How to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda?

How to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda? Aside from beans, chicken is the most commonly consumed protein in Uganda. Ugandans eat more chicken than any other country in East Africa. Every year, Ugandans consume millions of dozens of eggs.

1. Production of Meat (Broilers)
2. Production of Eggs (Layers)

Today we’ll look at how to start a poultry farm in Uganda. We’ll go over the steps you can take to start a poultry farm and lift yourself out of poverty.

Before we get into the specifics, consider the benefits of poultry farming.

1. To get started, you don’t need much money.
2. This project does not require a lot of space to get started.
3. The running of this project incurs few maintenance costs.
4. It is profitable.

Let us now examine the steps involved in establishing a poultry farm. Actually, in order to make a good profit, each type of farming business follows specific operational principles. When such principles are ignored by the farm management system, the result is usually lost. It is therefore prudent to learn more about poultry farming before embarking on this venture. Before you start this business, take some time to learn more about it. Let us now examine the steps.

How to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda?

1. Raise Capital

Capital is required to start a poultry farm. You can either raise the funds on your own or apply for a bank loan. Bank loans are available for new businesses. Depending on the stage and size of your poultry farm, the startup capital required to start a poultry farm can range from 3M UGX to 10M UGX.

By phase, I mean the current stage of your poultry farm. If you are a beginner (someone who has never started poultry farming), it may cost you more to get started than if you are an experienced poultry farmer. A person who already owns a poultry farm may already have some of the equipment required to rear poultry, saving him the cost of purchasing equipment.

It is self-explanatory in terms of size. The larger the size of the poultry farm, the more requirements and money are required to start this business, and vice versa. As a beginner, you should start with a small number of birds that will cost you little money to buy and care for.

2. Choose your Chicken Type

The next step in starting a poultry farm is deciding what kind of chicken to raise. The following are the most common types of chicken raised in Uganda:

1. Broilers
2. Layers

Broilers are chickens raised primarily for meat production, whereas Layers are chickens raised for both meat production and egg production, but primarily for egg production.

However, poultry farming is not limited to raising chickens; you can use your poultry farm to produce poultry feeds and breeding stock, which you can then sell to local customers. Determine your production goal and choose the appropriate type of poultry to meet your needs.

3. Choose a Poultry Farm Location

The next step is to select a location for your poultry farm. It is critical to choose a good farm location for your business. You should choose a location that has all of the necessary amenities for your business.

Your poultry farm can be located slightly outside of town, where land and labour are relatively inexpensive. However, don’t set up the farm too far from the town, because most towns have a dense population, and you must target that market. Consider transportation systems and medication facilities when deciding on a farm location.

4. Raise Shelter for Your Birds

After deciding on a farm location, you must build a home for your birds. Ascertain that all necessary facilities are available in the poultry house. You can use one of three types of poultry housing systems.

1. Extensive
2. Semi- Intesive
3. Intensive

Broiler poultry requires approximately 2.5 square feet of space, while layer poultry requires approximately 4 square feet of space. For example, if you want to raise 200 layers, you’ll need approximately 800 square feet of space. The cage system requires approximately 4 square feet of space per bird. Don’t forget to install an adequate lighting and ventilation system in the home.

5. Purchase Equipment to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda

Every poultry farm requires equipment to function properly. These are the tools you’ll need for your poultry farm to run smoothly, and they include:

1. Feeders
2. Waterers
3. Nests
4. Cages
5. Coops
6. Incubators
7. Crates
8. Lighting insturmenst
9. Waste dispoal sytems
10. Many more

You no longer need all of the aforementioned equipment. You must purchase the equipment that you believe your business requires.

6. Hire Employees to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda

You may need to hire employees for your poultry farm, depending on its size. These employees will assist you in the day-to-day operations of your poultry farm.

However, as a beginner with 100 to 200 birds, you can manage your poultry farm yourself to save money on labour costs. However, if you need to raise more birds on your poultry farm, you will need to hire workers.

7. Purchase Feeds

Feeding is a necessary part of the poultry farming process. You will spend a lot of money feeding your birds after you have built houses and purchased equipment. Approximately 80% of your budget will be spent on poultry feed. And your success in this business will be largely determined by the quality of your feeds and the amount you feed your birds.

You can buy ready-made feeds for your poultry, or you can buy feed ingredients and prepare the feed yourself. I recommend the latter because it allows you to add the necessary ingredients for your poultry to grow properly. For each type of bird, different commercial poultry feeds are available on the market. You can buy feeds designed specifically for broilers as well as feeds designed specifically for layers.

8. Purchase Chicks to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda

After you’ve completed all of the necessary steps, it’s time to bring in the birds. As a beginner, it is best, to begin with day-old chicks rather than older chicks. If you are a complete beginner with no prior experience, limit the number of chicks to 200 to 300.

Biyinzika Poultry provides high-quality chicks. The best advice I can give you is to give your chicks glucose to drink after you have delivered them home. You must also keep the chicks’ house warm because they must keep the day-old chicks warm.

9. Provide Quality Health Care

You must provide a proper medication system for your birds in addition to providing the feed. Poultry birds are susceptible to a variety of diseases, which must be controlled and treated.

You must exercise extreme caution when it comes to the health of your birds. Any illness that goes untreated can kill over 30 birds in a single day. So, vaccinate your birds on time and always provide them with fresh water and food.

Also, keep some vaccines and medications on hand in case they are needed. If possible, have a veterinary doctor check on your birds at least twice a month to ensure their health.

10. Market Your Business

Last but not least, marketing your business is an important aspect of starting a poultry farm in Uganda. There is no business that can thrive unless it talks about itself, tells people what they offer, and tells people where they can find them. Customers must be marketed to by your poultry farm products.

Marketing strategies have an impact on your company’s profit. If you can easily sell your products in the market, it will encourage you to increase production. You can use social media platforms such as Facebook, word of mouth from your customers, and your local radio station.

Conclusion

I hope this guide on How to Start Poultry Farming in Uganda will assist you in planning your new venture. However, before you begin, try to learn more about the poultry farming industry. If you have any additional tips on how to start a poultry farm, please leave them in the comments section below and we will add them to this list. Thank you very much.