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Poultry farming is a massive industry in Ghana responsible for the employment of thousands of people and also serves as a reliable source of additional or full-time income for farmers. With that said, one would wonder why someone would think poultry farming is a waste of time. Please continue reading the article to find out why.
First of all, poultry farming is capital intensive. For instance, if you want to raise 1,000 layers you may have to spend as much as GH¢ 150,000. Oblivious to this vital information, some people would assume that because they can afford to purchase 1,000 day-old chicks, they are good to go. They later go ahead and bring in the chicks but they find out that they cannot afford to purchase the feed for their birds so, in their desperation, they take on as much debt as they can till they reach the inevitable point where they have no choice but to sell off the birds.
Next to that, a lot of the farmers who do not succeed in poultry farming are quite negligent. Every experienced poultry farmer knows that it is crucial that you do not miss any vaccination schedule as that could spell disaster but for some reason, some new farmers think it is okay to skip certain vaccination commitments and later complain bitterly when they start losing their birds in droves.
Furthermore, some farmers never learn. Usually, sticking to old ways of doing things or never innovating is the surest way to cause stagnation or sometimes worse, the decline of your farm. For instance, if you join an association of poultry farmers in your community and constantly meet with them to share ideas, someone might recommend a certain supplement or herb which may contribute to increased egg or meat yield. Also, during your discussions, someone might introduce you to new technology, perhaps, a new type of low-cost automatic water delivery system which may cut down your labour costs.
Finally, some farmers think they can do it all. Sure, you don’t necessarily need anyone’s help if you intend to raise birds on a subsistence basis but the moment you decide you want to venture into commercial poultry farming, you should understand you can’t do it all and you should seek help. Looking at the second paragraph, for instance, let’s assume you consulted with experts and you found out that to start a poultry farm of 1,000 layers you have to spend as much as GH₵ 150,000. You would have instead opted to begin with 250 birds assuming you only had GH₵ 50,000. This in effect means that by paying a relatively small fee to the expert you get to potentially save yourself from losing GH₵ 50,000. In case you are reading this article and you want to start a poultry farm but don’t know how much you need to start, please contact us.
To conclude, I don’t think that starting a poultry farm is necessarily a waste of time but in my opinion, I believe that people with the traits mentioned above shouldn’t start a poultry farm in the first place because it’s very likely that much-needed resources like money and time would just go down the drain.
Pkom 