When starting a poultry enterprise, whether a small backyard flock or a large
commercial operation, there are several factors to consider, says a University
of Missouri Extension poultry specialist.
“First of all, you need a location that is legal and acceptable for you to
have poultry,” Jess Lyons said. “Whether it is in the city or in a rural area,
do you have the facilities, the land and source of water to start the
enterprise?”
Lyons says that determining the type of operation you plan to start is
important.
“Are you doing meat birds only a certain part of the year? Are you doing
year-round production? Or are you producing eggs?” Lyons said. “That will affect
the area that is required and also the housing facilities.”
Backyard flocks that have free range without retaining fences need a place
to go up during the night to be safe from predators. Fences that keep flocks in
may not keep predators out.
“It seems like all poultry is susceptible to any type of four-legged
predator, as well as winged predators,” Lyons said.
Birds also need a balanced diet to meet the nutrient requirements of
production. Lyons says supplemental light during the winter’s shorter days is
necessary to keep hens laying eggs.
“The other thing is, what do you do with the product being produced? What’s
your goal?” Lyons said. “Is it to supplement the farm income, or is it for the
enjoyment of the family, or to give children responsibility? It works very well
with youth programing with small, fairly inexpensive operations.”
Lyons and extension poultry specialists from across the country have worked
together to develop online information on small and backyard flocks through
eXtension.org, a national collaboration of land-grant universities and the
Cooperative Extension System. Information about upcoming webinars, recordings of
past webinars, and many other resources for poultry production can be found
at www.eXtension.org/poultry.
No comments:
Post a Comment