By BENJAMIN SARONDO
Francis Christian Fornoles and Vinnie Bañaria, both 22 years old, have their own free range chicken farm in San Francisco, Bula, Camarines Sur. They started with 10,000 pesos as capital to buy seven chicks and other necessities to raise them.
READ: Starting small but motivated: From 10,000 pesos as capital, couple from Camarines Sur establishes their free range chicken farm
Here are five tips they shared to start your free-range chicken farm with a limited budget:
Start small
You do not need to start with numerous chickens; you only need a few to apply your research, observe their compatibility, and identify the standard. Then, study the market thoroughly and decide which area of chicken farming you will choose. It can be egg production, meat production, or hatchery production. Choose one and focus on that.
Utilize natural resources
Constructing fences and chicken pens may cost a lot of money. But there are other materials to build them, such as bamboo, used wood, and used wire. It is also important to have a roof to cover them from rain, and using sacks, plastic covers, and old seams may save you from bigger expenses.
Prevention is better than cure
Regular vaccinations and sufficient vitamins are two of the ways that you can prevent spending too much in the future. Instead of paying a high amount of money to cure free range chickens from their disease or virus, or worse, having them die, this can be prevented through vaccines and vitamins. Also through the cleanliness of the ranging farm.
Availability of forage
Instead of spending money to buy feed products, planting forage and herbal plants can save you a lot of money. Free range chickens must be good foragers, and the owner’s responsibility is to provide them with something they will forage for.
Invest in your knowledge
One of the best ways to save money is to be knowledgeable about the status, challenges, and threats to free range chicken farms. Through learning, one will prevent problems from happening, and when they do, they will understand how to overcome them.
Photo courtesy of VF’s Humble Farm