Poultry Farming In Maharashtra, How To Start, Tips

Introduction on how to start poultry farming in maharashtra, government subsidy and loan: Poultry farming is a profitable business and it is defined as the process of raising domesticated birds. Some domesticated birds are chickens, ducks, hens, and geese raising for meat or eggs. It started in the agricultural era. Poultry mostly chickens are farmed in large numbers. More than 60 billion chickens die for consumption every year. The chickens raised for eggs are known as layers, while the chickens raised for meat are called broilers.

Commercial production of layer poultry, as well as broiler chickens, has been concentrated in the hands of big entrepreneurs, who are also engaged in contract farming activities for broiler poultry. The role of the state government is to provide better / less input technology poultry birds to rural poultry farmers, which will be useful and profitable in backyard poultry keeping.

A guide on how to start poultry farming in Maharashtra, license/permission requirement, government subsidy and loan

Poultry farming is a business that can be an additional source of income for you. This can be started at a low cost and you can make huge profits through it. The central and state governments are providing credit and training facilities at their respective levels to promote the poultry business. It is also a type of animal rearing in which birds are used. Some examples of birds associated with poultry farming in Maharashtra are ducks, chickens, geese, pigeons, turkeys, etc. These birds use their eggs and meat as food under proper care. Their eggs and meat are rich sources of protein and other vitamins and minerals. Their waste material is used as a good source of fertilizer which increases the fertility of the soil. In addition, it employs many daily wage earners, so it also employs people.

Commercial Poultry Farming In Maharashtra — Poultry Farming (Image source: pixabay)

Maharashtra is the third-largest egg producer in the country, is pushing for funding from the Center to provide a cold chain for poultry products, transport costs, and marketing to small outlets in urban, semi-urban, and large villages across the state.

Types of birds in poultry farms

There are two types of birds in poultry farms;

1. Broilers – The chickens that are raised for their meat are called broilers.

2. Layers – The chickens that are raised for their eggs are called layers.

As the world’s population grows, the need for eggs and meat has multiplied. They need to be kept in a suitable environment to protect them from any kind of disease. In the state of egg consumption, the state of Maharashtra has decided to promote poultry in the tribal areas. In addition to promoting poultry in rural areas, the state government is also considering introducing eggs in schools’ mid-day meal programs, which will increase egg consumption in the state. The state government wants to help financial institutions with poultry farming initiatives that will help them spend millions in the tribal and rural areas. This will include establishing a cold chain and a strong marketing chain for marketing our products not only in the state but also across the country. Even the central government is working to promote local poultry breeds as well as a bio-safe environment.

What do you need to start poultry farming?

The land is needed to start poultry farming.
You should select a place a short distance from your village or town to start poultry farming.
Choose a place where water, clean air and sunlight, and vehicles are well managed.

Benefits of poultry farming in Maharashtra

There are several benefits to start the poultry farming business.

People usually set up poultry farms with the aim of generating more income from eggs, meat, and these products.
The main advantage of poultry farming is that it does not require much investment to start a business.
Poultry farming does not require much space; you can easily raise some birds in your backyard with one or more coops and cages. It ensures a high return on investment in a very short period.
Poultry birds like broiler chickens take very little time to mature and make high profits. Poultry farms do not require much infrastructure maintenance. You can easily reduce diseases and illnesses in poultry by following proper hygiene.
Most of the time, you don’t need a license because almost all types of poultry are domestic animals. Sometimes you need a license from the relevant authorities which is easy to obtain.
Poultry has a huge global demand because consumers prefer it because of its nutritional value and freshness. Also, poultry products are not very expensive and most people can afford them. On product marketing, poultry farmers generate a lot of income for themselves.

Tips to keep in mind when building a house for poultry birds

Always keep enough space in your poultry house for birds. This will help your birds to be happy, grow and breed.
Avoid overcrowding at poultry houses.
A good ventilation system is essential. One should make sure that their poultry houses are well ventilated. Ensure adequate flow of fresh air and light indoors.
Keep proper distance between 2 houses for commercial production.
Clean the house and furniture regularly. Disinfect the house before bringing new chickens to your farm. Measures should be taken to prevent all kinds of predators and harmful animals.
Maintain a good temperature so that birds do not get too hot or cold.
An adequate indoor drainage system is essential for cleaning it. It is a good idea to build a poultry house in a quiet place.

Land and housing requirements for poultry farming

The poultry housing you need and the size of the land will depend on the size of your poultry farm. You need to balance the need for proximity to the market with land costs; labor costs; security and a good water supply to select a location for poultry farming.

