How to Start a Chicken Farm | Cost and Earnings 2023

If you live in the countryside, you can set up a chicken farm like many entrepreneurs. Establishing a chicken farm is among the most profitable investment ideas of recent times. As long as your cost is low, it is possible to earn high income with the establishment of a chicken farm. How to set up a chicken farm, what is the cost? What needs to be done to establish a chicken farm? If you have such questions, this article is for you. We have researched numerous sources and prepared a full-fledged roadmap for you.

If you have an idea like setting up a chicken farm in your mind, be sure to read to the end of our article. We have done a detailed research for you from many sources and entrepreneurs. We have created this article for those who say how to set up a chicken farm with modern methods. You will find answers to all the questions you are looking for. Here is how to set up a chicken farm in items, what is the cost, what are the things to do?

Please look at other blog about The Importance of Grapes in Human Nutrition.

How to Establish a Chicken Farm

If you are reading this article, you know how profitable the chicken farming industry is. Recently, the increase in the consumption rate and the decrease in production have increased the chicken prices considerably. As a result, many people have started to research the poultry sector.

Of course, the above is not the only reason:

Since chickens grow quickly, the return on investment is faster than in other sectors.
In terms of control in animal husbandry, it is easier to maintain than cattle and sheep breeding.
Chicken and chicken products are in higher demand than meat products in restaurants, hotels and households.
There may be a question mark in the minds about white meat periodically. However, there is no such problem with chicken.

1) Prepare a Business Plan for the Chicken Farm
It is necessary to prepare a business plan for all enterprises. If you are in a business, you can only show your seriousness by preparing a business plan. If you are looking for an investor, pursuing a loan application or government support, a business plan is a must if you want to take professional steps.

You should have a summary of the answers to the following topics related to the work you will do on paper. Many entrepreneurs make the mistake of seeing this as a burden and an obligation that hinders their dreams. However, it is a procedure that entrepreneurs who want to become professionals must do.

2) Which Job Will You Do in the Poultry Industry?

Chicken farms are not just about producing eggs and raising chickens. If you want to set up a professional farm, you must first answer this question. Remember, focusing on a single niche will accelerate your growth and branding.

• Egg Production
• Meat Production
• Chicken Breeding (Incubation)
• Poultry Feed Production
• Processing and Marketing of Eggs and Meat
• Producing ready-to-sale products
• To manufacture derivatives of chicken products

3) Animal Selection for the Chicken Farm

You must answer one or more of the items mentioned above. It is very important in which field you will brand and grow. After answering these questions, you choose the animals suitable for the job you want to do. Of course, when choosing chickens, you should pay attention to the geography and climate of the region you are in.

4) Where will you set up the chicken farm?

The region chosen for the chicken farm is very important for you to be successful in this business and to make a profit. You need to think about where to set up rather than how to set up a chicken farm. Land cost, use case, climate and geography are the biggest factors that will shape your business. Let’s list the items you need to pay attention to.

Is the poultry farm you will establish close to your target market in terms of logistics of products? This factor will affect your profitability in terms of logistics costs.
Are there people around you who will be disturbed by the smell and sound in your chicken farm?
Does the local government in your area allow poultry farms to be opened?
Is the area safe? Are there any wild animals that will disturb the animals?
Are you close enough to obtain the necessary materials?
Finally, the cost of land is very important. In this regard, I can recommend you the lands sold by the banks. For this, you can take a look at the tapu.com site. 10 acres of land are sold for 15 thousand TL.

5) Shelter Areas of Chickens

What kind of farm do you intend to create? Let the chickens roam freely or live in nests with a fabricated system. You must decide this. Of course, your business model will also affect your answer.

As it is known, egg producers keep chickens in certain areas with layered systems. Feed passes in front of them at certain intervals, the eggs fall in a separate place and their droppings in a separate area. It is a one-to-one fabrication system. It is also called the battery system. It’s up to you to determine this.

If you want to raise it in open areas, you should allocate at least 1 square meter of space for each chicken. It is a method preferred by fattening poultry and organic chicken breeders. Of course it has its disadvantages. These; the difficulty of identifying the diseased chicken, the disappearance of chickens, hunting, etc.

6) What are the materials you need to buy?

Before starting work, these equipment must be ready to be comfortable. How to set up a chicken farm, you should definitely determine these equipment for your business plan.

