BusinessHABPoultry Feed Production Tips:In order to reduce the feed cost which accounts for about 70% of the total cost of poultry production indigenous poultry feed enterprises came into existence.
Most small scale poultry enterprises now depend on these indigenous feed rations.
The raw materials are sourced locally.
The feed constitutes mainly of maize, sorghum spent grains, groundnut cake, soyabean meal, fish meal and bone meal.
In Nigeria, the feed industry is dominated by few large commercial feed industries usually based in Europe or America who run local franchised industries.
Currently in Nigeria emphasis has been placed on encouraging indigenous feed enterprises that make use of local ingredient in formulating feeds for the poultry industry.
Due to the foregoing, the numbers of such enterprises are on the increase.
The task of meeting the increasing demand for poultry feed can best be realized through increased availability of indigenous feed production.
Indigenous Feed Enterprises are seen as an honest approach because of ease of availability of raw materials, and access by poultry farmers.
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Poultry Feed Production Tips
A number of strategies have been adopted such as price policies, input subsidies, production credit and liberalization) by governments and individuals to increase the output of these poultry feed enterprises.
Yet their performance is low in terms of meeting the needs of the poultry industry.
Interestingly, the request for the products of the enterprises is daily on the increase.
Poultry feed is food for farm poultry, including chickens, ducks, geese and other domestic birds.
Feed for poultry mostly consists of grain.
A portion of commercial feed, typically around a quarter, is known as bulk and is indigestible.
The amount of bulk is referred to as bulk density.
The quantities of feed, and the nutritional requirements of the feed, depend on the weight and the age of the poultry as well as the season.
Poultry Feed Production Tips
Based on their age, weight and breed, below are different categories of feeds
Chicks’ mash– the formulation to meet nutritional requirement of newly hatched chicks and animals up to their brooding and whining period.
Broilers mash-it is the feed meant for the broiler chicks. The feed ensure quick growth and development of the livestock because of its richness in protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals.
Growers’ mash- enables livestock to grow and develop faster in body size, weight, and other internal and external features to give room for their maturity at the expected time.
Layer mash– these feed is needed in helping the birds that are layers to produce more eggs which are big in size, properly shaped with good hard shells.
1. Poultry Feed Production Tips:Have a Plan
Just like any other production business you need a laid-down plan.
Writing a business plan for your poultry feed production business is critical to determine the long-term feasibility of your business.
A business plan will contain the details of all the feasibility study and research that you have done to determine the profitability of the business.
Take our Free Business Plan Online Course now to learn how to write your own business plan.
2. Poultry Feed Production Tips:Insurance Policies
In the Nigeria and in most countries of the world.
You can’t operate a business without having some of the basic insurance policy covers that are required by the industry you want to operate from.
So, it is important to create a budget for insurance and perhaps consult an insurance broker to guide you in choosing the best and most appropriate insurance policies for your poultry feed mill business.
Here are some of the basic insurance covers that you should consider purchasing.
If you want to start your own poultry feed mill business in Nigeria:
- General insurance
- Health insurance
- Liability insurance
- Workers compensation
- Overhead expense disability insurance
- Business owner’s policy group insurance
- Payment protection insurance
3. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Process Involved
The business services process involved in poultry feed mill business start with coming up a winning formula and purchasing the raw materials you need to produce high – nutritious poultry feed.
These are some of the ingredients you would need to produce a good poultry feed; maize, oyster shells, soybean, wheat offal, minerals, common salt, corn, wheat, and amongst others.
The ingredients are sorted out.
Mixed with the right proportion and then grinned with a grinding machine.
Or mashed to achieve the desired texture that will make it easier for the birds to eat and digest.
You would have to engage your animal nutritionist and quality control officers at every stage.
So as to manufacture healthy and nutritious feeds for different species of poultry birds.
When you are done with grinding or meshing the ingredient.
the next step is to package/baggage your poultry feed and get them set for distribution.
It is always best to follow the standards of most successful products out there.
As a matter of fact, one of the things that will give you an edge in the market place is your packaging and branding, so ensure that you pay attention to your packaging.
The composition of your poultry feed must be clearly stated in every pack and it must be well labeled.
By doing this, your packaging will become so attractive whenever a person comes across your product in the market for the first time.
