How To Own Part Of The Sh.101 Trillion Agribusiness Market In Kenya

A recent assessment by the World Bank found that by 2030, serving the food demands of Africa’s growing middle class alone will create a market worth $1 trillion (Sh.101 trillion).

African “agripreneurs” can own that market if we tap the two assets that form an unbeatable combination: 

• the world’s largest population of young people, and 
• the world’s largest holdings of uncultivated arable land.

In fact, Tegemeo Institute has conducted a study that has found access to land could dramatically increase youth participation in agriculture, particularly for young women farmers.

There are about 1 million youths entering the labour market annually. They can contribute to significant food security in Kenya if they are gainfully employed in agriculture where increasing population, low agricultural productivity and decreasing arable land in the high and medium potential areas are a threat to food security.

INNOVATIVE AGRIBUSINESS

Their participation in agriculture has, however, been constrained by limited access to land in the rural areas. The good news is, unlike in the rural areas, innovative urban farming takes place even on 0.25 acres of land.

This allows rearing of poultry, rabbits and having green houses in urban areas where land is scarce. Such innovative approaches can involve the youths more, especially where land is scarce.

Involvement of the young people in farming requires development of positive attitude towards agriculture.

This will help reduce unemployment among the youths because political and social consequences of unemployed youths can be extensive as witnessed by political unrests globally.

RELEVANT SKILLS

This would involve equipping youthful “agripreneurs” with relevant skills to build a sustainable and resilient agricultural innovation system that will respond to unique challenges within their counties.

The average age of small-scale farmers owning land in Kenya is 49 years and the youths who make up 67 per cent of the Kenyan population have no access to land.

As such, they are unable to exploit opportunities in farming. This excludes a great majority of the youths, who have the capability to work and produce more from land.

OPTIONS FOR ACCESSING LAND FOR AGRICULTURE

Studies have shown that about three quarters of youths still inherit land from their parents and only about one third buy land. While most would argue that this is because of the high cost of land, the truth is that buying land is not a priority for many young Kenyans. The inherited land is barely sufficient to sustain a family under the current agricultural production system.

The majority of parents (90 per cent) in the rural areas have recognised that their farms are the main sources of land access for their children and usually hand down at least part of their farms to them while they are still alive. And even when they buy or access land, the most common land size that’s accessible to them is two acres. It is uneconomical to farm two acres through telephone farming for this group.

The other alternative means of accessing land is through renting, which only a small fraction of the youth population does.

Majority rely on family land. The resulting inequitable distribution of land, particularly among the younger generation alienates them from meaningful participation in farming. The only way to involve them is to provide credit for those willing to farm.

Exploiting the Kenya government’s effort of offering the Agri-Vijana loan from one of its state corporations—the Youth Enterprise Development Fund—is one way of empowering the youths to access land.

This will create a win-win situation between landlords and their tenants, with resultant increase in food production. Such a land market will be key to increasing access to land for the youths.

By DENNIS OTIENO

For: www.nation.co.ke

Why Billionaire Bill Gates Believes Kienyeji Chicken Farming Is A Gateway To Riches

You probably have heard that Billionaire Bill Gates is now running a campaign aimed at alleviating poverty in Africa by helping poor families to rear chicken. He intends to give 100,000 chicken to starter farmers in Africa.

Without going to the details of his project, the fact that Bill Gates has chosen to do this says much more about the prospects of chicken farming as a business than it does about his philanthropic kind. I caught a video of him explaining why he believes that chicken farming in Africa can be big business. Allow me to share some of his thoughts that I completely agree with.

1. Extremely high returns

Bill Gates says that there is no investment that has a high return percentage like the business of breeding chicken. Let us take an example of a farmer starting off with five hens and a rooster of improved quality: the farmer would have an initial investment of about Sh. 3500 taking an average of Sh. 500 for each hen and 1000 for the rooster. With a good breed of chicken, the farmer would be able to have a flock of about 40 chicken in just about 4 months. Selling them at Sh.500 each, the farmer would make a cool Sh.20,000. So that is more than 450% profit!

