Sold 19 and so VERY good news too.

5 Day old chicks

59 Turkens left

4 Day old chicks

Sold 19 chicks to pre-order customers. On average they weighed about 2.5 to 2.8kgs. Managed to make a good amount of cash Bought new feed and met new friends.

I did come across a lady selling fresh water fish, and she was saying to me that the prices I put out for my chicken were too cheap, she suggested I put them up to be standardized with other poultry sellers. I am inclined to do so. 玉米饲喂鸡

Yesterday a very close relative had mentioned to me about a chicken farm that he built but never used. So I took the afternoon to go and have a look at the building. I liked what I saw, I just don't like that my iPhone was out of charge so I couldn't take photographs.

Well, a few blog posts ago I was talking about going full scale commercial, and the good news is now I can proceed as planned earlier than the mentioned timeline. Yes! I am happy and my friends here are telling me to go all out.

A bit about the building. It is 120 feet in length and about 20 feet in width and roughly 15 feet high, it's above ground, just how I like it. I couldn't have asked for anything more. You could house 2000 or more chicks but I am going for 1000 to 1500 just to keep things manageable.

I'll be doing lots and lots of homework in the next few days. Also, I'll be posting here about updates in the next few days so do keep looking.

New Chicks in Today (with Videos and pics)

Received 110 day old chicks today! Very happy! Have some videos down below too.

And the 9 week chickens today!

It's tough but someone's gotta do it.

Chicken Farming

Pengeluaran daging ayam negara telah mencapai tahap saradiri sejak tahun

1981. Pada tahun 2006, aktiviti pengeluaran ayam daging tempatan

menyumbangkan lebih kurang 70% daripada keseluruhan bekalan daging

negara. Walaupun memberi pulangan yang cepat, pemeliharaan ayam daging

bukanlah satu pekerjaan yang mudah diusahakan.

Pemeliharaan ayam daging terdedah kepada banyak faktor yang boleh

mempengaruhi untung-rugi dan daya maju seseorang pengusaha. Antaranya

adalah ketidakstabilan harga pasaran, harga imput seperti makanan dan bahan

binaan, cuaca yang berubah-ubah dan penyakit. Ayam juga memerlukan

persekitaran yang selesa untuk pertumbuhan yang cekap. Pemeliharaan ayam

memerlukan perancangan yang teliti bermula dari peringkat penubuhan ladang,

pengurusan sehinggalah ke pasaran.

Kos pengeluaran ayam pedaging telah meningkat sebanyak RM2.06 sekilogram

iaitu dari RM1.61 pada tahun 1998 ke RM3.67 sekilogram pada tahun 2006.

Pada bulan Oktober 2004 harga siling ayam pedaging di ladang telah ditetapkan

pada harga RM4.00 sekilogram.

English Translation:

Production of chicken meat has reached self-sufficiency in the country since1981. In 2006, local chicken production contributes to approximately 70% of the total meat supply
in the country. Although with quick returns, the preservation of poultry meat is not an easy job.
Preservation of meat chickens are exposed to many factors that can affect the profit and loss and viability of an entrepreneur. among them is the market price volatility, such as the imputed price of food and energy building, climate change and disease. Chickens need comfortable environment for efficient growth. Rearing of chickens require careful planning from the establishment of the farm, management up to the market.
Cost of production of broilers has increased by RM2.06 per kg
ranging from RM1.61 to RM3.67 per kg in 1998 to 2006.
In October 2004 the ceiling price of broilers on the farm has been set
at RM4.00 per kg.

Source:

IBU PEJABAT PERKHIDMATAN VETERINAR, PUTRAJAYA

Scooping the Poop.

Cleaned the chicken coop today. 3 times in the past week. Another 25kgs. The stench is becoming bearable. Found one female chick dead. I do not know what seems to be the cause of this.

16 Gone

Had to sell off 16 chicks, didn't want to but a friend has an event on the 25th of this month and requires the chicken. So I sold 16 off to him after he begged (Really). At least I made enough to get back my investment for the chicks.

Now there are 80 left and I am assuming that the cost in feeding them will be lower, But 26th is the day another 110 chicks are coming and I don't see the cost going anywhere lower.. But things are looking up.

