KEPOFA Oct Dec 2014 MAGAZINE

OCT-DEC 2014

KSHS: 250 UGSH: 7500 TSHS: 5000 RWF: 2000

YOUR AUTHORITATIVE POULTRY FARMING MAGAZINE

Poultry Keeping is

Serious Business

Take care of the pecks the cash will take care of itself

Plenty of Room for Growth, Profit... P.21

A Beginner's Guide to Keeping Chicken... P.42

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CONTENTS

CONTENT

Cover Story

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World Egg Day in the Land of Fish

Hosted by the Kenya Veterinary Association (KVA) in Kisumu.

Farm Profile

years experience 26 Seven provides useful lessons Foresight and fullfilment

chickens are such 19 Why loving, kind birds

Kenchic imports grand parent stock. These are four pure lines which are interbred to produce parent stocks.

name and 36 Nutrition, those figures matter

Why your animals need the nutrient and energy laden Biolys 70%

Interview

of 21 Plenty room for

growth and profits

Commercial

the food you give your 34 How birds affect their growth Feed and nurture

I am concentrating on poultry because it has the potential to bring in more money now that the sector is improving.

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NEWS BRIEFS

LOCAL: OCT-DEC 2014

KSHS: 250 UGSH: 7500 TSHS: 5000 RWF: 2000

Tired of Laying Eggs? Be a cock!

YOUR AUTHORITATIVE POULTRY FARMING MAGAZINE

Poultry Keeping is

Serious Business

Take care of the pecks the cash will take care of itself

Plenty of Room for Growth, Profit... P.21

A Beginner's Guide to Keeping Chicken... P.42

PUBLISHER Global Village Publishers (EA) Limited PO Box 23399-00625, Nairobi Vision Plaza, 5th Floor, Suite 25, Mombasa Road, Nairobi

TELEPHONES Landline: 020 2525253/4/5 Mobile: 0722 401739, 0722 787345 E-mail: info@gvp.co.ke Website: www.gvp.co.ke

KENYA – In a stranger than fiction twist, a hen is alleged to have recently changed into a cockerel in Homa-Line, Koru town, Kisumu County! The owner of the bird said it had

hatched five times before it began developing features characteristic of cocks like the wattle and comb around April. At the time of the change, it had hatched several chicks. Then the hen suddenly started to crow in August. The chicken’s legs are said to have widened and the eyes became red.

The strange bird has now mastered the art of seduction and has become “interested” in hens. Now villagers have named it Hono (mystery in Dholuo) and the hen-turned-cockerel has for weeks been attracting many curious onlookers.

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Kwendo Opanga

EDITOR Mohammed Warsama

Bio-Security Offers Best Alternative

EDITORIAL TEAM Editorial Co-ordinator: Edgar Nyandong Writers: Robin Obino, Brian Mureithi

COMMERCIAL DIRECTOR Simon Mugo

BUSINESS EXECUTIVE Titus C. Omondi Amos Mbatia

SALES & MARKETING MANAGER James Ombima

DESIGN & LAYOUT David Alukwe

PHOTOGRAPHY Yahya Mohamed

DISTRIBUTION Publishers Distribution Services (PDS)

KENYA – The World Egg Day marked in Kisumu County on October 10 highlighted bio-security preventive measures as vital in assisting farmers reduce the need for vaccines and medicines. A two-day workshop led by Dr Victor Yamo of the Kenya Veterinary Association, Dr Watson Messo of Kenchic and Dr Humphrey Mbugua of the Kenya Poultry Breeders Association heard that some farmers have not had the need to treat or vaccinate their birds for up to one year due to the strict bio-security measures they put in place in their farms. The vets advised that proper cleaning and disinfection of poultry establishments and egg equipment sanitisation can go a long way in stopping poultry diseases before they strike, reducing the costs associated with treatment of and loss of birds.

ACCOUNTS Christine Wambui

ADMINISTRATION Josephine Wambui Charles Kimakwa

DISCLAIMER: Our Poultry Our Livestock may not be copied and or transmitted or stored in any way or form, electronically or otherwise, without the prior and written consent of the publisher. Our Poultry Our Livestock is published at Vision Plaza, 5th Floor, Suite 25, Mombasa Road, by Global Village Publishers (EA) Limited, Box 23399 – 0625, and Telephone 020-2525253/4/5. Registered at the GPO as a newspaper.

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Killer Feed Goat Keeper’s Misery KENYA - A livestock farmer in Isinya town, Kajiado County, lost more than 50 goats in October after feeding them on suspected expired animal feed. Mr Ole Nkaru said he bought 50 bags of animal feed but his goats started dying after consuming it. Police visited the feed miller’s premises but efforts to speak to the owners were futile. Samples of the feed were taken for laboratory tests.

The expiry label on the bags showed that the feed was well past its due date.

NEWS BRIEFS

GLOBAL:

Dual-needle in-ovo Vaccine Delivers USA - Studies conducted in the US and abroad indicate that in-ovo vaccination with a dual-needle delivery system may be preferable to a single-needle delivery system, according to Dr Taylor Barbosa, Director of Outcomes Research, Zoetis Inc. This is an important finding since many of the newer vaccines for poultry are intended for in-ovo use, according to Barbosa.

CANADA - Canadian sausage producer Missing Link Extraordinary Sausage recently recalled frozen, raw, ground chicken products from the marketplace due to possible E. coli O157:H7 contamination. Over three months, Alberta Health Services (AHS) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) conducted exhaustive investigations into the E. coli outbreak in Alberta. “Recently we were advised that in the course of their analysis, four cases of E. coli had been linked to a Missing Link product.

We were shocked and devastated by this news,” the company said in a statement before explaining

In a US challenge study believed to be the first of its kind, broiler eggs from the same origin were injected at 18 days of incubation with either the Embrex Inovoject dual-needle system or with a single-needle system. The vaccine delivered was a herpesvirus of turkey (HVT) vaccine, often used in the broiler industry to protect against Marek’s disease. The hatch rate of eggs in breeder flocks at 40 to 61 weeks of age was numerically higher for those inoculated with the dual-needle system compared to the single-needle system.

Chicken sausages recalled in E.coli scare the reasons for the recall of the chicken sausages: All indications point to the likelihood that we received a small batch of chicken that had been contaminated with E. coli bacteria before it reached our kitchen. All signs point to an “upstream” contamination most likely during the week of August 25th.” The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said there were four reported illnesses associated with the products.

Boom: India’s Poultry Industry Thrives INDIA - The outlook for the growth of the Indian broiler and egg sectors should be good for at least another year, according to Dr Kotaiah of Indbro Research and Breeding Farms Private Limited. Indian broiler production at 3.8 million tons is the fourth largest in the world after US, Brazil and China. The growth is continuing at 12 to 15 per cent.

Contact farming with small farmers spread all over the place is a healthy growth involving millions of small landowners.

The broiler growing companies are becoming bigger and the feed mills are getting larger.

More than 60 per cent of the feed is being processed unlike in the past. Marketing continues for “live birds” with no signs of

improvement towards processed chicken. Layer farming with 220 million layers is growing at six to eight per cent and egg prices are at a record high. Egg promotion agencies are targeting schools and hospitals besides growing household consumption. Concerns on health of chickens and humans are well addressed.

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EDITORIAL

Let's focus on the needs of poultry farmers "You will be quite interested to read about Poquil Farm in Ruai in Nairobi County and the Thika-based Naaro Ranch.

These are some of the steadily growing middle and high-level poultry farms taking time to organise workshops and train farmers seeking the latest information and tips on poultry husbandry."

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here is certainly plenty for farmers and other stakeholders to learn in poultry farming - a very important sub-sector in the agriculture value chain. The confidence expressed and the interest shown by the stakeholders indicates that poultry farming is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. Emphasis must therefore be placed on educating poultry farmers on how to market their products, correctly feed and take care of their birds, and when and how to adopt proper bio-security measures.

In this second issue of Our Poultry, Our Livestock, we focus on the World Egg Day, which was this year held in Kisumu County in October. This signif-

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icant day in the global poultry calendar offers Kenyans a great oppportunity to learn more about this vital sub-sector. The World Egg Day enables Kenyan consumers to think, get enlightened and engage in popularising the egg, which has often not been accorded the serious attention it deserves by many Kenyans due to unfounded rumours of health dangers.

The Kisumu County event showcased and gave momentum to the egg and the bird - a platform to train and educate vets, para-vets and farmers to constantly keep abreast of the challenges of the poultry sub-sector, and how to overcome them. Our Special Feature on World Egg Day highlights why the egg must be celebrated and how it can help fight hunger in a world characterised by a constantly increasing population and diminishing resources.

In other sections of this issue, we look at two farms doing a great job of helping small-scale farmers grow. You will be quite interested to read about Poquil Farm in Ruai in Nairobi County and the Thika-based Naaro Ranch. These are some of the steadily growing middle and high-level poultry farms taking time to organise workshops and train farmers seeking the latest

information and tips on poultry husbandry.

Your interest should also be drawn to the policymakers at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries' take on the business of poultry keeping and what farmers should do to curb the challenges they face. The interview with the assistant secretary of the Kenya Poultry Farmers Association (KEPOFA) also points to the room available for growth and the steps that will eventually unlock the yet-to-be-realised potential of the poultry sector.

Do not forget to flip through the pages showing the importance of the just-ended Nairobi International Trade Fair.

We believe that we are slowly but surely getting attuned to the needs of farmers, based on the overwhelming feedback we have so far received and the interest our magazine attracted at the World Egg Day festivities in Kisumu. By order from farmers, we have highlighted Kenchic Ltd and its operations. There is a lot more for you, dear reader in these next pages.

Our Poultry, Our Livestock is grateful for the feedback from you on the first issue and hope that this edition will be an even better and educative read. Keep your comments coming and, enjoy!

FOREWORD

Here’s how our information is specifically tailored for you

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he key to achieving success lies in the strength of teamwork.

In this issue of your trusted magazine, meet the team which is steering the Kenya Poultry Farmers Association (KEPOFA) in the eight regions to achieve greater heights.

As we review our constitution to have a county-based structure which is more visible at the grassroots level, we will introduce you to the people in each of the eight regions who form the management teams tasked with ensuring our success.

Different actors in the poultry value chain will benefit from the content of this magazine as their source of information. Input Suppliers will readily access market information for their different categories of input regarding feeds, day old chicks and equipment, and how to access consumers. The association intends to have a directory of the said actors in future for ease of reference and access. Producers will get information on the available inputs in the market, multiplication of birds, and innovations on production and management to name but few areas.

Processors will learn of new and available technologies in the country for processing, packaging and branding their poultry products. Specialised market information will also be provided since processors target

The World Egg Day was globally celebrated on the October 10, 2014. In Kenya it was celebrated in Kisumu County and organised by Kenya Veterinary Association, TechnoServe and Sidai Africa. a different a consumer base from their producer counterparts.

Policy-makers will be able to adequately address the challenges the industry faces and come up with solutions based on the information gathered on the needs of the industry. Consumers will be advised on what quality poultry and poultry products are available for them and at what prices.

Bulk consumers will be able to know how to procure directly from producers.

To support all of the above, the association will employ multiple communication platforms to target a broader spectrum of industry players. Such platforms include bulk SMS, an informa-

tion website, information hubs, communication groups including WhatsApp, to name but a few.

Poultry has continued to be a source of income for most rural households.

In this vein, KEPOFA has designed several activities to build the capacity of producers, especially women and youth. We have partnered with TechnoServe in Homabay, Kisumu, Siaya, Kakamega, Bungoma and Machakos counties, to strengthen our commitment to achieving these objectives. In the Agricultural Sector Development Support Programme (ASDSP), 29 of Kenya’s 47 counties have prioritised rearing of poultry. This shows the importance of poultry in the country.

The World Egg Day was globally celebrated on the October 10, 2014. In Kenya it was celebrated in Kisumu County and organised

by Kenya Veterinary Association, TechnoServe and Sidai Africa. To carry along in the same stride, KEPOFA will organise different activities in different regions in the course of 2015 which will culminate in the global celebrations once again on October 9. This will help in creating awareness on the health benefits of consuming poultry products.

Remember to always get a copy of your insightful and informative magazine and join us in living up to our slogan: “SAY NO TO POVERT Y” 7

KEPOFA BOARD

KEPOFA

Board Members

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1. Wairimu Kariuki - National Chairperson 2. Gerald M'ikunyua - Vice Chairperson 3. Valentine Emojong - National Secretary and Rep., Western Region 4. Ali Juma Dena - National Treasurer and Rep., Coast Region 5. Leonard Karobi Njoroge - National Assistant Secretary and Rep., Central Region 6. Mary Were - Women's Leader and Rep., Nyanza Region 7. Mohamed Noor - Youth Leader and Rep., North Eastern Region 8. Daniel Maina Kirungui - Board Member and Rep., Rift Valley Region

COVER STORY

SPECIAL REPORT

World Egg Day in the Land of Fish

By Edgar Nyandong

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he World Egg Day on October 10 provided Kenyan consumers with a new sense of appreciation for the egg.

Hosted by the Kenya Veterinary Association (KVA) in Kisumu, the lakeside capital of Kisumu County, the three-day event featured a workshop and an exhibition.

Previous events have since 2010 when the day was first observed in Kenya been organised by Novus International, the Kenya Poultry Farmers Association (KEPOFA), Nutrimix, Unga Feeds, Kenchic and Sigma Suppliers. Globally, this year’s event marked the 19th World Egg Day. Novus International is a global producer and distributor of animal feed additives such as amino acids. It has its headquarters in Missouri, USA.

The IEC came up with the idea of the World Egg Day to allow for packaging of new information for consumers to understand the egg from an informed perspective. Novus International has the licence to organise the event in Kenya.

Kisumu County

During this year’s event, Kisumu County joined the global movement in activities that raise the awareness of the general public on the benefits of eggs as a source of animal proteins, especially for malnourished populations.

The Kenya Veterinary Association partnered with the Smallholder Poultry Agribusiness Development Programme (SPADE), Technoserve and Sidai Africa Ltd in planning activities that included a two-day workshop on poultry health and management, which culminated in a poultry exhibition.

The workshops involved presentations from various veterinary

and para-veterinary professionals.

The presentations focussed on bio-security measures, sanitisation of egg equipment and cleaning and disinfection of poultry establishments.

The exhibition brought together key players in the sub-sector including Kenchic, the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and farmers in the poultry value chain to display products and engage the farming communities in Western Kenya on various aspects of poultry farming and agribusiness.