2. Low running costs

Well I know the calculations above have overlooked many practical costs of the chicken farming business. Essentially, you would need to provide feeds, vaccines, treatments and maybe labour. However, these costs are significantly reduced of you choose to keep the Kienyeji breed of chicken. This breed is hardy to start with. So the cost of vaccines and treatments is kept at the lowest. The Kienyeji chicken also scavenge for food from the ground, digging up insects and browsing on green grass. Feeding them just once in a day to supplement their findings is enough. Since they range freely, you also need minimal labour in feeding them.

3. Huge potential to grow

I am yet to find out a farming business that has a greater potential to grow into a million shilling project within a short time than does the chicken farming business. Chicken multiply exponentially and with that the business of keeping them grows at a similar rate. I remember while in high school we started a chicken rearing project with 40 Kienyeji hens and in one year, we sold a flock of over 500 chicken even though some were just 2 months chicks. All those were just from the parent stock.

While most of the farming businesses bring great satisfaction, I think and believe chicken farming is the most rewarding. I hope this inspires and challenges you into chicken farming especially the kienyeji breed. God bless.

Why Kienyeji Chicken Farming In Kenya Is The Big Business

Kienyeji Chicken farming is the new buzz amongst the poultry farmers in Kenya today. The exotic breeds, which we commonly refer to as grade chicken, still produce more eggs and meat compared to the Kienyeji breeds. However, these grade breeds are a little delicate and require specialized management throughout their lives. They also consume a massive amount of food. That means the farming of the exotic breeds mostly leaves out the young and new farmers who may not afford the costs of feeding, vaccination and other expenses.

This is one of the reasons that has made the Kienyeji Chicken breed to be so popular in Kenya today. The most popular Kienyeji breed – the KARI Improved Kienyeji – was developed over a period of 10 years by studying the characteristics of the indigenous chicken breeds throughout Kenya.

Through years of interbreeding, the researchers at KARI Naivasha came up with the perfect bird that is between the indigenous breeds and the exotic breeds. It produces 200-280 eggs per year, compared to the 300 for the exotic breeds but with minimal overheads. It also produces better meat quality and has greater disease resistance. That means more money in the pockets of the farmers.

The new Improved Kienyeji breeds also fetch more from the market compared to the broilers. A hen is likely to fetch Ksh.700-Ksh850 while the cocks fetch anything from Ksh.1000 to Ksh.1500. The trend towards health conscious products and a market that is increasingly appreciating organically produced products has also driven up the demand for the Kienyeji chicken. Here are three main advantages of the KARI Improved Kienyeji chicken breeds:

1. Low Cost of Production

If you are worried about the big nightmare of feeding your broilers, especially when they have hit 8 weeks and you cannot find a ready market for your birds, then the improved Kienyeji breed is the answer. These can be reared in a free-range or semi free range system where the cost of feeding is drastically minimized. You can make small investments in commercial feed but also let them scavenge for food without diminishing your egg or meat production. The hens are also disease resistant so your losses due to disease outbreaks are largely minimized.

2. More nutritious eggs and meat

Rearing your chicken in the free range or semi-free range systems, where chicken are allowed to roam unrestricted or in a restricted environment results in eggs which are more nutritious. The scavenging chickens scratch the ground to unearth more diverse and nutritious food sources such as termites. From these numerous nutrients, consumers are assured of excellent and more nutritious egg and poultry production. In the semi free range system, farmers can use several techniques to increase the number of termites in the enclosure.

This is not simply a cliché but has been verified through research by the US Department of Agriculture or the USDA which found that eggs produced by chicken under a free range system are a lot more nutritious than those produced under commercial conditions with commercial feeding. If you are into ethical farming practices, then the kienyeji chicken farming is the way to go.

3. Fetch higher market prices for your poultry products

Both the meat and egg products from the kienyeji chicken fetch twice as much as those from the caged birds. If there was ever any motivation for starting a business, then here is a powerful one! Maximum profits with minimal overheads.

How 20-Year Old Girl Successfully Markets Her Poultry Products: Marketing Hacks

In a recent youth entrepreneurship summit, Billionaire Chris Kirubi stumped my though that agribusiness is Kenya’s economic future. Well most of us know this and would really love to invest in agribusiness but the challenge of marketing makes most coil away from this lucrative field. However, Joy, a 20-year successful poultry farmer has found ways of beating this challenge. Here, she shares her ideas on successful marketing of eggs and other poultry products from her farm in Nairobi.