4. Poultry Feed Production Tips:Common categories of feeds
Chick/starter mesh: – this category of feed is solely for newly hatched chicks. The feed formulation for layer chicks is different from that for broilers. When producing chick or starter mesh, take note to include the right feed formulation that would enhance faster growth of the young chicks.
Broiler mesh: – this category of feed is mainly for broiler chicken (which are kept for their meat), the feed contains body building nutrient such as protein, minerals and vitamins to enhance growth in size and weight of the chicken.
Layer mesh: – this is a special category of feed produced for layer chicken. The feed content helps the birds with vital nutrient necessary for producing more eggs which are bigger in size. The feed also helps in hardening the shell of eggs.
Grower mesh: – the purpose of this feed is to ensure the rapid growth and development of the poultry chicken. Grower mesh is usually administered after the chick/starter mesh (when the birds grow to a certain level).
The breeds of chicken common in most poultry farms are: broilers and layer. Broilers are reared for their meat while layers are rear for the purpose of laying eggs. You need to produce different feeds that would be meet the needs of these common breeds at different levels of their growth.
5. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Financing Your Poultry Feed
Starting a poultry feed mill business can be cost effective particularly if you choose to start on a small scale.
Securing a standard poultry feed mill is part of what will consume a large chunk of your startup capital.
But if you choose to start the business on a large scale.
You would need to go source for fund to finance the business.
Because it is expensive to start a standard large – scale poultry feed mill business with over a dozen full-time employees under your payroll.
When it comes to financing a business, one of the first things you should consider is to write a good business plan.
If you have a good and workable business plan document in place.
You may not have to labor yourself before convincing your bank, investors and your friends to invest in your business.
Here are some of the options you can explore when sourcing for startup capital for your poultry feed mill business;
- Raising money from personal savings and sale of personal stocks and properties
- Raising money from investors and business partners
- Selling shares to interested investors
- Applying for loan from your bank
- Pitching your business idea and applying for business grants and seed funding from donor organizations and angel investors
- Source for soft loans from your family members and your friends
6.Poultry Feed Production Tips: Get the raw materials
After you must have learnt the ideal formulation for milling different poultry feed.
You can now set out to buy the raw materials for the production of the feed.
Poultry feed is commonly composed of readily available grains.
They include: soy, whole maize, fish-meal, rice bran, sunflower cake, etc.
other important raw materials are micro nutrients and vitamins such as calcium carbonate, amino acid, enzymes, etc.
7. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Choosing a Suitable Location
When it comes to choosing a location for your poultry feed mill.
The rule of thumb is that you should be guided by zoning and of course the demand for such products.
And easy access to wholesale purchasing of a wide range of grains.
And nutrients and packaging materials from different manufacturing brands.
Depending on the scale that you are looking to start on, you may also consider starting from the comfort of your home.
It cannot be overemphasized that the location you chose to open your poultry feed mill business is key to the success of the business.
Hence entrepreneurs are willing to rent or lease a facility in a visible location.
Alocation where the demography consists of poultry farmers
Most importantly, before choosing a location for your poultry feed mill.
Ensure that you first conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey.
The possibility of you coming across similar business that just closed shop in the location you want to open yours can’t be ruled out.
These are some of the key factors that you should consider before choosing a location for your poultry feed mill;
- The demography of the location
- The demand for poultry feeds in the location
- The number of poultry farms in the location
- Accessibility of the location
- The number of livestock feed stores in the location
- The local laws and regulations in the community
- Traffic, parking and security
8.Poultry Feed Production Tips: Get the needed tools
There are various equipment that are used to produce poultry feed. Some of the most basic ones you would need include:
- A disintegration or milling machine: – this will reduce all the various grains into the right mesh size.
- A blender or mixer: – this would ensure a uniform mixture of the required micro nutrients and vitamins with the meshed grains.
- Packaging line: – this machine is used to package the finished product into bags.
Other machinery and equipment include sewing machine, industrial weighing balance, trucks for transporting raw materials and finished products, and power generators.
9. Poultry Feed Production Tips:Know the packaging tips
The way you package your finished product will determine if buyers would be attracted to your feed or not. Most new products in the competitive market attract buyers through their creative style of packaging and branding. Poultry feed is usually packaged in 50kg bags. Ensure to give details of your product name, ingredients, and expiry date on the label of your product.
