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Raising Free Range chickens is a high profitable business all over the world. For starting up a free-range chicken business, you should have complete knowledge about free range chickens and complete management to run a successful poultry farm. Free range chicken has gained popularity for its less mortality rate. Farmers raise these free-range chickens for self-consumption, these chickens are easy to raise, and chicken is very nutritious.
Free range chicken and the backyard chicken production are a profitable business, but you do a complete study before you venture into the business. First, you should decide the size of your project that is number of chickens you want to grow in a cycle and location of poultry farm and your target market.
There are many breeds of free-range chicken available in the market. Choose the right breed depending on your need. You can raise the free-range chicken for selling meat, selling eggs or for selling both meat and eggs.
In Layer type chicken there are many breeds that lay eggs once a day or 300 eggs a year.
Meat type free range chicken also lay eggs. Below is some list of free range chicken grown for meat.
These breed free change chickens take 45 days to grow. Depending on the genetics some breeds also take more than 50 to 100 days to grow. These breeds of free range chicken are fed with commercial feed, chicken food like vegetables, green grasses, weeds grit etc.
The main housing difference free range and broiler chicken are broilers raised indoors, they will be confined to the broiler house, but free-range chickens will spend most of the day outside. The Housing and land size depends on the size of your poultry project. Land you select,for growing free range chicken should be well drained with good resource and good air. Housing should have a proper ventilation, for a free air movement in the chicken house. Even should have good light setup, lighting stimulated hens to lay eggs. If you are growing free range chicken for egg production, install adequate lighting in houses.
A cage or coop is a small chicken house constructed with wood with fencing. A coop or café should minimum 1 foot per head is required so that chicken can stay inside the coop or cage and roam freely in hot or cool climate.
Cage or coop of free range chicken should cover with bedding or litter. Bedding prevent the chicken manure formation at brooding stage. This bedding should be cleaned and changed twice a week for chicks. Bedding or litter should also be disinfected before loading the chickens. You should use some sanitary steps to keep the cage or coop clean. Use probiotic cleaners to the environment clean and hygienic.
Free range chicken and backyard chickens need a good amount of required space to grow and roam. Free range chicken should not be crowded, if they are crowded they may suffocate to death. Each chicken needs minimum 0.1 square meter floor space. Housing size depends on the number of chickens reared.
Housing can be:
Some Bedding or litters for free range chicken cage or coops:
Lighting in the free-range chicken stimulates hens to lay eggs. So, install the proper lighting system.
Lighting requirements for Raising Free Range Chickens
And the lighting be should move up and down as per temperature in the brooding area.
Chicken makes the sign by huddling under bulb indicating that they need more need, you need to lower the bulb down till they get separated.
May models of water containers for chickens are available in the markets. You can purchase as per requirements. Water container you use must be.
Feeder you use for free range chicken should be made of bamboo, large PVC separated in two, galvanized feeder, trough feeder, open containers, feed dispenser.
Medicated feeds + proper sanitation gives healthy chickens.
Bad bacteria’s effect of chicken can be reduced cleaning areas regularly.
This is feeding given before the arrival of the chickens to familiarize what to eat and what not. One day old chicken suffers stress from shipping, so provide them with multivitamins or electrolytes with water to restore their strength.
Feed for Meat type for Raising Free Range Chickens
Buy one day old chicken (DOC-Day Old Chicken) from the suppliers, free range chicken suppliers or from agricultural and poultry suppliers. Make a complete verification of product suppliers to get a better product.
Shipping the free-range chicken should follow some arrangements:
Site you select should be:
Free range chicken should be medicated with oriental herbs or herbal medicines or synthetic antibiotic for preventing diseases.
Some of antibiotics are:
The above listed are natural and herbal medicines, but there is no guarantee to prevent from disease. You should consult local poultry technicians or veterinary doctors in case any health problems in chickens.
Never give any medicine to chicken without consulting the doctors.
Should maintain the records on cost per bird (D.O.C), Expenses from the first day, Mortality rate, etc. Note all the necessary steps taken in raising the free-range chicken:
For layer type free range chickens, it is important to prepare a confrontable zone to lay eggs. For this you can use plywood, coconut leaves shaped into the nest box. Cover the nest slightly with any material except plastics.
The number workers required for your farm depend upon the size of your free-range chicken business. If you are running a small-scale business like 100 birds/cycle, 2 or 3 persons are enough to take care of the chickens. If you are planning a run a farm of more 1000 birds/ cycles you need minimum 10 members to manage the free-range chickens. The labor should have complete knowledge of rearing techniques of free-range chickens.
The investment depends upon the scale of the project. You can get capital from bank loans or other financial sources. Free range chickens are very profitable.
There is a good market for free range chicken all over the world. As the people are focusing on the organic and healthy food. Free-range chicken is very nutritious, tasty and healthy, so they have good demand for both the meat and eggs. The price of free range chicken is a bit higher than the broiler.
You can supply these free-range chicken meat and eggs to households, butcher, school, restaurants, companies, supermarkets, events, etc. Free range chicken are also as live birds, or you can slaughter and freeze them and sell them as dresses chicken. There is a good export market for free range chickens.