According to Dr David Nyagaka, Novus International’s technical sales and marketing manager for Eastern Africa, the celebration of the egg was pre-empted by a need to correct the misconception some people have about the health risks often associated with eggs.

“Around the 1980s, patients who would go to seek treatment 9

COVER STORY

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that a person eats 181 eggs per person per year, but Kenya’s per capita consumption of eggs per year is only 36. from doctors were told to stop eating eggs because they felt it was dangerous. So, initially people ran away from eggs. Eventually they realised something was not right because people who were not eating eggs were dying more of heart disease than those who were not.

“When this happened, producers decided to package this information and give it to the public.

It spelt out the benefits of eggs to the family, children and pregnant mothers,” Nyagaka says.

Novus has been interested in starting early communication about benefits of the egg to children so that they can grow up with the right information. The earlier events mainly targeted young people, the reason it has taken longer for older consumers to fully appreciate the egg.

Organising World Egg Day involves informing stakeholders in the poultry industry about the theme from the IEC, which is adopted globally. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, feed millers, poultry farmers‘ associations, and poultry professionals are some of the stakeholders involved.

At earlier events, Novus invited schools, principals, district education officials and the media to share knowledge on the egg.

Intake of eggs in Kenya is still very low compared to consumption in other parts of the world.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that a person eats 181 eggs per person per year, but Kenya’s per capita consumption of eggs per year is only 36 compared to China’s annual per capita consumption of 345 eggs and the US 300.

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Farmers want to improve the consumption of eggs, not only for economic purposes, but also for nutrition and all players along the poultry value chain stand to make significant gains. Consumption of more eggs will improve consumers' health and make farmers, producers, feed millers, agro vets, veterinarians and equipment suppliers have the purpose to invest more in the poultry sector.

Nyagaka believes that such improvement will make competition among the players more aggressive and, therefore, benefit the sector.

The World Egg Day events also simplifies technical information about production of chickens, feeds and eggs so that even the lowest level farmers and consumers can understand it.

“In Kenya, we are wasting a lot of feeds. For example, a layer will eat 140 grams of feed per day, but in other countries the intake is between 105 to 110 grams per chicken per day, a difference of about 30 grams per chicken. So,

if we have about 6 million layers in Kenya consuming an extra 30 grams per day more than the global average, that is 180 million grams wasted.

“Don’t forget that in Kenya there is human and livestock competition for the ingredients we eat like maize, soya and others. So, this is the kind of information that we provide when we lead World Egg Day,” explains Nyagaka.

On the day of the event, an exhibition is conducted where producers of supplements, feed millers, veterinary officers, insurance companies, medics, nutritionists, farmers’ associations such as KEPOFA and farmers have exhibition stands where consumers can learn more about poultry, the importance of eggs, marketing and livestock farming in general. Children also get involved through games and sports activities.

Novus believes that since 2010, consumers have positively received information on the benefits of eggs, despite the initial caution some Kenyans displayed on the

COVER STORY

health effects of eggs.

“We received positive messages on Facebook and Twitter after the first event. There has been a change of heart. We have farmers coming all the way from Bomet, Kakamega, Kisumu, Meru, Makueni and Mombasa to take part in the events. They are also now comfortable talking about the benefits of eating eggs,” says Nyagaka.

Challenges and Solutions It is estimated that about 1 billion people are currently underfed and undernourished globally.

During the next 40 years, the population is expected to increase by another 3 billion people. The challenge is how the world can produce sufficient food to feed everybody.

In many developing countries, people are becoming more affluent, moving away from poverty, and are therefore able to afford more food and demand more animal protein. Globally, there are limited resources, yet there’s need to produce more food.

Eggs can be the solution for feeding the world’s hungry. They

are sustainable, affordable and highly nutritious, with the benefit of a low carbon footprint, and are more affordable than beef and pork.

The egg industry donates over 50 million eggs every year to food banks, aid projects, charities and community projects, helping to feed the underfed and undernourished.

Making high quality food available for the hungry is a priority for the egg business around the

world. Apart from donating eggs, organisations work with developing countries to help them establish their own sustainable egg supplies.

A group of American egg farmers have set up an egg production facility in Mozambique. Called Mozambique Fresh Eggs, it provides a profitable and sustainable food supply for the region. The facility has created work and food for the local people. Profits from the new business are used to build schools and educate the community.

Indeed, research presented at an IEC conference showed that in the next 40 years, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that meat production will have to grow by 75 per cent to meet the demand for animal protein.Eggs offer an excellent alternative since they are a high quality source of animal protein, rich in vitamins and nutrients. Egg production also has a very low carbon footprint compared to beef and pork. Eggs have the added benefit of being a more affordable option for consumers.

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COVER STORY

The egg industry donates over 50 million eggs every year to food banks, aid projects, charities and community projects...

Fascinating facts about eggs:

1. Eggs contain the highest quality protein you can buy.

2. To tell if an egg is raw or hard-cooked, spin it. If the egg spins easily, it is hard-cooked but if it wobbles, it is raw.

3. Egg yolks are one of the few foods with naturally good sources of Vitamin D. 4. If an egg is accidentally dropped on the floor, sprinkle it heavily with salt for easy clean up.

5. Yolk colour depends on the diet of the hen.

6. Eggs age more in one day at room temperature than in one week in the refrigerator.

7. A large egg contains only 70 calories and 5 grams of fat.

8. Egg protein has the right mix of essential amino acids needed by humans to build tissues. It is second only to mother’s milk for human nutrition.

9. An average hen lays 300 to 325 eggs a year.

10. To produce one egg, it takes a hen 24-26 hours.

11. As a hen grows older she produces larger eggs.

12. The fastest omelette maker in the world made 427 two-egg omelettes in 30 minutes. American Egg Board’s Howard Helmer, is the Omelette King; he holds three Guinness World Records for omelette making.

Ideas on how to celebrate the egg from previous events:

Dr Imke de Boer from Wageningen University in The Netherlands carried out research into the carbon footprint of the egg industry.

She presented her findings to the IEC, and explained that eggs have a very low carbon footprint, are good for people’s health and are a good option for the environment.

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1. National cook-off to find the nation’s fastest omelette maker.

2. Family festivals – festivals have been held around the world, putting on eggciting fun and games for the whole family. Past festivals have included egg drawing competitions, egg throwing challenges, recipe contests and cooking competitions, as well as music and entertainment to bring people of all ages together to enjoy eggs.

3. Recipe books containing a selection of delicious recipes using eggs.

4. YouTube video, starring eggs in the lead role.

5. Shopping Centre cooking demonstrations and cook-offs.

6. Nutritional seminars explaining the benefits of eggs.

7. Eat good – Do good. The American Egg Board’s Good Egg Project was launched on World Egg Day 2009; it encourages the nation to think about eating well, while at the same time helping the less fortunate. For every goodwill pledge made on the Good Egg Project website, American Egg Farmers donated eggs to the hungry.

8. Radio and TV advertising campaigns promoting eggs.

9. Egg dishes delivered to radio and TV stations.

Or, you can try; 10. Organising events for school and pre-school children. Encourage children to have fun with eggs, while teaching them about the nutritional benefits. Perhaps organise a sponsored egg and spoon race, with the money being donated to a national or international food project, or local community projects.

11. School cooking competitions on, who can create the best recipe incorporating eggs, or cook the tastiest dish. These could be organised regionally and culminate into a national final competition.

12. Produce recipe cards for community groups such as ante-natal groups, parent and toddler groups – perhaps in partnership with local egg production companies and retailers, so that people are given vouchers for money off a carton of eggs.

NEWS

Poultry diseases

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By Special Correspondent isease outbreak is every poultry farmer's biggest fear, because it can significantly lower productivity or wipe out entire flocks of birds.

There are various categories of poultry diseases - parasitic, bacterial and viral. Other common categories include metabolic, nutritional and diseases caused by poisoning and accidents or vices.

Parasitic diseases like coccidiosis and worms are internal and can cause high economic damage to farmers because though birds don’t suddenly die, they are weakened and have stunted growth, and their productivity significantly lowered.

External poultry diseases are

those caused by mites, lice, ticks and bugs, which attack poultry externally and can cause great discomfort. However, they can be controlled by insecticides.

The most common bacterial diseases are fowl typhoid, fowl cholera and Escherichia coli (E.coli) infections. However, viral diseases are dramatic, since they easily cause deaths and a spike in mortality rates. The most common like Newcastle disease, Gumboro, infectious bronchitis and bird/avian flu are widely known and feared by farmers.

The Newcastle disease, which first appeared in Kenya in 1935 and Gumboro, discovered in 1991, are said to be especially endemic to Kenya. Since their appearance, they have been difficult to control.

Dr Humphrey Mbugua, technical adviser and general secretary

of the Kenya Poultry Breeders Association, says Kenya does not have mechanisms for disease containment once an outbreak occurs.

"In the West, if there is a disease outbreak and they want to eradicate it, they literally clear all the species that are at risk of getting that disease. In Kenya we cannot afford that because we do not have a compensation policy. Farmers will not allow their animals to be killed. This could imply that veterinary support to farmers in the country is weak,�says Mbugua.

According to Mbugua, the situation is complicated by the fact that every part of the country has flocks of indigenous birds, yet some people who keep them do not think they need medical attention.

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NEWS

Most poultry diseases can be controlled and treated. For the parasitic diseases, a farmer has to first know the kind of parasites attacking the birds before setting up a control programme. Mbugua says regular strategic medication is advisable.Bacterial diseases are treatable and can be vaccinated against. However, they require

quick and proper diagnosis.

"The mistake farmers make is that they rush to their neighbours to borrow remains of medicine their neighbours used to treat their birds. Diagnosticians are not common and many veterinary professionals are not conversant with poultry diseases as much as they do with cow diseases," Mbu-

gua notes.

Viral diseases on the other hand are not treatable but are preventable through vaccination.

Indeed, even with vaccination and treatment, farmers still make mistakes from time to time, exposing their birds to diseases, reduced productivity and less market appeal.

Common Poultry Diseases PARASITIC:

Causes and Transmission

Signs, Symptoms, Treatment

Coccidiosis

• Caused by microscopic organisms (coccidia) transmitted by direct or indirect contact with droppings of infected birds.

• Characterised by diarrhoea, un-thriftiness and variable levels of mortality. Can be controlled through vaccination or prevention with anticoccidial drugs.

Poultry maintained on wire floors to separate birds from droppings have fewer infections.

Worms

• Include ascarids (large intestinal roundworms), caecal worms, capillaria/thread worms, tapeworms and gapeworms. Mortality is only in severe infections.

• Ascarids, for example, cause droopiness in birds, emaciation and diarrhoea, and lead to reduced efficiency of feed utilisation. Worms can be treated by vaccines such as Flubenvet or Solubenol.

• Caused by Salmonella Gallinarum bacteria and can lead to mortality (10-100 per cent) in birds of any age. Broiler parents and egg layers are especially susceptible. They are transmitted through faecal-oral contamination, egg eating etc. Symptoms include

• dejection, ruffled feathers, thirst, yellow diarrhoea and reluctance to move. Prevention is through bio-security measures and clean chicks. They can be treated by Amoxycillin, tetracylines etc.

Newcastle disease

• One of the most serious of all avian diseases and common in the eastern region of Kenya. It is caused by a virus, paramyxovirus and spread in droppings and nasal discharge via direct contact, through air, on contaminated items like bottoms of shoes, food or infected dishes and cages.

• Incubation period is four to seven days. Signs include ocular and/or nasal discharge, dyspnea and bloody diarrhoea. Is highly contagious and has no treatment or vaccine, but injections of hyper-immune serum have been used to protect birds before they become symptomatic.

Gumboro

• Also known as Infectious Bursal Disease, it is an acute, highly contagious viral infection in chickens.

The virus is resistant to most disinfectants and environmental conditions. In contaminated places, it can persist for months in water, forage and faeces for weeks.

• Characterised by high death rates at ages three to six weeks, diarrhoea, anorexia, depression, and ruffled feathers especially around the neck and head. There is no effective treatment, but birds can be helped with drugs to treat symptoms to control secondary agents and effects of immunosuppression.

Bird/Avian Flu

• Caused by a virus and is of different types that can cause the condition in people. The one that affects birds has at least 15 subtypes. Influenza viruses constantly go through mutation and can be low or highly pathogenic.

• symptoms depend on the form of the virus that has infected the birds. A virus that is not highly pathogenic causes mild illness, ruffled feathers or reduced egg production. Highly pathogenic virus kills quickly, even on the same day. Currently, there is no vaccine to protect humans from the flu although one is under development.

BACTERIAL: Fowl typhoid

VIRAL:

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NEWS

One of the most common mistakes farmers make is failure to vaccinate birds at the right time.

Some of these mistakes are environment-related, such as improper housing for different stages of the birds' growth, including housing for chicks, growers and layers/broilers. These mistakes can expose birds to rain, dirty infected water, bacteria, viruses and parasites. Poorly built houses can also allow infected wild birds in, further exposing a farmer’s birds to diseases.

Related to this are issues of basic bird hygiene and bio-security.

"Farms can be affected by visitors getting into the farm through their shoes and their cars if proper preventive measures are not taken. Some farmers take their visitors round the farm, even into the bird houses without observing any protective measures.

There has to be visitor isolation from the birds," Mbugua says.

Strategic medication like de-worming help reduce cases of infection and disease. Some farmers do not however take this into consideration, while others fail to dispose of the bird litter in a proper way.

One of the most common mistakes farmers make is failure to vaccinate birds at the right time.

Some do it after an outbreak of disease or infection. Mbugua advises that this should be done early to make vaccination preventative and not curative.

Farmers also make nutritional mistakes by giving their poultry poor or unhygienic diets. Some

do not give appropriate feed to the proper age-groups of birds, for example chick mash to chicks and layers mash to layers.

"I have seen some farmers mixing feed. They give their birds feed from different brands mixed together in order to get a lot of feed. You are better off giving less of one feed to your birds rather than the mixes, because the mo-

ment you start mixing, you are diluting each one of the feed," Mbugua cautions.

The procedure farmers use to market their birds can also expose them to infection and disease. Taking them all out to be touched and weighed can lead to exposure, which can easily spread to other birds. Mbugua says farmers must stop the trend of letting everyone who comes to their farm touch the birds, especially without taking any measures for their proper handling

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NEWS

Chicken meat KEMRI’s red flag

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By Brian Mureithi emand for chicken meat in Kenya has been increasing over the years, especially in the urban areas as more people turn to it due to the health fears that are associated with red meat. This demand has

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significantly led to the increase in retail outlets that sell the chicken meat and their products.

