Beyond Chicken

Raise and market specialty poultry for meat and profit.

- By Doug Ottinger

With a little forethought and planning, establishing a sideline business of raising specialty poultry for meat can become a viable business option for your farm. Poultry raised for specialty markets includes a wide variety of fowl. The most marketed specialty poultry are chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. Other more exotic fowl include offerings such as guinea fowl and pheasants. Specialty poultry can also include quail and pigeons (or squab).

IDENTIFYING YOUR NICHE

For the business to be profitable, you'll need to identify the types of poultry that consumers in your geographic region will buy. Repeat advertising of your specialty fowl will let buyers know what you have and help generate interest in the specialty poultry you raise.

You'll need to be realistic about the prices local consumers are willing to pay. Learning about your customers' preferences may take some time, including beyond the first year of operation. For this reason, it's often best to start small, test your market and slowly expand your operations as you identify what works for you.

One harsh reality that many specialty poultry producers face is that large retailers can sell turkeys and chickens so cheaply, especially during holidays, that raising and selling these birds locally can be challenging. This isn't said to discourage but rather is one of the facts that must be considered when planning such a venture.