Is raising chickens in a poultry an easy job? Even the experienced poultry farmers would agree that poultry farming can be challenging, especially for the first time.
Chickens are highly susceptible to different kinds of problems, both the health and environmental problems. Make sure you also read these challenges when starting a poultry farming business.
If you are a beginner, then you should learn the common mistakes in poultry farming. By doing so, you will be able to avoid those mistakes and achieve success, raising happy, healthy and productive chickens. Let’s learn these 7 common mistakes in poultry farming beginners should know!
- Being Unaware of the Sick Chickens in Time
Observing your birds every day is very important so that you can make sure that all your chickens are healthy. If you notice that one or more of your chickens are sick or injured, then you will be able to treat it immediately.
By doing daily observation, you can be accustomed to your chickens’ normal behavior. Remember, healthy chickens are active and have nice bright eyes, have healthy red or pink combs and glossy, clean and well-preened feathers.
Get all the ideas of signs of sick chickens along with the ways on how to tell your chickens have worms.
- Too High Temperature in the Brooder House
If you raise layer chickens, the ideal temperature of the brooder house should be around 95 Fahrenheit degrees, while for broiler chickens, the temperature should be around 90 Fahrenheit degrees.
There is a slight difference between the temperature of layer and broiler chickens because broiler chickens grow and develop feathers faster than the layer ones. Get to know more about broiler chickens especially about the most effective ways to make broiler chicken grow faster.
It is also suggested to reduce the temperature of the brooder house by 5 Fahrenheit degrees every week until the chickens develop enough feathers to protect themselves from cold.
Heat lamps or stoves (coal or gas) are commonly used to produce additional heat for the chickens. However, brooder house attendant is needed to control the temperature. Moreover, a functioning temperature should also be kept at ground level so that the right temperature can be maintained.
Overheated brooder house will lead to several problems to the chickens, such as dehydration, slow growth rate, high chances of getting diseases and increased death number.
- Overcrowded Chickens in a Small Place
Overcrowded chickens in a small place will surely cause some problems, such as stress, cannibalism, feather picking and others. A broiler chicken of 18 days old, for example, will need a space of 450 sq.cm while from 19 to 42 days old will required about need a space about 1000 sq.cm.
Remember that there is no such thing as the poultry house is too big. You may plan on raising 50 chickens at first, but if you wish to expand it then you can expand the new poultry house instead of building the new one.
- Poor Hygiene and Poor Ventilated Coop
This is known to be the common mistake some poultry farmers have done. Keeping the poultry house dirty, poor ventilated and dark can surely lead to many health issues, such as respiratory problems, lice or mice infestations, decreased egg production and other health issues.
That’s why make sure to keep the beddings in the poultry house clean and change them regularly. Make sure you build a well-ventilated coop so that plenty of air will be able to flow. Light is also essential and don’t keep your chickens in a dark coop without any natural light.
- Not be Aware of Rodents Attack
Chickens are susceptible to rodent attacks, especially rats. Make sure that your brooder house cannot be accessed by any rodents. Try to block all the holes that rats or other predators can pass through.
Moreover, the gap between the doors and walls should be sealed off too! Remember, prevention is much better than cure.
- Not Financially Prepared
Many poultry farmers make common mistakes of poultry farming by having unprepared cost analysis report. Before deciding to raise chickens in poultry farming, you should do some research and keep the resources on the ground to fund your farming venture from the beginning to the end.
Make sure to have enough money too to purchase feeds, drugs and other things that may arise in the course of poultry farming.
- Keep Away the Toxic Chemicals Around
Another mistake a beginner poultry farmer may do is keeping the toxic chemicals around or inside the house. We all know that all the chemicals, pesticides and rat poisons are deadly to chickens. Avoid putting such items around or inside the poultry house where your chickens can reach.
If you need to spray weeds or grass around the coop, your chickens may eat it and ingest the chemicals. As a result, it may cause illness or even death to your chickens.
After learning the common mistakes of poultry farming, make sure you also learn about how to manage your poultry farm during rainy season too!