Organic Poultry Production has been on the increase in Nigeria lately with people searching and asking questions on how to achieve it. Some have succeeded in achieving this great fit by subscribing either to an online training or a physical one. However, there are still a lot of people interested in it but cannot afford the trainings available or haven't found any one who is actually practicing it. There are also those who have joined several online groups hoping to learn before they venture into. But unfortunately, some people who claim to have knowledge of this practice are internet farmers who are experts in copy and paste. They don't even know some of the basic principles of poultry generally but of course they are keyboard warriors. They will write how you can make 3million Naira in 6weeks from 500 birds. How they come about this baffles me.
My aim is to share tips and my experience on organic poultry production for everyone who is interested in this practice and also to encourage conventional farmers to key into this. Before I start, I will have to thank @organicfoods @prof Perez @turks @shakiriri @muna for the knowledge I have acquired from them which has been of great help. May God continue to bless you.
Now let's start. If you find it educative and interesting, pls just go ahead and share but make sure you also practice. My dream is that someday soon Nigeria will grow what it eats.
GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS NIGERIA. AMIN

following

WORDS

PASSION, DETERMINATION, PATIENCE AND INTEGRITY..

PASSION : Before you start anything you must have interest in it. You must be passionate about such thing. When people say running a poultry farm is stressful, you see it as fun even when it's time to pack the litter. Lol

DETERMINATION: I will use myself as an example. My first attempt were 7 cockerel and I lost 5 in three days, I also got 10 turkey and lost 7. There was also a time I got 100 chicks and lost 45 within a week and at the end of it all I didn't get a single feather to sell. Meaning I lost my investment. But I didn't give up, I didn't see it as a failure but as an experience and I learnt. My mum said to me "the only business you do and "may" get above 100% profit is drug peddling. The word "may" was used to indicate if you weren't caught while dealing in such business. So it's even highly dangerous to get involved in such in the first place.

PATIENCE : You must understand that nothing good comes easy. Your first attempt may not yield your expected profit which is usually the case. You "may" and "may not" succeed at first as you read my first above. You must also know that your birds need you around them. You need to be patient and vigilant. Stay inside the pen, by the cage or around them to identify any abnormalities. There is always a sign if they are uncomfortable.

INTEGRITY: This is the benchmark of all the three above. If you possess all those three and lack this one, you don't have anything. Integrity takes you far in life. When a customer wants just two chickens and pays maybe #3000. And another customer wants same and is offering #5000, pls attend to the first customer. The major mistake some people make in business is always looking at the money. Yes the purpose of business is to make profit but not always. Attend to your customers on a first come first serve bases. You need to build a relationship with your customers because you will always need them. To me every customer is "important" but not "always right" as some people would say.

TENETS OF ORGANIC POULTRY
The term organic poultry production simply means raising birds without antibiotics, growth hormones, vaccines or any kind of synthetic drugs. In other words, it means raising birds naturally with the use of herbs, spices, fruits etc.
The term "organic" will be used interchangeably with "natural" in the course of this discussion in order to give a better understanding. However, it's important to note that there is a difference between both.
The guidelines for organic farming or poultry production varies depending on the country. Presently in Nigeria we have not been able to achieve 100% organic due to the laid down principles of organic agriculture. So what we call our product is NATURAL/NATURALLY RAISED. This is not peculiar to only Nigeria as there are other countries with 80% natural and 20% synthetic. Even in the UK and US they are also faced with some challenges but not as much as ours.
The above definition of organic poultry production only applies to Nigeria as some countries such as Philippines do not prohibit the use of vaccines.
For any poultry to be considered organic, it must be managed as such beginning no later than the second day of life. Therefore, the standard practice of buying day-old chicks from conventional hatcheries presents no problem.

Nice intro... It's better we share our knowledge and experience about the little we know about practical organic poultry
...so we make a comprehensive and practicable livestock production without vaccines,antibiotics,etc whic may even be inimical for human consumption...


Lets go there bro....

Fortune1909:
Nice intro... It's better we share our knowledge and experience about the little we know about practical organic poultry
...so we make a comprehensive and practicable livestock production without vaccines,antibiotics,etc whic may even be inimical for human consumption...


Lets go there bro....

