Insight into Kenchic’s hatchery

By Standard Correspondent

Kenya: Pupils of Strathmore Primary School in Nairobi got a fascinating insight into poultry hatching when they visited Kenchic Limited’s hatchery in Athi River.

The pupils were excited to witness first-hand what Moses Owino, the Kenchic Nairobi Regional Manager, had demonstrated to them earlier when he visited the school.

Accompanied by four teachers, the excited pupils disembarked from the bus and were welcomed by Grace Ochola, the farm manager and Paul Kiromo, the data clerk.

“In order to control diseases, all visitors and vehicles have to be disinfected before entering the grounds of the hatchery. All members of the staff have to shower when they arrive at the plant for work,” explained Grace Ochola before the pupils were ushered into the hatchery.

The pupils learnt that the hatchery was the only one of its kind in Africa.

“It is a biological factory where an egg goes through specialist incubation and hatching to produce chicks of extreme potential and the highest quality. This is all done in an environmentally-controlled building. The plant is divided into broiler and layer areas.

Hatched chicks are delivered daily to the company’s poultry centres in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu and Nyeri and a satellite shop in Meru. Deliveries are also made to Kenchic’s appointed agents countrywide and once a week to Uganda and Tanzania. Some of the chicks hatched are reared at the Athi River farm for our Tigoni meat processing factory,” said Ms Ochola.

The pupils also got information on housing, feeding, brooding (provision of heat and ventilation for young chicks), health and disease control, hygiene and sanitation.

After the tour, a Power Point presentation was carried out to show the children the hatchery process. Afterwards, a question and answer session was held to assess the understanding of the hatchery and poultry keeping by the students. Some of the pupils said they would like to become chicken farmers and others vets when they grow up.