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emunenen · 4 years ago

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Makao Bora

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Norwich Union House, the skycrapper in CBD owned by ordinary chama members

At the corner of Kimathi Street in Nairobi, right opposite the Hilton Hotel stands a nine-storey building. The skyscraper forms one of the landmarks of the central business district.

To tenants, the Norwich Union House is a place where they get their plate of chips from a fast food joint on the ground floor. Better still, where they browse the internet from the cybercafés on the top floors.

But to members of the Norwich Union Properties Ltd (NUP), the multi-million-shilling structure is a dream borne of group effort –or what Kenyans popularly know as chama.

NUP’s success story goes back to 1996, when 33 visionary individuals came together to form Critical Mass Growth group (CMG). At the time, the outfit was an investment group like any other. They did what every small group does. Met once a week to deliberate on different development ideas and summed up discussions with weekly contributions of Sh10,000.

A year on, members realised that the contributions were sizeable. This called for a decision on what to do with the money that they were banking every week. It is at this time that the group decided to transform the chama into a company. In 1997, it was incorporated just after the group landed an investment opportunity which gave it the name – Norwich Union.

“We had the chance of purchasing Norwich Union House and since one of the areas we wanted to venture in was real estate, we made it our trademark,” says Michael Maina, general manager of NUP.

NUP stayed true to its vision and today, they own three more properties worth Sh1.2 billion in Nairobi – Libra House on Mombasa Road, Ratna Apartments in Lavington and Southern Credit House in the CBD.

NUP has since become a public company which is selling a share at Sh10 with a minimum limit of 1,000 shares. They will be listing at the NSE soon, says Maina.

The original chama – CMG Ltd also runs CMG investment Ltd, an alternative investment company established in 1998. However, members no longer make contributions. Instead, they conduct rights issues. The group membership now stands at 78, but this group remains private and only NUP is open to the public who are allowed to buy shares from the company.

The story of growing investments from group synergy is not limited to CMG. Rather it is an approach used by one in every three Kenyans to generate wealth, according to statistics from the Kenya Association of Investment groups.

�� According to Josephine Njuguna, marketing and product development officer at Bank of Africa (BOA), chamas, or investing as a group, help people realise their goals quicker as opposed to going it alone.

BOA is among financial institutions with tailor-made products for such groups. The bank pioneered the service three years ago.

“The product was developed when its innovators recognised the need to offer assistance to chamas,” said Ms Njuguna. The support is to help them achieve their investment dreams.

BOA today takes pride in having 4,000 active chama accounts worth billions of shillings. The bank offers investment groups value additions which include monthly experts’ advice clinics and easy credit facilities.

“Our goal is to make sure they (groups) interact with like-minded people and make progress in their individual lives,” added Ms Njuguna.

Other financial institutions that are seeing the huge financial potential in such groups are Rafiki DTM, an affiliate of Chase Bank, KCB, Barclays Bank and Co-operative Bank.

Banks are more cognisant of the fact that chamas have grown beyond their informality – where groups meet at homes and paid money into informal revolving funds; to bankable groups with large sums of money at their disposal.

Manyatta Fresh Self-Help Group from Kisumu is an example of a small group that has transitioned from a women’s ‘merry-go-round group’ where women give money to one or two members for household purchases to a profitable formal cluster.

Well aware of the poverty around them, the women from Manyatta slums made up their minds to change their destiny. In a group of 12, they made weekly contributions of Sh100 each which they later increased to Sh200 in order to grow capital.

“After a while, we took part of our savings and put it in a poultry business and that boosted our bank savings to Sh75,000,” says Akinyi Owiti, the group’s chairlady.

The women topped up the savings with a Sh50,000 loan from Women Enterprise for agribusiness and started quail farming.

After one and half years, they saw another opportunity in real estate. Ms Owiti donated her idle plot for the construction of rental houses. They also bought additional land on which they are planning to build more houses. Their other assets include two cybercafés and a tailoring business. The group asset today stands at about Sh1 million.

Manyatta Fresh recently began lending members money after years of strict saving.

“We had to first grow in asset before we could enjoy from our toil,” says Ms Owiti. Another flourishing investor, Lee Karuri, holds the same opinion and advises groups to reinvest any gains instead of draining the accounts.

“Keep ploughing back profits to avoid depleting the funds you have accrued until you can comfortably afford to give out dividends to members,” advises Karuri. It’s only recently that members of his investment group – Home Afrika received dividends. Their take has always been to reinvest whatever profits they made.

Mr Karuri is the founder Home Afrika, a real estate investment group with a PanAfrican agenda of housing millions of Africans. Karuri and his friends floated the idea of contributing for an ambitious investment opportunity to the public.

“When we started, a share was going for Sh2 million with a limit of five shares per member. Those interested either purchased as a group, family or individual,” said Mr Karuri in an interview with Business Daily newspaper.

Their initial target was 49 investors, but more people showed interest. Instead of raising Sh200 million, they got Sh350 million from 128 investors.

Home Afrika later formalised operations in 2009. Five years later, they took a leap, becoming the first fully-fledged real estate company to be listed at the NSE. Today, the company’s worth is Sh9 billion based on market capitalisation.

Migaa Golf and Country Club, an exclusive gated community with an 18-hole golf course, Kikwetu in Machakos, Lakeview in Kisumu and Longonot Gate, a holiday home at the foothills of Mt Longonot are some of its assets. According to Mr Karuri, sound leadership, clear vision, integrity and trust are the ingredients of the group’s success.

