Livestock is defined basically as animals such as, birds(chicken, turkey, domestic duck, parrot, etc.), cattle, horses, sheep, goat, etc that are domesticated and reared for agricultural purposes in order to produce commodities like, fur, wool, leather, meat, egg, milk.
Therefore, livestock farming is the farming (that is, rearing) of domesticated animals of various species for various purposes. No nation or society can survive without agriculture or agricultural products. That’s becoming agriculture is the major source of feeding for human beings. Humans get their food from agricultural products such as yam, rice, vegetables, cereals etc. and livestock is not left out. As planting is dated back to the inception of man, so a also is livestock farming. Cattle rearing is actually one of the most practiced businesses in the olden days where the owner directs his cattle to graze on grasses nearby. This is still practiced among some people because maintenance is not costly.
Among all the myriad livestock practices, there are still a few that you can practice with little amount of money and earn well with. The most commonly practiced livestock farming are;
1. CATTLE REARING
2. POULTRY
3. GOAT REARING
4. RABBIT REARING
5. FISH FARMING
Most Common Types of Livestock Farming Business in the World.
CATTLE REARING
Talking about cattle rearing is a very long discussion. However, we would talk about the little major points we have to that one can put to practice for a start. Cattle rearing can make one very rich because the products gotten from cattle (the meat, hide and diary product) is consumed by virtually everyone.
To start up cattle rearing business, one has to put in place, a big farmland, adequate security for the cattle and back up feeding plan for them. Anyone who intends to go into cattle rearing should be specific because it can be classified into two.
The first is rearing for dairy product and the other is rearing for meat. It is so because rearing for meat is cheaper than rearing for dairy product because the feeding will be different and also, the kind of breed is different. Cow takes about 20kg worth of feeds on daily basis. So it is expected that one gets prepared for this.
POULTRY FARMING
Poultry farming is the act of rearing poultry birds such as, chicken, turkey, duck and geese for the production of meat or egg. Poultry birds are in two different species; the broilers and the layers. The layers are breeds that are reared mainly for the purpose of egg production while broilers are reared mainly for purpose of the production of meat. Chickens are reared majorly in cages/rooms There are different types of cages battery cage, triple layer battery cage, multiple chicken cage, four-tier chicken cage etc. The most common of it all is the battery cage and it’s used mainly for layers and for the preservation of the eggs by the birds.
GOAT REARING
Goat is another ruminant animal that can reared for economic and financial purpose. Goat is also consumed by many Nigerians. Goat meat has its uniqueness in taste. Goat breeds varies very differently from part of the world to another. Rearing of goat is cheaper than rearing of cows as they take household roughages asides normal vegetation.
RABBIT REARING
Rabbit rearing, also known as cuniculture, is the rearing of species of rodent called rabbit. Over the years, people rear rabbit either for pet or for commercial purpose (for meat). Rabbit rearing is simple and easy to begin. This is so because of the less complicated nature of rearing it. It does not consume nature of rearing it. It does not consume a big space for rearing and rabbits don’t consume much food.
The meat from rabbit is proven to be very rich in protein and it’s very tasty which means that it would not be a too difficult task to market. Rabbit rearing is advantageous in many way. Few of these ways are; it doesn’t consume much food, it grows very fast, it doesn’t consume much space to rear, they consume household roughages, it requires less labor to rear.
FISH FARMING
Fish farming is the act rearing fish for the purpose of consumption. Fish farming can be done in tanks, ponds or even containers that are capable of accommodating the size of fishes one has. Fish is a commodity that people consume very well, alongside meat. However, it is noteworthy that rearing of fish may be challenging that rearing of other farm animals.
Advantages of rearing livestock include the fact that human consume meat, fish and dairy products just exactly as they consume food. An average man will not love to eat his/her food without a pretentious complement like fish or meat.
This makes the business a very lucrative ,as one’s products will be bought easily without stress. Also, it provides a means of feeding for the farmer. Another advantage of rearing livestock is that it doesn’t consume time. One can rear livestock like fish, chicken rabbit and goat and also engage in other businesses.
Advantages of Livestock Farming
1. It can be costly at time, (considering cattle rearing)
2. The risk is sometimes high, as animals may die due to poor environmental conditioning.
3. They may contract diseases and their diseases are highly communicable.
4. Depending on one’s environment, rearing of some animals may not be money yielding because some people do not consume them due to some cultural beliefs.
With the above, you can easily choose the livestock of your choice and rearing, by also considering the requirement associated with it and also the cultural environment you are in. Any of the above mentioned livestock farming can be money yielding.
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