1. Bypass the middlemen: Most poultry farmers rely on middlemen to help sell their products. In so doing, they lose a lot of profit after a hard job. If you want to sell faster and make more money, then you should sell both in wholesale quantities and retail quantities. The best way to sell your poultry products in retail quantities is by setting up a simple outlet. Look for a good location to rent a store and then use it to stock products from your farm.

2. Take your business online: This is perhaps my most successful marketing technique today. Everybody hangs around the internet these days. If you want your business to thrive, you cannot close your eyes to the internet. Your social media account, and mostly Facebook, is a very good place to promote your business and increase awareness for your products. Take a nice photo of your products and post it up there. Soon people will start asking you for the price. Take a short video and post it on Facebook showing how you produce your eggs and how well you keep and feed your chicken. This serves to create confidence in buyers and hence attract them.

I have a lady that I am following on Instagram who regularly posts pictures of attractively packaged, fresh products from her poultry farm on her page. She has a lot of followers and people keep asking her where they can get her products in the south even though she’s based in the North. I am very sure that a lot of Northerners patronize her too.

If you want to sell your products faster, you should have a strong internet presence so that people can order for products online and even those that do not order online would be able to recognize and buy your products when they see it in supermarkets or grocery stores.

3. Become a supplier to Hotels and Restaurants: Do not shy away from approaching hotels, restaurants and other eateries. Write a brilliant proposal with clearly thought-out incentives that you can offer and send it to managers of hotels and restaurants. Offer to be their major supplier of poultry meat and eggs. Hotels and restaurants always have foods with poultry meat or foods made with eggs on their menu and it might surprise you how challenging it is for them to get regular suppliers. You can help them to have access to a regular supply of fresh eggs without stress. However, most of hotels and restaurants already have people supplying them, so you should think of how to outsmart these people by offering mouth-watering incentives.

4. Employ Marketers: Yes, I know that sounds weird but marketers for your poultry farm can increase your sales by more than 30%. Just employ some commission-based marketers who would earn a certain percentage from the sales they make. I was surprised to find out that some of my friends have way better connections and sales language than I ever imagined. I only posted for this vacancy on my Facebook wall and got a couple of friends who I pay on commission. Right now I am struggling to supply all their markets.

5. Feed your Birds well: Yes, this is a marketing idea too. When you feed your birds well, they produce big and good quality eggs which are what the consumers want. This automatically makes your products top choice for consumers. This calls for paying attention to the type of foods you feed your birds with because good food equals good eggs and quality meat.

6. Advertise your products: Engage in simple and affordable advertising and promotions of your business. You don’t have to be in Citizen TV or Daily Nation but advertisement is crucial. People mostly buy products they know or have heard about: this is the essence of advertising. For me, I use online advertisement on blogs and by marketing my Facebook page. I also print out small attractive cards that I give to my friends and connections after church or such gatherings.

7. Take on home delivery services: Home delivery services work like magic. This is because a lot of people who love eggs are often too busy to make trips to the grocery store. You can take advantage of this to offer home delivery services to people who prefer to buy fresh eggs or people who find it easier to order for stuffs from the comfort of their home. You could also serve senior citizens, the physically challenged or sick people who cannot make trips to grocery stores to buy meat and eggs.

8. Use Attractive Packaging: It does not cost so much as most people would think. Yet the advantage of a good attractive package of eggs so great you would think it works a miracle. When designing packaging materials for your poultry products, ensure that it stands out from every other product in the market. Another thing you must know is that people look now out for nutritional information when they buy food items. So, you should consider adding some information about your products like calorie contents, protein, vitamins and all other information that health conscious people would want to know about.

Successful Poultry Business Starts With Proper Brooding: Here are basics

Brooding, being the first step in your poultry business, is the most crucial. It determines the development of your chicks hence their productivity in future. To help you achieve the best results and reap maximum benefits from your poultry venture, here is a comprehensive guide on how to brood. 

