|
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Several business opportunities - component parts of the Integrated Developing Scheme described in Africans, Stop Being Poor! are listed in following table.
| a-
SHEA BUTTER (5,
6, 7,
11, 12,
13)
b- BLUE GOLD (14,
15, 16,
17, 18,
19)
c- FREEZE-DRIED PAPAIN (20,
21, 22
and here)
d-
KENAF (23,
24)
e- VEGETABLE OIL (25,
26, 27,
28)
f- CEREALS (30,
31, 32,
33)
g- FRUITS (34,
35, 36,
37, 38,
39, 40,
42, 43,
44, 45,
46)
h- ESSENTIAL OILS (47,
48, 49,
50, 51,
52)
i- ROOTS & TUBERS (54,
55, 56,
57, 58,
59, 60,
61, 62,
63, 64)
j-
FOWL BREEDING (66,
67, 68,
69, | -
FOWL BREEDING AS BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY: PART
III - INTRODUCTION TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A MEDIUM SCALE POULTRY BREEDING OPERATION
Last
delivery starts a new series of "Business Opportunities" dedicated to
fowl breeding. A brief general introduction about duck breeding shows how it is
possible to start
cheap with few couples of animals and grow big fast.
South Africa's
poultry industry is 93% self sufficient. The per capita egg consumption in
South Africa is 5.5 kg. The highest of the continent. In the contrary as shown
in Table 4,
the rest of the African continent is a net importer of chicken meat for 90% of
the demand.
Owing
to the fact that other sub-Saharan African countries (around 650 million people)
are net importers to the level of 90% of the demand, one could estimate the
potential market existing in Africa to be in the range of [460,000 divided
by 43 and multiplied by 650] = 6,953,500 metric tons for poultry meat and
[342,000 divided by 43 and multiplied by 650] = 5,169,800 metric tons for eggs.
Both products representing a total minimum market value of around 20
billions US$ per year.
The development of poultry breeding industries
(through a combination of small scale family operations and big broilers corporations)
would provide jobs and revenues to rural folks around the continent, develop food
industries related to poultry meat and egg transformation, help solving the hunger
problem, participate in boosting the global developing of African nations. And
help African states garnering substantial budget revenues through taxes.
Therefore,
in spite of the unfair
competition exercised by import from Europe, there are opportunities throughout
the continent to establish chicken breeding companies to cater for national demands
provided that operators take necessary managerial and production decisions to
control costs of production.
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CHOICE OF PRODUCTION FOR A SMALL-SCALE CHICKEN
BREEDING OPERATION
Chicken
breeding could be carried out either as a small scale family business (1,200
to 5,000 animals bred per year), at a medium scale industrial basis (50,000
to 200,000 animals bred per year) or at very large intensive scale (up
to several millions of animal bred per year).
An efficient chicken breeding
operation in any African country cannot be specialized in a unique production
like in developed countries where operations use to breed either only broilers
or layers. An operation that intends to supply a small African community should
cover the whole demand of the population that is provide broilers and eggs, which
means that the operation should breed a mixture of broilers and layers.
Well bred (good medical follow-up to stem out diseases) and well fed layers lay
one egg per day starting from seven months age. They are normally reformed and
slaughtered as broilers when they reach the age of 18 months.
To establish
the breeding stock, one needs to purchase "one" day old chicks, which
are fragile animals. You may acquire Robert Plamondon's book titled: Success
with baby chick that provides all information for a successful breeding operation.
This website also provide
information and sell baby chicks. And this one gives an
idea of the cost of purchasing "one" day or baby chicks. French
speaking people may found useful information on an
existing operation right here.
In previous delivery, a briefs was given
about chicken
breeds suitable for tropical areas and the origin of the breeds.
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BRIEFS ABOUT THE BREEDING PERIOD FROM BABY CHICK TO FAT CHICKEN
.Let
us now review the breeding period for a baby broiler chicken and a baby layer
as well from the early stage of baby to the last stage when the bird is ready
to be slaughtered. Baby
chickens bred in tropical areas are generally either
imported as baby chickens or born on the farming compound from imported incubated
eggs. Breeds
of chicken suitable for tropical areas are reported here.
