4 Effective Ways to Raise Broiler Chickens in a Small Yard
Raising broiler chickens in a small yard is doable. Learn how to build a practical coop, manage droppings, choose breeders and feed your flock.
There are many kinds of poultry you can raise, and broiler chickens are one of them. Many people choose to raise broilers for their meaty bodies and very fast growth, which takes only 4 weeks. People also prefer broiler meat for its tender, savory texture, even though it is actually less nutritious than kampung chicken, Indonesia's native free-range chicken.
Chicken farming has long been associated with large yards, but you can raise chickens in a small backyard too. Broilers are the breed best suited to raising in a small yard. Here is how you can go about raising broiler chickens in a small yard.
Contents
Build a practical coop
You can still enjoy raising chickens, especially broilers, even if you live in a housing complex where yards are usually small. The key is to make the coop more practical. Build a coop that holds one or two pairs of broiler breeders and can be arranged neatly. Then place it in your front or back yard.
Keep the coop clean
The second way to raise broiler chickens in a small yard is to keep the coop clean. If you decide to raise broilers, the coop has to be cleaned regularly. Do not let chicken droppings pile up and create a bad smell, let alone one your next-door neighbors can notice.
Put the collected droppings into a composter, a plastic drum with controlled aeration. It breaks the droppings down into organic fertilizer for plants. This way, the droppings will not give off a strong smell and become more useful.
Also read How to Care for a Broiler Chicken Coop Properly
Choose breeders carefully
Even if you are only farming chickens on a small scale, you still need to choose your breeders carefully. There are several criteria for telling whether a breeder is top quality. The best breeders, both roosters and hens, have these traits:
- Round, bright eyes.
- The rooster's comb looks fresh, red and fully developed.
- A long, compact body.
- Feathers that look dry, old and brittle.
- A vent that looks slightly pale, wide, moist and oval-shaped.
- Small, pale-colored legs.
- In roosters, the reproductive organ protrudes easily when pressed.
- An agile, lively and wild appearance, for roosters only.
Feed on a regular schedule
Feeding on a regular schedule directly supports the success of your small-yard broiler farming business. Broilers are actually not very picky about feed. You can give them fine bran, corn kernels, leftover food, chopped snails, cut water spinach and so on. Besides natural feed ingredients, you can also feed broilers commercial feed 521 or 511.
To strengthen the eggshells of your hens, you can add ground shell meal and snails to the feed. To boost the broilers' resistance to disease, you can add chopped papaya leaves. Besides papaya leaves, you should also mix tetrachlor into their feed and drinking water. This compound acts as an antibiotic and also supplies vitamins and minerals.
Raising chickens, especially broilers, takes time because you have to manage the coop, the feed and breeder selection. But if your farming business succeeds, the profits are greater than with other commercial breeds. Their very fast growth is a big reason so many people want to raise this type of chicken. For the best results, raise broilers with patience and attention to detail. The four methods above can help you run a broiler farming business in a small yard.
