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Ostrich Farm Budget
Calculating your ostrich farm budget is one of the most important steps in setting up your ostrich farm.
This ostrich farm budget page will be read by people from all over the world, and because of the diversity of costs, many of the prices required can be obtained locally.
We have provided a list of specialist equipment, facilities, livestock and feed together with other financial considerations.
Links are provided to other pages where prices and quotations are available.
You may wish to obtain a professional software program to help and assist you preparing a full ostrich farm budget, cash flow, marketing and business plan.
Read more about our Ratite Business Plan software.
Disclaimer Consult legal, accounting, veterinarian or other professionals before investing in the ostrich industry.
Land You will need to calculate the costs for the land and farm equipment.
Decide how big an operation you require, whether you are using an existing farm or starting from scratch.
Do you have all the services on your farm - electricity, water, gas, oil?
What about drainage for heavy rain?
Is access easy? Is the road suitable for a livestock or feed supply truck?
Equipment For an incubation and hatching operation, you will need to obtain suitable equipment.
It is highly recommended that you build your incubation room inside an existing barn or farm building.
Available to suit every budget, our comprehensive range of Natural Hatch Incubators and Hatchers can be used in any country in the world - 240 volt or 110 volt, 50 or 60 cycles.
Also available is a complete range of Natural Hatch Incubation Equipment including candlers, foggers, Carbon Dioxide monitors and UV sterilisation units.
Prices, availability and delivery options are all listed here
Fencing, Pens and Feeding Troughs For fencing, you will need to calculate the number of ostriches you wish to farm, the pen sizes you are planning to make and the relevant material to build the pens.
For Breeding Pens, calculate a per yard (or per meter) cost for single strand wire fencing, wooden posts and chicken wire for the lower 18 inches (0.5 M).)
For Chick Pens, a greenhouse type structure, heat lamps and chicken wire fencing is recommended. Calculate a per yard (or per meter) cost for the fencing.
You will also need feeding and water troughs.
A dry, feed storage area is required, so a utility barn is recommended.
You may need a tractor to mow the grass - long grass is not recommended for chicks.
Feed Your biggest ongoing expense will be ostrich feed.
Your operation will fail if you feed the wrong feed or cheap feed or inexpensive feed not formulated for ostriches.
For best results, all your ostriches should be fed a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Blue Mountain manufactures a comprehensive range of ostrich feeds for all ages of livestock.
To help and assist you calculate the feed costs for your ostrich farm, we offer a FREE ANALYSIS SURVEY which can be used for all ages of ostriches.
Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds can be shipped to most countries around the world and is the only feed on the market today recommended and endorsed by Ostriches On Line.
Visit the Blue Mountain Ostrich Feed Page
Probiotics Probiotics should be fed to all your livestock.
Probiotics are best described as a "for life" addition to a diet whereas antibiotics mean "against life." Probiotics are naturally-occurring beneficial organisms that aid in digestion and inhibit disease causing bacteria in the intestine.
Ostriches On Line supply Fastrack® Probiotics to most countries around the world, and these should be fed on a regular basis to all your livestock (including newly hatched chicks).
Regular and ongoing feeding of Fastrack® Probiotics can significantly enhance the growth and development of all your birds and has been shown to reduce stress, increase thriftiness, improve feather condition and produce a much healthier appetite and general overall livestock fitness.
Prices, availability and recommended feeding amounts are all listed here
Insurance, Medications and Farm Labour Farm and livestock insurance is recommended.
Day-to-day expenses inculding the cost of services (electric, gas, oil & water), farm equipment leasing, rents, rates, farm taxes, etc. need to be calculated.
Although the veterinarian is not a regular visitor at the farm, allow a nominal sum, per bird, per year, to cover this.
Injections, medication and other livestock maintenance costs should also be considered and added to your budget.
The size of your operation and the number of livestock you will be farming will determine the labour costs of your operation.
A good farm/incubation manager can easily look after 100 breeding birds, the incubation and hatching facility and the grow out pens for hundreds of chicks.
Although the farm/incubation manager is ideal for a larger operation, you may wish to employ a part time person or do it yourself if your operation is smaller.
Remember though, even on a larger farm, your farm/incubation manager may need assistance - days off, offloading feed and supplies, mowing the grass etc. etc.
Livestock Livestock prices vary all over the world.
The cost of shipping and freight can sometimes be more than the cost of the livestock itself!
