Make Million of Money with Local Chicken - By Frank Agroplanet

 By Frank Agroplanet

Do you gave up your dream of becoming successful poultry farmer because of negative experience you’ve had in struggling to become great farmer? Is it because you lost huge amount of money trying to become poultry farmer? But, do you know you can actually make a lot of money by raising local chicken? Common, give it a try! Local chicken can fetch you lots of money and make your dream comes true.

Local chicken have naturally built in a way that allows them survive and reproduce with less management. 

However, local chickens don’t grow faster as exotic chicken. Because of this reason, farmers that are looking for faster Return of Investment (ROI) do not benefit very much from keeping them. Many farmers that goes in for exotic chickens are  discouraged by the diseases such as Newcastle that usually kill them in large amounts. I have met with a farmer (James Diwe), who abandon his farm and dreams because he lost approximately 100 chickens to Newcastle disease in three days. Since then, he vowed never tried again to invest in poultry. Like James Diwe, many have had similar experiences and have resorted to rearing goats, cows and other animals. But, bear in mind that every farming comes with its own challenges. If you have tried poultry farming with exotic chickens and got your fingers burnt, please don’t pack our bag yet. Try local chicken. Steps to convert local chickens into money making machine:-

Management System: Free range, Semi-intensive, or Intensive. Free range - where the chicken are allowed to carter by themselves, Semi-intensive – where the chickens allowed to move freely but in an enclose area, while Intensive – are complete cage system. For local chickens, semi-intensive management are the best. You can construct simple house for their keeping.

Housing: There are essential features to consider while constructing their house. When building a large poultry house ideal for local chicken, make rainproof, secure from windy rains and have smooth surface walls to stop mites and other pests from hiding. Periodically spraying the poultry unit with insecticide and disinfectants, and removing the dropping/cleaning the poultry house regularly. You can make the building good for ventilation and in hotter areas at least 2 sides should be partly chicken wire mesh. But it would be nice to cement the floor for ease of cleaning and disinfecting. Try everything possible to make it rat-proof, and using plenty of litter after cleaning the poultry house.  Keeping the right number of birds in poultry houses  is point to note down, and ensure to separate chicks from old birds.

 Feeding Local Chicken: As a farmer, you can mix their own feeds using the abundant carbohydrate and protein feed available in your area. Feeding should be accompanied by green feeds and fruits such as pawpaws. Give only palatable green feeds to the birds and avoid poisonous feeds.

Breed Selection: In local birds, there also selective Breed. There are some laying strains and those that can be developed for meat production. 

-          For selecting indigenous Egg Strains from the local stock,  there are usually small chickens with elongated bodies. They have tail feathers that stand higher than their head. They are usually birds that lay 25 eggs and above in one laying season under the unimproved situation. When improvement is done in feeding, disease and parasite control, etc. such birds may not go broody.

-          Selecting local chicken for meat strain from indigenous stock . These are usually birds whose bodies do not spread out, and they are compact and if you follow their bodies, you can draw a circle around them.  After selection, the birds in these lines should be bred. Selection and breeding takes a lot of time and effort but we must get started.

Cross Breeding: 

In cross breeding, farmer is advised to cross breed the chickens to improve the quality and output. While cross breeding, you allowed one cock to mount 7-10 hens. But make sure the birds are free from diseases such as Newcastle disease, Fowl pox, Fowl Cholera and Coccidiosis. You can suspect these diseases if the birds’ feathers are falling, running nose, red eyes, fallen comb, pale comb, and bloody poop. A good cock should have clear and shining eyes, alert and protective nature, clean, dry beak and nostrils, clean feathers around the vent, large size relative hens, straight legs, toes and without scaly. A fibrous hen should appear health and lively, legs less coloured in lay, clean, dry beak and nostrils, red comb, the breast born should not be too sharp, straight legs, toes and with no scaly.

Preparation of Nests: Before the commence of eggs lying, the farmer should provide nests for laying hens. You can get an empty cartons packed with some soft materials like dry grass or coffee husks in the bottom. Pour some sand, soil or small stones to support the nests so that they don’t collapse or drop the eggs as the hens make their way into the nests or leaving the nests. The nests should be close to each other in a slightly darkroom.

Laying of Eggs:

During the laying period, the farmer has to entice the hens to start lying by placing fake eggs or boiled eggs in the nests. Mark the boiled eggs with pencil for easy identification. Never use ink or marker pen because the ink may penetrate through the airspace and spoil the egg. So, when the hens start laying their eggs, always removed the unmarked eggs from each nests and place them in eggs crates or boxes as soon as the hens leave the nests. Ensure to keep the picked eggs in a cool, dry place. Avoid storing the eggs in kitchen; because the heat in kitchen can damage the eggs thereby prevent them from hatching into chicks.

Synchronise/Programme Local Chickens Incubation:

During incubation, one hen will starts incubating by staying overnight on the boiled eggs. Leave this hen on the boiled egg for 10 days while it is waiting for other hens. After the 10 days, give all the hens that would have started incubating (within the 10 days) 17 selected but recently laid eggs, and leave the hens that refuse to incubate theirs. Select the high quality eggs which are not very small, round eggs, very dirty, cracked eggs, extremely pointed eggs, very big eggs, very old eggs. With these, all hens will hatch on the same day. An egg takes 21 days, 6 hrs to hatch. After selecting the eggs for incubation, the rest should be sold out to make money, and for consumption too.