Temperature

The body temperature of a day-old chick is approximately 39°C, but by the fifth day of age the body temperature rises to 41.1° C, which is the normal body temperature of an adult bird. Chicks require heat from the time they are hatched until they are six weeks old because they cannot maintain their body temperature without an external source. The ability to regulate body temperature is acquired around 12 to 14 days of age.

While chicks are more tolerant to high temperatures than adult birds, high temperatures for extended periods of time increase mortality and have negative impact on performance. Chicks that are subjected to cold temperature have impaired immune and digestive systems which result in reduced growth and increased susceptibility to diseases. This is why a proper brooding practice is necessary. 

Warm the brooding area before the chicks arrive. Chicks can be easily stressed if their body temperature decreases or increases by as much as one degree. During the first week temperatures should be 32° to 35° C then reduced by 2.5° C per week until room temperature is reached.  The actions of the chicks can be a guide in temperature control.

Floor temperatures are also crucial. The average floor temperatures should be 32°C on the day that chicks are placed in the house.

Ventilation

Good ventilation in the brooder is required to control temperature and get rid of carbon dioxide, ammonia, other gases, moisture, dust and odors. Air entering the brooding house should be warmed up to brooding temperature before coming into contact with the chicks to prevent chilling. This also increases moisture holding capacity thereby helping to maintain litter conditions in the house.

In large brooding houses fans should be used to break up temperature stratification and provide a more uniform temperature throughout the poultry house.

Humidity

The level of humidity influences the ability of the bird to cool itself through panting and influences ammonia production.  Relative humidity should be maintained between 50 and 70 percent during the brooding period. Dusty conditions in the poultry house are associated with relative humidity below 50 percent. If relative humidity increases above 70 percent ammonia from the birds fecal material accumulates and has a negative impact on bird health and performance. High ammonia levels impair the immune system, increases respiratory diseases and reduces growth rate which is never gained back.

Lighting

The main purpose of lighting during brooding is to ensure that chicks are active and seek out food and water sources. Chick activity is higher in bright than in low light intensity. Bright lights assist chicks to locate feed and water and this is usually accomplished by 7 to 10 days of age. Thereafter the light intensity and duration should be reduced to a minimum of 25 lux (2.5 foot candles) or more at bird level. Normally lights are initially allowed 23 hours a day at maximum intensity. Then the intensity is reduced when chicks are 7 to 10 days of age and by 10 to 14 days it should be at 5 lux (0.5 foot candles).

Housing

Some people brood their chicks in their homes but this is not recommended. Brooders present a certain amount of fire risk so a high degree of precaution should be taken when deciding its location and design.

Brooder houses generally have litter floors, preferably with a layer of wood shavings at least four inches thick. Brooders with wire floors and a droppings pan underneath can also be used but they smell worse than the other kinds of brooders.

The brooding house should be clean, dry and comfortable with adequate heat and space. The equipment should be clean and in good condition. The location should be draft-free with good air circulation, access to clean water and be well protected.

A brooder house measuring 10 by 12 feet accommodates 120 chicks to the age of eight weeks. Chick guard rings should be12 inches high arranged in a circle 6 feet in diameter around the brooder stove.  Feeders are placed in a spoke-like arrangement radiating outward from underneath the outer portion of the brooder canopy. This provides chicks access to feed and allows them to move freely in and out from the heat source.

Age of chicks      Floor space per bird

0 to 4 weeks       1/2 square foot

4 to 8 weeks       1 square foot

Water

Chicks should have warm water available right way. Waterers should be placed on a block to keep the water free from litter. Replace the water twice a day, or more frequently if necessary to keep the water clean and fresh. Clean the waterer each time you make the change, and refill it with lukewarm water.

The amount of waterer space recommended for 100 brooding chicks is:

Age of chicks       Waterer space

0 to 1 week           Six 1-quart jar waterers

1 to 4 weeks         Two 2-gallon waterers

4 to 12 weeks       Two 5-gallon waterers

Automatic waterers may be used after the first week. Many types of waterers are available from local agrovets.Note that in the first few days chicks can get soaked in waterers with wide bowls and may die of chilling. So use small waterers at first and gradually replace with regular ones.

