Keeping Poultry on a Small Scale for Profit and Education

Keeping a few chickens, quail or ducks can be a wonderful introduction to business for your kids, as it has for centuries for the children of farmers, who were often in charge of egg production. Here we examine some of the principles that can be considered.

Capital Investment. The purchase of housing or materials to build housing is the first layout that is necessary to be considered. On a small scale, these can be written off over a number of years, and explaining how this works on your cash flow can be a great discussion point.

The second capital investment is in stock, and this will bring in strategic considerations as well. The return on this investment has to be sufficient to recover not only the cost of the stock, but of housing as well. Because the stock will be replaced before the housing has worn out, you can make depreciation a talking point, as well as the concept of fixed and current assets.

Operational Costs. The feeding of birds is an ongoing cost that has to be factored in to the business plan as well. Do you need heating or lighting costs to be considered?

Sales and Strategy. The selling of eggs, meat and stock are the obvious sources of income for a small scale poultry business. This is where your strategy will come into play - what is your main income source, and how can you work to maximise that income?

A typical discussion can include the pricing of various options such as the cost of battery eggs versus free range; premium versions of eggs such as Golden Pheasant eggs (I once saw 6 sold for £72 or approximately $100) or duck eggs; quail eggs; or hatching eggs if your stock is of sufficiently good quality.

Meat has processing costs and emotional involvement that is a necessary part of farming, but is less necessary for urban families. Premium free range chickens can sell for £26 in the UK; Turkeys, Geese, Ducks and Quail can also be considered. Quail can be laying or of table weight in a matter of weeks, so income can start coming in very quickly.

The raising of stock from quality birds is a consideration as well; do you invest further in an incubator and brooding facilities or do you use broody hens which can be a risky business. Do you sell day old stock or run it on? Once when I was between jobs, I bought 36 guinea fowl eggs for £3. By putting these in an incubator for a couple of weeks I sold the 18 chicks that hatched for £32.

Marketing. Last but not least, how are you going to market your stock or produce? This is something to be considered early on unless you want to teach a hard lesson!

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