How to start a poultry farm in Kenya

How to start a poultry farm in Kenya Leave a comment

Hatching and Incubation
ItemDescriptionApproximate Cost (KES)
ChicksDay-old chicks (e.g., layers or broilers)100 – 150 per chick
FeedStarter and grower feed for the first few months3,000 – 5,000 per 50kg bag
HousingConstruction of a coop or shed50,000 – 200,000
Feeding and Watering EquipmentFeeders and drinkers5,000 – 10,000
Vaccines and MedicationBasic vaccinations and medications2,000 – 5,000
Bedding MaterialWood shavings or straw for the coop floor500 – 1,500 per bale
Lighting and HeatingLamps and heaters for chicks4,000 – 8,000
MiscellaneousOther expenses (e.g., transport, labor)Variable

Choose Your Poultry Sector

How to start a poultry farm in Kenya is very common question to newbie poultry farmers. Poultry farming is a wide industry. Basically, there are two types of the farming you can choose from – broilers and layers. Broilers are chicken that you raise for meat. Layers are chicken that you raise for eggs. Then, there is the business of incubating eggs and raising chicks.Many chicken farms do business in multiple sectors. So, decide if you want to operate in all sectors or you want to restrict your business to just one or two sectors of your choice specially in the beginning.Following are the niches you can choose from.Meat production (Broilers breeding)Egg production (Layers breeding)Poultry feed productionChicken breeding (Hatchery)Egg and meat processing

Choose The Type Of Bird

Poultry farm owners rear many types of birds. Your small poultry farm may start by focusing on two to three birds and then include more birds later as the business grows. How to start a poultry farm in Kenya Mostly, poultry farms raise birds such as domestic fowl or chicken as broilers and layers, duck, goose, quail, guinea fowl, turkey, pigeon, and peacock.You should also determine whether to rear broilers or layers. This is basically the choice to start farming for meat production or egg production.

Create Your Farm Logo

Another essential step you should take is to have a unique poultry farm logo for your business. Your logo will be everywhere on your farm products when you market them. The logo will also be on your marketing material such as visiting cards, websites and many other places. Therefore, make sure that your logo becomes a tool to show that you run a professional poultry farming business.

Set Farm Location

You should think of setting your poultry farm at the most appropriate location. It is important that the location has all the necessary facilities. Try to build your poultry farm a little away from the town so that you can have the land and labor at a cheaper cost.However, setting up the farm too far away from the nearest town will be a mistake. Remember that you need to approach a town more often to target your consumers Moreover, a location too away from city may cost you more on transportation.

Get Financial Help

You may not be having much money at hand when starting your own farm. But setting up a poultry farm needs sufficient funding. You will be buying a lot of equipment such as feeders, drinkers, perches, lighting system, incubators, heaters or brooders, and many more. Most importantly, you need a huge amount of funds to purchase land. You will put facilities to enhance your productivity. How to start a poultry farm in KenyaMoreover, you require funds also to pay salaries of your staff/laborers. So, analyse your financial requirements. Then, apply for a bank loan or try some other sources of financing your farming business.

Spread A Word For Your Farm

You meet many people on daily basis. Tell them about your plans to start your own poultry business. Start from talking to your friends and neighbors. Visit events related to poultry farming and try to make friends with as many people as you can. You may meet some of your potential clients. Make all of them aware of your farming plans and take their advice.When you contact people and clients, present your business card to them. This is a professional way to introduce your business. The card gives them your contact details like your phone number, fax number, and website address. They will keep your card and many of them will contact you whenever they need your poultry products.

Total Estimated Initial Cost: 110,600 – 279,650 KES

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *