Poultry Farming Business in Ghana
If you’re considering starting a poultry farm in Ghana, then you should enter the business well prepared by learning about the business. Right from setting up some basic equipment to raising the birds and marketing your business, you have to take every step wisely.
Poultry farming is of different types such as duck rearing, chicken rearing, quails, turkey, broiler, etc. However, the principles and practices underlying are the same. Below is a comprehensive guide to follow to start a profitable poultry farming business in Ghana.
Step 1 - Choose Your Poultry Breed
Before starting your poultry farm, you need to have a clear picture of the type of poultry breed to farm. There are three types of breed suitable for commercial poultry farming in Ghana.
Modern poultry breeds are highly productive and commercial raising is also very profitable. Modern layers produce more eggs than traditional breeds and broilers grow faster than ever. Selecting proper breeds for commercial production depends on you.
Broilers: They’re fast-growing breed and are mainly raised for meat. Generally, they gain slaughter weight within a very short time by consuming a certain amount of food. They grow from a hatch weight of 40 g to a weight of approximately 1.5 to 2 kg within 6 weeks only.
Layers: Layer poultry breeds are used for commercial egg production and then killed for meat. They start laying eggs at the age of 18-19 weeks and continue until they are 72-78 weeks of age.
Cockerels: Just like the broilers, cockerels are also for meat production and have a special market demand but then, its growth is very slow, unlike the broilers that grow very fast. Cockerels can survive in many environments.
Step 2 - Choose A Suitable Farm Location
The location of our poultry farm is very important to the success of your business. Getting a farm location is a critical part of starting a poultry business. Your poultry farming scale should determine the size of your farmland.
If you are going into a small scale poultry farming, you can make do with your backyard or acquire a temporary site. However, if you’re going into a large-scale poultry farming, you’ll need to get bigger farmland.
A perfect site for poultry farming should be clean and pollution-free. You should also have a good source of drinking water for your birds. Additionally, the site must be free from predators. The site must be easily accessible from main roads so as to ease the transportation of farm products when they are ready for sale.
Step 3 - Choose a Good Housing System
A good housing system is very important for commercial poultry farming in Ghana. The housing system you choose depends on the poultry breeds and farming method. Housing design varies in accordance with various types of poultry raising methods.
The housing to be built should be spacious enough to permit free movement and running of the birds. Shelters must be raised adequately to prevent the risk of flooding. It should be spacious enough to permit free movement and running of the birds. In addition, the shelter must be adequately ventilated and protected from sunlight.
Step 4 - Provide Feeding for Your Birds
A good and high-quality feed is very important for poultry production. Quality and neat feeds keep the bird healthy always and very productive. The feed must be kept clean and dry always, as contaminated feed can infect poultry. Fresh quality and nutritious food is the key to success in poultry farming business. Your birds need not lack water. Lack of adequate water supply can impede their growth.
Step 5 - Provide Proper Medication for Your Birds
Poultry birds are very sensitive and need proper medication and vaccination to prevent poultry diseases. Generally, they suffer from various types of viral, bacterial, fungal, nutritional and parasitic diseases.
As a commercial poultry farmer, you need to have a veterinary doctor that can come run a check on your birds when the need arises. There are various routine medications and vaccinations that help towards the healthiness of your birds.
Step 6 - Marketing Your Farm Produce
The most interesting thing about poultry farming in Ghana is that it has an already established market. However, to maximize your profit, you need to pay attention to the marketing and sales of your farm produce.
You can sell your product in both local markets and big cities. Nevertheless, the following ideas can help you in the marketing and sales of your chicken; taking your business online, selling to hotels and restaurants, advertising your products, employing marketers, home delivery, etc.
One of the advantages of registering your farm is that it gives you the opportunity to secure fundings in the form of loan or grant from the government. You also stand a chance of benefiting from agricultural intervention programmes.