It's been raining for 3 days straight now. At least the veges are being well watered but if it goes on, it'll mean that most of the crops will be on the unhealthy side.

96

96 Chicks left. I found out one died this morning. The smallest one. It was unable to fight for food. I have been away for two days.

8 Weeks

8 Weeks have passed and it'll be 2 months come this Sunday the 23rd of October. Time really flies.

Fed the chicks normal feed today because I haven't got any corn feed left. The growth of the chicken seems to be on track for the targeted 3kgs. The chicks are very active. I think that because of this they don't put on much weight. It isn't like the full blown commercial rearing that doesn't leave any room for the chicken to move around.

Well at least I know my chickens are healthy. My brinjals (eggplants) are coming along nicely. I should say that my wife is the one who planted them. The are about 2 and a half inches in diameter and roughly 18 to 20cms in length. We are currently planning to harvest on Saturday to offload them on Sunday at the local market. They taste real good, I've had a few the last couple of days.

Well that's it for now.

Another Clean out!

Cleaned the chicken poop again this morning, a gunny sack full (about 25kgs). I've got some people ordering to buy the poop for fertilizer. Well whatever makes them happy.

Weighed the largest chicks available, 2 in total, on average about 2.2kgs each. Not bad for chicks almost reaching 8 weeks! My normal free range chicks weigh about 600gms. The difference is so huge!

I expect them to reach around 3kgs in another 6 weeks. In the meantime, it's just feed, feed, feed and more feeding.

A local lass.

Here's a local lass from Sabah singing a cover song of a current hit. Macam di KK (Just like in KK (Kota Kinabalu))



Original here...



The Lyrics:

Macam Di KK

Terjaga dari lena rasa bosan pun melanda

Ku pikir-pikir mau pigi mana tak kan perap saja

Lalu ku cuba telipon satu kawan

Mana tampat paling siok

asal jangan bikin mengantuk

Si kawan bilang bagus pigi seberang

Kota raya indah malam pun macam siang

Tapi sia ingat,disini lagi dekat

sepanjang malam lampu terang

lagi dekat kalau mau pulang

ulang 2x

Sia bilang mcm di kk

Ada di kk

semuanya macam di kk aramai

semuanya ada di sini

Si kawan bilang di sana lagi canggih

Bangunan tinggi² dan ramai orang putih

Tapi sia ingat disini lagi dekat

Cantik baitu kinabalu satu dunia pun tahu

ulang 2x

Sia bilang mcm di kk

Ada di kk

semuanya macam di kk aramai

semuanya ada di sini

Dan bila terasa rindu

Kau dan ku pigi Tanjung Aru

Duduk berjam-jam atas batu

melihat senja berlabuh..ohh…ulang 6x

Sia bilang mcm di kk

Ada di kk

Semuanya macam di kk aramai

semuanya ada di sini

Good news.

I went to town today to purchase some supplies and chicken feed. While in town I thought I'd go to a couple of restaurants to inquire whether or not they wanted chickens. I managed to get orders from one restaurant, 5 heads per week! Wow.. I am so stoked! Although I have to sit down and discuss further with the owner.

New day-old-chicks arriving on Wednesday this week. So I am really considering 200 chicks at the moment. At least I'll be able to have a consistent supply of chicken should orders increase. I have made up my mind to start a full scale operation somewhere in March 2011. Now all I have to do is find a suitable place to farm the chicken. Somewhere not to close to any residential areas.

I'll still do my backyard chicken farming, this one is for family and friends. With so many celebrations and parties coming soon, I would love to be able to 'handout' some chickens. Purely for marketing purposes.

So here's to another new journey!

A draw.

This post has nothing to do with chickens whatsoever. But I just wanted to air my discontentment over a draw against Manchester United tonight.

Both teams played very well, I am just upset with some unfair calls by the referee at times. Well looking forward to next week's game.

Pleasantries.

Today after feeding.

The photo above shows the current state of the chicks. Just fed them about 20 minutes ago and they are lazily resting. Just ran out of feed by the way. Going to head into town later on.

There's a big Liverpool game to night (Versus Man United). Why I wrote that is beyond me.

