Starting a Kienyeji Chicken business is not rocket science. You can set up a farm in as little as 3 days and put your chicks inside. Drawing from our experience in consultancy for various farmers venturing into the Kienyeji Chicken business, here is what is involved when setting up your kienyeji chicken rearing business:-
How Ambitious Are You?
This is the first question that you should ask yourself when planning to venture into kienyeji chicken business in Kenya. Do you plan to keep 50, 100, 200, 300, 500, or 1000 hens? Based on your ambition, you can proceed and budget accordingly. Sometimes you might not have enough money but you have big ambitions. That should not deter you. If you have Ksh.15,000, start with that. You can allocate space in your house or use some existing structures use the money to buy your first chicks, feeds and equipment such as feeders and drinkers.
Do You Have the Capital Ready?
This again is based on how ambitious you are. You do not need Ksh.200,000 to venture into Kienyeji chicken business. You can even begin with Ksh.5000 and use existing spaces and then expand later once you have built up your flock.
Selection of site and building
If you are going to build a new poultry house, then one of the steps that you must undertake is site selection. Ensure the kienyeji house is built with the right kind of orientation-East to West. You can get our housing manual and learn about the various requirements for kienyeji chicken housing.
Purchase the Equipment
Whether you are planning to buy the one day old chicks or the more mature ones, there are certain equipment that you will need to invest in such as the feeders, drinkers, heaters and more.
Buy the Feed
Select the right kind of mash and know the rations that you should use to feed birds of various ages.
Prepare the house before introducing a new batch
Ensure the house is clean and disinfected before you bring in a new batch of flock. You can also seal the various outlets that will lead to draught in the chicken house.
Introduce the chicks
Once you have gone through the preparatory steps, it is now time to introduce the chicks into the kienyeji chicken house. If they are one day old chicks, you will need to set up the chicken brooder and ensure that it is of the right temperature by observing the chick behavior. Our Comprehensive Kienyeji Chicken Rearing Guide provides lots of tips on how you can set up a good brooder that will not contribute to a high rate of mortality.
Invest in day to day management
Ensure the chicks are well taken care of on day-to-day basis. Supply clean water, replenish food and provide adequate heating at night. Ensure they are vaccinated at the right time for common poultry diseases.