Feeding

Provide feed and water as soon as the chicks are transferred to the brooder. If possible the chicks should be fed about three hours after being introduced into the brooder. Also they tend to be dehydrated and it is important that they drink the water first before they eat.

Give the first feed on flat surfaces at ground level. One square foot per 50 chicks is a good spacing. Set up the regular feeders and fill them right from the beginning.

Rapidly growing chicks should have a well-balanced starter diet for proper growth and development. For the first two days, it is a good idea to feed the chicks on cracked maize grains to reduce the problem of dried feces attaching on the rear.  Thereafter replace the cracked maize grains with a chick starter mash.This can be done by feeding grain in the first feeders and chick starter in the regular feeders.

The feeder space recommended for 100 chicks is:

Age of chicks      Feeder space

0 to 4 weeks       12 linear feet or two 3-foot feeders

4 to 8 weeks       20 linear feet or two 5-foot feeders

Types of Brooders

Some types of brooders heat the entire room or house. Other types warm the area under or near the hover, while the rest of the room remains relatively cool. The most popular brooders are infrared heat lamps, propane gas brooders and propane catalytic brooders. Convenience, installation cost and operating cost will determine the choice.

The infrared heat lamp (Pyrex-type) is ideal for brooding small lots of 200 chicks or less. One 250-watt lamp is provided for each 50 to 75 chicks. During normal weather, infrared heat lamps placed 1 to 1.5 feet above the chicks will usually provide enough heat.

Large commercial poultry operations generally use big propane brooders with a central brooder and a metal canopy or hover that retains the heat. Each brooder handles 1,000 or more chicks.

Farmers brooding fewer than 1,000 chicks at once generally use electric brooders.

Preventing coccidiosis

Coccidiosis can take a heavy toll on chicks, starting from about three weeks of age. Chicks raised on litter floors become infected easily and the multiplication of the bacteria can lead to dead, stunted, and sick chicks. Chicks that are exposed to only low levels of coccidia become immune without becoming sick.

A lot of people don’t like the idea of using medicated feed but that is the only way of treating the disease. If you want to mix your own feed, you will need to use coccidiostats to control the disease. Almost all commercial poultry feeds contain drugs that suppress coccidia.

Treating Coccidiosis

Anti-coccidial drugs are very effective. Infected chicks should be treated immediately by putting a coccidiostat in the water. Drug substitutes such as garlic and herbs are not as effective as drugs.

How The Big Farms Do It: From The Hatchery to The Shop

Well, the journey to the millions that big poultry farms make isn’t quite a walk in the park. However, it is nothing like rocket science and with a little determination you too can scale great heights in poultry farming. This short article gives a detailed procedure as followed in top farms around the world.

Hatchery to farm

Newly hatched chicks are transported to broiler farms, in ventilated chick boxes, in air-conditioned trucks that are specifically designed to carry chicks. It is important that chicks receive feed, water and warmth soon after hatching, however the remains of the yolk sac can sustain each chick for up to 72 hours post-hatch.

Brooding or Starting

On arrival at the broiler farm, day-old chicks are placed onto the floor of the shed, where they are initially confined to an area of between a half to one third of the total shed area (the ‘brooding area’) and given supplementary heating from gas heaters or heat lamps (referred to as brooders) for about three weeks. This period of time is called brooding. Extra feed pans and water dispensers are provided in the brooding area, and the bedding may be partly covered with paper to stop dropped feed from getting into the bedding and spoiling. Both male and female chicks are reared as meat chickens. While the flocks are usually of mixed sex, some operations may grow male and female chickens separately, depending on market requirements. For example, one company grows out only male chickens in one area, allowing its operations and processing plant in that area to be geared up specifically for larger birds, while sending female chicks to another area.

The air temperature under the brooder should initially be 35oC and reduced by 1-2oC per day until it reaches 23oC when the chickens are approximately three weeks of age. Sophisticated brooding systems have been developed which include gas-fired radiant heat sources, through gas-fired hot air blasters, and fully controlled environment sheds with special heated air passed through ducts to the chickens. High protein (22%) starter rations are fed to young meat chickens to ensure they grow as much as possible early in life. This may be continued for 18-24 days. A medicine, called a coccidiostat, is added to the feed of meat chickens to prevent the intestinal disease coccidiosis. Australian meat chickens are raised on litter floors, but some overseas companies use wire-floored cage systems. The number of chickens in a meat chicken shed is usually high, with some Australian sheds containing up to 30 000 meat chickens.