“Wherever there is focused leadership, there is growth,” he said.

He also advises groups to be professional and shun the friendship approach that first got them together.

“Remove informality and run the group formally as a company,” Mr Karuri added. Incorporating the group into a company, soliciting the services of experts and drafting a strategy are other important elements for a successful outfit.

Read the whole story on Business Daily

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0711611347 · 4 years ago

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Why Ruto's Bungoma Mentee in Poultry Farming Wants Govt to Boost Sector

Why Ruto’s Bungoma Mentee in Poultry Farming Wants Govt to Boost Sector

(Melpha Poultry Farm Director Lendrix Waswa. PHOTO CREDIT/COURTESY) A man mentored by Deputy President William Ruto has asked the government to support poultry farming in Kenya. Mr. Lendrix Waswa who runs Melpa Poultry Farm, has cited that the lucrative sector is fighting stiff competition from the Ugandan counterparts whose lower prices have been undermining the success of the Kenyan sector. In…

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#lendrix waswa poultry farm #Melpa Poultry Farm #MUTENGENE RESORT

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wibkenya · 4 years ago

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ericfruits · 5 years ago

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Why urban migrants understate how much they earn

Tall tales of the city Why urban migrants understate how much they earn

And why this harms rural folk

SOME COUNTRY folk do not understand what life is like in town, says Roda Radido, who lives in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital. She is right. Rural Kenyans typically have no idea how much better off they would be if they moved to a city. A survey by Travis Baseler of the University of Rochester found that people in western Kenya guessed that the average worker in Nairobi earns about twice as much as the average worker in Bungoma, a small town near the border with Uganda. In fact, the Nairobian makes four times as much. Urban Kenyan incomes are higher even after accounting for costlier rent and rood, and even when comparing wages in similar jobs.

Why do rural folk underestimate the rewards of working in a city? Many respondents had relatives who had worked in Nairobi, who could easily have told them. Yet for some reason they did not. When Mr Baseler surveyed migrants in the capital, nine out of ten said their loved ones back home did not know how much they were earning.

Ms Radido understands why. She and her husband moved to Nairobi when he found work on a poultry farm on the city’s outskirts. Now the relatives she left behind in western Kenya pester her whenever they need a bit of cash. It is a common problem, and makes urban migrants cagey about their wages. “People in the city do not want to expose the kind of money they have,” she says, for fear they will be overwhelmed by requests for help.

In Mr Baseler’s survey, 61% of urban migrants strongly agreed that they would be asked to send back more money if their real incomes were known. Mr Baseler also spoke to the family and friends of migrants. Parents thought that their children in the city were only making half as much as they actually were.

In a working paper Mr Baseler suggests ways in which this economy with the truth is harmful. Because villagers never hear the true benefits of migration, they stay at home and forgo a big pay rise. In an experiment to test this idea, he presented rural households with true information about the average income in cities, food prices and wages in typical jobs. Two years later migration to Nairobi from these households was 33% higher than from a control group, which was told nothing.

City streets are not paved with gold, of course. Newcomers often huddle in overcrowded slums. Linda Adhiambo Oucho of the African Migration and Development Policy Centre, a think-tank in Nairobi, says that many migrants are surprised by the hardships of urban life, including the high costs of rent, transport and electricity. Some families even send food from the village to struggling relatives in town.

However, only a quarter of the migrants whom Mr Baseler surveyed said that their quality of life was lower in the city than at home. Over half said that it had improved. Moving to the city brings fresh opportunities, as well as guilt-inducing phone calls from needy relatives.■

This article appeared in the Middle East and Africa section of the print edition under the headline "Tall tales of the city"

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kennomollo · 4 years ago

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How to Start a Profitable Poultry Farming Business in Kenya.

Chicken stew, fried chicken, boiled eggs, and fried eggs. What crosses your mind at the mention of such chicken products? Two words, delicious and yummy, right?

Kenyans love everything about chicken delicacies. They would give an arm and a leg to have chicken delivered to their house from KFC, JAVA, and the likes. And, need I mention that eggs have also now become part of every delicacy.

No…

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inforboit · 4 years ago

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CHICKEN POULTRY FARMING

There are many types of poultry farming in Kenya where one can earn a decent living. Embarking on chicken farming is a good profitable idea This article will talk more about poultry farming in Kenya. Broiler and layer poultry are used for commercial meat and egg production respectively. However, there are numerous world-famous meat and egg-producing poultry breeds available. It is important to select proper breeds according to your desired production. For commercial egg production choose highly productive layer breeds that are suitable for farming in the Kenyan environment. In the case of meat production select highly meat producing broiler poultry breeds.

Housing

The ideal house should provide the birds with a comfortable environment and protect them from the extremities of the prevailing climate (rain, wind, sunshine, etc). the house should provide adequate space for the flock to be kept in the house. The ideal stocking density is two square feet per bird (2 foot²/bird).

In the tropics, the ideal house is open-sided to allow natural ventilation and have an east-west orientation to minimize the amount of sunlight entering the house directly. It is important that the house be rectangular in shape and have walls not higher than three feet on the longer side. The wall can be made from off-cuts, iron sheets, silver boards, or bricks. The rest of the side to the wall should have a wire mesh. The roof of the house should have a reflecting surface and be pitched with overlaps. All these factors aid in ensuring that the house is comfortable and well ventilated.

Cement floors are the best finish as they are easier to clean. There should be a foot-bath at the entrance to the house for those entering the house to disinfect their footwear.