10.Poultry Feed Production Tips: Know the marketing strategies
There are many ways to market your product to the public. Advertisement has its uses, but trust me, the quality of you poultry feed is the ultimate marketing strategy. When people buy your poultry feed and discover that it greatly increase the growth and productivity of their poultry farm, they would definitely come back for more. More so, they would tell others about your product.
These are some of the marketing ideas and strategies that you can adopt for your poultry feed mill business;
- Introduce your poultry feed mill by sending introductory letters alongside your brochure to livestock feed stores, poultry farms, and owners of free range chicken farms et al within and outside the neighborhood where your poultry feed mill is located
- Advertise on the internet on blogs and forums, and also on social media like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to get your message across
- Create a basic website for your business so as to give your business an online presence
- Directly market your products
- Engage in roadshows in targeted communities from time to time to sell your products
- Join local poultry feed mill associations for industry trends and tips
- Provide discount days for your customers
- Advertise your business in community based newspapers, local TV and radio stations
- List your business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
- Encourage the use of word of mouth marketing (referrals)
11. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Boost Your Awareness and Corporate Identity
If you are in business and you are not conscious about boosting you brand awareness and communicating your corporate identity, then you should be ready to take on whatever the society portray your business to be.
If your intention of starting a poultry feed mill business is to grow the business beyond the city where you are going to be operating from to become a national and international brand by opening chains of distribution networks, then you must be ready to spend money on promotion and advertisement of your brand.
No matter the industry you belong to, the truth is that the market is dynamic and it requires consistent brand awareness and boosting cum promotion to continue to appeal to your target market. Here are the platforms you can leverage on to boost your brand awareness and create a corporate identity for your poultry feed mill;
- Place adverts on both print (newspapers and pets and livestock farming magazines) and electronic media platforms
- Sponsor relevant community based events
- Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote your products
- Install your billboards in strategic locations all around your city or state
- Engage in roadshows from time to time in targeted neighborhoods to create awareness of your poultry feed mill
- Distribute your fliers and handbills in target areas
- Contact livestock feed stores and poultry farms in the neighborhood where your poultry feed mill is located informing them about your business and the products you retail
- List your poultry feed mill in local directories/yellow pages
- Advertise your poultry feed mill in your official website and employ strategies that will help you pull traffic to the site
- Position your Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where your poultry feed mill is located.
- Ensure that all your staff members wear your branded shirts and all your vehicles and trucks/vans are well branded with your company logo
12. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Get more training
Poultry feed production is not a trial and error kind of business. There are specifics that need to be followed and rules that need to be adhered to. For instance, you can’t just start mixing grains together to produce poultry feed! Specific mixing formulations need to be followed; micro-nutrients need to be added in the right proportion.
Getting the necessary training will help you understand the feed requirement for poultry chicken of different breeds and at different stages, and age. You could enroll in a training center that educates prospective poultry feed producers on the right feed formulation and composition for different poultry animals at different stages. Alternatively you could learn from seasoned poultry feed producers who is well experienced in the filled.
13. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Know the Level of Competitors
The rivalries that occur in the Animal Food Production industry goes beyond competitions amongst poultry feed mills within your location; you will have to contend with other players in the animal food production industry that is also into milling poultry feed. So, it will be right to say the competition in the poultry feed mill line of business is relatively tough.
No matter the level of competition in an industry, if you brand and promote your products or business appropriately, you will always make progress in the industry. Just ensure you are into the production of a wide range of healthy and highly nutritional poultry feeds and you know how to reach out to your target market.
But over and above, there are several poultry feed mills scattered all around the United States. So, if you choose to start your own poultry feed mill business in the United States, you will definitely meet stiffer competitions amongst poultry feed mills within and outside your business location. Besides, there are larger poultry feed mills that determine the trends in the industry and you should be ready to compete with them for customers.
14. Poultry Feed Production Tips: Know the Threats and Challenges
If you choose to start your own poultry feed mill business today, one of the major tests you are likely going to face is the presence of well – established poultry feed mills whose products can be found in livestock stores all across the United States of America. The only way to avoid this challenge is to create your own market.
Some other encounters that you are likely going to face is economic downturn; if the economy is in bad shape, businesses such as poultry feed mills and the likes usually struggle to maintain their old customers or even welcome new customers. Unfavorable government policies can also hamper the growth of your poultry feed mill. There is nothing you can do as regards this threats and challenges other than to stay positive that things will work well for you.
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