Agriculture is the cultivation of crops and the rearing of animals for human consumption. One aspect of agriculture that is thriving in Nigeria today is duck farming. How do you start duck farming in Nigeria?
This type of farming is quite lucrative because it requires very little capital or infrastructure. For the better part, all you need is to get a healthy environment for the birds, supply them with food and water, and they are good to go. This post will show you how to start duck farming in Nigeria.
How to Start Duck Farming in Nigeria
Not many people know about duck farming in Nigeria. This type of farming is just beginning to gain popularity. However, when you look at the benefits of consuming duck meat and how many ducks are killed for meat globally, it sure is a viable business venture. This section will show you how to start duck farming in Nigeria.
Feasibility study
You shouldn’t go into a business without first taking time to carry out detailed research. Feasibility studies let you in on the information you need about the business. You need to find out what it entails to start a duck farming business in Nigeria. Also, you should find out what to do with ducklings, the kind of food they eat, the kind of housing they need, and how to market your birds.
Use this information to prepare a business plan that will act as your guide as you run the business. Your business plan may also help you when you need to raise capital for your business.
Raise capital
No business can run without capital. Understand that capital is not just the money you need to run the business, but the infrastructure, and human input required as well. When you view capital from this robust point of view, then you understand how important it is to your business.
There are several ways of raising capital such as requesting loans from banks or loved ones, seeking government grants or loans, personal savings, or angel investors. From your feasibility study, you should have a rough estimate of how much you need for this business. Source for funds and move to the next stage.
Choose a suitable farm location
You must be extremely careful when choosing a location for your duck farm. The farm must provide your birds with ease and comfort. It should also provide sufficient protection from predators and thieves.
One thing worthy of note about duck farming is that these birds don’t need much attention. All you need to do is ensure that the right requirements are made available and they will be fine. Make sure that their pen is well-ventilated and provide a stream of water for them. This means that your farm should have a source of constant water supply as ducks love to swim to cool off their body temperature.
Choose the right duck breed
There are different breeds of duck that you can raise in this part of the world. Below are some of the popular duck breeds:
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Diving ducks
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Dabbling ducks
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Sea ducks
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Whistling ducks
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Perching ducks
You should find out the best breed of duck to invest in for your location during your feasibility study. Note that not all breeds of duck will do equally well in all locations. Ensure that you also choose a duck breed that satisfies the need of your target market. Doing this ensures that you constantly maintain a positive cash flow and patronage.
Feeding
One fact you should know about ducks is that they are omnivorous animals. This means that they can eat both plant and animal materials. Because of this, ducks are very easy to raise, but you must also be careful that they are getting the right food rations.
Some of the foods that you can present to your ducks include:
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Wheat
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Cracked corn
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Oats
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Birdseed
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Rice, etc.
You can also reach out to professionals to recommend healthy duck feeds that you can administer to your birds.
Mating
This is one of the most important aspects of duck farming. Understanding the mating period of your birds goes a long way to determining the success of your farm. Properly utilizing the mating period of your birds ensures that you increase your egg production remarkably.
You should ensure that the housing facility is conducive enough for mating. This way, you set the tone for the laying and fertilizing of eggs by female ducks on your farm.
Healthcare
Ducks are recognized as very resilient birds. They are very tough and hardly contract infections and diseases. However, you must be diligent enough to ensure that the farm area is well taken care of to protect them from disease outbreaks. Also, choose highly resilient duck breeds so that you don’t have to spend so much on protecting the birds from diseases.
Marketing
Now that your ducks are grown to table size, it is time to sell them. You can choose to sell them alive or process them before you sell. It all depends on your target market and your capacity. Also, you can sell in the local market, to food businesses, or package your birds for export.
Common Challenges of Duck Farming in Nigeria
Truth be told, duck farming in Nigeria is very lucrative and highly profitable. However, it is not void of its challenges, as one would expect. This section will beam light on some of the common challenges of duck farming in Nigeria.
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Poor government support.
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Pests and diseases.
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Unavailability of funding for farmers to scale their production.
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No easy access to international markets.
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Very little knowledge about duck farming in Nigeria.
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Poorly equipped storage facilities.
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Unavailability of efficient production mechanisms.
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Lack of standard processing machinery.
Conclusion
That’s it for how to start duck farming in Nigeria. This post has also explained some of the challenges experienced in duck farming in this part of the world. Do you have any questions? Feel free to drop them in the comments section.