It's a She and I don't think she's about to share

GENERAL WELFARE STANDARDS OF ORGANIC POULTRY

a. Free range birds with access to large outdoor ranges
b. Higher standards of animal welfare
c. Smaller flocks sizes
d. A growth hormones free diet.
e. No routine use of antibiotics
f. No routine administration of vaccines (Nigeria and some other countries)

a. FREE RANGE
Organic poultry must have continuous and easy daytime access to an outdoor range covered with suitable vegetation, except in adverse weather conditions. Access to the outdoors gives the birds plenty of opportunities to perform their natural behaviours such as walking, running, scratching, dust-bathing and foraging for seeds and insects.
It also gives a tastier and tougher meat.
Personally, I start at 3/4weeks old till slaughter. It's fun I tell you.

b. HIGH STANDARD OF ANIMAL WELFARE.
While conventionally reared broiler chicken live between 28days(4weeks) to 42days(6weeks) in cramped and stressful conditions, organic broiler chicken is required to live for a minimum of 42days(6weeks) to 81days(12weeks).
Because conventionally raised chicken are placed on growth hormones for rapid growth within a very short period of time many suffer abnormal skeletal structure. Organic farmers ensure that the birds are properly fed with basic natural diet that will aid their growth naturally without alteration.
Beak trimming which is routinely performed on laying birds are prohibited in organic poultry farming. It is a mutilation that can be painful, stressful and also prevents the hens from expressing their natural behaviour by foraging. Feather pecking can be solved by providing hens with a stimulating environment which allows birds to satisfy their natural behavioural needs such as foraging, ground scratching and dust-bathing.

Following

c. SMALLER FLOCK SIZES
The maximum flock size allowed varies depending on country but personally I will stick to the standard of not more than 2000 laying birds or 1,000 broiler chickens reared for meat with standard and adequate housing mentioned above. For a better illustration, conventionally grown birds are housed in thousands from day old without access to move around. Having fewer birds encourages better outdoor range use and makes it easier to manage bird's welfare on an individual level, which helps to ensure the birds are kept to the highest standards of welfare.


Housing Guidelines:
Laying hens and breeders: 2.0 sq ft/bird indoors, 2.0–5.0 sq ft/bird outdoors
Pullets: 2–3 lbs/sq ft indoors, 2–3 lbs/sq ft outdoors
Broilers: 1–5 lbs/sq ft indoors, 2–5 lbs/sq ft outdoors.

d. A GROWTH HORMONES FREE DIET.
In organic poultry farming, birds are given feed free of growth hormones or made from GMO ingredients. Presently in Nigeria, I haven't come across anyone producing organic feed commercially. So what organic farmers device is fermentation of commercial feed. To be treated later.
The effect of growth hormones on birds as mentioned above cannot be over emphasized. Also the effect on human beings are devastating. Natural growth hormones which will be discussed later are not harmful to both human and animals. However, majority of the growth hormones used in conventional poultry production are artificial.

"A study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology in 1999 found that eating foods with natural or synthetic insulin-like growth factor-1, IGF-1, may be linked to an increase in certain cancers including prostate, breast and colon cancers. (1) Foods with this hormone such as meat, fats and oils, raise the level of IGF-1 in the blood and may increase the risk of several diseases including diabetes......."

".....There has been public concern about the possibility of these steroid hormones increasing a risk of breast cancer or causing early puberty in girls, according to the Sprecher Institute. However, there is no conclusive link and further research is needed."

Copied from the internet.

TRULY WE ARE WHAT WE EAT.

e. NO ROUTINE USE OF ANTIBIOTICS
The use of antibiotics in conventional poultry production is undermining the ability of the birds to help treat infection and disease. The routine, preventative use of antibiotics is banned in organic standards. What is encouraged is the use of herbs and spices containing natural antibiotics.

"HEALTH RISKS
Although it is still unclear why feeding small “sub-therapeutic” doses of antibiotics, like tetracycline, to birds makes them gain weight, research indicates that the antibiotics kill the flora that would normally thrive in the birds’ intestines, thereby allowing them to utilise their food more effectively.
Majority mix these drugs with poultry feeds and water daily as a substitute for healthier living conditions in crowded and unsanitary environment and to promote growth.
The problem with feeding antibiotics to animals that are not sick is that it kills weak bacteria and creates the perfect environment for antibiotic-resistant bacteria to multiply and thrive.
Due to public health risks associated with antibiotics’ resistance, there is need to end the use of low doses of medically important antibiotics to prevent the development of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. By eliminating routine, non-therapeutic uses of antibiotics, the poultry industry can reduce the potential for antibiotic resistance and ensure these important drugs remain effective for treating human......."
".........However, apart from therapeutic purposes, most farmers administer antibiotics (whether human or animal) to poultry in small doses on daily basis to enable the birds’ gain as much as three percent more weight than they otherwise would.
Another antibiotic problem is cross-resistance to antibiotic in human illness, which comes as a result of an antagonistic relationship between drugs such as Baytril and Cipro (both belong to the flouroquinolone class of antibiotics).
Specifically, the WHO recommended that prescriptions be required for all antibiotics used to treat sick food animals, and urged efforts to “terminate or rapidly phase out antimicrobials for growth promotion if they are used for human treatment.”

