Poultry - Mart - Africa

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Will your new poultry business be profitable?

A chick that will grow into a cock can be spotted the very day it hatches – To every situation or thing; there is sign of where it is tending to at the early stages if you look critically.- African Proverb

Have you planned?

A large part of profitable poultry farming is down to pre-planning and on going management and planning.

It seems that when ever I say to someone I am involved in the poultry industry they either say they have kept chickens "before" or they know someone who "used" to keep / farm chickens.

What strikes me is that very few are still in the business! Why? There are a number of factors that come to mind, some being, disease, poor feed, poor chick, theft and no market..

I think its lack of planning before committing time, money and resources to a poultry venture.

The cost of hiring a person who is both experienced and knowledgeable in the industry can be a fraction of the total cost to the start up.

Undertaking a study as to weather your idea of setting up a poultry venture in an area is a first step. The study can look at such things as accessibility to markets and raw material suppliers for your venture.

How much can you produce the poultry product for and how much is the lowest market price?

Collect as much market information as possible and then hire someone to build a profit / cost model incorporating this information into it.

Is there sufficient profit?

Don't kid yourself! Tight margins are not acceptable and if your model is showing this don't bother even starting. You might as well go and take your hard earned cash to a casino.

What next if the profit model shows a good return?

Now the real work really starts! Don't think this is the only bit of information you require to be successful. A full business plan with detailed financials will be a good next step to understanding your concept and to double check your market information, strategy and figures. Often the act of writing down what it is you want to do and achieve can help you say "hmmm hang on, this might not work"

OK, so the business plan and financials look feasible. What next?

Great! Next we hire a project manager to design, cost and set up a construction plan leading into a production plan for your venture. This is where planning is very important in making sure you have the right site, buildings, materials, equipment and construction crew. This planning process needs to be long and drawn out and we need to constantly check, change and double check everything before starting.

I have only covered a few points here, but I hope my thread throughout the piece has been the same....Planning and preparation prevents poor performance!

Many thanks for reading and thanks for all the likes and comments on my previous posts!

Use F.L.A.W.S. when inspecting a chicken house.

The chicken that digs for food will not sleep hungry. ~Bayombe Proverb

Do we need to be a detective in a chicken house?

I have always thought that being a detective was yet another of the many skills one needs have to work in the poultry industry.

Old skills die hard.

Yes I am sure most of you are thinking...oh this again.. Well lets bring it back again. Lets face it nothing compares to walking through a chicken house (Yes all the way to the rear of the house) and inspecting the flock. I have walked probably hundreds of kilometers in chicken houses in various roles from chicken catcher to production manager. Over time I have been able to learn / pick up and now take for granted what to look for when inspecting a flock.

Early on in my career an experienced poultry manager told me about F.L.A.W.S. he used it on a daily basis to check the several houses he was managing. He complained he had a poor concentration span and used F.L.A.W.S. to check and cover all the important aspects of flock inspection.

What is F.L.A.W.S?

Its an easy way to remember some of the key points to check in a poultry house. Lets break it down simply. There are other points to add but I will leave this to you to add in your own time.

F. - Feed

Check all aspects that involve feed. Feed type, quality, stocks, levels in feeders, feeding time and so on.

L. - Lights

Check all aspects that involve light. Time clock, light intensity, no. of bulbs broken and natural light seepage.

A. - Air

Air quality, air temperature and ventilation for age of bird.

W. - Water

Evenness of water supply, water temperature and quality.

S. - Sanitation

Quality and level of bio security entering the house. Tidiness of the house and cleanliness of stock or eggs being produced.

There are other aspects that I have not covered here, but what I have found if you keep to these simple points often other important points will show themselves. Why? Well simply because you are concentrating on the points of F.L.A.W.S.

It really is easy to walk several chicken houses in a day dream or thinking about the monthly budget you have to hand in and walk past a number of small problems that if missed can seriously cost your budget!

Thanks for reading!

Any questions I would be happy to help, email me on jeremy@igallus.com

What type of equipment for an African poultry breeding farm?

"The person who has an axe does not lack firewood" A Swahili proverb

Do we choose known European brands or less known equipment from other parts of the world?

Budget

Equipment such as, feeding, drinking and egg collection systems constitute a big part of the capital cost of a new farm.

How much money is available for the project is a deciding factor in choosing housing and equipment.

How much?

There may only be so much money to spend and this initial amount is guided by the investors views on profitability of the operation in the African business environment and return on their investment.

To summarize, RISK.

