ORONO — University of Maine Cooperative Extension is offering a one-year poultry egg business project to 4-H members ages 9 to 18 and their families.
The statewide project is intended to generate income for participants and provide learning experiences in business, entrepreneurship, keeping records, documentation, problem-solving skills, food safety and animal husbandry.
Participants will learn and follow state and local regulations for producing and selling poultry eggs. Regular support, including calculating the number of pullets (young hens) to order, will be provided through online webinars. Twelve-week-old Golden Comet chicks will be ordered from a local producer on March 15; pullets will begin laying eggs this summer.
Participants will draft a business plan and do a survey to determine the approximate number of eggs and hens needed to meet market demand. Participants also will build or secure a facility and equipment for the birds and track expenses, including the purchase of equipment, shavings and feed.
Each flock requires at least 14 hours of light per day. Extension 4-H staff and agricultural specialists will provide training through a webinar. Several in-person workshops — the first is Saturday, May 2 — will be centrally located. Limited financial assistance is available.
For information and to enroll, visit umaine.edu/4h/home/egg-business-project.
For more information, contact Jessy Brainerd at 581-3877, 800-287.0274 or jessica.brainerd@maine.edu.
To participate, youth must be 4-H members in the county in which they live. For information about becoming a 4-H member, contact a local Extension office.