By Moses Nampala
When President Yoweri Museveni toured the Bukedi sub-region in eastern Uganda last week, beneficiaries of the Government’s economic recovery programmes showcased their products.
Among the Emyoga and Parish Development Model (PDM) exhibitors from the sub-region who turned up at the Kamuge sub-county headquarters in Pallisa district, were commercial indigenous poultry farmers.
Bukedi sub-region comprises of Pallisa, Kibuku, Butebo, Busia, Butaleja and Tororo districts. Agnes Nabona, from Kaberekeke sub-county in Pallisa district, is a successful indigenous chicken breeder.
At her exhibition stall, Nabona was surrounded by trays of eggs from local chicken.
She demonstrated her ability to identify eggs that wouldn’t hatch chicks.
She could also distinguish the sex of each perfectly fertilised egg on the tray.
“When you gently hold three eggs in a vertical position, the egg in the middle naturally tilts in a distinctive way. A clockwise tilt means it carries a male chick, while the reverse is true for a female one,” she explains.
“If an egg doesn’t tilt (remains dormant), it likely was not fertilised. It’s a good practice for farmers to discard such eggs, as they won’t hatch a chick,” she adds, smiling with pride.
Nabona’s expertise isn’t based on magic, but rather on basic scientific knowledge, as well as guidance from enterprise experts at the science ministry and the Office of the President.
Like hundreds of other beneficiaries across the sub-region, she has embraced the idea of turning indigenous chicken farming into a profitable business.
“We don’t regret our decision, as it now brings a decent income to our households,” Nabona, a mother of seven, says as fellow farmers around her nod in agreement.
“Basic science knowledge is essential for farmers. It helps us predict the number of chicks we can expect from each hatching cycle,” she explains, proudly showing off her flock of 400 indigenous chickens, now five months old.
Moses Kambo, 48, from Kakolo sub-county in Kibuku district, is another successful indigenous chicken farmer. He currently has 500 chickens, which are six months old.
He says he buys breeding birds from a nearby auction market.
A hen usually costs between sh25,000 and sh30,000, while a cockerel costs between sh35,000 and sh40,000.
“The ideal breeding stock consists of 10 hens and 2-3 cockerels,” Kambo says.
The breeding birds should be kept indoors for protection from both human and wild animals.
The room housing the birds should be equipped with rack chambers for safety and comfort.
Feeding
George Womere, 44, from Merikit sub-county in Tororo district, points out that years of experience in the indigenous chicken trade have helped farmers estimate how much feed a mature bird stock consumes daily.
“Ten adult chickens, regardless of sex, consume about one kilogramme of maize bran per day,” he observes.
Vaccination
Vaccination, including for Newcastle disease, should begin two weeks after obtaining the parent stock.
Eggs
The birds typically start laying eggs about two weeks after being acquired. According to Kambo, a prudent practice is to number the eggs as they are collected.
“Experience shows that eggs laid earliest in a hen’s cycle often have fertilisation issues, but numbering them is crucial when it comes to hatching,” Kambo says.
Farmers note that an indigenous hen typically lays between 15-20 eggs.
“The number of eggs a bird lays doesn’t necessarily correlate with its physical size. A modest-sized bird can lay more eggs than a well-nourished one,” Womere observes.
Keen attention
When the birds begin laying eggs, farmers must pay close attention.
“Normally, the hens that start the laying cycle earlier will show signs of wanting to begin the hatching process before others. However, a farmer must deliberately deny them this opportunity until all the parent stock hens have completed the egg-laying cycle,” Nabona explains.
The key to success in this process is embracing mass production of chicks, she says.
Farmers note that once all he parent hens have finished laying, they exhibit familiar body language, indicating they are ready to start the hatching cycle.
“The primary objective of the farmer is to maximise chick production, so chicken racks (nests) should be prepared at the same time,” Kambo says.
Each chicken rack or nest is typically provided with 12-14 eggs.
Why eggs should bear visible inscriptions
Farmers contend that in an ideal situation, once the birds begin the hatching cycle, a hen would instinctively roll over its eggs to ensure that warmth circulates evenly, promoting ideal embryo development inside the eggs.
“But in our experience, we’ve noticed that a significant proportion of mother hens skip the task of rolling over the eggs during the hatching process, which prevents some from getting enough humidity to support embryo development,” Womere explains.
What to do when the hatching cycle begins
During the hatching cycle, farmers must closely monitor each egg in the chicken nests/ racks.
“The inscriptions on the eggs help a farmer quickly determine if the hen is rolling over its eggs. If the hen fails to do this, the farmer should step in and manually roll the eggs periodically until the end of the hatching cycle, to ensure all eggs hatch,” he emphasizes.
Chicks
At the end of the 21-day hatching cycle, the majority of mother hens will have successfully hatched their eggs. “Typically, there are minimal losses among two to three mother hens, each losing one to three eggs, depending on the farmer’s level of attention. Overall, chick production is generally satisfying, with an average of 100-115 chicks or more,” Nabona says.
