.

Types of poultry farming systems

The two most popular poultry farming systems practiced in Ghana are the intensive and extensive systems. Under intensive system chickens are bred in house; under the intensive system, we have the battery cage system and the deep-litter system. The battery cage system is usually preferred for housing layers since this is the most efficient system for egg production because energy derived from feed is mainly directed towards egg production since the birds are in confinement as opposed to the deep-litter system whereby birds are allowed some freedom of movement which utilizes some of the energy derived from feed. Broilers however, are usually being raised by the deep-litter system. Extensive system of poultry production is also known as free-range whereby birds are allowed to roam freely and forage for their food – sometimes these birds are given additional feed to supplement what they had foraged in a day.

Composition of chicken feed

Feed is the highest expense in commercial poultry farming for most farmers and can cost upwards of 50% of revenues and rightly so since the quality of produce farmers obtain is as good as the nutrition they provide for their birds. Farmers can decide to purchase already prepared feed from established companies or prepare their own. Poultry feed typically comprises of maize as a carbohydrate source, soya beans a protein source, fish meal for proteins and omega 3 fatty acids and other supplementary ingredients depending on geography and availability.

Some management practices in poultry farming

Management practices in poultry include brooding, vaccination and debeaking. Brooding involves the process of providing heat necessary for the development of chicks, right from the day they are hatched to about six weeks of age. Usually commercial farmers in Ghana do not hatch the chicks on the farm but rather purchase them day-old from established hatcheries. In poultry production, one of the greatest threats to profitability and sustainability is posed by infectious diseases – diseases such as Newcastle, fowl pox and avian influenza spread very quickly and could easily wipe out all birds in the farm. By administering the right vaccines in a timely manner, the risk of some of these disease outbreaks could be significantly reduced. Debeaking is the process whereby part of the beak of a chicken is removed in order to prevent or reduce cannibalistic tendencies such as feather and vent pecking. Vent pecking is particularly very dangerous because it can lead to birds bleeding to death or disembowelment.

Marketing of farm produce

After working very hard in brooding, vaccination and undertaking all the necessary management practices, all your efforts will be vain if at the end of the day, no one buys your products – for this reason, it is very necessary that you properly research your market before you start. Typically, broilers are more difficult to sell in Ghana than eggs because majority of Ghanaians prefer to purchase frozen imported chicken since it is much cheaper than locally reared broilers but the exception is that during festive seasons such as Easter and Christmas, locally reared broilers are in high demand. Eggs on the other hand are very easy to sell and are in high demand all year round.