A backyard poultry business is an easy and lucrative business for homeowners with a large outdoor space. This business requires only a few hours of time and routine daily tasks, offering steady income to families. Unlike any other business, a backyard poultry farm doesn’t require heavy investment. However, it does require some planning in terms of equipment, fixtures and more. Don’t, fret, we have got you covered. If you’re looking for home-based business ideas, a backyard poultry business is a great one! Everything you need to own before kickstarting your backyard poultry farm is mentioned here. Here are five essential fixtures you must invest in for a smooth sailing poultry business.
Chicken Coop
Chicken coop the easiest and most functional way to house chickens in the backyard. Modern chicken coops come with designated nesting boxes, roosting bars and specific areas for food and drink. They also have easy human access for everyday cleaning. A chicken coop must be spacious to offer enough room for chickens to roam around and stay active. It also needs to provide external access to nesting boxes to access eggs daily. Outdoor chicken coops that make the entire process of poultry management easy and convenient. These chicken coops are made of tough fir wood that lasts the test of time. They’re also made with an asphalt roof, offering heat protection and weather-proof features. Opt for a large coop, making it easy for chickens to move around and multiply. These features ensure chickens are happy and healthy within the coop.
Gardening Equipment
Rodents, small snakes and rats find their way to a chicken coop from burrows and uneven grounds. For this reason, it is important to invest in good gardening equipment for a backyard poultry business. Use this equipment to keep the soil free of burrows and pits and ensure no predators access your flock. Putty knives, garden hoses, spades, diggers, shovels and forks are some must-have tools in any garden kit. These tools can also dig up fresh soil and give chickens access to all the healthy microbes in fresh soil. They can also even out uneven ground and help ensure a smooth plain for chickens to roam around in.
Cleaning Agents & Disinfectants
Chickens are messy animals. Expect droppings all over your backyard both inside and outside the coop. Leaving their droppings unattended can cause health problems for both humans and chickens. The backyard must be cleaned every day with the right cleaning agents and disinfectants to ensure chickens have a safe and clean environment to explore and thrive in. Diluted chlorine, baking soda and vinegar, arsenic compounds, fumigation and dry cleaning are some of the common methods of cleaning and disinfecting coops. These natural cleaning agents do not harm chickens and humans around, making them an ideal everyday cleaning agent for chickens.
Heaters & Coolers
Chickens require moderate temperatures to thrive. As the moderate climate isn’t available all through the year, backyard chicken coops must have a heating and cooling facility to ensure chickens are in optimal health. Extremely cold weather and snow can affect the productivity and fertility of chickens. Extreme heat can lead to dehydration and various health problems in chickens. Ideally, chickens thrive in moderate temperatures. As they require warm and cosy nesting boxes, many chicken coop owners rely on heating equipment to provide the desired environment for chickens. Coolers are also an important investment to get through harsh summers and extremely humid climates. Ensure you invest in an HVAC equipment and clean them off dust and debris regularly to provide chickens with fresh and clean air to breathe.
Wire Mesh
Wire mesh is a safety mechanism in backyard chicken coops. It prevents chickens from escaping the coop and also blocks out predators such as wild dogs and foxes. Invest in an overhead wire mesh that offers enough room for chickens to walk around and explore, while at the same time protecting them from straying. As wire meshes can give way over time, it is wise to stock up on mesh sheets that can replace the existing ones. Run the mesh sheets all around the chicken coop as well as its overhead structure. This prevents birds from landing in the coop and causing your flock any harm.
Wrap Up
Starting well is important to going strong. A backyard chicken farm doesn’t require much daily investment and effort. What it does require is a solid start in terms of getting the basics right. Do your homework on all the possible requisites to run a successful poultry business at home. Ensure you begin your backyard poultry farming business on the right footing. We hope the above list is a handy checklist for you to begin your backyard poultry farm by putting your best foot forward!