Local taxes, duty and import fees can also add to the cost of the livestock.
Ostriches On Line ship eggs, chicks and all ages of livestock into more than 80 countries around the world.
Our professional animal handling division can provide all your livestock requirements from our numerous breeder, incubation and grow out farms around the world and the Ostriches On Line Livestock Quick Quote Center will provide you with the latest pricing for any country in the world.
Other Costs Most of your farming costs are listed above.
If ostrich farming is a new venture, you need to include provisions for the loss and death of ostriches.
Inexperience will probably result in high mortality of young chicks and lower fertility of eggs.
If you have borrowed money to finance your operation, include the repayments and the interest charges into your budget.
Size of Operation Whilst the size of your operation is a personal choice, there are some guidelines to help your business become profitable.
Farming 3 or 4 breeding ostriches is not going to provide any kind of decent revenue.
Your offspring from 3 or 4 breeding ostriches will suffer higher mortality than normal due to a lack of company from other ostriches.
Ostriches love company, and even if you produce 40 offspring per female, over a full breeding season this is about 1.5 per week.
A good, small operation needs at least 9 breeding birds.
If you start with eggs or chicks, then you probably need at least 50 to make it worthwhile.
High mortality, the lack of experience and the whole operation will not have a fair chance with just a few eggs or chicks.
On the other hand, starting from scratch with 1,000 breeding birds can also bring its headaches.
If you are considering a larger investment, it would be in your best interests to work with Ostriches On Line to prepare a feasibility or ostrich farming study.
Investing a nominal amount of money before you go out and buy hundreds of breeding birds or other ostriches can reap many rich rewards and provide an enequalled and valuable insight.
Ostriches On Line have professional consultants available to assist you and a full review of the services we provide, including fees, duration and availability are available here
Obtaining Help with your Ostrich Farm Budget Setting up your new, or adding to your existing, ostrich farm is a difficult task.
Besides everything we have listed, practical experience cannot be gained overnight.
Ostriches On Line have professional consultants available to assist you.
Review the consultancy services we provide, including fees, duration and availability.
Revenue and Returns from your Ostrich Farm How fast you begin to obtain a return on your ostrich farming investment depends entirely on which aspect of farming you undertake.
If you operate an incubation and hatching operation, your revenues will start rolling in 45 days or so after the breeding season starts.
It is a good idea to insist on a non-refundable deposit for incubation and hatching services which you provide to local farmers.
For a grow-out operation, revenues will begin in about 6 - 9 months after the arrival of the first livestock. Again, a non-refundable deposit is a good idea.
In countries where ostrich farming is well established and there is a good commercial market, you will be raising ostriches for processing at an ideal age of 9 months or so.
Initially, 100% of your revenue will be generated from the production of livestock for ostrich meat and ostrich leather.
Prices for commercial ostriches vary from country to country. Processing, inspection and transportation costs are usually the highest "off-farm" fees.
On the world market, the average processed bird should bring an equal value for both ostrich meat and ostrich leather.
Check local markets for ostrich meat and ostrich leather prices; they fluctuate during the year as supply and demand changes.
Sales and Marketing Sales and marketing are the two dreaded words in a farmers vocabulary.
Farmers are not generally good at sales and marketing, preferring to breed and raise the livestock, take them to a processing facility and receive a cheque.
Unfortunately, the ostrich meat and leather business is relatively new, so sales and marketing are crucial to the success of the whole industry.
Professional sales and marketing help is an absolute necessity.
When you work with Ostriches On Line this help is part of the "whole package."
If ostrich farming is a new agricultural business in your country, then it will take anywhere from 3 - 6 years to build up sufficient breeding stock before you start to grow ostriches for processing.
During these 3 - 6 years, it is crucial to develop a local and national marketing campaign to ensure that the general population is aware of the many products, including ostrich meat and ostrich leather, and, of course, ostrich oil.
It will therefore be necessary to import ostrich meat, ostrich leather, feathers and ostrich oil during the initial development of the ostrich industry in your country.
Free radio, TV and newspaper exposure are good ways to introduce the local community to the various ostrich products and ostrich farming.
Ostriches On Line offer sales and marketing consultancy programs which will help you obtain free media exposure.
We can also help you set up show farms, set up ostrich tourist attractions, assist in the distribution of ostrich meat, ostrich leather, feathers and ostrich oil together with hundreds of other sales and marketing techniques to help you develop your ostrich market.