But even as the meat gains popularity, research conducted in Nairobi by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) has established that chicken meat poses serious health dangers as it is not only contaminated, but

has potentially pathogenic and multi-drug resistant strains of E.coli that are hard to kill if it is not sufficiently cooked.

The research findings published in the prestigious BioMed Central (BMC) Research Notes, appeal to public health authorities and retail chicken outlets to collaborate to set out adherence to set out principles of hygienic processing and the handling of chicken meat to reduce the risk of infection.

The researchers collected over 200 raw chickens that were randomly purchased in the city in 28 locations and of the total chicken collected, 75 per cent

NEWS

Coliform bacteria and the E.coli found in the environment are known to cause bloody diarrhoea, kidney failure and, in some instances, fatality.

were contaminated with E.coli while 97 percent had coliform bacteria. In order to take into account the compounding socio economic status in the city, the retail outlets where the samples were purchased were classified into supermarkets, shops from high end areas (lowly populated up market areas), shops from middle end areas and those from the low end areas.

The research led by Dr Samuel Kariuki of KEMRI in collaboration with the Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases at Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology ( JKUAT) and funded by the World Health Organisation ( WHO) and Food

and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) established that meat from the low end areas which are usually highly populated was more contaminated.

Coliform bacteria and the E.coli found in the environment are known to cause bloody diarrhoea, kidney failure and, in some instances, fatality. It was established that the highest percentage of theretail chicken samples that were found to be of unacceptable health standards were from the low socio-economic status compared to the high socio-economic status as a result of high prevalence of food safety violations.

“Factors common in Nairobi, such as slaughter of chicken at home by small scale poultry producers instead of slaughter in private or government municipal-approved chicken slaughter houses thus increasing the potential risk of contamination due to bio-safety flaws,” reads the report in part.

The samples from the supermarkets and some of the high socio-economic areas, which were found to be lowly contaminated, were products of government-approved chicken slaughter houses.

The survey further revealed that the majority of carcasses in Nairobi are often lumped together in one huge container or sack during their transportation in ambient temperatures which

exposes them to open air and transfer of contaminants from one carcass to the other and later triggers microbial multiplication.

Use of freezers and cooling temperatures for storage in display in some outlets in high middle income and low income areas were cited as the cause of few samples falling under the acceptable food safety range. It was also established that in most retail outlets, the degree of physical contact with different kinds of meats such as beef, pork, mutton and fish leads to cross contamination. Handling of money, utensils and meat at the same time was cited as a primary factor for contamination of meat as well.

“Ensuring food safety supply has been a challenge to producers, consumers and public health officials in both developing and developed countries. This is because foods excessively contaminated with pathogenic micro-organisms abhor food borne illnesses such as cholera, typhoid and diarrhoea,” adds the report.

The research is crucial as it addresses the microbial contamination of retail chicken meats in urban areas as the results show that raw chicken in Nairobi is a potential source of food borne diseases, which could be a reflection of the situation in other areas 17

NEWS

Ministry’s take on

Kenya’s poultry sector

By Special Correspondent

T

he national government is not responsible for poultry farmers because they are the responsibility of County governments.That is the message from the Head of Non-Ruminant Branch in the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries.

Mr Evans Makokha, who is also the Assistant Director for Livestock Production in the Ministry, therefore called on poultry farmers to look to their local governments since the national government cannot come to their aid at the moment.

"At some point, the government stopped employing extension officers so we cannot reach all the farmers. At the national level we cannot do any extension service for that is the work of the county governments," Makokha emphasises.

He has asked farmers to stop complaining without striving to find out what is going on in the poultry sector at the various ministry offices.

‘There are so many things that keep changing and if farmers cannot learn then it becomes a problem. The approach these days is demand-driven and if farmer come to look for information from us, they will definitely get that information,’’ asserts Makokha.

He says that the mandate of the national government is on policy issues and guidance, or support to

18

Evans Makokha, Head of Non-Ruminant Unit, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock of Fisheries.

county governments if requested.

On the VAT Act, Makokha says the government is aware of the issues that have been raised by farmers and stakeholders.

“We have raised the issues of taxes and feeds to our seniors and they are supposed to pick it up from there to the higher authorities. The Principal Secretary has been made aware of this. For us as a technical department, we cannot do anything about the Act,” Makokha says.

According to Makokha, the government’s bid to try and raise the country’s revenue base could have informed the introduction of taxes on raw materials for feeds leading to an increase in the prices of animal feeds.

He says that the government might not have considered the cost implications of this on the poultry sector. He however says that these effects have not been felt only by poultry farmers but by the entire livestock industry.

“When the poultry feeds went up, the most affected were the broilers. I was doing some analysis and realised that a farmer who keeps 100 broilers might incur losses. So if you want to go into poultry business, you need a

minimum of 500 broilers to break even,” says Makokha.

Makokha advises farmers to consider forming groups to aid the production of and ease the prices of feeds.

“It is better for farmers to come together and compound their own feeds. Home-made feeds will be cheaper than the commercial feeds, because the latter are going to cost them. Once the government imposes taxes on them they are directly pushed to the farmers,” Makokha says.

On the availability of markets, Makokha asks farmers to first evaluate the number of chickens or eggs they produce before complaining that there are no markets for their products.

“The issue of markets is a farmer’s initiative. There have been several occasions where farmers complain that they do not have the market for indigenous chicken, but they cannot meet the demand of the market they want to serve or the consistency of supplying indigenous chicken,” says Makokha.

He says that the government can only create an enabling environment for farmers to thrive, but it cannot market their products for them

INTERVIEW

Why chickens are such loving, kind birds Dr Watson Messo, the Kenchic head of technical services and company vet, tells EDGAR NYANDONG in this wide-ranging interview that chicken are simple, kind, adorable and forgiving. Read on...

Q: Briefly describe the process of chick breeding?

A: Kenchic imports grand parent stock. These are four pure lines which are interbred to produce parent stocks. Two lines of parent stock (males and females) are reared and again crossed to give the final commercial broilers which are sold unsexed as day-old chicks to farmers.

The processing plant is ISO-certified and all processes are audited by external laboratories. Kenchic has employed more than 15 vets and para-vets to manage its core health activities. The processing plant has a fully employed state veterinarian on site to ensure processing is to the recommended health status and hygiene.

Q: What is the distinction between your layers and broilers?

A: Layers are genetically selected chickens for egg production, while broilers are selected chicken for meat production.

Q: How do you market your products and who are your main customers?

A: Kenchic has employed competent professionals in sales and marketing with regional poultry centres in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nyeri, Meru, Nakuru and several agents within the country. High quality products, excellent customer service and distribution networks help to sell our products.

Q: Does Kenchic make its own feeds or buy from feed millers?

A: Kenchic has a contract with Unga Feeds, the miller.

Q

: Tell us about Kenchic as a chick breeder and a marketer of poultry and poultry products.

A: Kenchic Limited began operations in 1984 dealing in poultry and poultry products. It is a vertically integrated company with grand parent stock, parent stock, hatcheries, commercial broilers and a processing plant. Kenchic is the sole regional supplier of Arbo Acres parent stock from Aviagen Company in East and Central Africa. Kenchic currently produces and sells commercial broilers, layers and further processed chicken.

Q: How do you ensure quality control of your feeds?

A: Unga does our feed quality control; however we have samples of raw materials and finished feed routinely analysed by Kenchic locally and in Europe for quality. Kenchic has a nutritionist consultant in the UK. Q: How do you ensure hygiene, sanitation and health.

A: Kenchic operates a Welfare Health Plans ( WHP) programme developed by Poultry Health Services (UK), where our flocks are routinely screened using ELISA technology and bio-security programme put in place to ensure flock health and safety. Our laboratory ensures cleaning and sanitation in the flock units, hatcheries and processing plant to international standards.

Q: How do you ensure the safety of the products when out in the market?

A: Our processed products are subjected to rigorous checks as per the condition of food safety benchmarks of the ISO-certification process. Our packaging ensures that products stay intact until they reach the customers.

Our merchandisers ensure that the fridges in the supermarkets are functional and any expired products are recalled immediately.

For live products we have technical vets and para-vets in the field. Kenchic is the only poultry company operating an in-house laboratory specifically dealing with its clientele. The lab recently acquired an ELISA machine to rapidly diagnose poultry conditions quickly (3 hours after receiving blood samples).

19

INTERVIEW

are huge, making the export business uncompetitive. Nevertheless Kenchic is present in Uganda, Sudan and Tanzania.

Q: As many fast food restaurants come up with Kenchic as the main chicken supplier, how do you ensure that quality and hygiene is maintained?

A: Kenchic runs a franchise with selected business people, whereby an agreement is made on minimal hygiene, sanitation and cooking practices requirements. Staffers are trained and the business is branded as Kenchic Inn and subjected to routine audits. Any deviation from tolerant levels results into closure of the operations Q: From the abattoirs, how do you process your products?

A: Kenchic operates an export slaughter plant and products are processed into full chicken, cut-ups, sausages and marinated products.

Q: What led to the need for a tracing formula within the ‘Farm2Fork’ process? What problem was Kenchic trying to solve?

A: Food traceability is now a global phenomenal and customers are driving suppliers with the demand to know how safe the products being consumed are. Consumers are becoming more intelligent, health conscious and demanding accountability from manufacturers.

Kenchic could not wait to be asked to account for every step in the chain, but started the process well in advance to surpass customer expectation.

Q: Why are there health concerns over organic white meat and have they affected business?

A: Consumers in developed countries are going back to basics on traditional foods, animal welfare and slow growing traits. We appreciate that customer preferences will change and as a company when that time comes we will adjust accordingly. For now, Kenyans still love 20

Kenchic products and our business is thriving.

Q: How has Kenchic addressed these concerns?

A: We introduced Kenbro breed of chicken that is more tolerant and can be reared in the rural villages and allowed to forage outside. We anticipate customers’ demands and give them alternatives.

Q: Has new indigenous chicken breeds such as KARI’s Kienyeji Improved affected Kenchic’s market share?

A: Yes and positively. Any venture that expands the market is good for the company. If more people consume chicken, that becomes good for the industry and Kenchic is looking for a small share of the bigger market.

Q: What is Kenchic’s export quota and does the tracing formula help your efforts?

A: Poultry export is still small due to the high cost of production.

Feed costs are high, electricity and fuel are high and transport costs

Q: When the first case of the H5N1 bird flu strain was reported, how did this affect your markets? What steps did you take to handle it?

A: Outbreak of bird flu in Asia and Europe did not affect trade in Kenya. However the negative/alarmist/ careless reporting of the situation in Kenya almost brought down the poultry industry in Kenya. We lost revenue but we did not close shop.

Partnering with the Ministry of Livestock, we embarked aggressively on civic education. There was more vigilance at border posts to avoid illegal imports. Rearing birds indoors was also a plus to the company together with good bio-security . The traceability campaign assisted.

Q: Please tell us about yourself; your work background and the job satisfaction you get from working at Kenchic.

A: I am a veterinarian by profession, 47 years old and have been with Kenchic for the last 16 years.

I started as an incubationist and worked in the hatcheries as the manager until 2011. I then moved to the laboratory as head of technical services and company vet. Working with chicken has been a satisfying career spanning 20 years since I left vet school.

The good thing about chicken is that the bird responds quickly to any stimuli. They are like our babies at home; always looking up to us for assistance and will behave in very predictable ways. They are adorable, simple, kind and forgiving animals.

They are sweet as well

INTERVIEW

Plenty of room for

growth, profits

Leonard Karobia Njoroge, the assistant secretary of the Kenya Poultry Farmers Association (KEPOFA) board is interviewd by EDGAR NYANDONG about his experiences in fowl farming and the sector’s potential for growth

Q

Mr. Leonard Karobia Njoroge

: Could you please tell us how you entered poultry farming.

A: I am a trained agriculturist. I graduated from Egerton University in 1970, taught in secondary schools for eight years and at a teacher training college for another eight years. I was later promoted to work at the Kenya Institute of Education, (today the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development), for 15 years. I started working in government in 1971 and retired in 2003. I began practising agriculture around 1988 after buying some chicken from an agricultural show.

I am now a mixed farmer keeping chicken and cattle. I have also planted tea and horticultural crops like cabbages on my 6.4-acre farm in Murang’a.

I am concentrating on poultry because it has the potential to bring in more money now that the sector is improving. The VAT has come down on some poultry feed ingredients and the price of some feeds have dropped. The profit margin will rise, so I want to increase the number of my birds from 1,000 to 4,000 by March 2015.

Since1988 I have kept exotic breeds but I now want to introduce some ‘kienyeji’ chicken from KARI Naivasha. I keep broilers and layers but at the moment I do not have broilers.

I have also been a Kenchic agent, supplying day-old chicks, but I could not get direct contact with them when they needed somebody to supply broilers. Kenchic referred me to the main contractor who sub-contracts and he assured me he would buy my birds once I rear them. I went to the extent of keeping up to 1,000 day-old chicks, but then the price of feeds changed and I struggled to meet the demand.

When they came to collect the dayold broilers, they did not increase the price to enable me meet the costs I had incurred on the feeds.

I got discouraged. However, I am comfortable with the price I get for the layers.

Q: What challenges have you faced in the poultry sector?

A: When you start poultry farming, infrastructure like housing is one of the main challenges. You also need the feeders, a constant supply of water and other equipment. Then you must buy the dayold chicks. One chick is Sh100 regardless of which hatchery you buy from. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries calculates that one must have at least 300 birds to make a profit.

When in the business, controlling diseases is a challenge.

You must vaccinate your birds as required. One thing we have not been able to control is the quality of vaccines from agro vets. Some sell ‘dead’ vaccines instead of disposing of them. Vaccines must be mixed with clean water which has not been treated in any way.

Additionally, there are not enough qualified poultry specialists in terms of poultry doctors. Now the universities have started offering courses in poultry as a main course, but though there may be some qualified doctors in Nairobi, they are unavailable at the local level. Some agro vets are open and tell us that they only have general knowledge of poultry and the extra knowledge they get is from farmers. I however feel that our concerns have been heard.

21

INTERVIEW

Q: How have you managed to overcome these challenges?

A: I have to take the necessary precautions by ensuring the highest standards of hygiene and extra bio-safety measures. If a disease is detected, I always pick one bird and go to the nearest qualified doctor for diagnosis of the disease and possible treatment.

Q: How is poultry farming doing in Central Kenya?

