Deer breeding is a good option for entrepreneurial activity. Antlers are considered the most valuable in these animals. These are non-ossified horns of small sizes. They are used in medicine. No less valuable is the blood of deer. Good income comes from meat and animal skin.
Business design
Reindeer breeding, as a business, is not for everyone. This is due to some difficulties. For registration of entrepreneurial activity, you need to choose the right niche. In this case, peasant farming is suitable. In this case, it is worth choosing a traditional or simplified tax system. This allows you to not pay interest on agricultural products sold for five years from the date of registration. One person or a group of citizens having family ties can register such activities.
For registration of peasant farms for deer breeding it is necessary to present the TIN and passport to the tax office. When registering, you must specify the type of entrepreneurial activity. It is worth noting that the breeding and keeping of deer since 2014 relates to animal husbandry.
Business features
To reduce the starting capital, you can try to get subsidies. Moreover, much depends on the chosen direction of the economy. In this case, there are several options. An entrepreneur can work in a commodity direction, collect and sell products.
It is also possible to start breeding reindeer or noble. However, to obtain such a status, an entrepreneur must work in the chosen field for at least three years. In this case, compliance with all veterinary and sanitary rules is required. Only if this condition is met will it be possible to obtain an appropriate certificate.
Territory selection
Deer breeding should be carried out almost in the wild. Moreover, the area of the land intended for farming depends on the number of livestock. The entire territory should be divided into sections, as young males must be kept separately from females. You can combine them only during mating and for a short time.
This approach will allow to control the growth of the livestock, as well as accommodate animals depending on their age. It is worth considering that such content has a small percentage of risk. For example, the fence does not always withstand the attacks of wild predators. In addition, golden eagles often hunt deer cubs. It is impossible to shoot these birds, since the species is an endangered species.
When choosing a place for deer breeding, it is worth considering that these animals live in the thick of the forest in winter and summer, and in meadows and near marshes in spring and autumn.
What to feed
Breeding deer is a difficult process. After all, animals must be properly fed. Basically, their diet consists of woody plants, agricultural legumes and cereals. How to feed a deer? In their diet should be present:
- Leaves and bark of alder, maple, aspen, mountain ash, birch, hornbeam, spruce, pine, oak.
- A variety of berries: blueberries, cranberries, lingonberries, blueberries.
- Mushrooms, lichens.
How to calculate a diet
The diet of deer depends on the time of year. So, in the spring, animal nutrition should include:
- 19% shrubs;
- 48% grass;
- 30% of the trees;
- 3% berries.
In summer, the diet consists of:
- herbs - 42%;
- shrubs - 17%;
- trees - 28%;
- mushrooms and various fruits - 13%.
In the autumn, meals include:
- shrubs - 40%;
- herbs - 22%;
- trees - 25%;
- fruits, mushrooms - 13%.
In winter, the deer diet consists of:
- trees -50%;
- any nutritious foods - 50%.
In order for deer breeding to generate income, all the recommendations of specialists must be followed. Lichens, mosses, acorns, mushrooms, bark and fallen leaves of trees can be given to animals as nutritious foods. It is worth noting that deer can eat crayfish, fish and algae if there is a river near their habitat.
Growing animals for meat
Breeding domestic deer requires not only a lot of experience, but also considerable financial costs. Especially if animals are raised for meat products. These animals reach marketable weight already at the 20-24th month of life. It is during this period that it is most beneficial to slaughter deer. One animal can produce about 55-60 kilograms of pure meat.
Breeding deer for meat requires compliance with certain rules:
- Meat should be tasty, uninfected, and healthy. To this end, it is necessary to conduct timely treatment of animals from parasites. The procedure is carried out twice a year.
- Animals should not be afraid of fences and artificial fences. Reindeer are recommended only under strict control. If there is no certainty that the fence will survive, then you should abandon free walking.
- The pasture of animals must be divided into two sections. One part should be in females, and the second - in males.
- It is possible to reduce heterosexual animals only during the mating season.
- Deer that will be slaughtered must be separated from the general herd before the start of the breeding season.
Cost of deer meat
Before starting a business, it is necessary to draw up a deer breeding business plan. Experts say that the cost of meat for these animals is about 30% lower than the cost of beef. At the same time, venison prices are higher. Profit is easy to calculate. For example, a kilogram of beef costs about 700 rubles, and the average price of a kilogram of venison is at least 1,200 rubles. The maximum cost of such products reaches 2,000.
Such a high price for venison can be explained by the fact that the meat of these animals is dietary and cholesterol-free, rich in trace elements and vitamins. It is worth noting that such products contain iron, sulfur, potassium and calcium. The request for venison only in the Moscow region is 5 tons. As you can see, the benefits of such a business are obvious. Therefore, deer breeding in Russia is becoming a more popular activity.
Features of deer breeding for antlers
Antlers are one of the sought-after items in medicine. They are usually cut off in individuals whose age has already reached 2 years. For mating, deer with the largest and most beautiful horns are selected from the whole herd. This allows you to improve performance. The resulting raw materials are preserved and cooked. From antlers are made biologically active additives that can increase immunity, restore the circulatory and nervous system.
Harvesting of raw materials is carried out from May and lasts until July. In this period, the antlers grow large and do not have time to stiffen. To carefully cut the antlers of a deer, a special machine is required. The animal in it is fixed and blindfolded. The duration of the procedure should not exceed three minutes. After removing the antlers, the places of the cuts should be treated: gently burn, and then grease with clay. This will prevent infection.
Antlers training
Two days after cutting the antlers must be boiled. For this, the horns must be lowered for three minutes in a container filled with boiling water. At the end of the antler is recommended to hold on a pair. This procedure should also last at least three minutes. Repeat all manipulations with the horns need 5-8 times. After this, the antlers must be placed in the sauna and “fry”. Here, processing is carried out at different temperatures. It is worth noting that after all procedures, horns lose about 65% of their weight. This is due to their dehydration.
The cost of one kilogram of dried and prepared antlers costs from 200 to 250 dollars.One deer is capable of producing up to 30 kilograms of horns during the year.
Costs and Payback
To create a suitable environment for deer, it is required to spend about 800 thousand rubles per 1 square meter. As for the cost of buying livestock, for the acquisition of 500 animals, approximately 600 thousand rubles will be required. If you start a business in the commodity direction, then everything will pay off in about 4-5 years. The main thing is to properly care for the animals and follow all the recommendations of veterinarians.
Starting such a business, it is worth considering that the first few years there will be practically no income, as young animals should grow up.