For more information, please take a look at our consultancy services page.
This ostrich farm budget page will be read by people from all over the world, and because of the diversity of costs, many of the prices required can be obtained locally.
We have provided a list of specialist equipment, facilities, livestock and feed together with other financial considerations.
Links are provided to other pages where prices and quotations are available.
You may wish to obtain a professional software program to help and assist you preparing a full ostrich farm budget, cash flow, marketing and business plan.
Read more about our Ratite Business Plan software.
Disclaimer Consult legal, accounting, veterinarian or other professionals before investing in the ostrich industry.
Land You will need to calculate the costs for the land and farm equipment.
Decide how big an operation you require, whether you are using an existing farm or starting from scratch.
Do you have all the services on your farm - electricity, water, gas, oil?
What about drainage for heavy rain?
Is access easy? Is the road suitable for a livestock or feed supply truck?
Equipment For an incubation and hatching operation, you will need to obtain suitable equipment.
It is highly recommended that you build your incubation room inside an existing barn or farm building.
Available to suit every budget, our comprehensive range of Natural Hatch Incubators and Hatchers can be used in any country in the world - 240 volt or 110 volt, 50 or 60 cycles.
Also available is a complete range of Natural Hatch Incubation Equipment including candlers, foggers, Carbon Dioxide monitors and UV sterilisation units.
Prices, availability and delivery options are all listed here
Fencing, Pens and Feeding Troughs For fencing, you will need to calculate the number of ostriches you wish to farm, the pen sizes you are planning to make and the relevant material to build the pens.
For Breeding Pens, calculate a per yard (or per meter) cost for single strand wire fencing, wooden posts and chicken wire for the lower 18 inches (0.5 M).)
For Chick Pens, a greenhouse type structure, heat lamps and chicken wire fencing is recommended. Calculate a per yard (or per meter) cost for the fencing.
You will also need feeding and water troughs.
A dry, feed storage area is required, so a utility barn is recommended.
You may need a tractor to mow the grass - long grass is not recommended for chicks.
Feed Your biggest ongoing expense will be ostrich feed.
Your operation will fail if you feed the wrong feed or cheap feed or inexpensive feed not formulated for ostriches.
For best results, all your ostriches should be fed a diet of Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds.
Blue Mountain manufactures a comprehensive range of ostrich feeds for all ages of livestock.
To help and assist you calculate the feed costs for your ostrich farm, we offer a FREE ANALYSIS SURVEY which can be used for all ages of ostriches.
Blue Mountain, The World's Finest Ostrich Feeds can be shipped to most countries around the world and is the only feed on the market today recommended and endorsed by Ostriches On Line.
Visit the Blue Mountain Ostrich Feed Page
Probiotics Probiotics should be fed to all your livestock.
Probiotics are best described as a "for life" addition to a diet whereas antibiotics mean "against life." Probiotics are naturally-occurring beneficial organisms that aid in digestion and inhibit disease causing bacteria in the intestine.
Ostriches On Line supply Fastrack® Probiotics to most countries around the world, and these should be fed on a regular basis to all your livestock (including newly hatched chicks).
Regular and ongoing feeding of Fastrack® Probiotics can significantly enhance the growth and development of all your birds and has been shown to reduce stress, increase thriftiness, improve feather condition and produce a much healthier appetite and general overall livestock fitness.
Prices, availability and recommended feeding amounts are all listed here
Insurance, Medications and Farm Labour Farm and livestock insurance is recommended.
Day-to-day expenses inculding the cost of services (electric, gas, oil & water), farm equipment leasing, rents, rates, farm taxes, etc. need to be calculated.
Although the veterinarian is not a regular visitor at the farm, allow a nominal sum, per bird, per year, to cover this.
Injections, medication and other livestock maintenance costs should also be considered and added to your budget.
The size of your operation and the number of livestock you will be farming will determine the labour costs of your operation.
A good farm/incubation manager can easily look after 100 breeding birds, the incubation and hatching facility and the grow out pens for hundreds of chicks.
Although the farm/incubation manager is ideal for a larger operation, you may wish to employ a part time person or do it yourself if your operation is smaller.
Remember though, even on a larger farm, your farm/incubation manager may need assistance - days off, offloading feed and supplies, mowing the grass etc. etc.
Livestock Livestock prices vary all over the world.
The cost of shipping and freight can sometimes be more than the cost of the livestock itself!
Local taxes, duty and import fees can also add to the cost of the livestock.