A: It is doing well. For example, I export my eggs to Meru. A vehicle comes from Meru to collect eggs from my farm and other farms in the region weekly. We have a mutual contract that once they collect 200 or 300 trays of eggs, they deposit the money in our accounts the following day. We have been doing this for the last 10 years, and it is good business.

I also export to other parts of the Eastern region. Other farmers export their eggs to Nakuru County and all the way to Kakamega County. However, most of the ‘kienyeji’ broilers come from Bomet town to Nairobi. The exotic breeds are exported mainly from the Central region.

Q: How can farmers market their products?

A: Poultry marketing is improving but is not yet streamlined.

There is demand but it is not easy to identify where this demand is.

Farmers’ associations like KEPOFA can help identify where demand is because they have representatives in every region of the country.

We long for the day when poultry farmers will have central depots for eggs. Farmers’ groups within different localities are fighting for this, and they want to build centres where they can take their eggs for collection and sale. They will also be able to collect vaccines 22

and feeds at these centres and the broiler meat can be put in special bags to be supplied to supermarkets.

KEPOFA has done a lot to try and achieve this despite all the difficulties. For example, it has worked on a policy and a strategic plan which has been approved by the government. The only question now is where to get finances to implement these initiatives.

Issues in marketing of poultry products have been clearly identified.

Q: How is the uptake of poultry keeping as a business in Murang’a County where you come from?

A: Murang’a is very big in terms of poultry. This is why most of the 16 feed millers who supply feeds to Nairobi, Murang’a and Kiambu counties are based in Thika Town because these areas have a lot of poultry and poultry-related activities.

Q: What can be done to encourage more Kenyans to take up poultry farming as a business?

A: Poultry business now requires lobbying for funds to start off; for infrastructure, equipment and dayold chicks, and also the ability to wait for three to four months before a farmer can start making profits and repaying loans. We agreed with banks to give poultry farmers loans, but somewhere along the line they declined. They told us that according to banking laws and regulations, they are not allowed to give out loans and expect no repayment during the grace period. An organisation like the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) insists on title deeds but most farmers do not have them.

Nevertheless poultry business is

profitable and is attracting young people.

Q: What are your thoughts about the formation of farmers’ groups?

A: It would be good if all the associations representing different facets of the poultry sector were under one umbrella. When KEPOFA was established, these associations were together as one. I remember in 2002 I was invited to a meeting at the Nairobi Safari Park Hotel as a prominent but developing farmer.

At this meeting different associations like KEPOFA, the Association of Kenya Feed Manufacturers (AKEFEMA) and the Kenya Poultry Breeders Association were formed.

All these associations should remain the way they are, but, there should be one body housing all of them to help the farmer.

Q: When and how did you join KEPOFA? A: The Safari Park meeting led to the formation of KEPOFA and other poultry associations. This is where my involvement with KEPOFA began. At first we formed home-level groups, based on where we hailed from. I formed one for farmers around my home area in Murang’a, because we were being exploited by middlemen. So, we agreed that we would bring our eggs together so that we could try and raise the prices.We managed to do so to some extent. Other activities revolved around making our own feeds. We got support from the Department of Livestock in the Ministry of Agriculture.

We did well between 2002 and 2006, but later we decided to give room to younger people to take over the group. Unfortunately, they have run it down. They made very good quality feeds which they sold to farmers on credit and no pay-

INTERVIEW

ments have been made to date. We had to come back in and pay the loan we took from AFC. Though the group still exists, it is not as vibrant as it used to be. Farmers have been pulling out and going it alone again.

Amidst all this, I was invited to join KEPOFA in 2004 after I requested the then chairperson, Leonard Ngugi to come and talk to our group of about 100 farmers.

He was impressed by our activities and told the other national officials to come and see what we were doing. After that, Ngugi and some few officials left the association. We have since been going round to try and help farmers.

Q: Why did you join the association?

A: This is a passion and an area that I would want to see grow. My ambition is to see KEPOFA succeed.

I would like to see farmers come up and know how to properly run the poultry business.

Q: Do you believe KEPOFA is doing enough to help poultry farmers?

Yes it is. What remains is identifying the markets, establishing collection centres for poultry products, and delivering them to the identified markets. Otherwise, sensitisation has been done.The challenge has been meeting and sustaining demand.It will require serious organisation to supply the number of eggs required.

Getting the right quantity and grade is a problem. A collection centre can do the sorting, grading, packaging and delivery of eggs to the markets.

Q: What are some of KEPOFA’s achievements?

A: Farmers have been properly sensitised and bio-safety measures taught. They have also been drilled

on rearing of ‘kienyeji’ chicken besides the normal layers and broilers. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries is the right body to come in and help KEPOFA do more by way of identification of markets and establishment of collection centres, especially in the counties. But it is proper to say that KEPOFA has helped a lot already and a document has been prepared on how this can be achieved.

Q: After over 10 years of taking care of poultry farmers’ interests, what is the way forward?

A: KEPOFA would like to coordinate activities in the collection centres like delivery, and ensure that the quality of the products is not compromised in any way. For example, for broilers, we would need refrigerated vehicles to transport the meat to supermarkets or hotels. I hope we shall be able to reach that stage.

I see collection centres as the springboard to proper farming where a farmer produces eggs and takes them to the centres from where they can also collect feeds and vaccines. The centres will also help keep away the brokers and middlemen who exploit farmers.

Q: Does the association be-

lieve there are growth areas in the poultry sector?

A: There will be growth if people are advised to eat more white meat and increase their consumption of eggs. With decreasing sizes of land, there will be less space to keep cattle; hence the demand for poultry will be higher. The birds can be produced in smaller spaces.

Any successful farmer should have some poultry, especially in the rural areas. Besides the financial benefits, poultry has other benefits. It is a source of food for the farmer and his family. Poultry also help improve other enterprises.

Bird droppings can be used as food for cattle and manure for growing vegetables. Poultry can help farmers cut down on inputs like fertilisers. Poultry is the ultimate livestock.

Q: Are there chances of Kenya exporting large quantities of poultry and poultry products in the near future?

A: Politicians told us during the last campaigns that the demand for poultry products is very high in China. Are we able to meet that demand? There is also a high demand for Kenyan products in South Sudan and Somalia. There is a lot of room for export 23

FARM PROFILE

My business and hobby, that's poultry farming

M

By Special Correspondent rs Janet Kilonzo is a farmer with a lot of passion for farming.

She not only keeps different varieties of poultry and livestock at her Poquil Farm in Ruai, but also does crop farming.

She began by keeping chicken as a young woman, mainly for subsistence back at her home in Machakos County.

“I have loved keeping birds, and I have kept chicken since my childhood. All my life, I have never had a stint without a bird. When I started working, I

24

still kept some birds for myself because I do not eat red meat,” Kilonzo says.

Eventually she had almost 250 chickens, but these, she says, were still for her own consumption. When she moved to Nairobi, she decided to try her hand at poultry keeping as a business.

"I began keeping poultry commercially because buying eggs and chicken meat here proved expensive, yet I had a young family that I had to take care of,” she says.

That's how her Ruai poultry farm started. At first she did not give it a name and informally called it ‘Poultry’. Her daughter coined the name “Poquil”, a com-

bination of ‘poultry’ and ‘quail’ after she bought her first quails.

The farm was formally registered in December 2013 after three years in the business.

Poquil Farm’s mixed poultry farming began with two turkeys in 2012 and the farm now has indigenous chicken breeds like Kenbro, Kari chicken and the Indian broiler. Kilonzo also rears pigeons, ducks and guinea fowls as well as rabbits.

Kilonzo breeds her own chicks from eggs she buys from other farmers and a few from her own stock. She has focussed mainly on indigenous chicken due to their popularity among consumers.

She purchased her own incubator

FARM PROFILE

machine because the demand for chicks is growing and the formal registration of her farm enabled her to win a tender to supply 10,000 chicks a week in Machakos County. The incubator, which holds 1,400 eggs at full capacity, generates revenue as it offers incubation services to neighbouring farmers.

The farm lays emphasis on health and hygiene. Kilonzo uses Ultraxide disinfectant from Ultravetis to ensure that her birds are not exposed to infections.

“We use the disinfectant to guard against the Newcastle disease which can be brought to the farm through shoes or vehicles,” says Kilonzo.

The birds are vaccinated at least once every month and are fed between two to three times daily. with feed from Unga Feeds supplemented with maize, millet and sand. The rabbits are fed on vegetables from the farm and on hygienically prepared food leftovers.

The cages where the birds and other livestock live are properly constructed. The structures are dry, warm and comfortable.

“The housing structure is loved and has been recommended by

many of those who have visited the farm. But I am still going to improve on it. I will have visitors from the DC’s office to show me how to make it better.”

Kilonzo says the main challenge poultry farmers face is getting affordable feeds and markets for their products.

“Feed is too expensive, and the ones you can get at a cheaper price are sub-standard. The market is another problem, because people want the birds but where is the money?”poses Kilonzo.

She has had to sell chicks on credit to farmers who cannot afford to pay immediately for them.

Some farmers have also sold to her hundreds of poor quality eggs that have failed to hatch in their desperation to make money.

“The money I use to buy the eggs, the electricity I use, the time and the space in the incubator all cost money and cause me to incur losses.”

Despite all the challenges, Kilonzo believes there is profit to be made in poultry farming. She is able to feed and pay fees for her children, and service the loan she took to buy the incubator.

Because she has another loan she

has to find other revenue generating enterprises.

Kilonzo says VAT is hurting farmers.

“An official from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries told me that they are looking for serious farmers who can go and represent other farmers in a forum with the ministry to air out their problems. At a recent forum attended by about 100 farmers, we were told to be patient because something is being done about this Act. Farmers are really suffering,” Kilonzo says.

To arm herself with knowledge about poultry keeping and business, Kilonzo regularly attends workshops organised by companies like Ultravetis, which also produces and sells disinfectants to farmers. She then trains local women's groups who engage in poultry farming.

“I have inspired so many people because of what I do.

When they visit my farm, they are proud of what I do. I also visit my customers and see how they are faring and share with them the knowledge I have about poultry,” says Kilonzo.

Poquil Farm targets to have at least 1,000 indigenous birds by December 2014 and to incubate 5,000 eggs every month.

Two of Kilonzo’s four children have developed their mother’s love for poultry and help her regularly at the farm. Her husband, she says, gives her the support she needs. She says poultry farming is for her both a business and a hobby and she finds it fun and fulfilling

25

FARM PROFILE

Seven years experience provides useful lessons When I sell pullets to farmers, I give them a guarantee that the birds will lay above a certain level, says Ms Cynthia Mwaura, the Managing Director of Naaro Ranch, as EDGAR NYANDONG engages her on the intrigues of fowl husbandry

A

fter seven years in the poultry business, Naaro Ranch has gone beyond selling chicks to offer training and extension services to help small-scale farmers overcome the challenges facing bird farmers.

The establishment of the ranch in 2008 was borne out of a passion to rear birds, and also provide a much-needed service to poultry farmers.

“What we are trying to do is to remove the burden of chick-rearing from the smalltime farmers. We do this by rearing the birds because it is much cheaper for us since we do it on a large scale, then we sell to farmers when they are

26

already laying. We believe we can make someone a poultry farmer in a day,” says Naaro Ranch Managing Director Cynthia Mwaura.

The godown-type family-run ranch with 60,000 chickens and 60 workers started with no formal structure for housing the birds. Mwaura says that the birds and eggs would be stolen from time to time by her workers, forcing them to find out how poultry business is successfully run in other countries.

“We decided to find out how they keep poultry in The Netherlands, China and the United States. That’s where we found the idea of the cages and this is what has made Naaro stand out. When we put up the cages

on our farm, we registered a 400 per cent increase in profits.

This is how badly we were being affected.”

Naaro Ranch does not breed, but buys thousands of day-old chicks from breeders including Sigma, Muguku and Kenchic, then rears them before selling them to farmers. The Naaro Ranch office is in Thika town in Kiambu County and the farm is in neighbouring Muranga County.

The ranch handles only exotic layers. Mwaura says that the market for exotic broilers is hectic despitethe mushrooming fast food restaurants that depend on chicken for business.

“It is difficult to get a market for exotic broilers. Getting a contract and the timing right can pose a big challenge since it is a coordination of a lot of things. Broilers involve a lot of work. Some of my big customers are converts from broilers to layers,” she says.

Naaro’s management structure ensures every worker has a job card and each individual is assigned a section to work on feeding the birds and cleaning the cages, collecting manure, and checking on the general welfare of the birds.

To ensure health and hygiene, the farm is divided into several blocks, with each block assigned three workers. Each month, a score card is used to assess the best performing block and incentives are awarded to workers

FARM PROFILE

in the block. This is determined through cleanliness, productivity and the health of the birds. Most employees work in shifts, while some live on the farm.

Mwaura believes that individual farmers who try to rear or breed their own birds incur high costs in vaccination and curbing mortalities as opposed to those who buy birds from them.

“Due to economies of scale, it will be cheaper in the short term for farmers who rear their own chicks. In the long run, they will have to shoulder costs for vaccination and so on. When farmers are on their own, they have to pay veterinary officers about Sh2,000 to treat their birds should anything happen to them,” Mwaura says.

“But we offer this after-sales service to our customers for free because we understand the perils farmers go through. For exotic layers, the time-frame for fixing a problem when it arises is very

slim. If you do not nip it in the bud within 48 hours, it could be catastrophic,” she warns.

Naaro has formed a close relationship with Pwani Feeds which has helped it weather the storm brought about by the 2013 VAT Act that placed levies on a number of raw materials for animal feeds, raising prices.

Says Mwaura: “We are lucky in that when we are rearing the birds, we are never under pressure to pay for the feeds. Our sister company, Pwani Feeds, sells feeds to us and gives us some breathing space before it can demand payment. It also uses the model of accepting eggs from farmers in exchange for feeds. So, it is less punishing for us.”

The growing popularity of indigenous chicken in the local market is something that Naaro Ranch is keenly aware of. The MD however feels that this surge does not threaten the exotic layers market.

Our sister company, Pwani Feeds, sells feeds to us and gives us some breathing space before it can demand payment.

We are not at all worried. One thing about rearing indigenous chicken is that they are very tricky.

At times they do not lay any eggs, or just lay one egg for a number of days. If they were to lay eggs every day, I would feel threatened.

“For a farmer who wants to get back the money invested a bit faster, exotic layers is the way to go. Indigenous chickens are good for the meat market. They are bigger birds and would fetch about Sh500 per kilo when sold for meat compared to exotic birds which go for about Sh300,” says Mwaura.