To reduce the risk of rodents gaining entrance into the flock house, clear all the vegetation in an area 3-4 meters around the flock house. The feed store should also be separate from the house.

Hygiene and Sanitation

In commercial layers farms, an all-in all-out system is the best management practice as it prevents the build-up of disease-causing organisms and disease outbreaks. In cases where farmers want to keep flocks of different ages, then each flock MUST be housed in its own house, and have a distance of 10m between the units.

The flock house should be constructed in isolated areas to decrease the risk of contamination. The house should be fenced to exclude stray animals and visitors. The door should always be locked.

Poultry Farming in Kenya – Layers House With Dimensions For 500 Layers

The wire mesh on the sides of the house should be of a small gauge ½” mesh, to prevent the entry of wild birds, cats, dogs, and rodents.

Only essential personnel should enter the flock house. Poultry workers should always wear clean, disinfected foot ware and clothing. When visiting birds of different ages, start with the youngest flock and always visit sick flocks last, irrespective of their age.

Take measures to control all rodents, wild birds, and insects as they are known vectors of poultry diseases. Such measures can be mechanical, biological, or chemical.

Do not permit the introduction of materials and/or equipment into the poultry house without thorough cleaning and disinfection as these items can be carriers of disease-causing organisms.

Preparing the House

As soon as the spent flock has been depopulated, the layer house and equipment must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

It is important to allow the house to remain empty for at least 2 weeks (after the manure has been removed) before the next flock is placed. This allows time to reduce the build-up of disease-causing organisms and to prepare the house effectively for the next flock.

After the birds have been removed from the house, remove all the equipment from the house and dampen the ceiling, walls, and litter with water. This helps to minimize dust during litter removal.

Remove all old litter and dispose of it at least 1.5 km from the farm. Do not store it on, or spread it near the farm as it can re-contaminate the clean house when the wind might blow it back into the house, or via owners’ boots if they walk over it on their way to the house.

All unused feed in the feeders should be disposed of and not stored for the next flock to minimize chances of disease transmission. Only feed in bags stored in a store separated from the house can be kept for the next flock.

Wash the house with water and soap starting with the roof followed by the walls and finally the floor. Allow the house to dry before spraying the whole house with a disinfectant solution again starting from the roof. Simultaneously, wash and disinfect all the equipment from the house. Repair and maintenance to the house and/or equipment should be done during this time.

Once the house is dry, place four inches of litter material and put back all the clean and disinfected equipment into the house. Common types of litter are wood-shavings, straw, rice husks, and coffee husks. Good litter should insulate the floor and absorb moisture from the chicken droppings.

Prepare the brooder area at least 24 hours before the chicks arrive.

Depending on the climatic conditions, the brooders MUST be turned on at least 6 hours prior to the arrival of the chicks. This ensures that the house environment, water, and feed are at the right temperature when the chicks arrive.

Chick Arrival and Brooding

On collecting the chicks, ensure that you have the correct number and that the chicks are uniform, alert, active, and free of any obvious deformities, unhealed navels, or signs of infection.

Chicks should be transported in a well-ventilated but not windy vehicle without direct exposure to sunlight or rain. The chick boxes should be loaded so that the air circulation is not impeded nor are the lower boxes squashed. The transport should go straight from the source (hatchery/sales office) to the farm without any unnecessary stops.

On arrival at the farm carefully remove the chick boxes from the transport vehicle into the flock house. Carefully remove the chicks from the boxes into the brooder ring.

Ideally, chicks should be placed under the brooder hovers 6 to 12 hours after hatching. The longer the time between the hatch and placement, the more the chicks become adversely affected.

Once the chicks are in the brooder, they should be provided with wholesome drinking and feed. It is advisable to add Glucose (or Sugar), Vitamins and liquid paraffin (not kerosene) to this water. This provides the birds with a ready source of energy and helps in overcoming stress caused by traveling while the liquid paraffin assists in the passage of feces.

During the first 48 hours spread feed on a paper placed on the litter or placed in trays or feeder lids that are evenly distributed in the brooder area. This makes the feed more accessible to the chicks for a better start.

During brooding, it is important to maintain the proper temperature in the brooder. Below are the guidelines of the temperatures to be maintained:

Temperatures

Temperatures should be monitored by installing maximum-minimum thermometers in the brooder area at the height of the chicks. Observing the chicks’ behavior is also a good guide of the ambient temperature (see diagram).

Chick Behavior Under Different Brooding Conditions

Excessive chick noise during brooding is an indication that the chicks are uncomfortable. This is commonly due to improper temperatures and symptoms include:-

Chilled chicks

Chicks huddle together, especially under the brooder.

Watery intestinal and cecal contents leading to watery/wet, droppings leading to wet pasted vents.

Overheated Chicks

Chicks lie prostrate with their heads and necks stretched out on the floor.

Chicks pant.

Increased water consumption by the chicks, leading to distention of the crop and intestines by the extra water.

Chicks move away from the heat source and seek cooler parts of the house. Sometimes crowed around the drinkers.

It is essential to maintain the proper temperature during brooding as chicks which are chilled in the first days of life will be stressed, have increased mortality, dehydration, retarded growth, poor uniformity and a higher incidence of ascites. While overheated chicks will be dehydrated, resulting in high mortality, runting / stunting syndrome, and poor flock uniformity.

The brooding area should be enlarged progressively to avoid overcrowding. The birds should be allowed to occupy the whole house by the time they are three (3) weeks of age.

During brooding it is essential to maintain proper ventilation regardless of the cost of maintaining the brooder temperatures. Ventilation is important in removing the ammonia from the house and ensuring that the litter is dry thereby reducing disease challenge. Layers also require fresh air to grow and produce eggs.