The mother hen stays with her chicks for only one week before they are removed from her care.
Second egg-laying cycle
After an interval of two weeks, the mother hen resumes the cycle of laying fertilised eggs. Farmers agree that rolling out the enterprise has been significantly rewarding.
“After the first chick production cycle, a farmer has numerous economic opportunities. Many opt to become breeders of chicks, while others choose to raise their chicks to maturity. Some do both — breeding and raising chicks to full maturity,” they note.
Support from the productivity acceleration bureau
Dr Joshua Isiko, the team leader of the Bureau of Science, Technology, and Innovation at the Office of the President, explains that the bureau’s role includes teaching best practices and strategies to make the indigenous chicken enterprise economically viable for households.
“Many rural households have proven to be adept, as they were eager to acquire a skill that could generate income,” Isiko says.
He explains that although most recipients were familiar with indigenous chickens, turning them into a profitable enterprise had been a challenge in the past.
“The training we provide focuses on improving the existing knowledge about the enterprise, blending it with basic scientific knowledge. Today, recipients who accessed funding through PDM and used it wisely to start their enterprises, are quickly becoming prosperous,” he concludes. F
Easibility study of indigenous chicken enterprise
An indigenous hen from an auction market typically costs between sh25,000 and sh30,000, while a cockerel ranges from sh35,000 to sh40,000.
Acquiring a parent stock requires an investment of between sh250,000 and sh350,000.
Feeds
Since most recipients are peasant farmers, access to affordable feeds for indigenous chickens is crucial.
“There are grain mills throughout the countryside, which explains why a farmer will not struggle to find maize bran,” Eric Mwima, the principal programme officer at the Bureau of Science, Technology, and Innovation at the Office of the President, explains.
Maturity of indigenous chicken
Indigenous chickens reach maturity within a period of six to seven months. The farm-gate price for a female chicken is typically sh25,000 to sh30,000, while a cockerel ranges between sh35,000 and sh40,000.
Productivity acceleration bureau, science and technology, and innovation – Office of the President
Mwima explains that the indigenous chicken enterprise is just one small part of the bureau’s broader responsibilities.
“Among the bureau’s broader tasks is championing economic development in this part of the country, a region deliberately derailed by colonial policies,” he observes.
Mwima points out that extensive studies, including the analysis of soil samples from the Bukedi sub-region, have yielded positive results.
“Laboratory soil test results indicate that the sub-regions of Bukedi and Teso are well-suited for the cultivation of cash crops like coffee.”
He notes that this awareness is not new, as it stems from a deliberate policy by the colonial government to force the sub-regions to focus on cotton cultivation.
Mwima adds that under the latest developments, the bureau has already begun introducing coffee and cocoa as cash crops to the peasant communities in both Bukedi and Teso sub-regions.
“In the coming years, the household poverty index in this part of the countryside will significantly improve,” he concludes.
Achievements
F or Agnes Nabona, from Kaberekeke sub-county in Pallisa district, life has improved dramatically. In three years, her business has enabled her and her husband to build a permanent family home.
The enterprise has also helped them pay their children’s school fees on time, and they have bought additional parcels of land to expand their family farm.
For Moses Kambo, 48, from Kakolo sub-county in Kibuku district, the profits from indigenous chicken enterprise have allowed him to purchase two motorcycles for his bodaboda business.
“I have bought several pieces of land using money from the indigenous chicken enterprise,” he says with a chuckle. He has also renovated his family home.
“Before I started with indigenous chickens, my family and I lived in a semi-permanent house,” he reveals.
George Womere, 44, from Merikit sub-county in Tororo district, like the other beneficiaries, has seen positive changes in his life, thanks to the enterprise.
Challenges
Despite their success, the farmers acknowledge facing challenges, though they have managed to overcome them.
One challenge has been a lack of space to accommodate their expanding enterprises.
“When I started the indigenous chicken business three years ago, my homestead had only three grass-thatched huts. I have just built myself a modest permanent house,” George Womere, 44, from Merikit sub-county in Tororo district, says, laughing heartily.
Like all farmers, they have also had to contend with the threat of night burglars and theft.
However, they have learned to prioritise the security of their livestock.
“We guard our poultry houses at night and some of us have even bought dogs for protection,” Womere says.
Epidemic outbreaks
Indigenous chickens were not historically prone to sudden epidemics, but that has changed in recent years.
“There are now many strange epidemic outbreaks. By the time you get the right vaccine, you have already lost many birds. In the last cycle, I lost 30 at once,” George Womere from Tororo district recalls.
Farmers admit that because these outbreaks are unpredictable, they have learned to stay informed and regularly consult veterinarians to protect their flocks.
LEAD PHOTO CAPTION: Kabona (right) and Kambo say their success stories of their indigenous Womere says.
local chicken enterprises arise from the Parish Development Model.