She says poultry farming is profitable but for farmers to make profits, they should keep at least 500 birds. She, however, admits that the business is tricky despite the potential of huge profits.

Mwaura says the industry has been neglected by those responsible for it.

“I think that the body that is supposed to be looking after poultry farmers in the Ministry of Agriculture is sleeping on the job. It is very expensive for a small-time farmer to make it in the poultry business these days. It is absolutely intense. The only way the government can help is to remove some of the taxes imposed on raw materials,” she says.

However, she says that for a farmer to be successful in the business, it is advisable to start small.

‘If you want to make it in poultry, do not start with 100 or so birds because I can guarantee you that after the first cycle, you will not make enough money for the second. This is because of tax and government-related regulatory issues. Some farmers also try to be on many points on the value 27

FARM PROFILE

...the sale of eggs does very well, enabling farmers to double their orders after just three months. chain and in the end are unable to control the results. In my opinion, this does not work. Farmers should concentrate on one line of business.

“However, poultry farmers are very passive and accepting of whatever situation they are in.

For example, when we visit some farmers that we work with, and ask them why they are not coming to us when they have a problem, they say it is the will of God and that everything will work out in its own time,” says Mwaura.

But like any other poultry farm, Naaro has its own challenges.

“Right now we face the challenge of meeting the high demand, especially in areas where poultry farming is completely untapped like the Western and Eastern regions where a tray of eggs can comfortably fetch between Sh370 and Sh400. In Central Kenya, the highest a tray of eggs can fetch is between Sh320 and Sh350.

“Naaro was in a similar situation some time back when we produced between 500 and 1,000 trays of eggs per day and finding a market for them became very tricky. We would have to hire a trailer to transport the eggs to a place where we were assured that

28

we would sell them like Nyamira County or Western Kenya. But this too had its unpredictability because at times the transporters would tell us that they have been robbed and the vehicle vandalised.

It was hard,” says Mwaura.

Now the areas that undertake little or no poultry business offer considerable markets where the sale of eggs does very well, enabling farmers to double their orders after just three months.

Naaro is however conscious about not flooding markets that are already saturated with products from other distributors; which is why it does not sell its produce in Nairobi, for example.

“We are keen about selling to farmers who will sell their products at higher prices because it makes more sense to take care of them. We don’t want to sell to people who already know how to do it but rather to go to areas where we can help traders meet their own demands. There is no point of flooding one market because we will end up hurting the same farmers we are trying to help grow,” Mwaura cautions.

The VAT Act has not spared Naaro, but they have tried to find a way around it.

“We have taken a second responsibility of sourcing for materi-

als with Pwani Feeds. We have had to understand the delicate balance between materials and productivity and we are spending quite a bit of money in looking for new areas to find cheaper raw materials. But even then, transportation sets us back. I struggle to understand how small farmers are doing it because they do not have the little luxuries that Naaro has,” Mwaura muses.

The future looks bright though.

The MD says they are trying to find mechanisms through which they can run between four to five farms around the country. They already have a second farm in Mombasa which was started in July where they hope to sell cages and also rear birds.

Mwaura says Naaro is engaging in just one line of business so as not to get bogged down by the challenges of trying to do too much. This helps them offer maximum delivery of service and the assurance of quality to their clients.

“When I sell pullets to farmers, I give them a guarantee that the birds will lay above a certain level.

We try to be as supportive as possible by offering extension services because we understand the challenges farmers go through since we were also there. That is why we offer training to farmers, and at times we allow them to send their farm hands to us for refresher training.”

FOCUS

Kenya is safe from bird flu, but keep your guard up

By Edgar Nyandong

K

enya is safe from the avian flu because of the measures that have been put in place by the government, says the Assistant Director for Livestock Production Mr Evans Makokha.

The assurance follows recent developments in China and Taiwan where farmers lost thousands of birds from the H5N6 strain of the flu. The highly pathogenic strain of the avian flu virus, H5N1, spread through Asia in 2003 and reached Europe in 2005 before spreading to the Middle East and Africa in 2006.

In Africa, the flu is endemic in Egypt.

“Avian flu is one of the emerging diseases that the government is aware of. The major thing is that when importing livestock and livestock products, this is one of the issues that we should bear in mind. Now that the flu has occurred in China, we should not allow any imports from there.

“We have a system of checking via the Internet and so when a farmer comes and says they want to import day-old chicks or eggs from such areas, we must confirm whether those places have been hit by the flu lest we let imports that would be a threat to our poultry. We only allow clean material to be imported. Therefore, in this scenario, we cannot allow any imports of poultry or poultry products from countries experiencing the flu,” says Makokha.

Dr Humphrey Mbugua, the technical adviser and general secretary of the Kenya Poultry Breeders Association concurs, saying that he does not like talking about the flu because it may create the wrong perception that Kenya is exposed.

“Kenya is free of bird flu. There are contingency plans in place. The disease comes in two forms - highly pathogenic and low pathogenic.

As long as the disease is low pathogenic in wild birds and not in domestic birds, the country will be regarded as safe from the flu,” says Mbugua, a member of the National Taskforce for Preparedness of Avian Flu Pandemic.

For the highly pathogenic strains reported in other countries, the government has strict measures to control imports from those regions.

“Such imports have to go through import permits, and certain conditions are set by the Director of Veterinary Services stipulating that the imports must be tested within given parameters. For imports from countries of reported cases, no one can be given import permits to bring in poultry and poultry products from there,” Mbugua says.

However, in the unfortunate event that Kenya’s safety net is breached and the country is exposed to the flu, Kenya has the mechanism to tackle it.

“If it ever comes, it can be handled. If the contingency plans in place are to be religiously followed, then they are 100 per cent fool-proof. Simulations have been done together with desktop and practical tests to determine the > CONTINUED ON P.32

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PICTORIAL

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World Eggs Day in Pictures!

1. KEPOFA Chairperson Ms Wairimu Kariuki addresses participants at the World Egg Day 2013 2. A chef prepares egg recipes at the World Egg Day 2012 3. KEPOFA Business Development Officer, Mr Arthur Barasa (right) talks to farmers at the KEPOFA stand during the 2013 World Egg Day 4. Farmers at the KEPOFA tent during World Egg Day 2013 5. Edgar Nyandong of Our Poultry Our Livestock at the exhibition stands during the 2014 World Egg Day

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PICTORIAL

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6. A training workshop in progress, World Egg Day 2012 7. Kenchic Ltd displays a demonstration chick breeder at the World Egg Day 2014 in Kisumu 8. David Nyagaka of Novus International giving a gift to a participant at the World Egg Day 2012 in Thika Town 9. A vet demonstrates how a killer poultry disease affects the internal organ of a chicken at the World Egg Day 2014 10. Farmers exchanging notes during the World Egg Day

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11. Participants at the World Egg Day 2013

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FOCUS

CONTINUED FROM P.32

> efficacy of these measures.

The problem is that we are in a Third World country and restrictions of movement are not so tight and so anyone can come in.

“The problem of bird flu is brought about largely through trade, which can be legal or illegal. For example, if someone is at the Busia border and they want to get into the country, they do not necessarily have to pass through Customs because there are many ways of getting in,” adds Mbugua.

He also says that the problem of trade and disease exposure is extended to local markets.

“If you go to an open air market like Burma or Kariokor, you will find layer chickens on sale because either the farmer is going through economic hardship or there is an outbreak of disease and so he is disposing of the chickens cheaply. Because of this, a disease can spread in many different directions,” he says.

The avian flu is among the ‘notifiable diseases’, whose outbreak is reported to the Director of Veterinary Services for urgent action. The process of handling such cases is strict and begins with quarantine and restriction of movement of animals and animal products, especially into and from the affected areas.

The Director has the authority to order the ‘humane’ killing of all affected animals if assessment shows that they pose a bigger

32

threat to the general population of animals. If this happens, farmers will be compensated.

Mbugua however believes that China is vulnerable to the flu because of the country’s farming systems which pose challenges in tackling the flu and their philosophy in bird farming.

“Their system is totally different from ours. The country has events like cock-fighting and practice mixed farming where they have poultry and many other animals living together at the same place.

“When you have a large number of people like China does, not everyone will stay in the major towns and most of the farmers in rural areas do not really observe hygiene,” explains Mbugua.

He says that with trade-sensitive diseases like the avian flu and Newcastle, the perception plays a lot into how the disease is handled in different parts of the world. Some of them if properly handled may not be as serious as people perceive them to be.

But even with the confidence expressed by the government and trade associations, some farmers feel that making them aware of the disease and how to contain it should be of priority and that no chance should be taken when protecting the country from any poultry disease.

“It is quite unfortunate that private farms are the ones conduct-

The problem of bird flu is brought about largely through trade, which can be legal or illegal.

ing seminars for farmers. Ideally, there should be government centres to provide such sensitisation and educational packages offered in public universities.

‘Most Kenyans, especially in the rural areas, are very willing to do farming but they don’t understand the risks. So if a disease strikes they will lose countless birds,” says Ms Cynthia Mwaura, the Managing Director of Thika’s Naaro Ranch

FOCUS

Don’t eat it!

That’s chicken feed Every culture has its idealised woman — a standard of beauty that is sought and valorised.

Everywhere around the world, women are altering themselves to achieve this look that is celebrated.Worryingly, writes ROBIN OBINO, some are eating chicken feed!

E

Poultry Feed xperts have warned women against using animal feeds as beauty products. Kenyan women are eating hormone-laced chicken feed hoping that it will increase the size of their breasts and hips!

Feeds for broilers have hormones that make the birds grow fast enough to be ready for consumption in less than two months.

Our Poultry, Our Livestock spoke to 24 year-old Nelly Wangeci (not her real name) who confesses that she owes her curvaceous body to poultry feed.

“My friend, R, introduced me to chicken feed after she heard about it at her work place. We started using it, and we have never looked back.The result is this great body you see here,” she saysas she proudly gestures at her broad hips.

Wangeci explains that they began eating it raw. Both ladies now boast of great bodies, and have introduced other women to the feeds.

“We then graduated to eating it like Weetabix; seasoning it with milk and sugar to taste. It tastes great, in fact, it’s just like any other cereal meal, you know!”

What Wangeci and her friend are unaware of is that poultry feed contains nitrofuran, an antibiotic that is cancerous to humans. Nitrofuran is only one of the drugs used to feed chickens.

If other antibiotics in chicken feeds are taken into consideration as well, the contamination could be higher.

Chicken-fattening pills Although poultry tablets are packed with hormones that have been linked to breast cancer and liver problems in humans, women, in their quest for bigger

and ‘better’ shapes, are throwing caution to the wind and using the same pills as beauty enhancement products.

Sold under increasingly attractive names, they claim to be herbal versions of the chicken-chunking compounds, but since they are unregulated, they could contain all manner of poisons.

These products are featured on the Internet and on Facebook and are also advertised on some reality TV shows. Makers of the herbal pills claim the capsules only contain exotic plant extracts which mimic the effect of fat-building hormones. But medical experts have warned that many of the pills are unregulated and those who take them cannot be sure what they contain.

They could have devastating side effects.

According to Dr Charles Ochola, a dermatologist at Kenyatta National Hospital, the pills contain arsenic which stimulates the appetite of chickens so they plump up faster.

“Some of the side effects can be numbness, dermatitis and diarrhoea. Arsenic is a cumulative poison and can become cancerous. The preoccupation with transforming the body is something that transcends cultures.

We should therefore avoid these pills,” warns Ochola

33

COMMERCIAL

The food you give your birds affects their growth

By Special Correspondent

T

he kind of feeds and supplements given birds is important if a poultry farmer is to rear healthy chicken and produce quality eggs for the market.

Because of the 2013 VAT Act that placed taxes on most raw materials used to make animal feeds, the price of products went up. Farmers who were not able to meet this rise in production costs quit poultry, reduced their flocks or resorted to making their own feeds.

However, most of the feeds farmers make are of poor quality since the farmers try to make their own feeds without adequate knowledge on how to do it.

According to Mr Douglas Malala, Evonik East Africa’s Technical Services Manager for Health and Nutrition, farmers should not make their own feeds since the process of feed formulation is scientific, technical and requires advanced knowledge for one to get right.

“In feed formulation, we look at

34

the requirements of the bird. In Kenya, there is a guideline by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KBS) which shows how much protein, energy, calcium, phosphorous and so on, that need to be in feeds. This has been worked out from research. Therefore, we do not necessarily support making feeds at home,” says Malala.

For example, layers which are divided into three categories of chicks (0-8 weeks), growers (week 9-17) and layers (point of lay), have different protein, energy, calcium and phosphorous requirements. The ingredients must be a blend of raw materials rich in energy and proteins mixed to appropriate proportions.

“KBS tells us that if we are making, for example, a broiler starter feed, our target is 20 per cent protein and 20,000 kilo calories of energy. This means that you have to mix your raw materials in a way that will achieve this. Getting this precisely needs formulation software which farmers do not have. This is why I am having a problem with farmers who want to make their own diets and yet do not have information or know the logic

behind mixing the materials,” Malala says.

Maize, sorghum, millet, wheat, maize by-products, wheat by-products and oil are good sources of energy, while soya, fish, cotton seed cake and sunflower seeds provide adequate protein.

But the constraint on how many raw materials can be mixed together is price. Small-scale farmers are not able to get all the raw materials to make the best feeds because they cannot afford them.

For trained feed formulators like Malala, the knowledge they have helps them work out what he calls a ‘least cost formula’.

“This covers a mix of all the requirements a farmer needs at the least cost,” he says. He uses the Least Cost Formulation Software to get this right for farmers at the least amount of money.

However, because there are farmers who insist on making their own feeds, Malala advises that they consult feed formulation experts.

“Most of the customers who do this have someone doing the formulations for them. We do it for our customers free-of-charge. When someone buys a product from us, we visit their farm and have discussions on the best kind of formulation,” Malala says.

Besides, there are steps to be followed. Formulation of the type of feed is the first step. Once this is done, a farmer has to determine the ingredients needed based on the formulation before acquiring them.

Feed preparation comes with certain equipment that a farmer has to have. A grinder is the most important one for making feeds, though most small-scale poultry farmers have ‘rudimentary’ grinders. They come in different types to determine what

COMMERCIAL

kind of feed is being prepared. This is because different ages of birds have different kinds of beaks which determine how fine the marsh they should eat should be.

A mixer, on the other hand, is used to blend the feeds into a homogenous mix. This ensures that similar ratios of the required calories are found in every portion of the feed. After mixing, a farmer has the choice to take the feed for pelleting (which is the addition of steam to the feed to make it take the form of crumbs/pellets) or feed it in marsh form.

