By Umar Nsubuga
Samuel Nyabongo, a famous farmer in Kanyate village, Kyakaigo parish in Kabarole district says incubators were not part of his plans when he started rearing chicken, last year.
But when he realised that hatcheries make money, he bought them.
“I wanted to acquire an incubator and hatchery to start producing my own chicks. However, I realised that importing an incubator would be too expensive for me so, I decided to find ways of getting it locally.
Nyabongo’s farm’s innovation has eased chicken breeding in the village. At the moment, several farmers are getting chicks from Nyabongo.
He says breeding is more profitable than selling eggs.
“It is equivalent to adding value to an egg,” he says.
“To put it into perspective, an egg costs sh500 at the farm. If you have an incubator where you can hatch eggs, a chick will cost between sh2,000 and sh3,000”, Nyabongo says.
He adds that inside a big incubator, there are 20 trays and each accommodates 140 eggs. In a small one, there are 20 trays each accommodating 860 eggs.
According to Nyabongo, the incubator uses single phase power, if any farmer is to have one, he or she must have a standby generator.
He says when you don’t have a standby generator, you will make losses in case the power goes off.
“The eggs are put in the incubator for 18 days and then three days in the hatching boxes on the floor of the incubator to complete the 21-day cycle,” he explains.
He says an incubator costs sh4.5m-sh6m, however, you will need to bring in an expert to assemble it for you, and if well kept it lasts for many years.
Besides, there is also a ready market for chicken, as the industry is becoming more developed.