Lighting Programs

An appropriate lighting program is important but not critical. In the absence of electricity alternatives such as kerosene lamps can be utilized.

Layers are sensitive to change in the period of illumination, and these influence the age of sexual maturity and feed consumption.

During rearing these programs encourage growth and control the bird’s sexual maturity while in production the objectives is to encourage feed intake hence increased lay.

Long day-lengths throughout the rearing allow the birds to increase their feed intake and hence growth. Hence it is advisable to use slowly decreasing light program for the first 7 weeks before leaving the birds on natural day length. The long day-length allows the birds to eat during the cooler parts of the day.

In the absence of photo-stimulation, the age at the start of production is determined by body weights. Weight varies depending on climatic conditions and the day-length experienced during rearing. Once photo-stimulation has started, age at the point of lay is no longer influenced by the pullet’s weight. It is therefore important not to start light stimulation until the pullets have achieved the target weights.

It is important to achieve the target weights as low body weight at sexual maturity not only reduces the mean egg weight but can also lower the overall performance (egg per hen housed, egg-shell quality, and livability) of the flock.

Irrespective of the production system and the location of the farm, three rules that MUST be observed are:

NEVER increase the day-length during the growing stage (8-14 .weeks)

NEVER increase the day-length when the flock’s average body weight is below 1250 grams

NEVER decrease day-length after the start of lay.

Water

Distribute drinkers evenly throughout the whole house, alternating them with the feeders so that they are easily accessible to all birds. No bird should walk more than 1.5m to get to either feed or drink.

Provide one chick fount for 50 chicks during the first week and gradually replace them with the regular drinkers allowing space as indicated below:

Poultry Farming in Kenya – Water

Wash and disinfect chick drinkers daily. Ensure the drinkers are filled with fresh water after washing. Ensure that birds have access to wholesome drinking water at all times and NEVER allow the drinkers to go dry. During vaccinations do not disinfect the drinkers after washing, if the drinkers will be used for vaccination.

The actual consumption depends on ambient temperature and humidity. Above 20%, consumption increase to enable the bird to maintain body temperature by respiratory evaporation.

In hot periods it is essential to provide the flock with cool water as this will improve productivity. It is therefore extremely important to protect the water tanks from direct sunlight or ensure they have a reflective surface.

Always adjust the drinkers and feeders levels as the birds grow to ensure that the equipment is always slightly above the level of the birds’ back. This minimizes spillage.

Use a reliable water sanitizer (like chlorine) to control disease-producing organisms in the water.

Feeding

The feed is the greatest expense in commercial layer establishments, therefore it is important to purchase feed from a reputable miller who can assure consistency in the quality and performance of the feed.

Variations in the nutrient composition and quality of feed ingredients result in variations in feed composition and texture. These are due to variations in raw feed ingredients from season to season and even shipment to shipment.

It is important to avoid mixing feeds from several millers, adding other protein sources (fish meal, etc) and minerals salts (DCP) as this changes the balance in the feed thereby affecting performance. Excess of some of these products also negatively affects the final products e.g. fishy taint in eggs due to more than 5% fish meal in the feed.

To start a flock, feeder lids or plastic feeder trays (one per 50 chicks) should be used. The feed should also be spread on paper placed over the litter, covering 40% of the floor.

Gradually remove the feeder lids or trays, replacing them with the adult feeders. By the time the birds are two weeks (14) days old, all the lids and trays should have been removed.

Raise the feeders gradually as the birds grow. Always ensure that the top lip of the feeder is at the same level as the birds’ backs.

Chick and Duck Mash should be fed in the first eight weeks of life followed by Growers Mashup to two (2) weeks before the expected point of lay. The flock is then put on Layers Mash until the end of production. During the changes of the rations, mix the two rations so that the change is gradual. An abrupt change is stressful to the bird and can affect performance. Vitamins can be provided during this time to reduce stress. The average feed consumption expected with the corresponding weights of the birds are indicated below.

Equipment outlay for a layer house housing 500 layers

6 nest boxes each with 20 slots on 2 levels @ 1 Slot for 4 birds

Ventilation can be described as the circulation of fresh air through the flock house. This is achieved by the air passing from one side of the house and exhausting through the opposite side.

Ventilation of layer houses serves several functions including:-

Removing excess heat and moisture

Providing oxygen while removing harmful gases

Reducing dust hence improving the air quality

In the tropics, where houses are open-sided, ventilation is managed by opening the curtains when it gets warm. This lets air from outside into the house. When it gets cold, curtains are closed to restrict the flow of air.

Curtains are normally made from used, clean and disinfected feed sacks stitched together, or canvas material. The curtains should be fastened to the side-wall at the bottom and open from the top. This will minimize wind or drafts blowing directly on the birds.

To ensure effective ventilation, every effort should be made to open the curtains on both sides of the building to the same level unless the wind is consistently from one side of the flock house then the curtain on this side should be opened less than the other side.

House should be constructed to take advantage of the prevailing winds to improve the efficiency of natural ventilation. Narrow houses (10 meters [33 feet] or less) with high pitched roofs provide more natural air movement. An east-west orientation of the house on its long axis reduces the solar heat level in the house.

Disease Control and Prevention

Infectious diseases are the greatest risk to a commercial layer operation and attempts must be made to control and prevent disease. In most instances, the cost of treating clinical outbreaks of disease is enormous.

