‘Poultry Farming Has Increased My Household Income’

By Irene Sinoya, World Vision Communications Specialist, Kenya

“I always love it when mum prepares fried eggs for breakfast or chicken for supper. They are my favourite dishes,” says 11-year-old Stacy at her home in Angurai, situated in Busia County, Kenya.

Her mother Carolyne and father Seth smile lovingly as she talks. They are always glad to prepare their children’s favourite meals.

For a long time, they were unable to do so as they lacked sufficient resources to buy chicken, eggs and other types of food that Stacy longed for.

“Chicken or eggs were eaten just once in a while, whenever we had visitors. I couldn’t afford to buy them frequently,” says Carolyne.

Just like a majority of her community members, Carolyne did not believe that keeping chickens would generate income for her family.

She also believed that job opportunities were only found in cities. This is a mindset that made many people move to urban areas to seek for job opportunities.

Luckily, Caroline was able to receive training on poultry keeping from World Vision.

 “I attended training sessions on poultry housing, pest and disease control, poultry feeding, as well as nutrition. I implemented what I learnt. I used a little amount of money to put up a simple chicken structure”, says Carolyne.

She purchased some healthy chicks from a hatchery supported by World Vision. She then bought feeders and drinkers and prepared chicken feeds using locally available farm produce such as maize, kale, sunflower and soya beans. These made her chickens meet their daily nutrient requirements.

A few months later, the chickens were laying eggs and she had a ready market for them.

She started getting income from selling the eggs and sometimes the cocks and cockerels. She always refrained from selling the laying hens since they give her eggs.

 Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Carolyne and her family are living comfortably. They do not struggle to make ends meet since they have cash flowing in everyday from their poultry farm.

They are also glad that they can provide a balanced diet for their children. Instead of consuming vegetables and ugali (maize meal) solely like was previously the case, they can now supplement the diet with protein or eggs from the chicken.

“I am a very happy mother now. Even when we have visitors, I simply prepare either chicken or eggs from my farm and they are sorted. I don’t incur any costs. It has also become easy for me to acquire other household items and basic needs for my children,” she adds

Despite encountering some challenges, Carolyne is determined to keep going. She currently has over 100 chickens and she is planning to expand her project.

She notes that poultry farming has improved her standard of living. This has challenged many people in her community to start keeping chickens as their main source of livelihood.  

Carolyne’s husband Seth also says that the project has been beneficial to his family.

“Initially, I had financial challenges which were overwhelming. Being a primary teacher, I exclusively depended on my salary, which would not cater for every need. I then decided to support my wife to venture into chicken rearing which has raised our standards of living”, he happily says

“We have acquired a lot of profit that has made us prosper. We were able to acquire a heifer cow as a result. We are also planning to purchase a small piece of land to expand our chicken business”, he adds

Seth encourages other people to keep chickens because they are not expensive to manage and also require less space for survival.

He says that the greatest secret behind maximum egg production is feeding the layers with a balanced diet.

“The chickens require energy, proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins. Water is also a very critical nutrient that is sometimes overlooked. The cages are also supposed to allow the chickens to be comfortable “, says Seth.

In their structure, they have incorporated perches on which the chickens sleep at night. This helps to distillate droppings in single locations hence making cleaning easier.