Diary of a Poultry Farmer: Dos and don'ts in backyard chicken farms

Students keenly listen as James Ooko from Siaya explains a point on his plastic chicken brooders at the Eldoret Ask Show. PHOTO | STANLEY KIMUGE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • If you recall, I started my poultry project in Nairobi’s Parklands area in three rooms that housed my first batch of 100 Kari Improved Kienyeji chickens.
  • When I asked about the number of birds he planned to rear, he intimated that his plan was to start with 100 and increase his stock gradually.
  • But before I delved into the details of designing adequate space for chicken, I needed to know his primary objective for venturing into poultry farming. He said that his goal was to eventually commercialise the venture.
  • Because I can’t have all the answers for readers, I have also asked him to share with me other ideas he may have in dealing with space constraints. If you have any, kindly share.

The other day I received an email from Anthony Muli, which reminded me about my own journey starting a poultry project in Nairobi years back and the challenges I faced.

I will share with you so that you can know what to keep in mind if you plan to start a poultry project in Nairobi or any other urban centre.

Anthony had sent me a second reminder email, which is usually not the case because I always try to respond to readers’ enquiries as soon as possible. I had to first apologise to him for the delay.

“I have enjoyed reading your articles in the past one year,” he wrote. “I want to start rearing Kienyeji chickens in the backyard of my three-bedroom maisonette in Nairobi.” Now, to cut the chase, Anthony wanted a plan for a chicken house.

If you recall, I started my poultry project in Nairobi’s Parklands area in three rooms that housed my first batch of 100 Kari Improved Kienyeji chickens.

Within six months, they started laying eggs and because I was hatching chicks, within no time, I had hundreds of them literally pecking at my feet every time I opened the door.

I was lucky to sell off and keep a few, but space remained a challenge.

The first thing that came to my mind was how many birds he planned to keep and the size of space.

“Actually, I took measurements, my space is 10 by 10 feet squared,” he replied.

When I asked about the number of birds he planned to rear, he intimated that his plan was to start with 100 and increase his stock gradually.

CONGESTION INCREASES STRESS IN BIRDS

I liked his idea of starting small to learn from one’s mistakes before scaling up. I have narrated before that part of our learning comes from action and there is no level of prior planning and preparation that will compensate for what you learn on the job (Seeds of Gold, September 3, 2016; September 24, 2016).

But before I delved into the details of designing adequate space for chicken, I needed to know his primary objective for venturing into poultry farming. He said that his goal was to eventually commercialise the venture.

Based on my past experiences, I told him right away that the space was too small for 100 birds, let alone a commercial venture.

“Experts recommend 25, 10 and four chicks, growers and adult respectively birds per meter square of floor spacing.”
There is another challenge Anthony was going to face. According to Dr Omari, a long-time vet.

“If you squeeze many birds into a small space, the risk of spreading diseases increases and this can result in high mortality.”

Another thing I learnt from Dr Omari was that congestion increases stress in birds and this can slow down the growth rate.

He also told me that pecking of feathers and other forms of cannibalism are common when the space is limited (Seeds of Gold, November 21, 2015, February 27, 2016).

PURSUE THEIR PASSIONS

In my case, another challenge I faced was disposing off the chicken manure. Every two weeks, I had to change the sawdust but with time, the garden was full and when rains came, the smell was awful. With time, neighbours started complaining.

I then decided to move the poultry project to Njiru on the outskirts of Nairobi where I have more space. The advantage with my current location is that people have bigger plots and I even get to sell the chicken manure to my neighbours.

By the way, if you have space, you can process chicken manure for use as cattle feed and biogas fuel.

Of course, one thing I never do in dealing with readers is to look at their immediate constraints but to support them to pursue their passions.

I offered Anthony other options. One was to start with a few chickens, about 10 for his domestic consumption.

Because I can’t have all the answers for readers, I have also asked him to share with me other ideas he may have in dealing with space constraints. If you have any, kindly share.

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Your Questions Answered

Elizabeth Njogu: Please advise on turkey farming especially making a cage, the measurements and how to handle turkey poults (chicks)?

Turkeys like to be outdoors regardless of the weather.

Consider a roosting area with a roof, protection from predators, places to dust bathe, roosts to fly up at night and access to fresh pasture or range. Have 75 by 75 feet for up to 12 turkeys.

Turkey poults require diet high in protein content of between 27 to 28 per cent and grit by day three.

Kataka Muyonga, Ongata Rongai: Do my 20 adult birds need to be vaccinated?

They should be vaccinated against Newcastle disease and de-wormed every three months. Unfortunately, vaccines are sold in minimum doses of 100.