Growing or Finishing

At this stage, growth is still very important, but since feed is expensive careful costing is carried out to keep expenses to a minimum. Thus a diet that is lower in protein (19%) is fed to the chickens for the remainder of their life (usually until 42 days of age). Heavy weight birds that are required for chicken fillets are slaughtered at up to 56 days of age. A coccidiostat, sometimes a different one from that used in starter feed, is added to the finisher feed. Some meat chickens go through a separate rearing stage, with a special rearing ration being fed to them before they are placed on a finisher feed, but most go straight from starter to finisher feed.

Harvesting

Getting finished meat chickens from the farm to the factory is a delicate business. Most catching is done at night when the birds are quieter, and this also gets them to the processor early in the morning with less delay before slaughter. Delay means stress and weight loss. Mechanical devices for harvesting meat chickens have been invented, however results are variable and most Australian meat chickens are still caught by hand. Birds are placed into plastic crates or aluminium modules designed for good ventilation and safety from bruising during transport. These crates or modules are handled by specialist forklift equipment and loaded onto trucks for transport to the processing plant. In Australia, a percentage of chickens are harvested at up to four different times depending on the need for light or heavy birds. Harvesting is also know n as ‘partial depopulation’, ‘thinning out’, or ‘multiple pick-up’. Thinning out sheds allows more space for the remaining birds and reduces the natural temperatures in the shed. The first harvest can occur as early as 30-35 days and the last harvest at 55-60 days.

Shed clean-out

Broiler processing is highly mechanised

Once all the birds have been harvested (after approximately 60 days), the shed is cleaned and prepared for the next batch of day old chicks, which generally arrives five days to two weeks after the previous harvest. Not only does is the time between batches used to clean the shed, but it also reduces the risk of common ailments being passed between batches as many pathogens die off in this time. Many farms undertake a full cleanout after every batch. This involves removing bedding, brushing floors, scrubbing feed pans, cleaning out water lines, scrubbing fan blades and other equipment, and checking rodent stations. High pressure hoses clean the whole shed thoroughly. The floor bases are usually rammed earth and because low water volumes are used, there is little water runoff.

Once the shed has been thoroughly cleaned, it is disinfected. This is carried out using low volumes of disinfectant sprayed throughout the shed. If insects, such as beetles, were a problem in the previous batch an insecticidal treatment may also be used. Any disinfectant or insecticide that is used must be approved by the Australian Pesticide and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) as safe and fit for use in broiler sheds. After a full cleanout, company veterinarians or servicemen will test the shed to confirm that it has been adequately cleaned and any potential disease agents removed. Sometimes, a partial shed cleanout only is required which involves removing old litter and / or topping up fresh litter and cleaning and sanitising equipment. However, a full cleanout is done after every second or third batch of chickens.

Processing line

When chickens arrive at the processor they go through the following sequence:

• Hung by the legs on a shackle
• Stunned using an electrically charged water bath
• Killed by cutting the blood vessels in the neck
• Bled so that most of the blood leaves the carcass
• Scalded to soften the attachment of the feathers
• Plucked to remove the feathers
• Head removed
• Gutted or eviscerated to remove the internal organs
• Washed to remove blood and soiling from the carcass
• The hock is cut to remove the feet
• Chilled to prevent bacterial spoiling
• Drained to remove excess water from the carcass
• Weighed
• Cut selection to divide the carcass into the desired portions (breast, drumsticks etc.)
• Packed in plastic bags to protect carcasses or portions
• Chilled or frozen for storage

Removal of breast meat

The carcasses are graded during the processing sequence to remove poor quality meat. This meat is used for cut-up (further processing) purposes or, if badly affected, might be used for pet food or condemned and cooked to be made into meat meal for stock feed.