When you are planning to build a broiler chicken house, you have to choose a place that is well ventilated with a lot of natural air circulation. Broiler chickens cannot adapt well to extremes of temperature, so it is important to keep chickens, take care of them and provide them with an environment that enables them to maintain their thermal balance. You need to minimize the temperature fluctuations, and this can be achieved by placing the broiler chicken house on the east-west axis so that the effect of direct sunlight on the sidewalls during the hottest time of the day. Good temperature control will increase feed conversion and growth rates, making your poultry farming business more profitable.

Broiler chickens need a lot of space for their good growth, they should not be crowded otherwise they may suffocate and this will cause loss to your poultry farming business. Each broiler should require about 0.1 square meters of floor space. The size of a poultry house will mostly depend on the number of birds. Your chicken housing can be a warehouse, chicken runs, or hutches, and the construction cost will depend on the materials used and the size of the broiler poultry house. You also need poultry farming equipment including chicken feeders, drinkers, lighting systems, and waste disposal systems. The cost of the equipment should also be considered in your broiler poultry business plan.

Chicken coop

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A chicken coop or a hen house or shed is a structure where poultry birds are kept safe and secure. The house can have a nest and leaflets. Chickens are mostly hard but can be reduced due to confinement, poor air quality, and darkness, which is why they are so ventilated open-sided coop with conditions more like the outdoors, even in winter. This has resulted in two housing designs for chickens fresh air houses with bangles and nothing more than a wire mesh between the chickens and the weather (even in northern winters), or doors, windows, and hatches. Houses are closed which can turn off most of the ventilation.

Site selection and construction of poultry farms in Maharashtra

Remember that poultry farms must be constructed away from the city.
The place or land should be chosen wisely where there is adequate ventilation, good air circulation in the farm and place, and accessibility for road and transportation.
When building a farm shelter, you should turn east-west to avoid too much sunlight.
Adequate space is needed to avoid overcrowding. Ensure that 2 square feet of space are maintained for each bird. Free-range farming requires more space than intensive farming systems.
Choosing your land is ideal for building a poultry farm while the risk is less than renting land.
The land selected for field construction should have a clean and continuous water supply.

Choosing healthy chickens and breeds

Choosing baby chickens and breed plays a key role in your profits.
Choose breeds that have good productivity and are strong and resistant.
Be aware of the selection of suitable and acceptable breeds according to your climate.
You can rely on well-known hatcheries to buy chickens.

Basra – This is a medium-sized light-winged bird that is usually alert. There is a big difference in terms of these colors. The beak is yellow with red vitals. Their eggs weigh only 28-38 grams and their shells are light brown. They are found in some districts of Maharashtra.

Important factors for the growth of poultry farming

Poultry farming has become very popular. It has been revived as an organized and scientifically based industry with tremendous potential for employment. It plays an important role in India’s rural economy. It provides the farmer with a ready source of income. In addition to meat and eggs, chickens provide feathers and plenty of fertilizer. The below factors are taken into consideration for the growth of poultry farming;

1) Small initial investment

2) Availability of quality chicks

3) Short generation interval

4) Quick, assured, and better returns

5) Availability of trained manpower

6) Better understanding and knowledge of better and scientific methods of feeding

7) Management and health control.

Activities for poultry farming in Maharashtra

Poultry farm activities are as follows;

Preparing the chicken house for the arrival of the chickens.
Feeding the chickens.
Monitoring the internal conditions of the chicken houses including temperature, humidity, and air quality.
Monitor feed and water lines to make sure they are providing enough fresh water and chicken feed to the chicks.
Monitoring the health of chickens
Cleaning of chicken houses or coops.
Collecting eggs (for laying hens)
Loading chickens on trucks to go to chicken plants (for meat hens

Feeding management for poultry farming in Maharashtra

High-quality and balanced protein sources produce maximum amounts of muscle, skin, and feather growth. For poultry bird’s growth, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, chlorine, potassium, sulfur, manganese, iron, copper, cobalt, magnesium, and zinc are all needed. Vitamins A, C, D, E, K, and all B vitamins are also required. Also, antibiotics are used to increase appetite, control harmful bacteria and prevent disease. For chickens, modern rations produce about 0.9 kg (2 lb) feed on 0.5 kg (1 lb) broiler and 2 kg (4.5 lb) feed on a dozen eggs.