Ostriches On Line ship eggs, chicks and all ages of livestock into more than 80 countries around the world.
Our professional animal handling division can provide all your livestock requirements from our numerous breeder, incubation and grow out farms around the world and the Ostriches On Line Livestock Quick Quote Center will provide you with the latest pricing for any country in the world.
Other Costs Most of your farming costs are listed above.
If ostrich farming is a new venture, you need to include provisions for the loss and death of ostriches.
Inexperience will probably result in high mortality of young chicks and lower fertility of eggs.
If you have borrowed money to finance your operation, include the repayments and the interest charges into your budget.
Size of Operation Whilst the size of your operation is a personal choice, there are some guidelines to help your business become profitable.
Farming 3 or 4 breeding ostriches is not going to provide any kind of decent revenue.
Your offspring from 3 or 4 breeding ostriches will suffer higher mortality than normal due to a lack of company from other ostriches.
Ostriches love company, and even if you produce 40 offspring per female, over a full breeding season this is about 1.5 per week.
A good, small operation needs at least 9 breeding birds.
If you start with eggs or chicks, then you probably need at least 50 to make it worthwhile.
High mortality, the lack of experience and the whole operation will not have a fair chance with just a few eggs or chicks.
On the other hand, starting from scratch with 1,000 breeding birds can also bring its headaches.
If you are considering a larger investment, it would be in your best interests to work with Ostriches On Line to prepare a feasibility or ostrich farming study.
Investing a nominal amount of money before you go out and buy hundreds of breeding birds or other ostriches can reap many rich rewards and provide an enequalled and valuable insight.
Ostriches On Line have professional consultants available to assist you and a full review of the services we provide, including fees, duration and availability are available here
Obtaining Help with your Ostrich Farm Budget Setting up your new, or adding to your existing, ostrich farm is a difficult task.
Besides everything we have listed, practical experience cannot be gained overnight.
Ostriches On Line have professional consultants available to assist you.
Review the consultancy services we provide, including fees, duration and availability.
Revenue and Returns from your Ostrich Farm How fast you begin to obtain a return on your ostrich farming investment depends entirely on which aspect of farming you undertake.
If you operate an incubation and hatching operation, your revenues will start rolling in 45 days or so after the breeding season starts.
It is a good idea to insist on a non-refundable deposit for incubation and hatching services which you provide to local farmers.
For a grow-out operation, revenues will begin in about 6 - 9 months after the arrival of the first livestock. Again, a non-refundable deposit is a good idea.
In countries where ostrich farming is well established and there is a good commercial market, you will be raising ostriches for processing at an ideal age of 9 months or so.
Initially, 100% of your revenue will be generated from the production of livestock for ostrich meat and ostrich leather.
Prices for commercial ostriches vary from country to country. Processing, inspection and transportation costs are usually the highest "off-farm" fees.
On the world market, the average processed bird should bring an equal value for both ostrich meat and ostrich leather.
Check local markets for ostrich meat and ostrich leather prices; they fluctuate during the year as supply and demand changes.
Sales and Marketing Sales and marketing are the two dreaded words in a farmers vocabulary.
Farmers are not generally good at sales and marketing, preferring to breed and raise the livestock, take them to a processing facility and receive a cheque.
Unfortunately, the ostrich meat and leather business is relatively new, so sales and marketing are crucial to the success of the whole industry.
Professional sales and marketing help is an absolute necessity.
When you work with Ostriches On Line this help is part of the "whole package."
If ostrich farming is a new agricultural business in your country, then it will take anywhere from 3 - 6 years to build up sufficient breeding stock before you start to grow ostriches for processing.
During these 3 - 6 years, it is crucial to develop a local and national marketing campaign to ensure that the general population is aware of the many products, including ostrich meat and ostrich leather, and, of course, ostrich oil.
It will therefore be necessary to import ostrich meat, ostrich leather, feathers and ostrich oil during the initial development of the ostrich industry in your country.
Free radio, TV and newspaper exposure are good ways to introduce the local community to the various ostrich products and ostrich farming.
Ostriches On Line offer sales and marketing consultancy programs which will help you obtain free media exposure.
We can also help you set up show farms, set up ostrich tourist attractions, assist in the distribution of ostrich meat, ostrich leather, feathers and ostrich oil together with hundreds of other sales and marketing techniques to help you develop your ostrich market.
For more information, please take a look at our consultancy services page.