Most people do find themselves repeating mistakes when it comes to poultry farming. Some mistakes are done due to lack of knowledge, negligence, improper guidance, or other delinquent reasons.
In this post, we are going to look for the most common poultry farming mistakes that farmers continue to make. These mistakes vary from one farmer to the other.
For instance, most new chicken keepers suffer from the knowledge and skills required to run a poultry farm, while experienced farmers find themselves committing typical mistakes due to negligence and some from being overconfident.
Ordinary errors in poultry farming and how to bypass them
Too late in spotting a sick bird
After feeding your chickens, it’s always prudent to set aside at least ten minutes daily, to keenly monitor your flock’s behaviors.
All birds in the chicken coop when healthy portray energetic behavioral characteristics. If you spot any abnormal behavior, isolate the bird to scrutinize the cause of the problem. There could be a higher chance that the bird is sick or injured.
What are some common signs or symptoms of a sick chicken
- Lack of appetite
- Slow or straining in movement
- Dropping of wings
- When there is a huge decrease in eggs production
- When a chicken looks uninterested or not bothered by anything
- Toiling in breathing, coughing and sometimes sneezing
- Watery and swollen eyes
If you see above symptoms separate the affected bird from the rest and administer appropriate treatment. The affected bird or flock should only return when fully recovered.
Constructing a small chicken house
Building a good shelter for any poultry farmer is not an option, it’s a must regardless of how costly it might be. The main objective of a chicken coop is to provide a good favourable environment, excellent air circulation, and most importantly, security.
When planning to construct a poultry house you should consider the number of flocks you want to keep, so that you can have an idea of the house measurements.
The recommended size of the chicken house should be, for 100 birds kept, 100 Square feet size is required.
Other factors to consider when building a poultry house
Optimal temperature
Chickens are more productive in warm optimum temperature. In cold areas, insulation is a good practice to maintain a stable temperature. While in hot areas well ventilation is required to keep chickens out of stress due to high temperatures.
Air circulation
Good fresh air circulation is important to prevent diseases that might be caused by ammonia from their excretion waste. Consequently, ventilation is a must to achieve excellent airflow.
Lack of enough capital
This mistake is committed by new farmers and most of them enter into poultry farming without analyzing the costs of rearing birds and fail to perform feasibility studies.
For one to be a successful poultry farmer calculating expenses on poultry feeds, medicine and other additional costs that may arise is an important asset. This is because you will never make the mistake of sustaining a huge flock yet you have less capital.
And also you should remember poultry farming is a tricky business venture since it requires utmost patience. You will not purchase chicks today and except tomorrow they will start producing eggs.
Not bothering researching poultry farming
Before starting any business venture conducting research is paramount for success. The best way to research on this venture is to personally visit any accomplished and successful poultry farm around you, and don’t mind paying a few bucks.
Proceed and ask about the challenges you might face and their solutions. Make sure to visit several farms and not just rely on little information.
Deplorable hygiene and poor ventilation
Failure to clean their shelter and keeping them too congested without air circulation is the genesis of avoidable chicken diseases.
Care should be followed and observe cleanliness at all times. Wood shavings when used should always be changed severally.
Purchasing the wrong breed
Most new farmers make mistake of buying breeds which are not up to standard and thereby paying the price of low production and quality.
Several breeds serve different purposes, some are good in egg production and others in meat production.
Purchasing from established chick sellers is also an important practice, don’t mind the price as cheap is so expensive.
Overcrowding
Overcrowding your chickens might lead to cannibalism and other many problems associated with this.
Reluctant to feed quality feeds
Feeding quality feeds from reliable and established sellers will help your birds with the necessary nutrients required for maximum production. Many new farmers have a tendency of neglecting and abandoning quality feeds for substandard feeds due to high costs.
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