We as poultry professionals understand and know the benefits of buying top quality brands in terms of lifespan of equipment and reliability. So do the few existing big poultry companies already operating in Africa.

New entrants

However, often I have found that African investors, business people and entrepreneurs starting new enterprises, have smaller budgets or are not willing to invest too much into housing and equipment. They normally would like to prove the concept first in a smaller way and then expand using cash flow later.

They put a time-frame of 3 - 5 years on testing this new business. With this in mind would you invest in the best most expensive equipment money can buy?

Often its not the choice of equipment that will fail your business but lack of good management, knowledge, market or even a poor accountant!

Choice

Thus with the LARGE choice of equipment available from new manufacturers from for example, China, the person with the money is often comparing and contrasting the often large price differences in equipment and housing.

I have worked with and seen quality results from a range of equipment, from Farm Made, Chinese made and European made. Four things have stuck out:

Management of the systems.

Investment philosophy of the owner.

Availability of cheap loans

It is not easy to get a loan in Africa, let alone for a new business, let alone for equipment (Other than vehicles) Thus most things are bought with cash.

Ever bought an iPhone 6 with cash for $800? Or does a Huawei smart phone for $60 sound better?

It is easier for business owners to secure loans for equipment in the west thus why not spend a little more and get quality? After all the loan repayments are for 10+ years.

Margins

The third is the profit margins of the industry. In Africa profit margins are larger than Europe, thus to replace a worn out set of cheap production equipment from cash flow after 5 years is more achievable than in Europe.

There is much more to the decision on what equipment to buy than I have raised here. My advice would be to invest in top quality management and install the equipment properly from the beginning.

Many thanks for reading again!

If anyone would like more information please contact me on jeremy@igallus.com

What should an African poultry house look like?

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito." – the Dalai Lama

What do we need to consider when designing a poultry house for African conditions?

1) Altitude - Altitude (Height above sea level) is the single most important aspect of poultry house design in Africa. Temperatures in general go from hot at the coast to cooler more temperate climates at 600 meters + in altitude.

Why does altitude play a part in design?

At low altitude, average temperatures are likely to be high with high humidity (excluding northern Africa) Brooding temperatures will be easy to maintain and heating costs will be low. Houses will need to be adequately insulated against high temperatures particularly as the bird gets older. Open naturally ventilated housing is not advised, at a minimum the house can have an insulated curtain system. At best the house should have a thermal barrier in the walls and ceilings with an adequate cooling system. The aim would be to reduce heat transfer from the outside through the walls and roof. Hot air brought into the house must be through a cooling system and transferred through the house at speed.

At high altitude 600m +, average temperatures are lower and the air drier. Air movement tends to be more during the day and night. Brooding temperatures will be more difficult to control particularly also because of more profound seasonal influences at higher altitudes. Heat stress during the hot season will be less and house designs using low budgets, can allow for open sided naturally ventilated houses. Thermal insulation in the roof is still required to keep brooding heat in and direct sunshine heat out during the day.

2) Structure materials - both bio-security and security from theft from unauthorized access is important to consider. Modern poultry houses made from materials such as polystyrene panels or polyurethane panels can be easily prone to fire and are easier to break into. However they provide a easy to clean surface and insulation from extreme temperatures.

Does what the poultry house is made from influence the production performance of the birds?

Some key elements that a poultry house should have:

a) Floors should be smooth and without cracks.

b) Side walls and roofing should have a thermal barrier according to the type of poultry, site, area and altitude.

c) Security and fire, side walls and roofing that does not allow access from thieves. Concrete walls are in most cases cheaper, stronger, hard wearing and longer lasting than panels. Attention to orientating the house correctly to avoid side walls heating up from direct sunlight. Fires are a constant threat in Africa and panel housing is more prone to fire than concrete.

d) The main frame of the house can be a treated pole structure or galvanized light steel frame. What is required is a well designed structure that is according to your budget. Often a perfectly good poultry house can be built using all local materials and often cheaper than imported prefabricated steel and panel structures.

The width and length of the poultry house must be according to the type of house to be used.

In my experience economics plays a big part in design decisions in large scale African poultry projects. House design is important according to the conditions.

How we achieve this and at what cost is even more important in Africa. The success of the enterprise as a whole in the African market is deeply rooted in how much we are willing to invest first. Under correct management, with good genetics, feed and water, outstanding production can be achieved from a wooden pole naturally ventilated house.

Thanks again for reading!

Hope to hear from you with questions or comments.