Thinking about starting a commercial broiler operation

[jjparke]

I'm telling you if you do this go with day old chics not eggs. Incubating and hatching eggs is a very tricky business. Or if you don't want to do either just buy some breeding stock and go from there. Beware Cornish sires can be VERY spendy. We are talking about some of the most advanced, selective breeding in any of the animal kingdoms. Also I know a lot of the breeding that's done with the breeding stock anymore isn't really breeding- it's AI (artificial insemination) and that's hand work which is part of why good breeding stock is so expensive.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Also I know a lot of the breeding that's done with the breeding stock anymore isn't really breeding- it's AI (artificial insemination) and that's hand work which is part of why good breeding stock is so expensive.

Not for cornish x rocks.... just turkey's.​

 

[brandywine]

I'd look into the REASONS why, as you claim, no one in Haiti is raising broiler chickens for sale.

Are they economic reasons? Political?

Does the climate make confinement rearing impossible? Predators a special challenge for an extensive system?

Are there disease and parasite problems not encountered in the US?

Where would you buy feed that is suitable for such birds? How much would it cost?

What is the availability of qualified avian vets to watch over flock health and prevent zoonosis?

Where and how would you process the birds?

Cornish X broilers are industrial livestock. They are high-input / high-output animals. Such animals are not suited to the conditions in undeveloped countries. If you lose power, can't get the right food, a road is washed out when it's time to process and get to market -- you have a lot of stinking dead birds.

If your goal is to make a profit -- what will the market pay in such a poor place?

If your goal is to improve sustainability and develop domestic agriculture -- it strikes me that helping with the small-scale raising of suitable dual-purpose poultry that is adapted to the physical and social climate is more likely to succeed and have a salutary effect on people's lives.

 

[dachick]

These are great questions brandywine and I thank you for taking the time to formulate them. Maybe this will help you understand the real situation there:

I believe that the reason for not having anyone raising broiler chicken for sale is due to the fact that we can easily get them next door (Dominican Republic). I know for a fact that there is a Cobb-Vantress grand-parent broiler breeders farm there. I believe that there is also an Aviagen breeder there too.

I understand that the news media has painted a pretty horrible picture of Haiti; and I will admit that it is not the country that it used to be a few decades ago. However, it is not that bad and having a sustainable chicken industry would help make it better. Here are a few numbers: We import about 30 million eggs, 3 million pounds of chicken, and another 3 millions of chicks from the Dominican Republic every single month. At maturity, the CornishX alive sells between $10-14 (that is american dollars).

The price hike is due to the custom fees and taxes but mainly because of all the different parties involved that have to make a profit: The Dominican breeders sell to Dominican farmers who in turn raise the chicks and sell them to the Haitian entrepreneurs. The Haitian businessmen turn around and sell to the small merchants and finally the small Haitian merchant sells to you the consumer. If you ask me, there are way too many people involved in this process! I believe that we can not only make chicken meat much more affordable for the Haitian population but also create a great healthy, sustainable and profitable company. For a population of about 10 million people, I firmly believe that, if priced right, we can easily tenfold the amount of chicken sold each month.

As you can see above, we also do consume a decent amount of eggs... At first, I was tempted to start with that side of the business. But I now think that it is much more involved and takes a little bit more money to have Leghorns than to just raise broiler chicks.

1.- Where would you buy feed that is suitable for such birds? How much would it cost?

2.- What is the availability of qualified avian vets to watch over flock health and prevent zoonosis?

3.- Where and how would you process the birds?

1.- Since the feed accounts for 60% of the cost of the chicken, in order to drive costs further down, I am hoping to make my own feed. I surely do not know if that is possible for this type of birds but that would be my first approach. If not, I will just have to buy prepared feed in bulk from the US or neighboring countries.

2.- We do have qualified vets. I am sure that they are not as good as the ones in the US but with some training and additional reading I am sure that we can get them up to speed.

3.- In Haiti, most people process their own bird at home. So the business is cycle only includes growing the chicks and selling them to the small merchants.

I hope that this will help you understand my motivation for wanting to go for such a business. As always, you input, suggestions, links, publications, and comments are more than appreciated. So if you have any, please keep them coming as they can be very helpful to me.​

 

[wisdom_seeker]

Dachick,

First of all I have to say that the best chicken I have ever had was in Haiti!

You also have a beautiful country.

One other thing that I am not sure any one else might have said is that the US Cornish X does not do well in heat.

You might want to try to develop your own strain of meat birds that can take the heat also. This will take a lot of time and work. I am assuming that AC is out of the question as far as profitability goes?

What part of Haiti are you from?

 

[dachick]

You had that all natural chicken didnt you

lol. It is not as meaty as the CornishX, but I do find it tasty too! Unfortunately, they do not get as big as the CornishX and they grow pretty slowly...

I was thinking of installing these big commercial fans in the hope of helping with the temperature. Would these help alleviate the high temperature? But of course as you probably know, with the shortage of power that we usually experience, it might not be the best solution. I am also considering operating in the mountains where the temperature could be more acceptable to the birds.

I am from Port-au-Prince. When and where in Haiti have you been?

 

[carress]

What about freedom rangers?
They're very meaty, and will live long enough to reproduce.

 

[skywatcher]

There is another thing to consider and that is shipping by cargo planes wiil not work. The tempeture in the cargo hold will be near or below freezing thus sterilizing your chicken eggs or just killing chicks and making adult fowl very sick.

 

[Brunty_Farms]

Another thing to think of is if your in the mountains.... cornish x also have a hard time with high elevation... not recommended for over 5,000 ft.

Your in a tough spot... do you have enough capital up front or are you going to go the route of an investor? This would probably be the best place to start.

 

[wisdom_seeker]

Quote:
What has been your experience so far with the Cornish Cross? Have you tried them on a small scale yet? The mountains sound like a good idea and I don't think they are any more over 2000 feet. I'm sorry that I can't help out more. I think most of us on BYC are raising chickens to get away from the commercial meat. I wish you success in your efforts.

Back in Feb of 2002 I flew into Port-au-Prince with a group called Partners with Haiti. We then traveled north to Beracca. which is just west of Cap-Hatian near the cost line. It was part of a short term missions trip to help build a school. I ended up sponsoring a young man to pay for his schooling. I hope that I can meet up with him again someday. Have you been to the Citadel? Very

How did you learn English so well?