f. NO ROUTINE ADMINISTRATION OF VACCINES
Vaccines for chickens have been developed to improve the death rates, create herd immunity, and to reduce the potential transmission of diseases among chickens crammed together in a small space in the commercial sector, not for organic poultry where the number of birds and specific humane housing standard are put into consideration.
Remember also, that most vaccines come with warning labels advising to not butcher poultry that have just received shots (they tell you to wait anywhere from 15 to 60 days)- not ideal for meat birds.
If I may ask, how many farms adhere to this? Or should I say how many conventionally raised birds containing these harmful substances have people eaten, having in mind the standard of our regulatory bodies?
If all the general welfare standards are strictly adhered to, there shouldn't be need for vaccination of birds. Secondly, birds that are administered vaccines are usually moody for the first 2/3 days after vaccination and some eventually die as a result of low immune system or vaccine failure.

THINGS YOU NEED TO START

1.Cage/Pen/Brooding box
2.Source of heat
3.Source of lightning
4.Wood shavings and sawdust
5.Drinker
6.Feeder
7.Weighing Scale
8.Supplement (Lab, Tagiri, Ginger&Garlic Extract, Multivitamins and Calcium Supplement)
9.Feed
10.Chicks
11.Herbs and spices

CAGE/PEN/BROODING BOX: This is for housing your birds. A cage can be constructed by a carpenter. I will advise if you are using a cage, it should be designed in such a way that the floor will be made of iron net/mesh wires and not wooden in order for the chicken poo to drop on the floor. However, this is to be used after the brooding stage. Let's say from 3weeks old. All you need to do is to place something underneath the cage. Once the litter is much you take it out n replace. With this, you wouldn't have much stress with the litter. Brooding box is used mostly by farmers who intend to use a cage for housing the birds after brooding. Although, some farmers with pens also use it.

SOURCE OF HEAT: This can either be 200 watts bulbs, brooder with gas or electricity, charcoal.

SOURCE OF LIGHT:If you are using a bulb, it will serve as source for heat and light. However, if you don't have 24hrs power you will have to get something as a source of light for the birds at night e.g rechargeable lamp.

WOOD SHAVINGS/SAWDUST: It's used in the pen. If you intend to use a building space, you will need this on the floor as bedding for the birds. The age of the bird will determine which to use. If you intend to use the kind of cage I mentioned above, you wouldn't need this from 3 weeks old when the birds are transferred into it.

DRINKER: This is a container for water to serve the birds. There are different types. The one in the picture is place on the floor to enable them sip some water with ease.

WEIGHING SCALE: The purpose of this is to check if your birds are growing. At a particular time a bird should have a particular weight. So you will know if you are "underfeeding" your birds.

If you don't vaccinate, then how do you prevent New Castle Disease and Gumboro

SUPPLEMENTS: These are the various organic medications for your birds. They are combinations of different herbs, spices and fruits with various functions such as natural antibiotics, immune booster, growth enhancer etc. With these supplements you don't need any of the conventional drugs. There are also some spices serving different purposes. The functions of each supplements and spices will be uploaded later.

FEED: There are various commercial feed available in Nigeria today. The good, the bad and the ugly. I have used few and can say that they are of different qualities. I personally have fallen in love with BREED WELL FEED. It has an exceptional performance. I am not discrediting any other feed but from my personal experience so far it's the best in Nigeria. Although the cost of a bag is higher than most of the other commercial feed but I will rather pay extra #600/#700 on a bag and have my birds weigh 1.5kg at 4/5 weeks than buying one cheap feed and at 8 weeks my birds are struggling to reach 1.5kg. Please kindly bear in mind that you do not need to formulate your own feed as a beginner. This is because it involves a lot of things. Forget what Mr A has told you. I also did same and got burnt severely. With time you will understand the rules and then you can mill your own formulated feed.

Hi everyone, Sorry I haven't posted in awhile due to fasting (Ramadan). I will start today.

pls we are waiting can u pls give me ur WhatsApp number.