“The small poultry farmers do not go the extra mile to pellet because they lack the sophisticated machinery and skill. So most of our customers who make their own feeds only reach the level of mash,” Malala says.

During formulation, the levels of supplements required are also factored into the feed mix. A pre-mix of micro-ingredients that include vitamins, minerals and amino acids has to be prepared. Some of the macro-ingredients or the raw materials already have the micro-ingredients but in very little quantities. Macro-ingredients such as maize and soya, for example, have amino acids but in low levels.

“The point of addition of the micro-ingredients is normally very tricky, because it determines whether they will be properly mixed in the feed or not. So, we tell our customers how to add the micros in the middle. Put half of the raw materials at the bottom of the mix, place the micro-ingredients in the middle and then place the remaining macro-ingredients at the top.

This way, the feed will mix well with the supplements,” says Malala. This is also the trend used by specialist feed producers.

According to Malala, “farmers who put these materials together on their own without the knowledge and help can either put in too much or too little, yet these materials are very expensive.”

...farmers have reported cases of birds breaking their legs, developing rickets or laying eggs with weak shells.

Some of the popular micro and macro-ingredients with Kenyan poultry farmers are maize, sunflower seeds, cotton seed cake, maize bran, pollards and wheat bran, limestone (for calcium), bone meal (for phosphorus) and amino acids. But, Malala says, high prices of most raw materials limit farmers on how many they can use in their feeds.

For farmers who try to take shortcuts in making their feeds, the repercussions are bad feeds and low productivity.

For example, initially chicken took 42 days to mature to 1.8 to 2 kilogrammes and be ready for the market.

The current target growth is between 35 to 38 days, supported by improved feed quality. Improperly mixed feeds will result in chicken taking longer to mature or having stunted growth. The birds will develop weak bones which limit gaining of weight because the bones cannot support the flesh.

There are instances where farmers have reported cases of birds breaking their legs, developing rickets or laying eggs with weak shells. This is due to lack of sufficient calcium and phosphorus in feeds.

Malala advises that the feed requirements have to be strictly followed by any farmer who is serious about the poultry business.

“Chicken must get a diet that has a certain level of proteins, energy, calcium, phosphorus and amino acids in the feed balance. If it is not balanced, then the chicken will be eating but not growing or producing as required. This is poor conversion ratio,” adds Malala.

But, even for farmers who follow the right directions in the formulation of diets, challenges still abound.

Seasonality of the ingredients forc-

es farmers to go without some raw materials because they are either only harvested in certain areas or because they are out of season. Farmers do not also have the capacity to buy and stock some materials, so they are heavily reliant on one raw material or the other.

Seasonality also affects the prices of these materials, which vary from one season to another, meaning that they can be affordable during one season but expensive in another.

The quality of raw materials is also a challenge that farmers face. Malala says that when there is scarcity of materials, those available are adulterated, hence lowering their quality.

Quite apart from these challenges, there are diseases that are brought about by some feed ingredients. Salmonella is one of the biggest diseases brought about by animal protein sources like bone meal. It results from moulds that occur when such sources are not properly dried. It causes diarrhoea in poultry but can be treated by anti-salmonella.

Aflatoxin is a disease mostly brought about by maize and maize by-products, cassava and millet which release mycotoxins into the feed mix.

To prevent this, it is important to use a toxin binder, especially when maize is used as a feed ingredient.

According to Malala, farmers are aware of these diseases and how to tackle them since the seminars and workshops they hold with them tackle these problems. But there is no way to control salmonella or aflatoxins and because they are inherent in the raw materials, curative measures work best

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HEALTH

Nutrition, name and those figures matter In this instalment on feeds, which is made reader-friendly by posing questions and answering them, expert Douglas Malala explains why your animals need the nutrient and energy laden Biolys 70%.

B

What is Biolys 70%? iolys is a source of Lysine foranimals. It is available as granulate and supplies a minimum of 54.6 per cent Lysine. Additionally, it contains extra amino acids and phosphorus and energy from the co-products of fermentation.

Why 70%?

The 70% comes from the Lysine content in this product compared to commercially popular HCL Lysine containing 78 per cent Lysine. Biolys supplies a guaranteed minimum of 54.6 per cent Lysine (see figure 1). Biolys therefore has 70 per cent Lysine compared to HCL Lysine (54.6/78 x 100).

Why Bio, is it herbal?

No, the product is not herbal.

Bio because some fermentation biomass remains with the Lysine

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and this gives real extra value to Biolys 70%.

What was used before?

They have been using HCL Lysine. Evonik will now supply Biolys in Kenya as a better option that uniquelycombines performance with profitability for our customers.

Which is beneficial?

The additional nutrients and energy contained in Biolys are available to the user as additional benefits. If this information is incorporated accurately into the raw materials matrix of the feed formulation software and the rations calculated by means of linear optimisation, Biolys is preferred over HCl Lysine in all diets. Depending on diet composition and nutrient concentration, Biolys is superior to HCl Lysine by up to 20 per cent. This corresponds to diet cost savings of up

to Sh85 per ton of feed, depending on species and supplemental Lysine level. The preference for Biolys is due primarily to the provision of additional amino acids, phosphorus and energy from the biomass.

Any trials done?

Biolys has been tested against HCl Lysine in many feeding trials with poultry, pigs and fish. Trial results support the conclusion that Lysine supplemented in the form of Biolys or HCL produces identical performance responses, regardless of livestock species or age. However, Biolys is economical in the long run.

Additional amino acids?

By allowing a very precisely controlled amount of fermentation biomass to remain with the Lysine, the product contains a controlled level of amino acids.

For example, 0.1per cent

HEALTH

Why “chloride-free” ?

Methionine, 0.28 per cent Threonine, 0.04 per cent Tryptophanand others (see table 1).

These amino acids are essentially supplied for “free”, so when you do a least-cost formulation using Biolys 70%, you save money.

How do we get Biolys?

Animals, including birds, have a requirement for sodium.The usual and cheapest way to supply this is by using salt (sodium chloride). However, the chloride is not a critical nutrient, and an excess causes loose droppings and can reduce performance.

If HCl Lysineis used, this adds to the chloride load. Lysine sulphate (Biolys 70%) does NOT add to this chloride load.

What about energy,

The energy content is high.

For Poultry ME is 15.88 MJ / 3794 kcal / kg, whilst forpigs NE is 12.41 MJ / 2964 kcal / kg.

We will import for the customers who want big quantities (more than 20mt) Other customers can get this product from our distributor, Essential Drugs Limited based in Nairobi. Contact their CEO Mr Steve Warui on: +254727033808

Table 1. Biolys Nutritional Matrix Lysine

54.6%

Biolys*

Digestibility

100%

Other amino acids

Energy

MJ/kg

Kcal/kg

DE Swine

17.41

4,158

ME swine

16.54

3,951

NE swine

12.41

2,964

ME Poultry

15.88

3,794

Crude protein

80%

Total phosphorous

0.11%

6.0%

Carbohydrates, lipids, mineral salts, moistures etc.

18.4%

Total L-Lysine

54.6%

Sulfate

21.0%

Additional Amino acids Methionine

0.1

Methionine + Cysteine

0.16

Threonine

0.28

Tryptophan

0.04

Arginine

0.57

Isoleucine

0.3

Leucine

0.49

Valine

0.37

L-Lysine-HCI L-Lysine

78.0%

Chloride

19.5%

Moisture, impurities

1.7-2.5%

Figure 1. Composition of Biolys 70% and HCL Lysine 37

PERSPECTIVE

Challenges persist despite reforms in the dairy sector Dairy production is a major activity in the livestock sector and an important source of livelihood for about 600,000 small-scale farmers. However, there are challenges that hamper the sector. ROBIN OBINO explains

A

ccording to the Dairy Board of Kenya (KDB), the value of dairy production is estimated to be Sh5 billion or equivalent to 25 per cent of the country’s gross agricultural output recorded in 2011. Despite this significant contribution to the national economy and households’ incomes, the dairy industry is plagued by several technical, economic and institutional problems, which seem to have escalated within the last five years.

The dairy sub-sector was liberalised in 1992, giving room to other players to compete with the state-owned parastatal then known as Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC). Currently, there is stiff competition in the industry from private companies such as Brookside and Githunguri Dairies.

However, the dairy sector has performed poorly over the years due to policies that left it vulnerable to the whims of weather. For instance, the industry is today caught in a vicious cycle in which production fluctuates sharply during certain seasons of the year, depending on the prevailing weather.

KDB statistics indicate that the 38

onset of the dry season towards the start of every New Year as well as the wet and cold season around the middle of the year, heavily affect production and pricing of milk and other dairy products.

For example, milk prices have shot up substantially, coinciding with the July-August cold season that hits production. A 500 millilitre packet of milk currently retails at Sh45 in most supermarkets, up from Sh40. The trend is expected to the end of the year according to the Kenya Dairy Processors Association report.

Wet seasons also come with milk glut. Three years ago, the country witnessed massive wastage as farmers poured away thousands of litres of milk due to inadequate storage facilities and low capacity to process longlife milk products. Milk is highly perishable and requires delicate handling procedures, including refrigeration, a capacity most producers lack.

KDB statistics show that only 30 per cent of Kenya’s milk produce is processed in factories.

The rest is sold as raw milk to consumers either by farmers or vendors who buy it from producers. The balance between milk

production and consumption has also been hit by rising population, increased urbanisation and an emerging middle-class who have propped up the demand for milk and its products.

Cooperatives marketing a big proportion of their milk directly to urban markets also hamper the industry. The 45 licensed milk processors with an estimated daily intake of 600,000 litres handle the rest of the market

PERSPECTIVE

share, compared to over one million litres per day which KCC used to handle during its peak.

While these new institutional arrangements in milk marketing have offered expanded business opportunities and enhanced competition, they do offer major challenges to the growth and development of the dairy industry.

The informal marketing channels not only expose the public to health and hygiene related

risks but also continues to stifle the growth of the formal milk sector. For instance, according to the Dairy Traders Association, out of the installed milk processing capacity of 2.2 million litres per day, only about 26 per cent of this capacity is currently being utilised. This has limited value addition in the milk chain while contributing towards increasing consumer prices for packaged milk.

The internal production, processing and marketing constraints have also played a major role in diminishing the competitiveness of the dairy sector in Kenya. This has occurred to the extent where milk powder imports are said to out-compete locally produced milk. This development not only constrains the domestic milk market but also closes opportunities for expanding export market 39

EVENT

Nairobi International Trade Fair

Farming with fun, technology

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By Arthur Barasa his year’s theme for the Nairobi International Trade Fair (NITF) was, “enhancing technology in agriculture and industry for food security and national growth”. The annual seven-day exhibition at Jamhuri Park was held between September 29 and October 5.

From its beginnings as an agricultural show in 1901, NITF has grown into the largest trade

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fair in the East Africa region, with over 400 exhibitors participating and attendance estimated at over 660,000 visitors.

Despite changing from an agricultural show to a trade fair in 2002, the majority of the exhibitors at NITF showcased various agricultural technologies aimed at enhancing farm productivity with a view to increasing food security in Kenya.

Agriculture is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy, with a contribution of about 25 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product

(GDP), 75 per cent of industrial raw materials and 60 per cent of export earnings. The sector also accounts for 65 per cent of Kenya’s total exports, 18 per cent and 60 per cent of the formal and total employment respectively.

Under Kenya Vision 2030, the country aims to become a middle-income and rapidly industrialising country by 2030, and offering all its citizens a high quality of life. For Kenya to achieve the goals of this ambitious development blueprint, the agriculture sector has to grow at

EVENT

an average rate of 7 per cent.

However, in 2013, the agriculture sector’s real gross value added growth decelerated to 2.9 per cent from a revised growth of 4.2 per cent in 2012.This underperformance was also reflected in the previous years with an average annual growth rate of 4.3 per cent between 2008 and 2012.

This paints a grim picture for an agriculture sector faced with many challenges including erratic rainfall patterns, limited adoption of technology and mechanisation and poor harvesting techniques.

NITF 2014 offered an opportunity to farmers, both local and international, to network and learn new farming techniques. Organised by the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK), NITF 2014 came at a time when Kenya has placed a lot of emphasis on agri-business and value addition to agricultural commodities. Through engaging in agri-business, stakeholders can get additional revenue from

NITF 2014 offered an opportunity to farmers, both local and international, to network and learn new farming techniques. farming and adoption of new technology would come in handy in advancing agri-business.

For farmers who visited NITF, the key word was “TECHNOLOGY”. Heavy investments in technology can help the agriculture sector grow at a more rapid rate, especially for smallholder farmers. Moreover, Kenya’s high population increase coupled with shrinking land sizes implies farmers have to increase their production using the same or less resources.

The new technologies showcased included those relating to irrigation systems, improved seed and livestock breeds, disease control, harvesting techniques, farm machinery and farming systems.

Adoption of new technology, an area in which Kenya lags

behind, will have the potential of significantly increasing food production.

ASK has the mandate of administering and organising Young Farmers Clubs of Kenya ( YFCK), which prepares the young to become effective future farmers.

The use of technology in farming would be a necessary catalyst to interest more youth in farming.

For poultry farmers, there were housing systems, feeds and feeding systems, new and improved poultry breeds, waste management solutions, packaging material, transportation cages and equipment, cold storage solutions, automatic poultry meat processing systems and new research in poultry production.

Apart from learning opportunities for farmers and farming enthusiasts, NITF offers a great deal of fun and entertainment for the family. The young at heart and those in school are advised to join agriculture clubs or YFCK and use NITF annually to learn and improve their agri-business skills. It is high time the youth embraced farming as a key source of livelihood at an early age. So, farmers and aspiring farmers, enthusiasts and lovers of technology should make a date with NITF 2015 ____________________________ Arthur Barasa is the Business Development Officer for KEPOFA

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GUIDE

A beginner’s guide to

keeping chicken

By Robin Obino

L

Chicken Runs and Pens ike all other domesticated animals, chickens need care and attention.

Their runs depend on the purpose for which one intends to keep them. Are they for meat or eggs? They should be well-ventilated, with good water-proof material, a practical egg collection unit (for layers) and easy to clean.The floor area requirements are 1-1½ square feet per bird, depending on the breed.To keep healthy stock these features are essential.

Choice of breed Although practical considerations are important when choosing a breed, it is advisable that it reflects personal preference.

There are many breeds to choose from. They include Bantam, Plymouth Rock, Orpington, Leghorn, Silkie, Rhode Island and Cochin.