Usually 80% of hens are programmable, and remember to provide adequate clean water and feed daily during the incubation period.

Conditions for Good Hatching:

The eggs must be fertilized by the cock. As a farmer, you’re advised to have a cock that mounts the hens. Each cock should be given 7-10 hens to avoid competition and fighting. The humidity or moisture must be favourable. The maternity room should be free from parasites such as lice and mites as these might make the hen abandon the eggs. The parasites normally suck blood from the brooder hen on top of disturbing the peaceful settlement of the hen on the eggs. If possible always use insecticides that are not harmful to the chickens. As a result of trying to clean off the parasites, the hen gets off the eggs more times than necessary and consequently causing damage to the development and growth. The room for hatching should be free from extreme noisy. The hens will turn and warm the eggs till 21 days. In case the hen abandons the eggs, quickly check the nest. It could because of dangerous parasites for instance a snake.

During the incubation farmer needs to check on which eggs are fertile and which are non-fertile. You can identify this with use of touch light in dark room. Fertile eggs quickly develop blood vessels that can be seen with help of light from a touch within seven-ten days. Eggs with dark centre and ring around indicate that embryos are dead, and should be removed from the rest and disposed.  A hatch generally requires specific design and specifications for handling the parental stock together with the cocks, brooders, young chicks and feeds.

After Hatching: 

You can make saver box also known as homemade incubator for chicken eggs. This will have two chambers, one for the mother and the other for the chicks. The two chambers should be connected with a hole only to allow the chicks to cross to the mother for warmth. 35-45 chicks should be allocated to one mother in a saver box.

The chicks are initially fed on water mixed with glucose (or sugar) for 3-days. Then provide the chicks with crushed maize for 3-days too followed by chick mash, but the mother is provided with growers mash for four weeks. After first 3-days of sugar mixture, you can introduce Antibiotic in their waters to avoid early chicks mortality.    

Vaccinate the chicks against Newcastle disease within the first seven days after they have separated from their mother. Continue giving water and chick mash. Provide heat with charcoal stove, charcoal pot or electricity.

Disease control:

Good management and hygiene standards should be maintain, avoid pouring of water in the poultry house and removed feeders and waters from the house every evening to avoid attraction of rats and rodents at night. Don’t overcrowd brooders and dispose the dead birds as quickly as possible. Provide disinfectant at entrance to house. (Note: Antibiotics should never be used to replace good management).

Advantage of synchronised poultry keeping 

Improved hatching builds on the existing potential and enables rapid income generation. It enhances collective vaccination, marketing and easily develops into an industry. Local hens consume less compared to exotic ones. They are not easily attacked by diseases like their counterparts. One does not need much capital compared to exotic breeds of chicken.

Farmers train all chickens to sit on and hatch all their eggs on the same day. Birds get balanced feed as what is missing in mixed feed is compensated while feeding from outside. Synchronised method of poultry improves production higher than free range system. It also helps to improve on returns, family nutrition, enables organised collective, large scale farming, creates self-employment and reduces conflicts with neighbours.

Controlling vices

Ensure to control poultry vices, feed the hens in a hatchery to avoid disease infestation. They should be monitored not to fight with each other while in their boxes. Some birds need special isolation to feed them at a specified time due to bad behaviours. Eggs should be monitored to check damages as some eggs knock each other when the bird is moving out and entering. Pick eggs in the morning to avoid dirt and getting cracked.

The damaged eggs should be removed and not replaced because birds have a tendency of eating the eggs. This can be identified by checking and counting of eggs regularly. Chickens with vices should not be allowed to hatch again. Monitor hens in the maternity to see whether each bird covers all the eggs for uniform heating. If all eggs are not covered at ago, it cause improper embryonic development that result into dying of some eggs. Intensive care should be done to make sure that nothing frightens incubating birds as this causes egg damages and even some birds may completely abandon the eggs. While hatching, birds should be fed on growers mash, this helps the bird to replenish quickly.

Chickens with Good Qualities for Breeding

Less Quality Chicken for Breeding

Qualities of a good cock, hen

A good cock should have clear and shining eyes, alert and protective nature, clean, dry beak and nostrils, clean feathers around the vent, large size relative hens, straight legs, toes and without scaly. A fibrous hen should appear health and lively, legs less coloured in lay, clean, dry beak and nostrils, red comb, the breast born should not be too sharp, straight legs, toes and with no scaly.

Advantages of Local Chicken:

They are self-sustaining, means they can raise their own replacement stock. They are hardy birds that can survive hard conditions. Management requirements are not critical as those of commercial exotic breeds (e.g. broilers, cockerels etc). They are immune to some diseases and parasites, and their products fetch more money than those from exotic birds.

Limitations of Local Chicken:

They have low growth rate. They produce fewer small sized eggs and comparatively little meat. Besides, people keep local chickens without commercial intentions. They have been neglected by breeders/scientists despite their potential.

The following should be observed in rearing Local Chicken:

•               Vaccination against Newcastle disease

•               De-worming

 •              Remove mites and lice manually or better still using medicated powder

 •              Provide water as much as possible

•               May supplement free range with other feeds e.g. maize bran and concentrates

•               Avoid buying chicken in dry seasons because diseases, especially Newcastle, are more rampant in dry seasons

 •              Avoid buying birds when there is a disease outbreak

 •              Buy birds of almost the same age i.e. 2-3 months are more ideal. Avoid buying old birds

•               Plan for synchronised mating and therefore synchronized reproduction and production to ease management

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