Please can you teach me how to mill feed

Ummulkhair20:

GENERAL WELFARE STANDARDS OF ORGANIC POULTRY

a. Free range birds with access to large outdoor ranges
b. Higher standards of animal welfare
c. Smaller flocks sizes
d. A growth hormones free diet.
e. No routine use of antibiotics
f. No routine administration of vaccines (Nigeria and some other countries)

a. FREE RANGE
Organic poultry must have continuous and easy daytime access to an outdoor range covered with suitable vegetation, except in adverse weather conditions. Access to the outdoors gives the birds plenty of opportunities to perform their natural behaviours such as walking, running, scratching, dust-bathing and foraging for seeds and insects.
It also gives a tastier and tougher meat.
Personally, I start at 3/4weeks old till slaughter. It's fun I tell you.

Was about saying this before I came across this post.
I'm not a commercial farmer but I rare 10 chicks every year and in most cases they survive without any vaccines. Its just that they require lots of care when they are younger.

Ummulkhair20:
WORDS

PASSION, DETERMINATION, PATIENCE AND INTEGRITY..

PASSION : Before you start anything you must have interest in it. You must be passionate about such thing. When people say running a poultry farm is stressful, you see it as fun even when it's time to pack the litter. Lol

DETERMINATION: I will use myself as an example. My first attempt were 7 cockerel and I lost 5 in three days, I also got 10 turkey and lost 7. There was also a time I got 100 chicks and lost 45 within a week and at the end of it all I didn't get a single feather to sell. Meaning I lost my investment. But I didn't give up, I didn't see it as a failure but as an experience and I learnt. My mum said to me "the only business you do and "may" get above 100% profit is drug peddling. The word "may" was used to indicate if you weren't caught while dealing in such business. So it's even highly dangerous to get involved in such in the first place.

PATIENCE : You must understand that nothing good comes easy. Your first attempt may not yield your expected profit which is usually the case. You "may" and "may not" succeed at first as you read my first above. You must also know that your birds need you around them. You need to be patient and vigilant. Stay inside the pen, by the cage or around them to identify any abnormalities. There is always a sign if they are uncomfortable.

INTEGRITY: This is the benchmark of all the three above. If you possess all those three and lack this one, you don't have anything. Integrity takes you far in life. When a customer wants just two chickens and pays maybe #3000. And another customer wants same and is offering #5000, pls attend to the first customer. The major mistake some people make in business is always looking at the money. Yes the purpose of business is to make profit but not always. Attend to your customers on a first come first serve bases. You need to build a relationship with your customers because you will always need them. To me every customer is "important" but not "always right" as some people would say.

I don't know much but I feel you should do everything to save your organic birds.
Once you able to save them from dying using drugs then you palace a tag on then naming them in organic.

CHICKS: Hmmmmmmnn... You see ehn, let me talk like a Nigerian. Lol. Please, please and please buy your CHICKS from a trusted source. Good chicks if properly managed determines your performance. Don't buy your CHICKS from hawkers. For me I get mine from @preemah_ . I have never met him in person but his customer service is top notch and when it comes to integrity, I am still a learner compared to @preemah_ . He does nationwide delivery so distance isn't an issue.

davillian:

I don't know much but I feel you should do everything to save your organic birds.
Once you able to save them from dying using drugs then you palace a tag on then naming them in organic.

Yes, this is actually the position. You can't deprive an animal of pharmaceutical medication simply because it's raised organically/naturally. If the medication will save the animal from dying, you just have to administer it on the animal. However, such will not be labelled organic.

ADMINISTRATION OF ORGANIC SUPPLEMENT/MEDICATIONS
There are different herbs that have been processed into liquid supplements which serves as natural antibiotics, growth boost, immune booster. These supplements are 5 different types used for raising birds naturally and produced by Mr saka aka organicfood.
The supplements have been used by several people including myself for the past 2 years. In addition to the supplements, there are other herbs that will serve various purposes.
As an aspiring organic poultry farmer, you must be armed with the following;
1. LAB
2. Tagiri super
3. Ginger&garlic extract
4. Multivitamins&Calcium supplements
5. Turmeric
6. Black pepper
7. Bitter leaf/Neem leaf
8. Scent leave
9. Cayenne pepper and/or habenero pepper.
10. Cinnamon
11. Molasses
12. Photosynthesis

OBD Extra is the Superb Growth Booster for Man, Livestock, Poultry, Piggery and Fish Farming.
It is not OBD (LAB) but an advanced more powerful Organic Probiotics. This makes it the best choice and partner for Man and Farmers.