Sub-clinical, mild or chronic disease also leads to losses due to poor performance of the affected flocks.

To detect disease in their early stages, it is important for the flock attendants to be aware of the daily status of the birds. They should judge this by the behavior of the birds, droppings, feed intake, mortality rates, etc.

Any signs of ill health should be reported immediately to a veterinarian who can make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate treatment. Since most poultry diseases have very similar manifestations diagnosis by the farmers is strongly discouraged.

A vaccination program to meet both area and individual farm needs is essential for flock health management. Vaccination programs need to be reviewed periodically and any changes approved by an experienced veterinarian.

It is important to follow the manufacturer’s directions on the storage and administration of vaccines. Generally, vaccines must be stored between 2 and 8 degrees centigrade, and transported in a cool box and should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

When vaccinating through the drinking water, the water supply system should be completely free of chlorine, medication, and/or other chemical agents for 48 hours prior to and for 24 hours after the vaccination. Depending on the ambient temperature, water should be withheld for 2-3 hours prior to the vaccination. The vaccine should be mixed with water which the birds will consume within two hours of being mixed.

Vaccinations should be done during the cooler part of the day either early morning or late evening. Before vaccinating always ensure that, there are sufficient vaccine doses to cover the flock and the birds are healthy. Also, ensure that the vaccines have not expired.

In eastern Africa, layers should be vaccinated against Mareks Disease, Infectious Bronchitis (IB), Newcastle Disease (NCD), Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD/ Gumboro Disease), Fowl pox, Fowl Typhoid and Fowl Cholera.

Below is a suggested vaccination program for layers

Poultry Farming in Kenya – Vaccination

Fowl Cholera Sub Cutaneous

Due to the high maternal antibodies in the chicks obtained from Kenchic, it is important that the first Gumboro vaccination is not done before 10 days of age as the maternal antibodies neutralize the vaccine, leaving the chicks unprotected.

It is important to purchase your chicks from a hatchery where the vaccination history of the parents is available as this determines the level of protection the chicks have acquired from their parents and the vaccination program to follow.

Such hatcheries would also ensure that the appropriate day-old vaccinations are done effectively.

It is also important that vaccines are purchased from reputable vaccine manufactures or their appointed outlets (pharmacies, agro vet shops, etc)

Such outlets are capable of ensuring that the vaccine cold chain is maintained and normally offer professional advice on various aspects of vaccinations.

Beak Trimming

Beak Trimming is done for two main reasons: To prevent feather pecking, cannibalism, and to reduce feed wastage. The operation is delicate and should be performed by specially trained personnel only. Poor beak trimming often leads to the unevenness of the beaks and in some birds causes difficulties in feeding and drinking thus low body weight.

In commercial laying flocks beak trimming should be done twice. A light trimming at 10 days and the second operation between 8 and 10 weeks of age. This is because trimming only at around 10 days will not prevent pecking entirely while if done too severely at that age will lead to a reduction in growth rate and uniformity.

Before Beak Trimming

Ensure that the birds are healthy and have not been vaccinated recently

Add vitamins (especially vitamin K) to the drinking water to prevent hemorrhages.

Ensure that the temperature of the trimming blade is high enough to prevent hemorrhages but not so high as to burn the birds.

Beak trimming at about 10 days

Hold the chick in one hand with the thumb behind the head

Hold the head firmly in position resting on the thumb

Cauterize or cut the beak tip and the lateral edges at least 2mm from the nostrils.

Beak trimming at 8 to 10 weeks

It is necessary to cut the beak perpendicularly at a right angle to its long axis so that after cauterization, about half of the beak between the tip and the nostrils is left.

To beak trim correctly at 10 weeks, insert a finger between the 2 mandibles and then beak trim and cauterize each mandible. For day 10 debeaking, put both mandibles through the middle hole of the machine. The blade should be at the right temperature. Cauterize with care, particularly at the side of the beak to ensure that the sides are rounded off to avoid lateral re-growths.

It is advisable to check the state of the beak trimming just before the point of lay and, if necessary do a re-trim of the overgrown beaks.

After beak trimming

Make it easier for the birds to drink and eat by increasing the level of water in the drinkers and providing an adequate depth of feed in the feeders.

Parasites Control

Deworming– Layers are susceptible to infestation with a variety of species of worms, especially if raised on a deep litter system. These parasites reduce feed conversion efficiency causing a reduction in weight gain during the growing period and a drop in egg production in the production period.

The most common drugs for deworming layers flocks are Piperazine or Levamisole based and should be used according to the manufacturer’s instructions. These drugs cause production drops if used during production and should only be used on a veterinarian’s advice.

Layer flocks are routinely de-wormed at around 8 weeks of age and again at around 18-20 weeks of age, just before production commences. The flocks are not de-wormed again until after peak production unless there is a serious worm infestation. This is because de-worming during this time would lead to the flock NOT attaining peak production. Subsequently, the flock is de-wormed every 2-3 months or when worms are detected or identified.

External parasites- Layer flocks are at times infected with red mites and fleas which suck blood and affect the performance. The birds should be dusted with an approved poultry insecticide and also the nest boxes and perches. After depleting the flock use an insecticide in the final disinfection.

Poultry Farming Business Plan and Record-Keeping

Keep complete and accurate records of daily feed intake, mortality, culls, and egg production. These will help you determine the level of profit or loss the system is making. Samples of record cards are attached at the end of the manual. It is also important to weigh the flock every week during its growing period. It is important that the weighing is done on the same day and time each week. This gives the farmer an idea of the growth rate of the flock and an indication of when the first egg is expected. Vaccination and medication records are also important. This should include the age of flock when vaccinated/medicated, vaccine/drug type used, method of administration, batch numbers, expiry dates, and who has given the medication. These are important in a disease situation as it guides the veterinarian to the probable source of the problem and the best management protocol.

