There are a ton of poultry farming questions that farmers ask each other on social media. Particularly, these revolve around poultry breeds and breeding, feeding, nutrition, health and housing, to say the least.
In other words, poultry farmers are engaged in peer-to-peer learning, and social media is one of those platforms, if not the best, that is serving their needs to connect, the most.
The core of poultry farming questions on social media are along these themes:
- Poultry breeds and flock sourcing
- Poultry housing systems
- Poultry biosecurity and health
- Feed and nutrition
- Training, farm visits and demos
- Finances
- Produce marketing and market challenges
This is in no way exhaustive of the poultry farming questions and themes discussed on social media. Nonetheless, it points to the lessons farmers share and learn from each other. For suppliers in the poultry farming space, it suggests how products and messaging can be tailored to suit farmers.
Poultry farming questions on social media
For the purpose of this article, we mainly considered Youtube and Tiktok for at least two reasons. Firstly, we think these have authentic content and secondly have higher farmer engagement than others.
Apart from Youtube and Tiktok we found Instagram to be a different animal altogether, and Facebook perhaps less much so. As for Twitter or X, we cannot say much about.
Whats your take, let us know in the comments section.
1. Poultry breeds and flock sourcing
You will find a wide variety of poultry breeds showcased on social media. Such content raises curiosity around breed comparison, performance and flock sourcing. For instance, you can note comments asking how a certain breed compares to another, or from where it can be sourced.
Since poultry breeds variants are always evolving, new products are being introduced to the market, and you cannot help but want to keep up. Therefore it makes sense that farmers are asking questions around:
- Breed name and general info
- Breed performance
- Breed or flock sourcing
2. Poultry housing
One thing that is the staple of social media posts on poultry farming is poultry housing. Most posts showcase applied poultry housing systems, and inform other farmers of housing system options and possibilities.
Besides the fascination with the ingenious housing systems showcased on social media, a certain theme of questions that follows up. For instance, farmers want to know the most effective housing type or want to see other housing aspects such as:
- Layers boxes placement in a coop
- Drinkers placement, number of birds per drinker
- Litter removal means, if applicable
- Heating method and setup
3. Biosecurity, health, vaccines and disease management
Poultry health and safety is the cornerstone of poultry farming. Without it, you are doomed to failure.
There is no shortage of content showcasing poultry farming fails including some where entire flocks are lost. Farmers who post such content should be lauded because they are willing to show the losses they’ve incurred in their endeavors.
Follow ups to posts about farming failures, vaccine administration or other treatment inquire about:
- What caused flock failure
- What vaccine / medication are being administered
- What a certain treatment is and its benefits
- What to do incase a flock has contracted some disease or exhibits some symptoms
4. Finance
The topic of financing is definitely in the minds of poultry farmers. Although poultry farming appears as a guaranteed returns endeavor, there are risks involved. Moreover, it helps to be informed and prepared in the pocket.
Poultry farming costs differ from region to region, and country to country. As a result, one question that pops up is what it costs to raise a flock of a certain size. For instance:
- Cost of building a particular type of housing
- Cost of, and where to get poultry farming equipment
- Costs of raising a 1000 layers, broilers or mixed flock
5. Poultry feed and nutrition
Poultry farmers are always looking for ways to feed their flocks efficiently and effectively. After all, feed conversion is a key component for the bottom line in poultry farming that you will be concerned about. Invariably, the lower the cost of feeding your flock, the most likely you are to have a favorable bottom line.
Social media posts surrounding feed and nutrition show case feed production, mixing and packaging, in the least. There is also a handful of posts discussing food supplements, vitamins and remedies to keep a flock healthy and productive.
Among other things, questions on such posts inquire about:
- Feed production
- Feed sourcing and or suppliers
- Flock feeding schedule
- Feed formulations
6. Farm visits, demos and tutorials
As a poultry farmer you want to set up your farm to be as efficient as possible. Consequently, every time you encounter an interesting farm set up shared on social media, you wonder whether setting your farm thus would improve efficiency.
Given that seeing things in person is different from seeing them on social media, there are lots of poultry farmers asking to visit farms showcased on social media. This includes farmers who apparently have not yet established farms.
In particular, farmers and potential ones want to see how certain farms are set up, and how operations run behind the scenes. Fortunately for them, for free or for a fee, there are some poultry farms offering:
- Farm practices demos and training
- Farm visits
7. Produce marketing and challenges
Lastly but not least, you will find questions and discussion around the marketing of poultry produce and respective challenges.
As a poultry farmer, you will encounter economic challenges that also affect other agricultural sector. Respectively, farmers are curious about the marketability of poultry produce including eggs, manure, birds and meat.
As a rule of thumb in poultry farming, access to produce markets and marketability of your farm produce is vital. Changing market conditions will affect your farming outcomes and bottom line, it pays to be prepared in advance.
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Did we miss some important theme of poultry farming questions discussed on social media? Leave us a comment below.
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