The Poultry industry is an indispensable sector of the agricultural field. Production of eggs and chicken, in general, is a flourishing business choice that has proved to be profitable. Thousands of poultry farmers in the country are proud of their industry, which by the way is a trillion Naira industry.

Two factors have been largely responsible for the extraordinary growth of the poultry

industry. The first factor is the never-ending demand for eggs and poultry meat. The second factor is that poultry raising has been a comparatively profitable industry when compared with other agriculture enterprises.

What Does Poultry Farming Business Entail?

Poultry farming is the commercial production of poultry birds, which include chicken, turkey, pigeon, geese, guinea, and game birds. They are very easy to produce and have a high meat to carcass ratio. Hence, they are an excellent source for meeting the protein needs of the populace.

Chicken makes up about 85% of the poultry population in Nigeria. 

The main products of the poultry business include day-old chicks, eggs, poultry meat, which will be produced from birds (i.e. layers and breeders), and broilers. Poultry by-products such as poultry droppings and hatchery wastes will also provide extra income to your poultry business. Poultry dropping can be used as a feed ingredient in fish farming and manure for vegetable gardening.

Who Are the Consumers of Poultry Farming Products?

Nearly all Nigerians are potential consumers of poultry products. There is always a constant high demand for poultry products either for consumption usually during the time of festivities such as Christmas, New Year, Easter, Id-El Kabir, Id El-Fitri, etc. Also, fast food operators such as hotels, restaurants, and supermarkets have a very high demand for poultry products.

Egg alone has a wide variety of uses. It can be used in the preparation of products such as chicken burgers, pancakes, scotch eggs, and egg soup among others. Apart from home consumption, eggs can be used as a leavening agent in baked foods, and as an ingredient in the production of hair shampoo, and for the production of egg powder which can later be added into baby food.

Poultry farmers, especially the ones that specialize in broiler and layer production, are the potential consumers of the day-old chicks produced by the hatchery section. 

You can’t go wrong with poultry farming in Nigeria.

While you might want to jump in and start making your profits, it’s best you do so with a plan, or else you risk losing instead of profiting. As with all things in life, you need a plan. And we are going to provide some poultry business plans for you.

Poultry Farming Business Ideas: Planning and Execution

There are some things to consider before you start working on your Poultry Farming Business Plan.

1. Key Features

You can separate your poultry business into different branches that can be tackled exclusively. This involves choosing your Poultry location,  whether you prefer to go ahead with meat production, chicken breeding, egg production, or poultry feed production. 

Before you kickstart your poultry business, it is vital to have a clear picture of what kind of poultry breeds to farm (more importantly, poultry breeds that lay a lot of eggs). In Nigeria, two main types are commonly reared among poultry farmers (aside from locally grown chickens of course).

Broilers: These are only raised for meat. They can grow from a hatch weight of 40g to about 2kg in 6 weeks.

Layers: These are mainly hens that are used for the production of eggs and then later killed for meat. They are raised from a day old and start laying eggs from 18 weeks and continue until they reach 75 weeks of age.

Cockerels: They share the same fate with broilers. They are raised exclusively for meat production and have special market requests for them, but their growth is very slow, compared to the broilers that grow very fast. They are preferred mostly because they can survive in many environments.

2. Location

It’s also helpful to consider the environmental factors that can affect your business.  Where your poultry farm is located is extremely important for your business. To start a poultry business in Nigeria, you need a farm site. The size of the poultry farmland should be determined by the number of birds you plan to rear.  If you don’t have the resources to acquire farmland, still no problem. If you have enough land in your backyard, you can go ahead and use it. It’s always better to start small. You can start with what you have but try and make it a priority to get a better farm as soon as you have enough money to get it.

A good poultry farm site should be far away from the uproar and hustle-bustle of the city. It should be a calm and pollution-free environment. The poultry farm must own adequate, clean, and fresh drinking water sources. Also, it must be free of any type of poultry enemies and predators like snakes, cats, and dogs. Even weather conditions are also a factor.

3. Budget Allocation and Resources

When considering all the different branches, it is also important to consider your budget and distribute it realistically. Hiring poultry professionals might be a bit over budget even though it will benefit you in the long run. That being said, it is also wise to consider what resources are readily accessible and ones that might need to be brought in. Having a budget in place for each aspect can help you draft a realistic plan quickly.

4. Upkeep

There are many Hatcheries all over Nigeria that can deliver day-old chicks to your farm. Though you will have to check the one that’s closest to you. The same applies to feed companies too. You should go for the latest feeding, watering, and lighting equipment which will save you on labor costs. 

