Poultry farming has been in practice for over 150 million years. The origin of poultry farming can be traced to South East Asia. Charles Darwins believed that present-day hens came from the "Gallus Bankiva," which originated in a broad area of Asia extending from India to the Philippines. Now, birds such as geese, ducks, pigeons, turkey, guinea fowl and chickens are included under the general term poultry.
Poultry are a great source of food and fiber to humans. These foods come in the form of meat and eggs. Fiber comes in the form of feathers. You see, there's an increase in the number of people participating in poultry fairs. Many people love them as pets, or for egg production. The thing is, there's a large commercial chicken industry that provides us with lots of meat and eggs.
According to a 2017 publication by Antonio Gilberto Bertechini, over 67 million metric tonnes of eggs were produced globally in 2013. Roughly 6.9 billion hens took charge of egg production. The combined efforts of these hens resulted in the production of 1250 billioneggs for a global population of 7.137 billion people which calculates to almost one hen per person. In 1991, the American hens produced over 5.7 billion dozen eggs.
The poultry industry comprises of turkey and broilers. About 6.1 billion broilers were produced in the United States in 1991. This represents roughly 19.7 billion pounds of ready-to-cook broiler meat. The fact is, the poultry industry is a very big business.
It all begins with poultry breeding. Selected males and females of special breeds are mated and the eggs are harvested and incubated. Usually, they're incubated for 21 days. The chicks are then brooded in rooms whose temperatures are strictly controlled. Upon maturing, the birds are sent off as roasters or broilers for consumption as meat, or further grown as breeders or laying hens.
In the United States, poultry farming is supervised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the United Kingdom, it is supervised by the Department for Environmental, Food and Rural Affairs.
As you can see, poultry egg and poultry farming are no small businesses. If you are planning to start your own poultry farm, then you should enter the business fully prepared by taking all of its aspects into consideration, right from setting up the basic equipment to raising the birds, and even marketing your business. Every step must be taken with wisdom. You shouldn't forget that there are other poultry businesses out there, so you'll certainly be competing with them.
But then, if you take care of your chickens, and conduct your business carefully, then there's a high chance that it will grow fast. There's an increasing demand for poultry products by the day. Of these, eggs are the most demanded. So, are you wondering how to start a chicken farm that will produce healthy and fresh eggs for you? This guide will help.
Here's a sneak peek of what DIY Egg Farming offers:
-What you should know before you start a poultry
-Chicken psychology
-Chicken nursery 101
-All you need to know about egg-laying.
So, follow me let's build you a productive egg farm.