How much can you earn from breeding ostriches?

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Breeding ostriches as a business is a very unusual idea for domestic entrepreneurs. This large bird is not found in Russia, so it is rightfully classified as an exotic animal. But if you learn how to care for her, then you can count on a large and stable profit.

Inexperienced entrepreneurs are primarily interested in the question of whether the case under consideration is profitable or not. Much here will depend on individual factors, including the personal qualities of a businessman. But there are a number of significant advantages of such an idea, which is able to provide positive financial performance:

1. High rates of profitability. It ranges from 50 to 100%, which is very good for a farm. This indicator also provides a high income with the right approach to the sale of finished products.
2. High demand. Despite the fact that for most Russians the ostrich remains an exotic animal, many of them are not averse to diversifying their diet. For example, meat has dietary and beneficial properties. It contains a lot of protein. In addition, you can sell eggs, feathers and even bird droppings.
3. Excellent survivability. Ostriches are completely unpretentious to the external conditions of nature. They are able to breed even on farms in the northern regions of the country. And these birds do not require special care, so even an inexperienced entrepreneur can bring the idea to life.

Breeding ostriches at home is most profitable in the event of the subsequent sale of young animals. But organizing such a business from scratch is very difficult. The main difficulty will be in the documentation. To breed ostriches, you will need to obtain a permit. And that's not all - already after registration, employees of supervisory authorities with various checks can visit the enterprise.

If an entrepreneur is not ready to deal with paperwork, then he can start by breeding ostriches for the subsequent sale of meat. But it will take no earlier than 8-12 months to make a profit from this format. Having bought young growth, it will be necessary to wait until it grows up.

Growing ostriches for slaughter is also good because the feed requirements are not as strict as in the case of breeding. You will not need to monitor the feathers and appearance in general every day.

And even if in this case the profit will be less, but it will be constant, because today the demand for ostrich meat and its eggs is growing very rapidly. In this case, there will be fewer problems with the sale of finished products.

The entrepreneur must understand that there is a possibility of losing part of the livestock due to diseases, natural changes. Therefore, it is important to stock up on individuals so that they can make up for losses.

What ostriches to buy?

When starting an ostrich breeding business, a natural question arises - where to start and how to succeed. First of all, you need to choose the most suitable breed. Experienced breeders use one of the following varieties for breeding:

• South African ostrich;
• Australian emu;
• South American nandu.

The first variety is considered the most popular. These are very large ostriches. Adults weigh about 175 kilograms, and their height is about 2.7 meters. An interesting feature is that females are much larger in size than males. South African ostriches are chosen not only because of their impressive size, but also because of their ability to quickly reproduce offspring.

It will not work to breed ostriches in an apartment, so you will have to use land outside the city - your own or rented. These animals normally tolerate cold weather, so it is not necessary to conduct heating in their house. But in this case, you will have to take care of a comfortable and thick bedding. For small cubs of ostriches, it is necessary to equip a separate room where the temperature will be maintained at +15 0 C on average.

Females grow faster into adults. This takes 1.5 - 2 years. But males become capable of reproduction only after 2 - 2.5 years. The breeding season is in spring - mid-autumn.

When compiling the diet of ostriches, the entrepreneur should not have any particular difficulties, since these birds are able to eat everything. In their normal habitat, they prefer leaves, grass, tree fruits, and insects. When breeding individuals in captivity, it is necessary to ensure a balance between green fodder and mixed fodder. It is enough to feed ostriches twice a day. Small individuals require more frequent feeding - up to 4 times per day. In general, a balanced diet looks like this:

• greens (cabbage, nettle, clover);
• vegetables;
• fruit;
• corn;
• roughage (hay, soy, straw);
• vitamin and mineral supplements.

All together it should weigh about 3 kilograms - this is exactly the rate of food for one ostrich per day.

There are several ways to keep ostriches. They are reflected in the rate of development of individuals. Entrepreneurs most often use the following:

1. Intensive. Ostrich eggs are sent to the incubator. A small area is used for keeping individuals. They get along well with the staff. Of the mandatory procedures: daily cleaning, disinfection of feeders and drinkers, a check by a veterinarian and vaccination of all individuals.
2. Extensive. Birds grow up in conditions as close as possible to their usual living conditions. Workers rarely come into contact with ostriches, keep them in a large area.
3. Hybrid. Combines features of intensive and extensive methods.

What is income made up of?

Raising ostriches offers many opportunities for profit. We are talking about the sale of the following components:

• Meat. It belongs to the dietary and very useful products. Ostrich meat contains a lot of protein. It tastes like regular veal.
• Fat. It is actively used by cosmetic and pharmacological companies. Ointments, various creams, preparations important for humans are made from ostrich fat.
• Feathers. White feathers are actively used in the fashion industry for tailoring exotic and stage costumes. The rest goes to the production of comfortable and soft pillows.
• Skin. It is also popular with designers. Bags, wallets, belts, shoes are sewn from ostrich leather.
• Eggs. One ostrich egg is about 40 eggs in weight. It retains its properties and does not deteriorate during the year if stored in the refrigerator. Separately, you can sell the shell - it is very much appreciated by artists. It is used for painting and engraving. Do not disdain to make shell decorations.

If the entrepreneur deals with obtaining permits, then he can receive additional profit from the following opportunities:

• sale of chicks or adults;
• excursions for everyone around the ostrich farm (for example, children and adults can ride ostriches, let them feed the animals).

All together will allow you to get the maximum profit.

Sales channels and advertising

Meat and eggs of ostriches are mostly purchased by restaurants, cafes and large supermarkets. At the initial stage, without registration, you can start selling products to ordinary people, other farmers. True, in this case it will turn out to help out less than with permission. Buyers of live ostriches are other breeders, and skins - manufacturers of expensive clothes and shoes.

For a business to be truly successful, care must be taken to use effective advertising methods. For an ostrich farm, they will be:

• placement of articles in local newspapers and magazines;
• distribution of leaflets and flyers on the streets;
• mailing to the client base;
• farm tours.

Of course, after a successful entry into the market, the brand will become popular in itself, and then it will be easier to find customers. Therefore, the emphasis on an advertising campaign should be done at the beginning of your journey.

Financial results

Any entrepreneur, opening his own business, wants to know what profit he can count on. But first of all, he must estimate the amount of necessary investments. After all, it is very important that he had enough funds for the functioning of the enterprise. The following cost items will have to be included in the number of initial investments:

• rent;
• farm building;
• equipment (incubator)
• stern;
• medicines;
• vaccination and examination by a specialist;
• registration costs;
• purchase of young.

The final figure will largely depend on the age at which ostriches are purchased. The rates are as follows:

• newborn - 7,000 rubles;
• monthly ostrich - 10,000 rubles;
• one-year-old female - 40,000 rubles;
• two-year-old male - 60,000 rubles.

It is better to buy a whole family with adult males and females and cubs. It will take about 200,000 rubles. In total, about 500,000 rubles will be required.

After reaching an ostrich weighing 100 kilograms, it is sent for slaughter. As a result, with one individual you can get:

• meat;
• feathers;
• skin.

All together will bring income of at least 70,000 rubles. If we take into account that the female lays 60 eggs per season, then in addition to their purchase, you can earn about 40,000 more rubles. Even with 5 females, you can recoup your investment in 1 year. When taking into account current costs, the payback is about 1.5 years.

Over time, you can increase the number of the farm. This will allow you to get a very good profit. In this case, the profitability can reach about 75 - 95%.

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