One should always feed the poultry birds with high-quality, fresh, and nutritious food. It ensures good health, proper growth, and high productivity. So feed your chicken’s healthy and nutritious food. It is important to include all kinds of essential vitamins and minerals in their diet. In addition, to feed your birds a high quality and nutritious diet, always provide them with plenty of fresh and clean water as per their demand.

Steps to consider before starting a poultry business in Maharashtra

Poultry farming is a wide industry with many sub-sectors to choose from. Here is a list of sections that one can choose from;

Step 1) Select the section that suits your interests, including;

Meat production (through broiler breeding)
Egg production (through layers breeding)
Poultry feed production
Poultry farming requires equipment
Egg and meat processing
Chicken hatching
Egg and meat packaging and marketing.

Depending on one’s interest and feasibility, the entrepreneur can choose more than one section to start a business.

Step 2) Set up an area of interest

You can’t start a poultry business without a goal and business plan. You have to choose a path where you want to grow your business. This will keep your focus on one point and ensure a high level of professionalism but no problem if you want to work with two areas. Here are some niches for poultry farming.

Layer Chicken Breeds – These layer chicken breeds are used for egg production.
Broiler Breeds – It is used for the production of chicken meat.
Hatchery – Is for hatching new baby chickens.
Poultry Feeds – It produces feeds for other poultry farms.
You can choose any of them – You can choose the breed layer and broiler if you wish.

Step 3) Select the type of bird you want to raise on your farm. Initially, it is advisable to choose from a limited variety of broilers and layers for meat and egg production. As the business grows, more variety of birds can be added in terms of demand and profit.

Step 4) Select the location of the poultry farm – It is advisable not to look far away from the place of consumption of goods instead of making it a nightmare of logistics and increasing the cost of transportation. Finalize the area in advance so that the operation can be easily arranged.

Step 5) Your poultry farm must be named and registered under state law. Creating a logo and website for your business is also important if you plan to market your product online and supply it to distant places.

Step 6) Manage finances – The poultry business is not a capital-intensive business and requires limited capital in the beginning. Funds are needed for a variety of purposes, including land purchase/rent, equipment, hiring staff, birds, raw materials, managing cash flow, paying salaries, and more. Including government schemes like MUDRA.

Step 7) Marketing your product to the target audience is essential. Marketing is difficult, and different ways of communicating can be used to generate buzz about your product.

Step 8) After marketing, it is important to supply products to consumers. Consumers can be retailers, shopkeepers, wholesalers, restaurants, etc.

Other items and accessories you need for poultry farming are;

Poultry cage has some other accessories like drinkers, feeders, parchments, crates, nests, lighting system, egg incubator, waste disposal system, etc. You also need to consider these costs. And as a final part of the project, we also provide you with the best poultry farm equipment such as an automatic egg collector, automatic feeding system, automatic fertilizer removal machine, and cooling system, etc.

License/permission required for poultry farming in India

How about this: How To Start Goat Farming In West Bengal.

Layer Poultry Farming in Maharashtra — **Layer Poultry Farming** (pic source: pixabay)

People need different licenses before starting a poultry farming business in India;

NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the local village panchayat
NOC (No Objection Certificate) from Pollution Board is also important
Electrical use is allowed because you will need a transformer based on the size of the poultry (number of motors used in the poultry) and,
Licensed by the land department.

Given the growing demand for poultry products in the Indian market, the government is promoting poultry farming. Therefore, it has become much easier to obtain permissions and licenses.

Loans and subsidies for Poultry Scheme in Maharashtra

Murgi Palan Yojana

This poultry scheme has the full support of NABARD in India. Under this scheme, about 1000 new poultry farms will be set up in the state. The state government will also provide financial assistance to encourage the people of the state to adopt murgi palan.

With the help of this scheme state government will reduce the unemployment rate in the state. As we all know broilers are raised for meat while layers are raised for eggs.

The Poultry Farm Scheme has the full support of the NABARD National Bank of Agriculture Rural Development in India. The Maharashtra government has launched the Murgi Palan Yojana scheme to encourage the Maharashtra people to cultivate Kukut Palan along with agriculture. Under this scheme, one thousand new poultry farms will be started in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra government is trying to provide financial assistance to the people to cultivate Kukut Palan. At the same time, the government is trying to reduce unemployment in Maharashtra. Before attempting this business you should have complete information about this business as there are two types of poultry farming like broiler and layers.

The government subsidizes up to 25% for poultry farming. The government subsidizes up to 35% of poultry farming for SC / ST people.

This business needs financial support to start.