It is the best and only effective FOUL ODOUR REMOVAL without any Side Effect for Farms, Households, Sewage, Dust Bins, etc. This is because it is 100% safe for man and animals.
If you also want to enjoy the benefits of what your animals are enjoying place an extra order for yours.
Man Dosage is 50 - 100ml, once or twice daily.

OBD Extra made from Lactic Acid Bacteria which is the most commonly used Probiotics Agent that improves growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, nutrient utilization, intestinal microbiota, gut health and regulates immune system in animals especially, man, chickens, turkey, pigs, rabbit, fishes, etc.

Take advantage of this and FEED your ANIMALS with LESS and still maintain the SPECTACULAR DEVELOPMENT which translates to TOO MUCH GAINS because LESS will be SPENT on FEEDS. It improves food conversion ratio, allow you to get better result on your animals with the same quantity of feed because the OBD Extra will PREDIGEST the feed and make the NUTRIENTS to be ABSORBED easily by your animals.

Your ANIMALS do NOT also fall SICK and that is also LESS spending on DRUGS because it IMPROVES their IMMUNE SYSTEM especially Ecoli and Salmonella in birds and livestock.

When POUR in Fish POND, it EATS up all the fish FEACES or Excreta and other odour causing bacteria, this makes the pond to be CLEANER and Fish DEVELOP BETTER.

OBD Extra functions by acting as nutrient sources, providing enzymes for better digestion, modulating the immune system and increasing the immune response against pathogenic bacteria on your fish or other animals such broilers, turkeys, pigs and so on.

The OBD Extra helps in diarrhoea prevention for man and animals. It helps in hypertension and high cholesterol in man. It fights vagina infections; vaginitis/vaginosis, candidiasis in man.
OBD Extra fights viral, bacterial and fungal infections.
It balances the PH of upper intestinal track that is treat heart burns.
It enhances vaccines effectiveness.
It is a high source of multivitamins and other nutrients so you or your animals can fight several diseases.
It is a very important agent that enhances calcium absorption making you to have very strong bones.
It's energy production do not have mate.

Blackstrap Molasses is a rich source of Daily Value of Vitamin B6 and it is very high in Manganese, Magnesium, Iron, Potassium and Calcium.

Molasses also contains significant quantities of trace minerals such as copper and zinc.

Molasses is used basically as source of energy; it is free of fat and fibre with low nitrogen content.

Supplementing poor quality hay with molasses will increase feed intake and improve palatability for animals especially Poultry, Dogs, Rabbit, Pigs, Livestock, Fish, e.t.c .

Microbes in the rumen break down the sugars in molasses rapidly, which extensively causes a rapid release of energy that makes molasses very useful for balancing other feeds in pigs or animals diet all year round.

Feeding molasses to farm animals will improve digestion of pastures/hay; increase milk production, help maintain body condition and appetite and result in less feed waste.

Quickly enjoy the benefits of these products and come and bear witnesses before they will finish o because our stock is very limited.
Do not be left out.


The OBD Extra is =N=1,000 per 100ml.

and

The Blackstrap Molasses is =N=1,200 per Litre.

For your order please kindly Call or WhatsApp 09096429203.

Thanking you for your patronage

Dry Maize and Sorghum processing waste available in large quantities. N30/kg. Pick up within Lagos (Ikeja area). Constant supply per week thereafter is available

Pig, fish, cattle, snail and poultry farmers, for your attention.

Contact 08179047331

kk

Ummulkhair20:
ADMINISTRATION OF ORGANIC SUPPLEMENT/MEDICATIONS
There are different herbs that have been processed into liquid supplements which serves as natural antibiotics, growth boost, immune booster. These supplements are 5 different types used for raising birds naturally and produced by Mr saka aka organicfood.
The supplements have been used by several people including myself for the past 2 years. In addition to the supplements, there are other herbs that will serve various purposes.
As an aspiring organic poultry farmer, you must be armed with the following;
1. LAB
2. Tagiri super
3. Ginger&garlic extract
4. Multivitamins&Calcium supplements
5. Turmeric
6. Black pepper
7. Bitter leaf/Neem leaf
8. Scent leave
9. Cayenne pepper and/or habenero pepper.
10. Cinnamon
11. Molasses
12. Photosynthesis

You may choose to make these supplements by following the steps on how to make them which are available on the internet. However, I don't make them myself because it entails some level of experience which I don't have patience for. Hence, I buy from organicfoods.

potosky:
Please can you teach me how to mill feed

Sorry I don't give my birds milled feed. I buy commercial feed as stated above.