General Management Tips

The following factors may predispose layers to disease or poor productivity

Over-crowding or over-stocking

High environmental temperatures

Poor ventilation and sanitation

Inadequate drinkers and/or feeders

Poor feed quality or inadequate feed

Changes in feed texture

Disease outbreaks in the surrounding areas

Improper lighting system / program

Some medications or vaccinations during production

Stress due to sudden noise

Stress due to poor handling of birds

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Get it right and be the next egg merchant CHICKEN POULTRY FARMING There are many types of poultry farming in Kenya where one can earn a decent living.

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farmerstrend · 13 days ago

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Why Mushroom Farming is the Next Big Thing: Lessons from Dennis Macharia’s Garden Mushrooms

“Discover how Dennis Macharia transformed his farming venture by pivoting from traditional crops to sustainable mushroom cultivation, overcoming challenges, and building a thriving agribusiness in Kenya.” “Learn how Dennis Macharia built a successful mushroom farm with limited capital, smart reinvestment, and innovative techniques, making gourmet mushrooms accessible to local markets.” “Explore…

#agribusiness success #automated farming #controlled environment farming #Dennis Macharia #Garden Mushrooms #gypsum in farming #high-end mushroom market #Kenyan farmer stories #mushroom cultivation techniques #mushroom farming Kenya #niche farming #overcoming farming challenges #Paul Stamets inspiration #poultry feed cost #sustainable agriculture

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ntrending · 5 years ago

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Feral hogs aren’t coming for our kids, but they’re definitely coming for our calves

New Post has been published on https://nexcraft.co/feral-hogs-arent-coming-for-our-kids-but-theyre-definitely-coming-for-our-calves/

Feral hogs aren’t coming for our kids, but they’re definitely coming for our calves

Feral pigs will eat just about anything—including young or small livestock animals. (Wikimedia Commons/)

Feral hogs are stirring up trouble.

In the U.S. alone, an estimated seven million such pigs are spread across 35 states, where the omnivorous swine tear up soil and habitats looking for something—anything—to eat. They cause $2 billion in damage every year, according to the USDA, and can spread disease to domestic pigs and humans alike.

They are also an understudied threat to livestock, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal PLOS-Biology. In the paper, two wildlife scientists from Clemson University make the case that non-carnivorous animals such as feral hogs and elephants should be included in policies aimed at controlling more classic examples of livestock predators like wolves, coyotes, and lions.

“There are so many accounts of species doing damage,” says Christie Sampson, co-author and post-doc researcher at Clemson. “Let’s expand the conversation beyond carnivores.”

Around the world, large carnivores from bears to lynxes attack and eat thousands of livestock animals to the dismay of farmers. In 2010 (the most recent year for which this data is available), animal predators killed 220,000 cattle and calves, 247,000 sheep, and 554,000 goats—at a total cost of $138 million to farmers and ranchers, according to the USDA.

Little attention has been paid to them by the scientific community, but there are also examples of livestock attacks or losses by non-predator animals like buffalo in Kenya, baboons in Tanzania, the Kea parrot in New Zealand, and all manner of vultures, eagles, and crows worldwide. Because there are few studies documenting their frequency or cost, researchers believe they’re relatively uncommon. But when it comes to Asian and African elephants and feral hogs, the new paper claims, fatal livestock attacks aren’t rare at all.

Poultry and bovids like cattle, buffalo, and oxen can become collateral damage in a 12,000-pound elephant’s quest for food in agricultural fields or stores of grain. One survey of Kenyan cattle herders found 25 percent of them reported losing farm animals to elephants, and another conducted in Myanmar found the same rate of participants viewed the animal as a danger to their livestock. Several villages in that study recounted elephant-related losses between $550 and $800—one-third to half their annual salaries.

But hogs don’t just carelessly harm other animals on their way to find a vegetarian meal; they’re known to prey on calves and lamb for food. South Carolina is home to a steadily growing population of between 130,000 and 140,000 wild hogs that cause $263,000 dollars in livestock damage throughout the state, according to the study. In Texas a whopping 2 million feral pigs go after a variety of animals, though officials say it’s hard to detect such crimes “because hogs often eat the entire animal, leaving little or no evidence.”

“They’ll eat just about anything,” says Shari Rodriguez, an associate professor at Clemson and co-author of the study.

Decades of research have tried to minimize the impact of large, well-known carnivores by shooting them, using enclosures to protect livestock, or warding off unwanted animals with guard dogs or other deterrents (like scarecrows). But these practices—and studies of their effectiveness—are often limited to coyotes, wolves, and lions. Farmers and ranchers dealing with elephants or feral hogs are left with few proven strategies.

And while government-approved lethal and non-lethal removal is common for invasive swine, the situation is much more complicated for African and Asian elephants, which are ecologically imperiled. For those species, research could help unpack how elephants’ agricultural damage might affect local communities’ willingness to support conservation initiatives.

Rodriguez and Sampson say they believe some of the methods tested for large carnivores—electric fencing or guard dogs, for example—could be useful for hogs and elephants.

“Why reinvent the wheel?” Rodriguez says.

And when it comes to whether it’s a good idea to arm yourself and face off with dozens of feral hogs? Probably not, Rodriguez says.

