The ornamental chicken business of student of Faculty of Animal Science (FAS) UGM, Mino Farm, won 1st place in the innovative product category at the UGM Character Festival 2018 on November 24, 2018. The three students run the business were Akhmad Arif Sulthoni (student batch 2017), Muhammad Hafidzuddin Tsabit (student batch 2015), and Hutomo Abdurrohman (class of 2015). All three are part of the UGM Entrepreneurial Student Program.
“We chose this ornamental chicken business because of the increasing market needs. Beautiful color patterns make ornamental chickens getting more popular with ornamental chicken lovers. In addition, the knowledge of imported ornamental chickens is not yet known by the public,” said Akhmad Arif Sulthoni or familiarly called Arif, when contacted on Friday (14/12) at the FAS Campus.
The business which has been started since 2017 provides brahma chicken as the main product. Other chickens that are also sold are sempidan chicken and hutan hijau chicken. According to Arif, brahma chicken has a special feature in the form of a large posture with a maximum weight of up to 7 kg and a height of about 70 cm.
“The method we did was to buy brahma chickens aged 2-3 weeks and then do maintenance for 1.5-2 months. After that, the chicken is ready to be marketed. We currently have 3 farmers who are ready to accommodate chickens that are ready to sell,” Arif said.
Mino Farm markets chicken directly or online through social media. “Our market reach is also broad, namely Java, Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Bali. Going forward, we plan to expand our business overseas. For eggs that will be hatched, Mino Farm will try to import eggs from Europe,” said Arif who is committed to always maintaining and increasing customer satisfaction. (Nadia)