For successful commercial poultry production, good quality and highly nourishing food is a must. Quality and clean feeds keep the birds healthy always and productive. The feed must be kept clean and dry always, as contaminated feed can infect your poultry. 

Your birds shouldn’t lack water. Lack of adequate water supply can hamper their growth. Adequate medication and vaccination can prevent a lot of poultry diseases. And lastly, get a good veterinarian. You need a good vet who can visit your farm at regular intervals to ensure healthy poultry living.  The vet should be easily approachable during a crisis. Keep a schedule for medication and vaccinations in consultation with a Vet.

5. Targeted Products and Services

The next aspect is critical as you decide on the targeted products and services you will create for your poultry business in Nigeria. Having a few specific products and services to get going is important to make sure that your plan doesn’t expand to needless territories or outgrows the budget plan.

Every poultry farmer desires to make good sales or else what is the point of joining. So you have to pay attention to the marketing and sales part of your business. Don’t be trapped in the operational aspect of your business so much that you disregard the sales part.

You should know how to market your poultry farm by either taking your business online to get new customers or by selling to hotels and restaurants, employing marketers to help and if possible providing home delivery services.

6. Marketing

You are planning to be in the poultry business to make money. To take a slice of the cake and because it’s a very profitable business. The end goal of everything discussed above is to rear healthy quality chickens and sell them to make a profit. If you don’t have a marketing plan in place then everything will fall apart and your poultry business will close down. To avoid such failure, more focus should be placed on your marketing channels.

The marketing of poultry follows the traditional channels of distribution. Generally, broilers are distributed in the market via middlemen and wholesalers. Their role essentially is to find a farm and negotiate the price. In some cases, the middleman provides Day Old Chicks and other farm inputs (feed, etc.) to the broiler farmers and then agrees to buy back the mature birds from them. 

Birds are transported to the marketplace and sold to retailers or market-street poultry shops. Birds are sold on a live-weight basis. It doesn’t take that much time to transport poultry products from the farm to the retail shop. Although collection and handling of birds have improved with the use of loader vehicles, it’s still an established fact that the greater the distance between the poultry farmer and consumer, the more complicated the marketing system will be, including the collection, handling, and transportation to the consumer or processing plants. 

The processing plant produces dressed chicken (slaughtered and cleaned). However, a very small amount of dressed chicken is accessible in the local retail market. Most processing units distribute frozen and dressed chicken to retail shops under their brand names, and the retailers in turn sell the chicken to the consumers. 

The trick in marketing is to have quick availability of market information of chicken supply and demand, which will determine the selling price.

Writing Out your Poultry Business Plan

If you want to achieve anything in life, first write it out on a piece of paper. It’s no different from a poultry business. Doing this helps in marking out your goals and aims for the plan. We at Learntal decided to help you a bit with drafting a poultry business plan that covers all important sections that should be included in a business plan.

Executive Summary

• Objectives
• Mission Statement
• Keys to success
• Financial Summary
• Net Income

Business Overview

• Company Ownership
• Owners
• Location and facilities

Market Analysis

• Industry Analysis
• Challenges facing the poultry industry
• Market segmentation
• Target market segment strategy
• Market trends

Startup Summary

• Startup costs

Products & Services

• Product description
• Future products
• Service Description
• Future services

Competitive Analysis

• Competition
• Competitive edge

Marketing Strategy and Implementation

• Marketing strategy
• Pricing and promotion strategy
• Web strategy
• Sales strategy
• SWOT analysis
• PEST analysis
• Socio-cultural
• Technological
• Technological
• Political

Management and Organization Structure

• Management team
• Organizational structure
  • Bimbo Uzumaki
  • Aisha Hatake
  • Emeka Midoriya
  • Henry Uchiha

Financial Plan

• Projected Profit and Loss
• Projected Cash Flow
• Projected Balance Sheet

Risk Assessment

• Financial risks
• Health risks
• Technological risks

You can copy this poultry farming business plan example into your business plan and modify the required information. This is the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

All businesses are different. So, don’t hesitate to tailor your business plan according to your requirements. Even though our sample business plans aim is to help you create the perfect presentation for your clients and investors, it is finally up to you to decide how you are going to present your ideas in the best light.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the poultry business in Nigeria has created and still creates a profitable business opportunity for anybody. Most people prefer to produce day-old chicks and sell them to growers, as this option is easier and less risky. The choice, however, is up to you.