Cleaning out the Poop (STOOL)

Chicken Poop (Bueks)

Seven Week Old Chicks

This morning after breakfast I went and cleaned out the chicken coop. I tell you the stench was so unbearable. Managed to get 2 gunny sacks full! (About 40Kgs). At least we have fertilizer for our plants and what not. Plus it'll get my mother in-law off my back regarding the stench.

Also, an updated photo of the 7 week old chicks. They eat like nobody's business. I am getting pretty worried at the rate they're going. 50KGS of feed and corn in 3 days! I've tried to cut down but they look so adorable running to the door as I approach. I gotta be more disciplined.

Well, I'll keep you updated.

7 Weeks

It's been 7 weeks since I started and boy has it been hectic. Now the chicks are quite big, about 1kg plus, almost 2kgs. Another 7 weeks to go until I sell the last batch. By week 12 I am expecting to sell off some because I have received pre-orders for a party in the beginning of November. Our supplier has promised another batch of chicks coming in next week. We are still contemplating whether or not to go for 100 or 200 chicks.

The last 7 weeks have been good to us. We've lost 3 chicks to natural causes and not disease. I have been feeding them corn (crushed) from 5 weeks plus up til now. I did have some hiccups with regards to them eating so little but I managed to overcome that by mixing 1 part chicken feed to 5 parts corn. It obviously made a difference because they were back to their old self again. I think I made a judgement error by switching broiler feed with corn abruptly, instead of weaning them to it.

The weather has been good so our water source has been clean and not muddy (Gravity fed water). A good suggestion is to always ensure your chicks receive fresh clean water. I have been pondering on watering nipples for my future projects (plus my wife is nagging because we have to refill the 5 liter water feeders ( I call them upright bombs... don't ask) three times a day. Also, it would make everything much easier.

I have made many new friends over the past few weeks, all of whom are also chicken keepers. A lot of ideas and new information on chicken health and diseases. I am fortunate to not have lost many chicks. My mother in-law seems to think I should go bigger and expand this small project. But I think I will wait another 3 to 4 months before taking the plunge. It's a big investment even for 100 chicks. I have to make sure I have the time to manage the chicks before I can even consider doing it. We have our rubber trees and vegetables to think about too.

Never in my wildest dreams I would have thought that one day I would end up being a 'Petani Moden' (Modern Farmer in Malay), but I am glad I did. Oh yes, I am glad I got chicken stricken too...

Corn Feed

I have found that feeding corn makes the chicken look livelier compared to normal chicken feed. The chicks tend to be more active and have more color. Just a point I wish to add.

Eric

*UPDATE* Added another pic.

This is Eric, our 3 month old Chicken. He was on his way to be food until something special caught my eye. I was watering some vegetables in the garden about a month ago, when, my neighbor commented that a chicken was following me around. I turned back to see Eric walking behind me. I tried to chase him away but he didn't flinch.

Well, I left it at that. Until 15 minutes later, while I was feeding the week old chicks, he came and stood by me. I was quite astonished when I took some feed in my hand and gave it to him, he ate from out of my hand! Yes! I couldn't believe it! I told my wife and she was saying not a chance that would happen. But she tried and lo and behold! Eric ate out of her hand too.

Now ever since then, Eric is always first up to see me come when it's feeding time. He still follows me around, but I don't think that taking him to town will be quite a good idea.... YET!

New Home For The Chicks.

Finally the new home for the 5 and a half week old chicks. My wife and I took 3 days to complete the 10ft X 10ft home for them. I tried to stick to my original plans and I am quite happy with the results. I have already put some bedding for the coop but it isn't shown in the picture above.

Lost one chick last night due to the cold weather (Been raining heavily the last few days). Apart from that minor misfortune everything seems to be looking good. I am currently feeding the chicks corn feed. They are taking a liking to it.

From what I have gathered folks out here want their chicken to be fed with lots and lots of corn. So as this is my first try at rearing commercially, I decided to go ahead with feeding them corn.

Well, It's been a hectic 5 weeks and I am very happy with my progress. My wife seems to want to build another coop double the size to house new chicks for Christmas celebrations. So I think she may be on to something here.

Til next time...