Information Needed in Poultry Farming & Business Adventure.

[Mr Fiji]

I've been thinking about raising chickens for meat production. I'm just seeking information for now. This thread consists of questions I think I'll need to know in order to succeed in this business. I would also appreciate it if there is a informational DVD on this in a business perspective.

Let's begin with some question I have, but please include anything else that I may need to know.

1.) What kind of license, insurance, and common knowledge will I need to know? And when or how often will I need to renew them?

2.) How much will the expenses and profit be for raising 5,000 chickens at a time, to 20,000+ a year? Will the taxes greatly effect the income? Is my expectation too high to be making $75,000+ (after taxes and expenses) to support my parents and I considering that we are a family of 3?

3.) How do you know if you really got the amount of chicks you ordered from a hatchery, and how can you prove the amount your selling to the buyer, especially when it's as many as stated in question #2?

4.) How can you become contracted with a big company to sell chickens to them? Companies such as, KFC, Popeyes, Buffets etc.

5.) Which Breed of chicken do most buyers prefer and why? Does the sex of the bird matter?

6.) Which website can I search for a farm land on, one that may also have a chicken housing built already? Is it possible to start off with just $100,000-$200,000 investment?

Well these are just few of what I could come up with. Please add any other knowledge you may have that I could use. If location makes any difference in answering these questions, I live in Montclair, CA. I don't know if there are any actual farms where I live (expect for backyard chickens), but nearby cities do have farms, mainly cattle though. Nearby cities are: Chino, CA. Pomona, CA. Ontario, CA. Just to name a few.

I apologize for not being organized with my questions, I just didn't know where to begin and end with..

 

[Mrs. K]

This will take considerable amount of start up money. I am in agriculture, although not in poultry production, animal production has lots of similarities:

Costs - should be divided into two categories, long term and short term money.

Long term money - capitol expense will be

• buildings
• land
• feed storage
• feeding equipment
• watering system
• air conditioning system (that many birds in confinement will make a lot of heat)
• processing equipment, large scalding equipment, feather pluckers
• offal and feather management
• bobcat - to load and unload feed, add and remove bedding,
• manure facility - that many birds, you will need a manure management plan
• refrigerated trucks for shipping
• refrigeration for storage after processing

Short term money - operating expenses

• wages, insurance
• office supplies
• feed costs
• bird costs
• packaging materials to wrap processed birds
• straw
• In California - with the drought, water costs might be significant

I would contact a local reality business and ask about local poultry farms. Contact the extension office for an introduction to people who are already doing this.

Unless you have land and a buildings set up, I do not think that $100-200,000 would be enough to work something of the size that you have indicated.

I think expectations of $75,000 income would be very high, divided by 3 people, only $25,000 each, and I think you would need to hire more people, some full time, some part time - say during processing.

To supply big companies, they will need birds every day, probably 24/7. Not 5000 all at once, then nothing until another 3 months have gone by. However, there might be coops formed, in which you would buy into, and all together you supply birds to a big company. Again, your county extension agent would be a good place to start.

Mrs K