Poultry farming in Kenya is playing an important role in the total economy and fulfilling the nutrition demand in Kenya. Reports show that some people are becoming billionaires by commercial poultry farming in Kenya.
Most of the farmers of Kenya raise egg laying or broiler
chicken. Raising some other domestic birds can also be seen in Kenya.
Among poultry birds, quail
farming is becoming popular day by day. Some people raise poultry for
family consumption and most of the farmers raise poultry commercial for profit.
Poultry egg consumption rate is relatively high than meat
consumption in Kenya. Schools, hotels and homes are the biggest market for
poultry eggs in Kenya. In the case of meat, hotels are the major customer of
chicken meat.
How to Start Poultry Farming in Kenya
You can start poultry farming in Kenya by keeping in mind
both local and international markets. If you don’t want to spend money in buying
poultry products then you can go with small-scale poultry farming in Kenya.
But for commercial production you have to focus on the
marketing of your products. You can target large hotels, companies and also
exporting to foreign countries for marketing your products.
Farming Method
Poultry farming in Kenya can be done by using two methods
and those are organic and inorganic. Both organic and inorganic methods are
used for commercial poultry farming in Kenya.
There is a high competition between this two types of
poultry farmers. There are some poultry products buying companies in Kenya that
are not accepting inorganic poultry products (meat and eggs).
Some health conscious people are rejecting all types of
inorganic foods including poultry eggs and meat. This is resulting a little
drop in inorganic poultry farming in Kenya (not greatly).
Breeds
In Kenya, broiler and layer poultry are used for commercial
meat and egg production. There are numerous world famous meat and egg
producing poultry breeds available.
Select proper breeds according to your desired production.
For commercial egg production choose highly productive layer breeds which are
suitable for farming in Kenyan environment.
In case of meat production select highly meat
producing broiler poultry breeds. You can visit
your nearest poultry farming or training center for getting some information
about suitable breeds for commercial poultry farming in Kenya.
Housing
Good designed and well facilitated poultry housing is a must
for commercial poultry farming in Kenya. Housing system and design depends on
the farming system and chosen poultry breeds.
But follow some instructions while building house for all
types of poultry breeds. Proper ventilation system is very urgent. This keeps
the birds healthy and productive.
Make sure that your poultry house is well ventilated. Keep
proper facilities for entrancing sufficient amount of fresh air and light
inside the house.
If you want to start large scale poultry
farming, then making numerous houses will be effective. Keep about 40 feet
distance from one house to another house while making numerous houses.
Always clean the house perfectly before bringing the chicks
inside the farm. Clear the litter on a regular basis.
Wooden or rice bran can be used for making litter for the poultry birds. Keep all the poultry equipment clean and germ free. Clean all equipment on regular basis.
Feeding
Feeding good quality nutritious food keeps the poultry birds healthy and productive. High quality fresh foods with availability of all types of nutrient ingredients is the key to success in commercial poultry farming business.
Along with providing good quality foods serve them
sufficient amount of fresh and clean water according to their demand.
Care & Management
Always take good care of your poultry. Vaccinate timely to
keep them free from all types of poultry
diseases. Keep your farm free from other harmful animals and prevent all
types of predators.
Marketing
There is already a ready market available for marketing your
poultry products. Small scale farmers can easily sell their products in local
market.
And large scale poultry farmer can try to sell their
products in large hotels, companies or in international market.
Poultry farming has a great contribution to the economy and food demand of Kenya. The main benefits of commercial poultry farming in Kenya is that, diseases are less in poultry and as a result we don’t have to import poultry products from foreign country. Along with gaining profit from commercial poultry farming in Kenya we have to ensure the availability of required food demand.