“They don’t kill people. It’s very uncommon,” she says.“It’s getting a little blown out of proportion.”

Written By Marion Renault

#Technology

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 5 years ago

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From poo to meals: Kenyan rest room waste key for brand spanking new animal feed

http://tinyurl.com/y2d7syf7 NAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenyan farmer Victor Kyalo’s chickens have doubled the variety of eggs they’re laying. The rationale: Human excrement. FILE PHOTO: Black soldier flies are seen breeding inside netted enclosures on the Sanergy organics recycling facility close to Nairobi, Kenya, March 10, 2019. Image taken March 10, 2019. REUTERS/Baz Ratner He’s feeding them meals from a Nairobi-based organics recycling firm. Sanergy harvests waste from bogs it operates in a franchise community in Nairobi’s sprawling slums and feeds it to fly larvae, which grow to be high-quality animal feed. Kyalo says his prospects have observed the distinction prior to now three weeks: yellower yolks and bigger eggs. “Earlier than we have been getting like 5 trays (of eggs) per day, however now we’re getting 10,” Kyalo stated. “It’s type of excellent for me.” Because the world appears to feed 10 billion mouths by 2050, companies harvesting bugs — both for human consumption or as animal feed — are rising. They promote themselves as a greener various to conventional feed akin to soybeans, whose cultivation can result in deforestation and the overuse of farm chemical substances. Quick meals large McDonald’s and U.S. agricultural powerhouse Cargill Inc are amongst many giant firms finding out utilizing bugs for hen feed to cut back reliance on soy protein within the $400 billion-a-year animal feed enterprise. By 2023 the worldwide edible insect market might triple to $1.2 billion from present ranges, market analysis agency Meticulous Analysis stated final 12 months. In creating nations like Kenya, the place the World Financial institution says practically two-thirds of urbanites dwell in slums, feeding waste to fly larvae might remedy each sanitation and vitamin issues. Faeces from greater than two-thirds of Nairobi’s inhabitants go untreated as a result of there will not be sufficient bogs. Many others will not be cleaned out recurrently, Nairobi Metropolis Water and Sewerage Firm stated. In the course of the rains, they typically overflow, polluting native waterways. That may make employees in poor health. Days off sluggish Kenya’s economic system by round 1% yearly, its Well being Ministry stated. FROM LOO TO FOOD David Auerbach co-founded Sanergy eight years in the past to cope with sanitation. The waste administration franchise offers greater than 2,500 bogs to 100,000 individuals day by day. Lilian Mbusia runs one in every of Sanergy’s franchises, charging residents of Mukuru Kwa Ruben slum within the south of the town 5 Kenyan shillings (5 U.S. cents) to make use of her blue “Recent Life” bogs. Nestled beneath her squat-toilets are small blue barrels that, as soon as full, are sealed and brought to an organics recycling manufacturing facility in Machakos County, a bumpy 40-minute drive exterior the town. Beds of writhing black soldier fly larvae feast on a mixture of excrement and meals waste from inns and agri-businesses. That produces two merchandise for farmers: fertilizer and animal feed. In 10 days the larvae munch their method via 70% of the waste, abandoning a manure laden with nitrogen and calcium, which turns into natural fertilizer. As soon as the recycling plant is expanded later this 12 months, Auerbach stated it would present 400 tonnes of fertilizer. Larvae manufacturing will ratchet up from 7 tonnes to 300 tonnes per thirty days. “Proper now we’re receiving fairness debt, and grant funding to scale up operations,” Auerbach stated. “We’re on monitor for profitability by the tip of 2020.” The plump white larvae are boiled in sizzling water to kill off pathogens, Michael Lwoyelo, managing director of Sanergy, stated. The larvae are then offered to animal feed millers, who grind them into powder blended with different elements to create a balanced weight loss plan for poultry, pigs and fish. Slideshow (18 Photographs) Frederick Wangombe, an animal nutritionist at Unifeed, a Kenyan animal feed miller that makes use of Sanergy’s black soldier fly product, envisages it changing fish meal from Lake Victoria, which might include sand and different impurities, or costly soy beans from Zambia. “The egg farmer doesn’t wish to know what’s within the feed, they wish to know the efficiency,” he stated. ($1 = 101.1000 Kenyan shillings) Reporting by Hereward Holland; Enhancing by Maggie Fick; Katharine Houreld and Alison Williams Our Requirements:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. Source link

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thearnoldtully · 6 years ago

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Kenya: You may soon pay heavily for rearing cattle, chicken in Mombasa city

Dairy cattle and camels will be charged Sh1,000 per head, goats and sheep Sh200 per head annually. FILE PHOTO | NMG

This is a major setback to residents who have resorted to urban farming by rearing domestic animals, especially goats and poultry, to supplement income

By Winnie Atieno Business Daily Sept 10, 2018

Excerpt:

“Taxing rearing of poultry is time wasting, lack of creativity and meant to slow down the economic activities of the youth, women and particularly vulnerable population who are trying to eke a living from agriculture,” added the farmer.

Mr Ikwaye, an urban farmer who rears ornamental birds and kienyeji chicken in Bamburi, said there are many revenue streams that the county has failed to tap to boost revenue

A goat farmer John Gunga said it is ironical that Governor Joho asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to suspend the 16 per cent value added tax on petroleum products to cushion Kenyans from the high cost of living yet he is introducing new taxes.

On Saturday, hundreds of residents thronged Tononoka Social Hall to plead with the county administration to review some of the proposed levies that are bound to hurt small businesses.