Anyone who wants to start this business on a small scale can try it with Rs. 50,000 to 1.5 lakh
For medium scale – 1.5 lakh to 3.5 lakh.
On a high scale – Rs. 7 lakhs or more is required.

Anyone can take a loan from a bank chosen by NABARD.

Capital for broiler poultry farming business

For the broiler poultry business, the amount of capital depends on the scale of the project. You can get a loan from a bank or get funding from investors to start a poultry farming business. Though, if you plan to raise capital from investors and a loan from banks, you need a good poultry farming business plan. If you don’t have access to investors and bank loans, you can also use personal savings and start a small business, and grow your business over time. Broiler chickens are very profitable, so if you reinvest your profits, you can grow faster.

Care and management for poultry birds

We should always take good care of our birds. It is important to know more about the different types, symptoms, and treatments of poultry. Timely vaccination of birds is essential. They should be provided with nutritious food and clean water.
The poultry houses should be cleaned regularly. The important point for raising chickens is to provide a stable natural environment for them.
There are several things you can do to make your business a success if you are raising chicken breeds.
Check the water for poultry birds, and clean / refill it as needed. Make sure your chickens are always a clean source of freshwater. Maintain a good source of food. Consider adding calcium and mineral-rich supplements such as oyster shell grate or diatomaceous earth to cereals. This will not only strengthen the diet of the chickens but also the extra calcium will help in producing strong eggs.
Broiler chicken breeds are growing in popularity because they are quick to raise. Broiler babies can triple their hatch weight in the first 7 days and gain about 1.5 to 2 pounds in the last week. To help with this rapid growth, broilers should be fed a high protein diet.
Always keep the growing food and water of the birds in front of them. Meat birds are not as lively as they are mature. Clean the brooder and coupe daily, as often as you would with layer breeds.
Poultry farms must have free access to clean water. Clean and disinfect water fountains daily during brooding. When starting older birds or after moving or relocating birds, give access to water before placing the feed in the feeder.
The effect of light is also an important factor for poultry bird’s growth and production. Chickens should be kept in the light for 24 hours for the first week. The broiler can be allowed at least 14 hours of light is provided. Controlling the length of the day is very important to get maximum egg production. A basic rule is to never shorten the length of the day for laying hens.
The health of chickens depends on the supply of pure, clean, and fresh drinking water. You need to provide adequate water according to the demand of the laying hens. Find a suitable place to keep water containers inside the poultry house.
The main advantages of cage poultry rearing are easy management, a high number of birds in limited space, clean egg production, less problem due to parasites and other diseases, etc.

How much money is needed to start a poultry farm business?

Poultry farming is a capital-intensive business, and depending on the scale and size of the business you want to start with, the need for funds may be in the range of Rs. 1.5 lakh to Rs. 10 lakh are required for various purposes, including;

Cost of birds
Cost of space for rent
Equipment cost
Staff cost
Poultry feed and other raw materials
Marketing, transportation, and miscellaneous costs.

Poultry disease prevention and health management

Vaccination plays an important role in herd health management. Vaccines are used to control and prevent poultry diseases.

Parasite control – To control parasites, birds should be regularly inspected for external parasites and formalin should be sprayed around the shed.

Identification and treatment of sick birds – Check your birds regularly for any signs of disease or problems within the group. Eliminate sick chickens and other chickens from the main rush and acquire a finding from a certified individual. Once you have identified the infection or problem, you can give the right treatment. Keep sick birds out of the group until they are fully recovered.

Separation of multi-age flocks – Introducing small birds to older birds increases the risk of transmitting the disease from older birds to smaller birds.

Dead and weak birds should be checked regularly and removed to prevent the spread of infection.

By following the above techniques, one can come up with the idea of choosing a place and building a farm. The selection of healthy chickens plays an important role in agriculture where we help by providing well-known poultry manufacturers. Disease prevention and feed selection is a difficult task for farmers where we provide complete guidance on disease prevention and feed formulation from day one to the final product.

3 COMMENTS

Sunil Muchwad October 5, 2021 At 12:49 am

New start poultry form in our society please government funding scheme and guidance our registration society

Manish Samritkar July 7, 2022 At 2:01 am

Hi, I want to start a new poultry farm business. So can you please suggest me what scheme is provided by government. I don’t want any loan from bank. I just want to start business with new baby chickens. So government can provide baby chickens scheme for poultry farming for chicken feeding. Please guide.

Javed April 13, 2023 At 6:29 pm

Hi,
I want to start layer poultry in my village land at solapur. Please guide about government schemes and training programs or workshops organized by state govt.