Livestock breeding can be a very lucrative line of business since more and more people are now into animal husbandry. It’s even particularly easier to focus on small livestock which obviously brings in a number of advantages. Advantages can be less land or space required; generally breeding small livestock will entail lower operating costs than for much bigger livestock. Some of the areas of focus can be goat, piggery, poultry (both broilers and roadrunners) or rabbit farming amongst others. The idea here is to breed livestock for strategic small livestock farmers such as the examples I pointed earlier. Most livestock farming ventures require breeding stock so focusing on being a supplier in that regard is a worthy business. Herein I’ll bring your attention to some key details you need to know in starting such a business.
Approaches
The beauty of this business is that you can blend actual livestock production with breeding. You can, however, choose to just focus on specifically the breeding aspects. An example is breeding broiler chicks; that can be an exclusive focus on its own. In my understanding, it’s more lucrative to juxtapose the breeding with actual livestock production. Your overall approach will be up to your discretion, for instance, will you sell all the offspring or just part of it? Let me highlight some things to put things into perspective. People entering into livestock farming have different intentions in mind. Some just want to, for instance, raise pigs – such a person might just want to source and purchase say, 20 piglets and raise them. Someone might want breeding stock (maybe just two pigs (a boar and a sow i.e. male and female)) so that they breed for themselves. Whichever way, you can supply such clients if you start a small livestock breeding business. The bonus being of course that you can also incorporate actual livestock production. What I mean here is suppose you’re breeding pigs; you can supply breeding stock and also take some of the offspring and raise them for meat and so on.
What’s Required?
Depending on the type of livestock you want to focus on you’ll need land or space. Mostly some form of housing construction will be needed for the livestock in question. For instance, you’ll construct pig stys, hutches, nest boxes, cages or pens and so on. The other important requirement will be a clean and reliable water source that’s close-by. There will be various types of feeds, vaccines and medicines needed. Certain hardware such as feeding troughs, water troughs and other related accessories will be needed. These are some of the key things you’ll require with feeds tending to be a significant cost.
Important Things To Bear In Mind
Breeding is obviously a sensitive undertaking owing to the delicate nature of livestock offspring. The housing choices you’ll adopt must be carefully considered. Livestock offspring (in fact most livestock) is very sensitive to thermal changes in the environment. Your housing must incorporate checks and balances to ensure the environment is kept optimum. Livestock is not adaptable to temperature extremes as these can lead to stunted growth or even death. Safeguards against extreme weather conditions must be also built-in in your housing.
The location of the breeding location must also be strategic. Proximity to clean and reliable water sources is one attribute to be mindful of. The second one is proximity to strategic road networks so as to ease access for clients and also to lessen transport costs by being close to major road networks.
Labour Requirements
This will mainly be a function of how big or small your scale of production will be. Anything from the family unit to part-time employees, cooperatives or full-time employees will apply. In business it’s always important to keep operating costs at bay; especially human resources ones. So always carefully consider your options when it comes to labour requirements.
Capital
This again is usually informed by your own financial standing, the intended scale of production and the characteristics of your target market (location, size and so on). Some types of livestock are low-cost whilst some are capital-intensive; it just varies.
Market
Whichever livestock area you choose to focus on there’s always a market. The discretion is up to you to do market research and see which area sells the most in your location. So the excuses for not finding a market or having a flooded market don’t really hold water.
Regulation
I would advise you to register your business and have the necessary certifications. Work closely with veterinary service providers so that your quality of livestock is top-notch. Breeding or studding really comes down to the quality of your livestock. The stronger and healthier the parent animals the more valuable the offspring. Source feeds from reputable suppliers and follow laid-out guidelines. Adhere to any legislature that might have a bearing on your operations. Also ensure you have comprehensive records of your operations for all your livestock and other pertinent issues. These are important attributes that prospective clients will look at before they decide to do business with you. Therefore it’s of utmost importance that you build a reputable and professional business.
I’m sure this should give you a head start in your quest to enter this business arena. So long you adhere to all the information discussed herein you really shouldn’t have problems. Remember to never stop studying and researching about your intended area of focus to keep abreast with emerging trends.