• Egg tray
• Cages and pens
• Drinkers
• perches
• Lighting system
• waste collection system
• Incubator
• Heating system
• Ventilation system
• Incubation system etc.

7) Nutrition System of Chickens

The feed requirement of the chickens you raise in your farm will be one of your biggest expense items. In this case, you have to decide whether you will produce the feed yourself or buy it ready-made. If you are going to go into fabricated production, it will be more logical to produce it yourself, since your feed requirement will be more. You can get support from the agricultural chambers about how chicken feeds are made.

8) Determination of Employment and Manpower

If you are alone in this business, you will definitely need staff. Of course, these personnel will differ according to the department they will work in. What you need to do is to determine the personnel needs in these matters.

• What should be the number of personnel to work on the farm?
• Do you need marketing personnel or companies to market your production?
• If you are manufacturing fabrication, you will definitely need an accountant.
• You must meet your veterinary needs. Since the disease spreads quickly among chickens, it is essential to have a veterinarian to support you in this regard.
• Do you need something like a security guard? You should answer all of these and add them to your business plan.

9) Vision and Mission in Poultry

The business plan you have prepared already includes the mission part. So what is your vision? Let’s say you set up a chicken farm. What will you do after 5 years? Can you see your future and the return of your project? Will your work meet your expectations? You should ask yourself all these questions and have the answers ready.

10) Chicken Farm State Support

You will set up a chicken farm and you may not have enough capital. So, is there government support for this? Our answer is yes. There are support programs for those dealing with animal husbandry by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock. Especially since you are just starting this business, you will most likely be covered by the support.

Poultry Farm Cost Calculation – Cost Items

a) Land Cost

You have two options for the land. You either rent or buy. If you want to buy, be sure to take a look at the site address I recommend above. In addition, make sure to look at the area where you will buy land on Google maps. Prefer to buy land sold by banks, not companies.

b) Construction Cost

You should definitely build a special area for your farm for the land you provide. For this, your production type and chicken fattening choice are important. The main materials you will use will be cage wires, wall materials and wooden materials. You can get a free quote from a company for this. If you do not have the necessary capital, most companies will help you with payment options. In the construction sector, financial affairs generally work in this way.

c) Chicken Cost

The cost of chickens, your main production resource, will vary according to the choices you make. Chicken prices vary between 5 TL and 200 TL. As we said, the production options you choose will be the answer to this question. However, you should be careful about this. You should not avoid the cost in the broodstock chickens you will buy. Even if there is a disease in 1 chicken, it can spread to your entire farm quickly. You can also get information about chick prices by clicking here.

d) Farm Equipment Cost

These are the costs that will vary according to the size of your chicken farm and your business model. Of course, do not expect huge costs from this. If you are experiencing cash shortages, you can choose the method of leasing from the bank. Our advice to you in this regard is that you should not compromise on quality.

e) Medical Expenses

In order for your farm to work properly, you need to pay attention to the health status of your chickens. They should be vaccinated regularly. You should definitely allocate a budget for the cost of vaccination. Although it creates a small number in the cost of chicken farm setup, it is the most important of all. You should not have a chance to disrupt the workflow. Do not give up on health and hygiene.

f) Feed Cost

It is the most important and ongoing cost of chicken farm setup cost. Will you produce the baits yourself or will you buy ready-made baits? First you need to decide this. You will have a separate feed cost for chicks and a separate feed cost for adult chickens. Of course, you need to use different types of feed for the chickens you will sell close to breeding. These are essential for rapid development. Feed production may cost you a lot of money at first, but you will see a lot of cost benefits in the future.

g) Labor Cost

As we mentioned above, your labor cost will vary depending on your farm type and size. You may have costs such as consulting cost, security, farm staff, logistics staff. Of course, this is entirely up to you. If you want to start small, two people will be enough for this job. However, remember that it is impossible to do this work with one person.

h) Other Expenses

These are the costs that cannot be calculated in advance in the farm establishment cost. For this, you can set an estimated budget in your mind. Security, electricity, water, heating, logistics, marketing, advertising, etc. activities will create other expenses that were not anticipated at the beginning.