There is also a range of hybrids to choose from. The hybrids are the best for commercial purposes because many of them are good layers. For instance, the Lohmann Brown, a selectively bred type, which lay at about eight weeks, lays up to 300 eggs per year.

Care and Treatment Chickens houses need to be cleaned out at least after every

42

three weeks. If the litter inside the house becomes damp and soiled thus forming a mat, it may be necessary to clean them out every week. The best litter to use is wood shavings although straw will suffice if these cannot be obtained. Allow a good two to three inches of shavings on the floor. An adequate feeder is also required. Feeders are available in plastic or in galvanised steel. You should take care to choose the right size. As a rough guide, a five kilogramme feeder will only need filling every four to five days if keeping six birds.

Raise the feeder above the floor on blocks. The drinker should be placed outside at all times. The use of mite powder in the litter every six weeks is also advisable. Disinfect the poultry house feeder and drinker every three months with a suitable disinfectant.

If the area around the chicken house becomes muddy, a covering of bark chippings will sort the problem out. Straw bedding will add comfort and warmth to a shelter’s floor space, but it should be replaced regularly with new, clean straw.

Chicken require periodic veterinary care. Chickens can become ill or get injured, and vet examinations and treatment are essential. Not all veterinarians are

experienced with chickens, so be sure to locate a trusted poultry vet in your area.

Disease Prevention Chickens can carry and become ill from a variety of infectious diseases. It is important to keep the hens’ environment clean with regular manure removal, and by washing the feed and water containers. You should also avoid mixing birds from different flocks. (Temporarily quarantine any new birds for two weeks and watch them closely for signs of illness or parasites before introducing them into an already established group.)

Do not share equipment with neighbours (each chicken house should have dedicated tools, wheelbarrows, buckets, etc.), because pathogenic organisms can travel on these items. Diseases can spread to chickens from pet birds and wild birds, therefore, limit contact where possible.

Predator protection Chickens need absolutely secure shelter at night or they can easily fall prey to predators like raccoons. Dogs may also attack chickens. They must be completely enclosed in safe runs, with four solid walls and a sturdy roof, every night.

Predators can also dig under fences and walls, so this should be considered when planning a run. During the day, chickens should be kept in a fully-fenced enclosure or yard with proper protection from aerial day-time predators, neighbourhood dogs and, in the case of small bantam hens, free-roaming cats

HEALTH

When to vaccinate your birds and how

By Brian Mureithi and Edgar Nyandong

S

hould farmers vaccinate their poultryby themselves or call a professional to do it?

The important issue to consider is whether the farmer has been trained on how to vaccinate the birds.

Vaccination works by exploiting natural bodily reactions when, for example, when a bird meets an infection, its immune system reacts on two levels. First, it mobilises cells and chemicals to attack the invading organism and stops diseases from occurring. It then triggers a memory

stem in the body which enables the bird to act swiftly whenever it encounters another attack in future.

There are many types of vaccines, including: 1. Live Vaccine-The active part of the vaccine is the live organism that causes the disease and is capable of inducing the disease in birds that have not had contact with that organism. If housed together, vaccinated birds can infect non-vaccinated birds.

2. Attenuated Vaccine-Weakens the organism by special means during manufacturing as it has lost its ability to cause serious forms of the disease. The birds might however contract a

mild form of a disease but the vaccine enables their immune systems to produce antibodies to counter it.

3. Killed Vaccine-The vaccine kills the organism and cannot cause the disease although the immune system is activated.

However, its level of immunity is weaker than the vaccines above.

Before mixing vaccines in water, one has to bear in mind that vaccines are live weakened disease agents. Water with chlorine or disinfectants like water guard will kill the vaccine. So, such vaccines will not work. “At the end of the day you are not giving any vaccine but water contaminated with death. So, a 43

HEALTH

farmer must have clean water which is not treated. You need to arrange when to vaccinate the birds; you need to starve them of water for a period so that by the time you serve them water with a vaccine they are thirsty, but not too thirsty to fight over the water and contaminate it,” says Dr Humphrey Mbugua, the technical adviser and general secretary of the Kenya Poultry Breeders Association.

Mbugua advises farmers to send their farm hands to seminars on how to properly vaccinate birds because most farmers rarely do the vaccination on their own.

“When we call for meetings, it is the farmers who come and not their farm hands who actually handle the chickens. As an employer, a farmer will not sit with their farm hands to explain to them what they were told in the meetings. So the knowledge is literally left at the meetings and some farmers use this knowledge to intimidate their farm hands rather than transmit the information to them,” he observes.

“We hold a lot of seminars with farmers, and in some residential areas, it is the women of the households who attend. Obviously, when the numbers of the birds grow, the men tend to then want to take charge. This takes the incentive away from women to continue. All these contribute to affecting productivity and the health of the poultry,” Mbugua says.

All vaccines needed for poultry are available in Kenya, with 44

six suppliers of internationally recognised vaccines for diseases like Gumboro and Mareks. What makes the difference in the effectiveness of these vaccines is what happens between the manufacturer and the farmer who mixes them. The vaccines require codechain maintenance for them to be efficient.

Movement within the farm must also be well-structured for infection not to spread from the sick to the healthy birds, Mbugua says.

“Vaccine handling is crucial.

Once you vaccinate, do not expose the birds immediately to the disease. Farmers should take preferably two weeks to protect the birds against disease, though many do not take the time to do this. It is proper to start with the younger birds then move onto the older ones and then the

healthy ones before turning to the sick ones when vaccinating or even feeding.”

Many farmers complain about the high cost of vaccines. Most manufacturers package them from 1,000 doses but some farmers ask agrovets to sell to them lesser doses even when they have many birds. Such reconstituted vaccines, says Mbugua, might not work and advises farmers to consider the opportunity costs: “Farmers say vaccines are expensive. First, they will say there are too many doses. But what they should consider is how much it would cost them if a disease broke out. So if, for example, 500 doses of Newcastle or Gumboro vaccine costs Sh250, a chicken raised plus its eggs is much more valuable and will fetch more money than the Sh250. Farmers must consider

HEALTH

the opportunity costs before they say vaccines are expensive.”

KEPOFA reports show effective and proper vaccination, especially for broilers and layers, is necessary to prevent mortality and losses arising from dreadful poultry diseases. All birds reared on a farm either for personal stock or commercial services, must be effectively vaccinated.

According to the schedule of vaccination, Newcastle vaccine should be administered at the time of hatching, usually within seven days, and should be given either by a drop on the nostrils or the eyes, while fowl vaccination should be administered when the birds are a week old.

Vaccinations should nonetheless be administered in the correct sequence and according to laid down instructions.

Farmers should also ensure that properly refrigerated vaccines are always on hand. KEPOFA further advises that water soluble antibiotics can be given in the water four days before the vaccination and five days after the vaccination to reduce stress.

The table below is a guide vaccination schedule for broilers and layers, with details about the type of vaccine, vaccination method and the number of days at which the birds should be vaccinated.

LAYERS Name of Vaccine

Route

La Sota or F vaccine Newcastle Marek’s vaccine (in hatchery) Infectious Bronchitis (1st dose) La Sota Newcastle Fowl Pox (1st dose) R2B Newcastle

Intranasal drop Intramuscular Eye drops Drinking water Wing Web Sub cut or Intramuscular Infectious Bronchitis Eye drop or drinking water Fowl Pox (2nd dose) Skin Scarification La Sota (if necessary) Newcastle Drinking Water La Sota (if necessary) Newcastle Drinking Water

Age of birds 3 to 7 days 1 day 2 - 3 weeks 5 - 6 weeks 7 - 8 weeks 9 - 10 weeks

Calf Pellets

Dairy Meal

Layers Mash

Chick Mash

Horse Meal

Rabbit Mash

16 weeks 18 weeks 20 weeks 40 weeks

BROILERS Age

Name of Vaccine

3-5th day

Intra ocular or Lasota intra nasal Infectious bronchitis Intra Ocular or disease. drinking water Infectious bronchitis Drinking water disease.

Lasota (booster) Drinking water

7-9th day 16-18th day 24-26th day SOURCE: KEPOFA

Route

Manufacturers of Animal Feeds and Dealers in Raw Materials P.O. Box 1313 - 20100, Nakuru, Kenya, Tel: +254 51 221 5118, Fax: +254 51 221 6341 Cell: +254 722 685 678, www.bundacake.net

45

HEALTH

?#!

The procedures for vaccinating fowls

T

By Brian Mureithi here are a number of ways in which vaccines should be administered to poultry.

Proper handling and procedures should be applied to each to guarantee effective vaccination for the vaccine to respond to its intended purpose of immunity. Some processes are done using water and others through aerosol spray, though some can be time consuming and cumbersome to a farmer or the person doing the vaccination.

Oral In this procedure, the vaccine is given to the birds through the mouth where it goes to the respiratory system or to the digestive tract before being absorbed into the body.

46

Nasal The vaccine is administered through the nostrils either as a drop or as dust and proper dosage should be ascertained for this.

Ocular Here the vaccine is put through one of the eyes with eye dropper.

The vaccine then progresses to the respiratory tract through the lacrimal tract. The dose should be sufficient enough as little would not achieve the vaccination purpose, while an overdose will lead to runout beforehand.

It is one of the most effective ways but can be labour-intensive.

The bird should be held until it blinks and one should ensure the vaccine does not roll off from the eyes.

Drinking water In this procedure, the vaccine is mixed with water and birds left to drink the water from a trough.

Care should be taken to ensure the water is not contaminated and the equipment to mix the vaccine should be disinfected from germs or bacteria and free of detergents.

This technique is more appropriate for most live vaccines, especially for diseases such as infectious bursal disease and avian encephalomyelitis which target the gut.

The vaccine should not come into contact with chlorinated water as it reduces the amount of vaccine virus to the birds.

Spray The vaccine is sprayed directly to the chickens or to the air above them using an atomizer spray. The vaccine then falls onto

HEALTH

Proper hygiene should be maintained to avoid contamination and the accuracy of the dose should also be ascertained. the chickens and enters their body as they pick onto the shiny droplets of the vaccine and other droplets inhaled. It is used in two situations different from each other for technical and practical reasons. These are administered to day-old chicks in delivery boxes and birds in their poultry houses.

Feather Follicles These are the holes where the feathers grow. In this type of procedure, a few feathers are removed from the follicles and the vaccine is then brushed off into these holes with a stiff and soft brush. Extra hygiene should be exercised to prevent contaminated organisms and objects from getting into the follicles.

Intramuscular injection This method uses a needle to insert the vaccine into the breast muscle of the bird. An automatic muscle would make the work easier and cannot harm the bird though extra care should be exercised to ensure the needle does not harm the bird's vital organs.

Subcutaneous injection A similar technique to the intramuscular injection using a syringe. The vaccine is administered not on the muscle but under the skin, particularly at the back of the neck. Proper hygiene should be maintained to avoid contamination and the accuracy of the dose should also be ascertained. This method is used purposely for fowl fox vaccination.

Care should be taken so that the vaccine does not come into con-

tact with the eyes or the mouth of the birds to avoid lesions appearing.

Cloacal An abrasive applicator is used to administer the vaccine to the mucus membranes of the cloaca.

The applicator is firstly put on the vaccine and then into the bird’s cloaca and turned to cause an abrasion in the bird’s organ to allow the vaccine to get into the body through the abrasion.

It is advised that this technique should not be applied on commercial farms because it is likely to cause bird-to-bird contamination. Caution should also be taken to hinder contamination. The process is also time-consuming and tiring to birds.

Wing Stab This technique uses special needles to insert the vaccine into the bird’s wings. These needles should have a groove along the

length, just behind the point. The piercing should not be on the muscle or bone as it is likely to cause injury to the bird.

In-Ovo vaccination Here, the vaccine is administered onto the embryo before it hatches and can be administered in different areas of the egg such as the amniotic fluid, air sacs, the allantoic sac, the York sac and the embryo sac. It is advisable to administer the vaccine in the later stages of development to ensure effective vaccination as the embryo is mature to cope with the viral stimulus of the penetrating trauma.

The effectiveness of the vaccine relies heavily on the area of vaccination. Injection on the body of the embryo and on the allantoic sac is more effective as compared to injection in the air cell. This is a growing vaccine technology and is more effective for administration of Marek’s disease vaccine 47

HEALTH

Access the right vaccines to avoid the counterfeits

By Brian Mureithi and Edgar Nyandong

N

ot all farmers keeping indigenous birds can easily access medicines and vaccines, because most of them live in rural areas where agro vets are not available. Indigenous chickens are adapted to a variety of local environmental conditions and thus rarely need vaccines or medicines.

Broilers and layers, mostly bred for commercial purposes, consist of genetic resources likely to make them lose their genetic resistance to various diseases because of the long-term process of one-sided production.

Farmers keeping broilers and layers conduct their business near market centres, where agrovets can be easily accessed.

Dr Humphrey Mbugua, technical adviser and general secretary of the Kenya Poultry Breeders Association believes that any farmer who says that vaccines and medicines are not

48

accessible is not making an effort to access them.

“Some farmers who keep indigenous chicken get surprised when you tell them that they need to treat their birds. They cannot believe when you tell them that medicines are not accessible, but are available. All you need to do is to schedule when to start vaccination,” Mbugua says.

The question of need for vaccines and medicines arises. Mbugua adds that farmers must first establish need assessment to know whether they require the vaccines or not.

“Vaccination programmes can be on a country basis, a regional basis, a county basis, or a public farm basis.

This will depend on the disease one is trying to treat. If all the preventative measures are taken, then you may not need to vaccinate. Some farmers do not use any antibiotics for ten years or so due to the measures they take,” he adds.

Safety measures can be more costly than vaccines, but they will ensure that the birds stay safe from disease for a longer period of time, eliminat-

ing the need for treatment. The lack of preventative measures leads to some farmers misusing antibiotics.

“You can go to some farmers who within 48 hours have changed medicines five times because they think this is something you give several times. This creates public health implications because some of these drugs are not as commonly used in humans. So, when someone eats eggs or meat with residues of the medicines, it may cause harm. Misuse of antibiotics in birds can lead to possible drug resistance in humans,” warns Mbugua.

Farmers should be careful not to buy counterfeit medicines sold by 'cowboy agro vets' masquerading as bona fide vets for poultry. Farmers should ensure that they purchase the vaccines in recognised and accredited veterinary chemists and from qualified personnel.

There have not been many cases of counterfeit medicines and vaccines for poultry in Kenya, but there are some antibiotics which are not very effective, though the process used to produce vaccines makes them specialised and difficult to counterfeit. Antibiotics like de-wormers are imported in bulk and some suppliers repackage them after watering down their quality to get more products before selling them to farmers.