Further Processing and storage

Further processing includes cutting up the carcasses into portions, deboning carcasses and preparing special ready-to-cook products. Cooking is an additional process which is carried out at some processing plants. Almost all chicken meat is sold chilled. Chilled chicken meat must be cooked before it spoils. The shelf life of chicken meat is usually eight to 12 days, depending on the processing, handling and storage conditions.

Marketing

In Australia most chicken is sold under the brand name and market competition is very strong. The average amount of chicken eaten has risen rapidly as prices have fallen. These changes have taken place at the expense of the beef and lamb industries.

Omondi’s 2000-Plus Chicken Empire Is Just A Side Hustle: His Dreams Are Bigger!

Dressed in a white overcoat, a black trouser and gumboots, Nicholas Omondi digs his hand in a sack of poultry feeds and offers his birds at his farm in Dunga, Kisumu.

The farmer keeps 42 ornamental birds that include silky and bantam chickens, doves, guinea fowl and fantail pigeons.

But these are just to beautify his one-and-a-half acres Victoria Eco-Farm. His mainstay are the Kari Kienyeji, Rainbow Rooster and Kuroiler chickens, all which total 2,000, excluding the chicks.

He hatches eggs from the chickens in 15 incubators. “I have two incubators with a capacity of 10,000 eggs. The rest have a capacity of between 2,500 and 8,000 eggs,” says the poultry farmer.

Every three days, he collects over 6,000 chicks for sale. “When they leave the hatchery, I pack them in boxes and deliver to our clients in Kisumu and other counties, including Nairobi.”

Omondi sells to other farmers the day, a week, two weeks, a month and two months old chicks.

A day-old chick goes for Sh85, a week-old at Sh120, two weeks at Sh150, a month at Sh250 while two months chicks go for Sh400.

On the other hand, he sells a mature breeding cockerels for Sh1,500 each.

“The best hen to cockerel ratio in poultry breeding is 1:7. Most farmers over-work their cockerels and this lowers the quality of eggs and, thus, chicks.”

He sells mature bantam and Italian silky chickens at Sh13,000 when they are four months old, mostly to the Asian community.

With contracts from several outside catering firms, the farmer in a good week supplies 1,500 mature birds for events such as funerals and weddings at an average of Sh1,000.

The 35-year-old collects 1,800 eggs per day. He further sources from farmers to ensure he does not run out of the fertilised eggs to hatch.

“We are encouraging contract farming. We have farmers who buy our chicks, once they start laying eggs, we buy back the fertilised eggs from them,” says Omondi, who works with over 100 farmers in different counties.

Interestingly, his poultry business is a ‘side hustle’ as Omondi works as a journalist at Radio Lake Victoria where he presents an evening show.

So how did he built his poultry empire? “I started the business in 2008 with a capital of Sh250,000 from my savings. I really wanted to keep poultry with the passion making me to save nearly every coin I made.”

He used Sh40,000 to buy 50 mature Kienyeji birds comprising of 40 hens and the rest were cockerels. He spent Sh15,000 on feeds in three months and Sh187,000 went to the construction of a one-storey poultry house.

With time, his brood increased as he expanded his hatchery using skills he picked in trainings and seminars sponsored by the USAID, Plan International and others NGOs.

Each day, the father of two, who doubles up as the farm manager, starts his day at 5am by feeding the birds with the help of his workers as he monitors if they have any diseases before leaving for work later in the day.

“We formulate our own feeds from maize germ, cotton seed cake and fishmeal (omena). I add in the feeds coccidiostat and mineral supplements to curb diseases. In a day, we use 12 50kg bags of feeds,” explains Omondi, who has six workers.

He says the few the number of workers in a poultry farm, the more efficient work is done and overall farm management.

His main challenges include diseases like Newcastle, gumboro and fowl pox, which in many cases strike when he is least prepared.

“Each year, I must lose some birds to these diseases. It happens to every farmer before they identify the disease and take preventive measures,” says Omondi, whose dream is to be the biggest supplier of chicks and other poultry products in western Kenya.

Amos Amenya, an agronomist at the Lake Basin Development Authority, while using a charcoal brooder, one should guard against suffocation due to carbon-monoxide.

“For chicks, Gumboro vaccine should be administered when they are a day-old. After 14 days, the chicken should be vaccinated against Newcastle Disease followed by small pox.”