The answers to questions such as how to set up a chicken farm, what is the cost, how to do it are as we wrote above. Of course, the job does not end with just establishing a chicken farm. After establishing the farm, it is important to be successful, to grow the business, to ensure profitability and continuity.

Tips for Building and Growing a Chicken Farm!

1) Start Small

If you do not know much about poultry, you should definitely start small. You may have created your business plan. However, it would be meaningless to take out a loan and invest all your capital in this business just because you will earn a lot. The reason is that after you set off, you will encounter a lot of things that you do not know. Therefore, you must have some capital at the ready. The important thing is that you grow solid, not fast.

2) Advantage of Ready-to-Sale Product Production

Consumers generally shop for white meat products from shops such as markets, grocery stores and butchers. The number of online shopping is very few. You can create a brand in this area in your region. All you have to do is get the chicken ready for packaging and market it in your area. Packaged chicken and chicken products have a higher profit margin. Almost all of the big brands have grown in this way. If you pay attention to quality and brand, it will not take long for you to grow.

3) You Can Set Up Your Own Store

Chicken, eggs, etc. you produce in your farm. Having a store where you can sell products will increase your sales. At the same time, consumers and wholesalers will come to buy products from you, reducing your logistics costs. There is no rule that says you will have too many outlets. But every point of sale you open will be to your advantage.

4) Mobile Distribution Service

Another way to increase your sales in your region is to distribute mobile. People choose the way of ordering by phone due to time intensity and transportation difficulties. Or the companies that you supply will want to order from you over the phone. Establishing such a distribution network will make you very advantageous.

5) Work with Sales Representatives

In order to grow your business, you must also distribute work. You cannot do everything alone. For this reason, you need to create departments within yourself. If your production phase is going perfectly, you definitely need sales representatives to sell your existing products. You take care of production, they deal with sales and marketing!

6) Start Building a Hatchery

When you’re big enough, the first move you need to make is to lower your costs. Increasing your profitability after a certain point will depend entirely on your costs. One of these costs will be the chicks you buy ready. It would make sense to set up your own hatchery as these chicks will cost a lot after a certain time.

7) Produce Your Own Feed

If you are going to reduce costs, as in other items, you should also take a hand in the feed issue. In this, you should start feed production. Be sure, when you start feed production, you will experience the biggest cost reduction here.

8)Other Tips

The steps you will take on the path to growth are not just these 8 steps. Be sure that every positive contribution you make will support your growth. Experienced personnel, savings devices, government supports, production systems, etc. are other factors that will contribute to you.

Marketing Strategies for Chicken Farm

• When you set up the chicken farm, be sure to notify the government institutions, chamber of tradesmen, associations and industry organizations in your region.
• Never avoid advertising expenses. The expenses you make in this direction will definitely come back to you. Advertise in local newspapers, magazines and websites.
• Although the types of advertisements we have listed above are useful, there is one type of advertisement that you should never forget. Word of mouth marketing, network marketing method. Do not forget to apply the advertising marketing activity that will benefit you the most.
• Of course, don’t just market your chicken farm and your products. Market yourself too. Be sure to participate in business meetings, fairs and socialize in your region. Hand out your business card to the people you meet.
• One of the essential things is to have a website. Be sure to have an official website.
• Create an SMS and campaign system for your customers.
• Make sure to create an account and share on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin.

Struggle with Competitors and Competition Factor

One of the most important issues that will affect your success is rival companies. You won’t be the only one who owns the chicken farm. What you need to do here is to stay away from the competition as much as possible. Competition benefits consumers more than firms. If there is a large company in your area, it will not be good for you.

The cost of large companies will definitely be lower than you and you will have difficulty competing in sales prices. This will allow you to get hurt right from the start. The most logical thing to do is to choose a remote area or a province without poultry farms when choosing your farm location.

What to Do About Customer Loyalty

Consumers are not very loyal in their purchasing behavior. They prefer to shop wherever is advantageous for them. Of course, you will prefer to be advantageous in this regard. By advantage we mean not only price. Quality, being innovative, customer relations etc. You have to offer advantages. You have to be different so you can make a difference.

We tried to answer your questions such as how to establish a chicken farm and how much it costs, how can I produce. Applying what we wrote above to the letter will ensure your success. Every large business has gone through these initial stages. If you are patient, determined, visionary, innovative and technology-oriented, you will definitely be successful.