BROILER:
The
baby broiler chicken goes through three biological growth steps to reaching its
full slaughtering weight - usually around 2 kg - after 10 to 12 weeks with a feeding-conversion
rate of 2.6 to 3. These steps are:
1-
The early baby stage: up to 4 weeks during which the bird has to be
under intensive care as it is very sensitive to high temperatures. The temperature
should be maintained between 30°C and 34°C
and the feed is a special one called baby chicken provender.
2-
The growth stage: that lasts also 4 weeks during which the bird is
fed with a feed that facilitates its growth rate and is called flesh building
provender.
3- The bird fattening or finishing stage: that covers
3 to 4 weeks during which the bird build up a firm fresh structure to reaching
the slaughtering weight
of 2,000 grams or above according to the breed.
At this stage, the
bird does not support temperature above 25°C. The air system should be controlled
and the breeding space efficiently fanned to remove toxic gas. The hygrometry
must be kept between 60% to 70% and the density of birds to 6 to 7 birds per
square meter. |
Throughout
the three growing stages, it is compulsory to have a strict medicinal follow-up.
The lack of such surveillance would result in disaster as the birds are prone
to a string of diseases (Mareck; Gumboro, Newcastle disease, aviary Bronchitis,
Typhose, aviary Cholera and other parasite's infections) that should be controlled
if one does not want to loose the investment in money and hard work.
LAYER:
The layer chicken bird is more fragile that the broiler. It also goes through
three steps growing stages:
1-
The early baby stage: that lasts up to 7 to 8 weeks. The bird is
fed with egg-laying provender with strict medicinal care: vaccinations
against diseases, and temperature kept between 30°C to 34°C.
2-
The pullet stage: 8 to 22 weeks, that is from the third to the sixth months
of breeding.
During that "lengthy" period , the bird is prepared
to become a layer; fed with pullet provender and submitted to a strict
medicinal control; temperature is kept at 25°C and the luminescence made
bright for 14 hours followed by 10 hours of obscurity.
3- The
layer stage: that lasts from the seventh month to the eighteen months (12
months) during which the bird, if well taken care of during the two previous stages,
should lay an egg per day.
During that period it is fed with laying
provender. Temperature kept at 25°C, hygrometry between 65-67%. Luminescence:
12 hours of brightness followed by 12 hours of obscurity and well fanned breeding
space and expulsion of contaminated air.
After 12 months of loyal service
as a laying bird, the layer is normally reformed as broiler and sent to slaughterhouse.
|
The
layer bird is sensitive to the same kinds of diseases as above short listed for
the broiler bird just below the above light-green colored caption.
To
summarize, a successful chicken breeder should take necessary measures:
1- To
control costs of production particularly the cost of feed as feeding conversion
ratio stands at 2,6 to 3.
2- To have a strict sanitary control
of the breeding space. To refresh the air atmosphere through a perfect fanning
of the space and expulsion of contaminated air to avoid the accumulation of toxic
gas; and regular removal of birds' dejection.
3- To treat the
birds against the several diseases, which occurrence could jeopardize the
operation killing the whole flock. |
In next delivery we shall consider the
Organization of the Breeding Process for a Medium Scale Operation
| MORE
ON FOWL BREEDING | 1-
Poultry
Breeding and Genetics
by R.D. Crawford
2- The
Dollar Hen: The Classic Guide to American Free-Range Farming
by Milo M.
Hastingd, Robert Plamondon
3- Small-Scale
Poultry-Keeping: A Guide To Free-Range Poultry Production
by Ray Feltwell
4- The
Encyclopedia of Farm Animal Nutrition
by M.F. Fuller, et al
5-
The
Mating and Breeding of Poultry
by Harry M. Lamon, Rob R. Slocum
6-
Modern
Livestock and Poultry Production
by James R. Gillespie
|
7- Success
With Baby Chicks: A Complete Guide to Hatchery Selection
by Robert Plamondon
8- The
Classic Guide To Poultry Nutrition:
Chickens, Turkeys, Ducks, Geese, Gamebirds,
and Pigeons
by Gustave F. Hauser
9- The
Strange History of The Ostrich
In Fashion, Food and Fortune
by Rob
Nixon
10- Ostrich's
Avian Incubation: Behaviour, Environment and Evolution
by D. Charles Deeming |
Adobe
Acrobat Reader is available here
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