If you are not planning to raise exotic breeds commercially either for meat or eggs, the other option is to go for the hybrid poultry breeds in Kenya that do not require intensive damage and can do well in free range or semi-free range conditions.
In Kenya, currently, there are five main poultry breeds that you can raise in “kienyeji” conditions. These are:-
- The original Kienyeji chicken
- KARI Improved Kienyeji chicken
- Kuroiler chicken
- Kenbrow chicken
- Rainbow Rooster chicken
An overview of the characteristics of the original Kienyeji chicken
- Purpose: They can be reared for both meat and eggs
- Mature in 6 months
- Produce 3 to 10 eggs per month
- Cocks will weigh 1.3kg to 1.8kg when fully matured
- Hens will weigh 1.2kg to 1.5kg when mature
- Normal feeding
- Excellent sitting or brooding behavior
- Very high resistance to diseases
KARI Improved Kienyeji Chicken Characteristics
- Raised for both meat and eggs
- Will mature in five and a half months
- Lay 15 to 20 eggs per month
- Cocks weigh 2.0kg to 2.2kg when fully mature
- Hens weigh 1.5kg to 1.8kg when mature
- Normal feeding. No intensive feeding requirements
- Good sitting characteristics especially for the multi-colored variety.
- High resistance to diseases
Kuroiler Chicken Characteristics
- They are raised for both meat and eggs
- They mature in five months
- Lay 18 to 20 eggs per month
- Cocks weigh 2.2kg to 2.5kg when fully matured
- Hens weigh 1.8kg to 2.0kg when mature
- Medium feeding requirements
- Have poor sitting characteristics
- Low resistance to diseases hence high cost for medication
Kenbro Characteristics
- Raised for eggs and meat
- Mature in 4 to 5 months
- Kenbro chickens lay 20 to 25 eggs per month
- Cocks weigh 2.2 to 2.5kg when mature
- Hens weigh 1.9kg to 2.2kg when mature
- Heavy feeding requirements
- No sitting characteristics
- Low resistance to diseases
Rainbow Rooster Characteristics
- Can be raised for both meat and eggs
- Mature in 5 months
- Lay 20 to 25 eggs per month
- Cocks weigh 1.9kg to 2.2kg
- Hens weigh 1.9 to 2.2kg
- Medium feeding requirements
- No sitting characteristics
- They have low resistance to diseases
Check out the table below for a side-by-side comparison of the various “kienyeji” or hybrid chicken breeds that you can raise in Kenya under less intensive conditions.
