January - June 2008 - Kenya Agricultural Research Institute

Case Study
When Mr. Pius Makau retired as a security officer with
Nairobi City Council in 2004 to settle on his 20 acre farm at
Kyemole village, little did he know that his poultry
enterprise would grow from 20 chickens to more than 400
birds by 2008 to become a model farm for indigenous
poultry production. He attributes his success to hard work,
stick-to-it-iveness and support from his wife, Alice.
Besides, the Makaus have a dairy herd of 6 cows
comprising Friesian and Aryshire breeds, 15 zebu cattle
which provide draught power, a flock of goats which act
as a bank account for household needs and school fees,.
They have 5 acres of horticultural crops, mainly mangoes
and oranges, and 2 acres under apiculture. The farm is
regularly visited by farmer groups from various parts of
the country to learn skills on indigenous poultry farming.
Mr. Makau has attended high profile workshops organized
by KARI and University of Nairobi and is a member of the
National Poultry farmer’s forum.
The forum
Dr. John Mugambi, Centre Director, KARI Muguga North,
informed participants that KARI Animal health projects
focus on working with stakeholders to control livestock
diseases. Farmers participate fully in the research agenda
by identifying constraints and opportunities for
interventions so that ultimately they own the
implementation process and are responsible for
sustainability. He observed that we all grew up with
chickens and therefore learned quite a lot about them. He
said, it was important to take measures to improve rearing
of chickens in order to increase survival rates and hence
productivity and embrace poultry enterprise as a business.
He added that KARI would soon be testing the
thermostable Newcastle vaccine in farmers’ fields and
therefore the cold chain which is a limiting factor in the
delivery of the current vaccine would not be necessary.
He distributed two extension leaflets produced by KARI
to the participants: “Manual for indigenous poultry
production No.18” and “Stop Newcastle”.
Participants listed reasons for keeping poultry as
providing income, protein nutrition –eggs and meat,
business enterprise, provision of manure, gifts and social
status. Constraints to poultry keeping were identified as
diseases, poor housing, feeds, predators, lack of
management skills, inferior breeds, marketing and lack of
credit. Important diseases cited include: Newcastle, fowl
pox, infectious bronchitis, coccidiosis and ecto parasites.
On feeds and feeding participants shared experiences
on making of home-made rations consisting of a mixture
Participants keenly follow the session on good poultry
housing
Feeding chickens on home-made ration
of maize bran, sorghum and green grams. Birds are fed in
the morning on this ration and released to scavenge for
the rest of the day. Participants learned how termites can
used to provide a rich source of protein to poultry. The
insects are easily harvested using a stack of moist grass
placed around termite mounds for three days. Birds fed
on this regime attain market weight of 2 to 3 kg within
eight months while those on scavenging alone take twelve
months.
The farmers learnt that Newcastle disease which is a
major cause of death among local chickens in the district
can be controlled through planned vaccination. According
to the veterinary office, the disease has a seasonal pattern
and occurs in the months of July-August and January-
February. Hence it is appropriate to vaccinate in the
months of June and December . The Newcastle vaccine
which is produced by Veterinary Vaccine Production Centre
can be accessed by the local people through the Veterinary
office in Wote or Agrovet stockists.
Issues and recommendations
Newcastle disease vaccine: Packaging, route of
administration, cold chain and accessibility- Participants
requested KARI to package the vaccine in smaller doses
to enable farmers with few birds to access it. They felt
that a vaccine administered through water would save on
labor. Apparently VVPC produces the lasota strain
Newcastle vaccine administered through drinking water
but the farmers are not aware of its existence. The
thermostable vaccine would be very attractive as it would
not require cooling. It was suggested that a vaccine techno
shop be set up at KARI Kiboko to enable farmers in
Makueni and its environs including livestock keepers in
Kajiado and other service providers easy access to KARI
products. They welcomed KARI to use some of their
farms in testing the thermostable vaccine.
Market access: Marketing of chickens through a group
was regarded as an alternative in the exploration of niche
markets and accessing better returns.
Record keeping: Participants agreed that record-keeping
was a useful tool that assists in evaluating and determining
profitability of farm enterprises.
Biosecurity: Biosecurity issues are becoming key
concerns in the poultry trade - footbath at farm entrance,
separate housing for birds and human beings, prohibition
of sale of sick birds and transportation of chickens in
public service vehicles.
Highlighter No. 23
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