Read the complete article here.

from Gardening http://cityfarmer.info/kenya-you-may-soon-pay-heavily-for-rearing-cattle-chicken-in-mombasa-city/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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newstwitter-blog · 8 years ago

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New Post has been published on News Twitter

New Post has been published on http://www.news-twitter.com/2017/01/24/bbc-tv-from-the-sun-now-i-am-connected-to-the-whole-world-6/

BBC: TV from the sun: 'Now I am connected to the whole world'

Image copyright Thinkstock

Image caption The sun is now bringing power to hundreds of thousands of off-grid households in Africa

Stanley Gikonyo says his life has been transformed by satellite TV. “I am connected to the whole world,” he says.

But what’s extraordinary is that his house, where he lives with his wife and two children in Mwea, central Kenya, has no access to mains electricity.

Instead, the power for Mr Gikonyo’s new TV service comes directly from the sun. He is one of the early adopters of AzuriTV – a new solar-powered satellite TV service that gives his family access to 50 channels.

He says the system is already making his life easier, and has opened new doors for his farming business.

“I had been using other solar panels and normal batteries, which gave me a hell of a time in charging them, and with acid spills,” he says.

“The AzuriTV has for sure done me good – I can now watch my favourite stations. In particular, I watch Shamba Shape Up, which gives a lot of insights into the best farming practices.

Image copyright AzuriTV

Image caption Off-grid Kenyan households can now watch satellite TV at night, powered by daytime sun

“I am connected to the whole world.”

Mr Gikonyo runs a small farm, or shamba, producing mostly vegetables and poultry, and he was one of the estimated 69% of Kenya’s adult population that does not have daily access to television.

Off-grid, power on

UK-based solar company Azuri Technologies and Kenyan satellite TV provider Zuku launched the service in Kenya in December.

A solar panel is fixed to the roof of a customer’s home, and connects to a battery which powers a range of appliances, including lamps, a mobile phone charger, and a 24-inch (61cm) TV which accesses Zuku’s Smart satellite TV service.

Users pay an upfront fee of 4,999 Kenyan shillings (£39) for the system, and thereafter pay 149 shillings(£1.15) per day. By the end of two years on this payment schedule, customers own the kit outright.

While solar power products have been available in Kenya for several years, and some free-to-air terrestrial TV stations have been accessible in rural areas, this is the first time off-grid households have had access to a full range of satellite pay-TV channels.

Image copyright AzuriTV

Image caption Householders receive a kit that includes solar panel, battery, satellite dish, TV, radio and lights

All powered by the sun.

Missionary teacher Zacharia Maundu, who lives with his wife and two children in Kenya’s Embu county, says: “My experience with AzuriTV is fantastic. Through it I am no longer cut off from information and entertainment.

“Watching the news has made us updated with the world’s happenings.”

AzuriTV provides lighting in their home, including a security night light, as well as access to world news and entertainment.

“Azuri aims to go beyond lighting and to provide each customer with TVs, internet access, entertainment and a range of services,” says Azuri Technologies boss Simon Bransfield-Garth.

Rising sun

But he’s not the only one to recognise this demand.

M-Kopa Solar has been providing pay-as-you-go solar power in East Africa for the past five years. About 500,000 households across the region use the company’s products, and 10 months ago, the firm added 30 free-to-air TV channels to its offering.

“It was very demand driven,” says Jesse Moore, M-Kopa Solar’s chief executive. “TV has always been something people aspire to having in their homes.”

Image copyright ALLAN GICHIGI

Image caption M-Kopa Solar has also added TV to its suite of solar-powered services

He envisages solar powering an increasing number of home appliances, with refrigeration and air conditioning supplementing lighting, TV and internet.

And last year, tech company Cello Electronics developed a solar-powered 22-inch (56cm) TV designed to service the 1.2 billion people in the world without access to a reliable electricity supply.

Its smart antenna picks up high definition broadcasts and also has a built-in satellite tuner, while the solar panel and battery can provide up to 10 hours of operation on a single charge, the company says.

Realising that the $300 cost might be prohibitive for many poorer regions, Cello has introduced its own pay-as-you-watch scheme whereby householders only pay for the amount of TV they watch.

They can buy unlock codes through the remote control handset.

Competition

Danson Njue, research analyst at Ovum, says that while solar-powered satellite TV is a substantial addition to the services previously available to rural and off-grid consumers, its popularity will attract more competitors in to the market.

“The service may face some challenges, such as price competition from other service providers, as well as increased rural electrification under the government-led last mile connectivity project,” says Mr Njue.

Image copyright ALLAN GICHIGI

Image caption Solar TV services are in high demand, suppliers say

“In my opinion, increased electrification may see some households switch to other services that use normal grid power as opposed to solar.”

But connecting people to mains electricity is expensive.

The Africa Progress Panel, chaired by former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, estimates that investment in electricity infrastructure would need to rise to $55bn (£44bn) a year across the continent, compared to the $8bn a year currently being spent.

M-Kopa Solar’s Mr Moore concedes that traditional infrastructure roll-out could pose a threat to solar power, but he believes it is the add-on services, like TV, that that will encourage rural populations to “leapfrog” traditional infrastructure and embrace sustainable power.

“If all we could achieve was lighting, any rational customer would hope the grid will come to them,” says Mr Moore.

“But as we add more services, we hope customers will ask ‘why would I connect to the grid?’ Adding grid power is more expensive, less reliable, and doesn’t offer relevant payment models.

“We think ultimately rural Africa will leapfrog the grid, and have access to all sorts of services.”

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