Chicken Farm Business

Running a chicken farm requires more than just agricultural know-how. If you want to be a chicken farmer, you must also think like a business person while growing your brand. Choosing a focus, establishing a brand, raising your chickens, and building your business are all part of chicken farming. Then, as your farm grows, you'll be able to market, finance, and network to grow your business.

1. Make an egg-laying farm if you want to work with egg production. Chicken farms usually fall in 1 of 2 categories: egg-laying or meat production. Choose egg-laying as your focus if you'd prefer to work with hens and sell farm-fresh eggs. Although less common, some chicken farms handle both meat production and egg-laying. You can choose this option if desired, but it may require twice as much equipment and physical labor.

2. Create a meat production farm if you're interested in processing meat. Meat production is a lucrative farming business if you're comfortable butchering and processing chickens for meat. If you're interested in raising and slaughtering chickens for meat, make a meat production farm instead. Meat production farmers can also utilize every part of the chicken when selling their products, including the bones, which has the potential for higher revenue.

3. Choose a specialty niche for your business, if desired. Some chicken farms have a specialization that sets them apart from their competitors. Once you've decided on whether to create a meat production or egg-laying farm, you can also pick a niche within that sector like:

• Egg or meat processing: Processing poultry products for taste, quality, and safety
• Marketing poultry products: Promoting poultry products through advertisements to increase revenue
• Chicken breeding: Raising and selling chickens for pet owners or other farmers

4. Pick a chicken breed that matches your farming goals. Not all chicken breeds are the same. Some (broilers) are best for meat production and others (layers) are best for egg production. Once you've chosen a niche, choose a chicken breed that is best for your specific niche.

If you want to start an egg-laying farm, for example, you may want to choose a layer breed like Rhode Island Red, Hamburg, or Sussex chickens.

5. Find a location close to your city's limits. While you can't always start a farm in your backyard, staying near a city is useful for transportation. Buy land outside of your town or city's limits, but close enough that you can drive to or from it on a daily basis. The further you move from your city or town, the cheaper the land will be. If you can't find land near the city limits, look for land in the countryside where you'll have plenty of space to farm.