30 year old man shows the way with poultry farming

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Apr 19 : Many in Manipur have time and again proven that with proper guidelines, poultry farming can provide a good source of income.
Speaking to The Sangai Express, Chingakham Rishikumar (30), s/o Chingakham Biren and Chingakham Thoibi from Keirak Leirak Achouba has shared his success story in poultry farming.
Stating that he ventured into this form of animal husbandry in 2013, he said that he rears chickens and ducks in a farm roughly 200/300 metres away from his residence.
In 2013, after his Class XII exam, Rishikumar's mother purchased 30 chickens for him to rear.
As he ventured into this domain with zero knowledge and zero investment, Rishikumar had to resort to selling the mobile phone and two-wheeler that his parents bought him to fund his poultry farm.
But without any knowledge about the subject, he suffered loss after loss with his chickens and ducks sometimes perishing in disease outbreaks.
However, a turning point came in his life when he met a friend's father who gave him valuable poultry farming tips and suggestions in 2017.
In addition, he was able to get a Rs 3 lakh loan from a bank which transformed his poultry farm. Thus, from October 2017 onwards, he slowly began reaping the rewards of his hard work.
According to Rishikumar, for breeding purposes there are 500 egg-laying ducks in his farm. It takes roughly 5/6 months for these ducks to mature and start producing eggs. In a week, around 700/800 ducklings hatch at his farm, he added.
Afterwards these ducklings are separated i) for sale, ii) for breeding and lastly iii) to be reared and sold for their meat.
With such an arrangement Rishikumar ensures that there is a lasting supply of ducks for all three purposes.
If fed adequately, the ducklings reared for meat attain maturity within four or four and a half months with the drakes (male ducks) growing upto 4 kg in weight and the ducks over 2 kgs. Every month, he sells anywhere between 700 to 1000 ducks for their meat.
Shops also purchase ducklings, duck eggs and duck meat in bulk from the farm at cheaper rates, he added.
Moreover, Rishikumar has roughly 100 Muscovy (Bilaiti) ducks and some chickens in his farm.
 He also supplies his chickens and chicken eggs to various markets, with a majority of them being sent to Chandel. While the ducklings are supplied both to the valley areas and even Dimapur.
To help with all the farm work, he has hired two college going boys. As they have to attend classes, they work at the farm from 7 am to 8.30 am and from 3 pm to 5 pm in two shifts. They are paid a monthly wage of Rs 6000 each for their hard work.
Thus, the farm provides a means of livelihood to 5/6 families including the egg and poultry feed traders who regularly do business with the farm, said Rishikumar.
Stating that poultry farming can provide a good source of income, Rishikumar added that in his leanest months, he easily earns over Rs 1 lakh in profit.
Talking about the unemployed youths in the State, the poultry farmer opined that they lack proper guidance. As such, he urged the State Government to conduct skill development training programmes regularly to lead them onto the path of success.
In the absence of such guidance and jobs, the youth might fall prey to the vice of drug abuse, he cautioned.