Successful Poultry Farming Venture, Established By Father And Flourished By Son
Everyone knows the history of the year 1984 in India, it was a gloomy era over Punjab when Sikhs were the major target of the massacre. This is a story, of an ordinary man- Swarna Singh, struggling and recovering from the same circumstances (1984) with just 2.5 acres of land in the name of assets for future survival. Swarna Singh also had some dreams that he wanted to fulfill, and for that, he was determined to pursue higher studies (Masters) after 12th and BA (Bachelor of arts). But maybe something else was decided in his destiny. In the year of 1983, when the youngsters of Punjab were at the peak of revolution mood against the democracy, at that time, things were not that simple for ordinary people, and Swarna Singh decided to left his masters in the middle and start something at home.
When the uproar was calming down, at that time, Swarna Singh ran behind every job opportunity to give a stable professional career to his life but nothing came in his hand. Finally, he decided to start poultry farming by getting inspired by other poultry farmers in his neighbourhood and in 1990, almost 2 decades ago, Sahota Poultry Breeding Farm was established. He initiated his venture with 1000 birds and a four storied shed with length 50 foot and width 35 foot. He invested 70,000 rupees on 1000 birds at that time by taking a loan, on which he got 25% subsidy form the government. Ever since then he never took any loan or subsidy from the government.
In 1991, he got married, and his poultry venture started well. He also invested in the hatchery. Slowly with the time when his son- Manjinder Singh grew up, he also decided to be a helping hand in his father’s business. He dropped his studies (12th standard) in the mid and took over his father business. The entrance of Manjinder in the poultry business doesn’t mean that Swarna Singh took retirement. Swarna Singh always stood beside his son to guide him in every step of poultry farming.
Swarna Singh – “Without the support of family, I would never have reached this stage in my life. Poultry is a good experience and I am earning a good profit of fifty to sixty thousand from poultry monthly. A farmer can easily opt poultry farming and earn good profit from it.”
Presently, Manjinder Singh (27-year-old) is managing the whole farm with his father and 2 workers. They grew vegetables, wheat, maize, paddy and fodder himself at their land. From the fodder crop, they prepare feed for the chicks and sometimes also buy “SAMPURNA” brand chick feed from the market. They also have 2 buffaloes for household purpose.
Manjinder- “To avoid loss and natural calamities, we take care of the chick and the shed properly. We get our new birds vaccinated time to time to avoid any kind of disease in the shed. We also take care of bio-security, because that is the main principle on which poultry farming is based.”
Currently, Sahota Poultry Farm has 3 chicks incubator, a customized feed machinery that Swarna Singh got self-designed from Shahkot. They prepare 2.5 quintals of feed daily for the chicks. They also have 2 generators, feeders, and drinkers.
Marketing is not that difficult for them, they sell 4000 birds every after four days. One bird gives 200 eggs annually and they replace every egg-laying bird after one year. The selling price is Rs. 25/chick, which give enough profit to them.
He is planning to start dairy farming in the future.