Mbugua believes that quite a number of these low-quality antibiotics cross the border from countries like Somalia and make their way into remote areas of the country.

He further says the deeper you go into remote areas, the more the counterfeit drugs are going to be found. For chicken, the further you go from Nairobi, the less important Continued PAGE 55

OVERVIEW

Rabbits on the farm, money in the pocket

M

By Edgar Nyandong any farmers have ignored commercialising rearing of rabbits because they do not understand how they can make money from the venture.

The manager of Sigona Rabbit Farm in Kikuyu in Kiambu County, Ms Magdalene Wanjiru, says rabbit farming is very profitable because the animals take a short time to give birth and mature but most people just don’t know about it.

“Rabbits only have a gestation period of one month before they give birth. After breastfeeding for two months, you can take it again to the male for mating. So, their multiplication is quick. They also give birth to litters of between six and eight per month,” Wanjiru says.

She says rabbits consume very little feed compared to poultry and their meat is the best kind of white meat. They can reach full maturity in five months but can be sold after two months for breeding. They also cost less to

Lucy Ndung'u (holding white rabbit) with her employees at 2014 Nairobi International Trade Fair

produce.

“If you start eating rabbits, I don’t think you’ll want to eat any other meat!’’ Wanjiru confides.

Individuals who buy rabbits from Sigona with the aim of starting their own farms end up eating all of them and return for more in a few weeks,’’ says Wanjiru In comparison, a grown indigenous chicken (like KARI’s Kienyeji Improved) takes close to four-and-a-half months to reach maturity yet will only fetch about Sh1,000 to Sh1,200, but a five-month old rabbit can fetch as much as Sh3,000.

Sigona keeps rabbits for breeding and for meat. The ones kept for breeding grow in five months and should weigh five kilogrammes, while those for meat can be slaughtered after three months with a weight of three kilos. The farm has 14 breeds of rabbits - Flemish Giant, California White, Earlops, English, Andorra and Fransk Vender, American Brown, New Zealand White, American Silver, German, Chinchilla, Dutch, Martin Sable

and Siamese.

When the proprietor of the farm, Ms Lucy Ndung’u bought two rabbits in 2006 during the Nairobi International Trade Fair, the animals were meant as pets for her son, but their quick growth and appeal to visitors to the farm made her shift attention to serious commercial rabbit farming. Eight years later, the farm now has 600 rabbits and housing space to accommodate 2,000.

Ndung’u travels to England and Switzerland to get foreign rabbit breeds and also buys locally available breeds during the Nairobi International Trade Fair to boost her stock and keeps only hybrid rabbits due to their quick commercial output.

The large variety of breeds is fed on pellets, rabbit mash and hay. Wanjiru explains that though some farmers feed their rabbits on leftover foods, it is not a good idea because it causes bloating and diarrhoea. Rabbits for meat should be fed two to three times a day, and the ones for breeding 49

OVERVIEW

once a day so that they do not overgrow, which can lead to poor mating.

The farm buys its rabbit mash from Tosha Feeds and pellets from Unga Feeds but grows its own hay using the new hydroponics technique. Due to the high price of feeds, Sigona also makes its own and attends workshops and training on how to mix feed ingredients properly to make good quality feeds, says Wanjiru. The six workers on the farm can do so in Ndung’u’s absence.

The farm makes about 10 bags of feeds which can last two months, making feeding the animals cheaper as they only have to buy feed from millers after every two months.

Despite the high price of feeds, Wanjiru believes rabbits are cheaper to keep than poultry.

“For chicks, they need injections when they are a day old.

Rabbits do not. From that you have a saving. Rabbits do not also need warmth like chicks, which are kept in a brooder. Once the rabbits give birth, you only have to make sure that they are feeding well and the mother can take care of her babies. So, if you compare the production costs for chickens and rabbits, the chickens cost a lot to produce more than rabbits.”

In a month the farm can spend about Sh500 on one rabbit, which is not the case with chickens.

Indeed, like most farms, Sigona has given hygiene and health high priorit. Wanjiru also says rabbits are not like poultry that 50

transmit diseases to each other easily. Once a disease is detected, and a veterinary officer promptly invited to treat the animals, spread is minimal.

The farm uses disinfectants to protect the animals from diseases like coccidiosis. The housing structure is designed to guard the rabbits from direct wind which can cause pneumonia.

Other conditions like diarrhoea and bloating can be caused by over-feeding which Wanjiru advices against.

There is rising interest on activities at the farm, with many walkin visitors coming to see and learn about rabbit rearing and

kets, yet they still do not have the capacity to meet that demand because rabbit farmers are few and the ones available are not reliable suppliers.

“T A rabbit of 3 months weighs 3 kilos, but once slaughtered it weighs 2 kilos. To get something like 50 kilos, we have to slaughter about 25 rabbits weekly, which translates to 100 rabbits in a month. It is not easy because if you are not careful you can find your cages remaining empty. So, every time you slaughter 100, you must add 100 more, and if you do not, you might slaughter the ones that are supposed to breed,”she explains.

The demand is very high but we cannot meet it. For example, when we get an order from supermarkets like Nakumatt, they ask for 30 kilos and above. the hydroponics technique of planting crops.The farm charges Sh500 to let in visitors, so it has built a training shed where large groups can hold workshops.

Agricultural officers frequently visit to see what they are doing and whether they are doing it the right way and also to offer encouragement.

But there is still little awareness about the rabbit business.

Wanjiru believes there is a large market for rabbits but the lack of awareness has made many people to shy away from the trade.

Places like hotels do not serve rabbit meat because there are not many customers who ask for it.

However, she adds that the demand is high from supermar-

For Sigona to do it alone, they have to keep not less than 1,000 rabbits at any one time and not sell to other farmers.“To supply such orders, you must commit yourself and know that you will be able to sustain that order.

Once you agree that you will be supplying meat, it is upon you to make it or not. You cannot back down along the way and say you want to first breed then supply later. Once you stop, they will move on to another supplier,” cautions Wanjiru.

The farm is trying to find a way to meet this demand despite few rabbit farms around the country.

It is talking to other rabbit farmers to form a system where one farm can supply rabbits in one

OVERVIEW

week and another does the same in another week so that by the time the first farm’s turn to supply comes, it has already built up on its stock again.

However, the challenge is that some farmers sell all their rabbits and leave nothing for breeding once the money starts coming in.

Also, those who keep rabbits rear only small numbers because they feel there is no market for them.

“Once some farmers have had a taste of the money, all they want to do is sell and not breed them. One customer called us complaining that if she breeds the rabbits she will not get a market for them. But we told her that if she does not get the market, she can bring them to us so that we can sell for her. But the babies of one pregnant rabbit we sold to her were all bought. She had to come back to us for more rabbits. Now she also breeds rabbits

and sells to other farmers,”says Wanjiru.

She believes that the high cost of feeds contributes to farmers quitting keeping rabbits and preferring to sell their stocks rather than do large scale breeding.

Indigenous rabbits are also not good for commercialisation because their meat is not as good as those of the hybrid ones because the former scavenge.

Besides rabbit meat, there is also interest in rabbit urine and droppings. Rabbit urine is a good pesticide though Sigona Farm does not collect it for sale like some farmers do. They use it in their own crop farm. They mix five litres of urine with two and a half litres of water to neutralise its acidity. Wanjiru believes that it is better than pesticides bought from agrovets which have a lot of chemicals. The droppings are good as manure. Sigona collects

about one full bag in three to four days and sells a 70kg bag at Sh500.

Sigona is however not all about rabbits. The farm commercialises in a variety of poultry breeds like guinea fowls, turkeys, bantam chickens, quails, about 600 KARI ‘Kienyeji Improved’ chickens, broilers (indigenous chicken from Uganda), rainbow roosters from India, kuchi which is an ornamental bird, doves and pigeons.

Sigona grows strawberries, kales, spinach, and wheat, barley and oats which are planted through the hydroponics technique.

Wanjiru says that the farm plans to start breeding dogs and sheep; the former for security and the latter for meat. By the end of 2015, Sigona hopes to have a feeds factory to supply cheaper animal and poultry food to farmers

51

DID YOU KNOW

Did You Know...?

Facts with fun about poultry and livestock

By Edgar Nyandong Ducks: Did you know that there are species of ducks found globally in every continent apart from Antarctica? ..that ducks have been domesticated as pets and farm animals for more than 500 years and all domestic ducks descended from the mallard or Muscovy duck; ..that there are more than 40 breeds of domestic duck and the white Pekin duck (Long Island duck) is the most common variety raised for meat and eggs; ..that an adult male duck is called a drake, an adult female is called a hen/duck, a baby duck is called a duckling, and a group of ducks is called a raft/team/ paddling; ..that a duck’s feathers are so waterproof that even when it dives underwater, its lower under-layer of feathers will stay completely dry; 52

..that most duck species are monogamous for one breeding season but do not later mate for life; ..that most male ducks are silent and very few ducks actually ‘quack’, though their calls may include squeaks, grunts, groans, chirps, whistles, brays and growls;

Ostriches: ..Did you know that unlike all other living birds, ostriches secrete faeces differently from urine? ..that ostriches are the fastest runners of any birds or two-legged animals and can reach speeds of 70km per hour and cover up to 5 metres in a single stride; Turkeys: ..Did you know that a turkeys’ gender can be determined from its droppings; ..that wild turkeys are one of only two North American species to ever be domesticated - the

other is the Muscovy duck. Spanish explorers took wild turkeys from what is now Mexico back to Europe, where they were bred and domesticated, resulting in the bird that will likely be served when Americans observe Thanksgiving Day; ..that wild turkey babies are precocial, which means that they hatch out of the egg already covered in fluffy feathers and able to walk, run and feed themselves.

They stick close to their mother for protection from predators, but unlike many other bird species, she doesn’t have to feed them; .. that domestic turkeys have been bred to have enormous breasts to make them more appealing on the dinner table. As a result, these top-heavy birds have lost the ability to fly. Wild turkeys, however, can and do fly. In fact, they typically roost in trees at night to avoid predators; ..that wild turkeys, although large and formidable birds, are still on the menu for a variety of predators. Coyotes and bobcats prey on them, and snakes, foxes, and raptors such as hawks and owls feed on their young. As a result, wild turkeys have gorgeously camouflaged plumage to match the forest environments where they live, and they can be remarkably stealthy to avoid detection;

Rabbits: ..Did you know that just like humans, rabbits become bored

DID YOU KNOW FROM PAGE 50

Accessing the right vaccines and avoiding counterfeits if their environments remain the same, so they can benefit from variety and occasional change of scenery. However, too much change can have adverse effects; ..that a wild rabbit’s survival depends on an intimate knowledge of its surroundings in order to escape from predators, so structural changes to the “warren” of a rabbit kept as a pet should be kept subtle, such as changing their toys and regularly providing new ones; ..that rabbits have an excellent sense of smell, hearing and vision. They have nearly 360° panoramic vision, allowing them to detect predators from all directions. They can see everything behind them and only have a small blind-spot in front of their nose; ..that rabbits are territorial animals which live in loosely organised social groups. They live in warrens comprising of an intricate series of underground tunnels with different entrances and exits;

..that when rabbits ‘binky’, this is an expression of joy. They will run, jump into the air, twist their bodies and flick their feet; ..that rabbits stand upright on their hind legs to give themselves a better vantage point to look out for predators. They alert other rabbits to the presence of danger by thumping their hind legs; ..that the rabbit is the United Kingdom’s third most popular furry pet in the last 10 years.

In 2010 about 1 million rabbits were kept as pets; ..that people often think rabbits are easy to look after and that all they need to do is place them in a hutch in the garden and feed and clean them when needed. However, these days there is more understanding of rabbits and there are things we need to recognise in order to keep them happy. When rabbits express aggressive behaviour toward people and other pets, it often indicates that they are in distress and are suffering emotionally. There are many ways to improve the lives of rabbits kept as pets; ..that rabbits should be kept in pairs. Companionship is key to the welfare of rabbits – without the company of another neutered rabbit they get lonely and bored; ..that rabbits kept as pets should be offered shelter and hiding places - rabbits confined to open spaces with no protection will feel threatened. Predators such as dogs may also scare prey species such as rabbits

it becomes compared to cows and sheep. Therefore, where the counterfeit drugs are more available, the chickens are not there. So, it does not make sense for these people to maintain this trade.

Despite the lack of an active trade in counterfeit drugs for poultry, keeping the illegal trade quiet still requires legislation, and by extension monitoring and evaluation by the government.

The Poisons and Pharmacy Board is in charge of all the regulatory issues concerning medicines but is more inclined towards human medicine than animal drugs. This calls into question their competence on matters of livestock medicine.

“What is the interrelationship between the medics and the vets?

What was the reasoning behind the decision to place all drugs under this Board which is dominated by the medics? It is a complex issue,” Mbugua concludes 53

KEPOFA

APPLICATION FORM

DATE..................................................................................................................................

NAME.................................................................................................................................

(INDIVIDUAL/GROUP) ID/REGISTRATION NO...................................................................................................

REGISTRATION FEE INDIVIDUAL

Membership Kshs. 200.00

Annual subscription Kshs. 500.00

GROUP (less than 30) GROUP (More than 30)

Kshs. 3000.00 Kshs. 6000.00

Kshs. 2000.00 Kshs. 4000.00

CONTACT DETAILS: PHYSICAL ADDRESS: (Road, Street, Significant nearby landmark e.g. sch., hosp. etc.) ................................................................................................................................................

DIVISION.......................................................COUNTY...........................................................

TELEPHONE................................................MOBILE PHONE..............................................

EMAIL....................................................................................................................................

POSTAL ADDRESS................................................................................................................

SIGNATURE...........................................................................................................................

OFFICIAL USE: ACCEPTED...................................................NOT ACCEPTED..........................................

DATE.............................................................SIGNATURE.................................................

54

National Beekeeping Station, Ngong Road Lenana, 1st Floor. Room 20, P.O.Box 46128 - 00100 Nairobi, Tel: +254 20 2308976, Cell: +254 722 406 390/ +254 736 344 251, Email: kepofakuku@yahoo.com, www.kenyapoultryfarmers.org

2014 OCT-DEC

OCT-DEC

KSHS: 250 UGSH: 7500 TSHS: 5000 RWF: 2000

YOUR

AUTH

2014

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KSHS: 25 UGSH: 75 0 00 TSHS: 5000 RWF: 2000

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cash wil l

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