Poultry Farm | Chicken Farming
Poultry farming is a good source of income for households because it does not require a lot of capital and does not have a lot of operational work. In free-range, chickens raise their chicks freely themselves.
Poultry farming is a good source of income for households because poultry farming does not require a lot of capital and does not have a lot of operational work. In free-range, chickens raise their food. Also where possible they are given food scraps, sorghum, bran, or any other grain found in the environment.
For most people in the evenings, the chickens sleep in the kitchen or the home of the breeder himself. This breeding is easy because it is inexpensive but its profit is only stew or very little money.
Developing countries like Kenya have an estimated 34 million indigenous poultry that is raised free-range. This type of grazing is done in rural and urban areas as well. This number of chickens is still small compared to the actual needs of an estimated 40 million Population of users (annual census -).
Consumption of poultry meat in the country is estimated to be approximately 0.7 kg per person per year throughout the year while the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that the average meat consumption is 6.8 kg per person per year. This indicates that the poultry market in the country is huge, which is an important opportunity for poultry farmers.
Due to poor nutrition and breeding (without changing roosters), most native chickens are underweight. They have an average weight of three-quarters of a kilo to one kilogram at the age of over one year. Unless they are well cared for and improved they can reach a weight of one to one and a half kilograms at the age of six to eight months.
In terms of laying hens, local chickens lay an average of 50 to 65 eggs per year. Properly cared for they can reach the production of 80 to 100 eggs per year.
WAYS OF POULTRY BREEDING (Chicken Farming)
Factors that determine the breeder's ability to use a particular breeding method include the ability to finance the poultry farming activity and the size of the area he owns. In this section you will learn three ways of raising chickens which are:
Free breeding (Extension poultry farming system)
Chickens are left to fend for themselves with food and water. This method is most commonly used to breed indigenous chickens. Rarely does the breeder feed the chickens extra food. For this rearing, there must be a large enough area for the chickens to move around and look for food. Chickens sleep in informal areas such as the kitchen, in the living room, etc.
Its benefits
• It is an easy way to breed.
• Its cost is also low.
• Chickens get enough exercise.
• Chickens get a healthy, balanced diet.
Its disadvantages
• Chickens are at risk of being stolen or harmed by wild animals and bad weather.
• Chicken growth is poor, reaching a weight of 1.2 kg after a year.
• Destroys the environment such as eating and garden crops such as cereals.
• They easily transfer diseases.
Raising half in - half out (semi extension farming system)
This is a breeding style where the chickens have a shed attached to the fence on the front. Here the chickens can survive inside the shed or outside the shed while inside the fence. During the day the hens are free to move inside the shed especially when they want to lay and when to dive or they can sit inside the fence outside.
Benefits of raising half in and halt out (semi-extension poultry farming system.)
• Chickens are safe from various enemies.
• You will be able to feed your chickens well so they will be able to increase egg and meat production (by growing faster).
• It will be easier for you to control pests and parasites that can cause disease in your chickens.
• It is easy to separate chickens into different groups and to care for them properly.
• It is easier to identify sick chickens than to raise chickens.
• Chickens will get enough sunlight as well as fresh air. During hot weather, they will be free to enter the shed and stay in the shade.
• Poultry will not harm your crops on the field or in the garden and on your neighbors.
• You will find it easier to collect and deliver compost in the garden or field.
The challenge of raising half in and half out.
• You must have enough time to take care of your chickens.
• You will also need to have a large area for grazing.
• You will also incur a small additional cost of repairing the shed and fence and providing them with extra food.
• However the time and cost of the equipment will be offset by the additional income you will earn from herding in this way.
Pasture within the Poultry shed only:
Another way is to keep chickens indoors. In this way, the chickens stay indoors all the time. This method of farming is widely used by modern poultry farmers. But it can be used even for native chickens especially in areas with limited space.
Challenges of indoor animal husbandry only.
• You need to have enough time to fully care for your chickens.
• You also need to have a lot of capital to build a shed and buy chicken feed.
• The disease is contagious and easy to infect.
Benefits of domestic breeding only.
• It is easy to diagnose and control diseases.
• It is easy to control the loss of chickens, eggs, and chicks.
• It is easy to feed them according to the needs of each group.
• It is easy to identify and remove non-productive chickens in a flock.
Which livestock is most suitable for use in rural areas?
In general, the simplest and most preferred method used by the average rural herd is for semi-indoor and semi-outdoor, ie semi-free. This is due to its benefits as outlined earlier. By using this breeding system, you will avoid the disadvantages of free-range farming as described at the beginning of this article. Also using a semi-open breeding system will make your farming more efficient within the capacity you have because for the most part, you will use the raw materials available in your area.
CHICKEN SHED:
Features of the best Poultry shed.
If you decide to breed in a shed in the two ways described above you will need to build a shed with characteristics that will meet the basic needs of chickens. The best chicken coop should be as follows:
Be a solid building:
• There should be no open spaces at the base and between the wall and the roof.
• The pavilion should be built with materials available in your environment so that it can be affordable.
• You can use clay bricks, clay, wood, poles, etc. If you use poles or sticks remove the pods to control the ants.
• The building will immediately prevent enemies such as rats, lizards, cats, snakes, and thieves from entering the shed and harming or stealing chickens.
It should be easy to clean:
• Walls and floors should not be covered with cracks to facilitate cleaning.
• It will also control the absence of insects hiding in cracks such as ticks, fleas, etc.
• The floor of the pavilion should be covered with mulch such as rice husks or wooden Maranda or crop residues or dry grass depending on what is readily available in your environment.
• These mulch help absorb moisture from chicken manure or water spilled in the shed.
• The pavilion stays dry without odors and pests such as flies and parasites are controlled.
The outdoor area around the pavilion should be kept clean:
Cleanliness outside the shed will keep pests like ants or ants and animals like rats and wild cats out of hiding. Outside the pavilion inside the fence, there should be small trees and other small plants for shade.
Have enough space for existing chickens:
Usually, an area of one square meter is enough for four laying hens or 8 broilers. A space of 1 square meter is enough for 16 chicks up to four weeks of age.
Adequate ventilation and ventilation:
A pavilion that can absorb the fresh air and get out of it remains dry. Bad breath comes out and chickens can breathe fresh air. This also helps control the reproduction of pathogens, thus controlling disease.
Not too hot or too cold:
Plant trees around your shed so that the area is well shaded and well ventilated. higher allow for more air circulation and the roof temperature (if it is corrugated) is farther away from the chicken. The temperature in the shed can be caused by overcrowding, so the breeder should be careful to keep the number of chickens commensurate with the size of his shed.
Roof:
Be strong and uncluttered. You can use tin, grass, cartons, palms, etc. depending on the availability of roofing materials. When roofing the roof should not be too close to the wall but should have a large area above the wall to prevent rain from entering if it is windy (see diagram below).
Required equipment in a chicken coop
Poultry raised in a semi-indoor and semi-outdoor environment requires a variety of services inside the pen and inside the hedge. To provide these services the following facilities are important to view in the pavilion:
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