Youth bet on super chicken rearing to fend for families

By Francis Ontomwa

For every businessperson, profit making is the ultimate goal. However, initial moments are not always rosy. For the faint hearted, abandoning a project is easy.

Three years ago, Rodgers Mirembe, 29, and Collins Kisia, 34, of Vokoli village in Sabatia Constituency of Vihiga County purchased one hen and 25 eggs.

 This marked the beginning of a journey. When two friends came together to initiate a poultry farming business, such moments surfaced. But their strong resolve to succeed in the venture catapulted their ambitions. Today, when they look back, they relish the concept.

The hen brooded and 22 chicks were hatched. But the , optimism that came with this was however short-lived.

The chicks were wiped out by a strange disease and the duo had to restart the project afresh. Picking up the pieces was challenging but they managed to buy another hen and eggs.

This time, they were cautious and decided to build structures to tame movement of the birds.  They now make more than Sh30 000 monthly from the proceeds of the business. “We had seen people succeed in poultry farming and we decided to try our luck. After the setback, we nearly lost hope but we had to succeed by all means and that is why we did it again,” noted Mirembe in an interview with Business Beat.

Currently, they rear over 500 chickens and have built structures to house the birds. Their strategic location along the Eldoret-Malaba highway pulls customers to their base.

Daily customers

Majority of their customers are travellers who spot their structures and alight to do business and teachers from the nearby Moi Girls Vokoli Girls High School.

They have specialised in the selling of chicks at the age of two weeks and one month and this they say is due to the high demand and the quest to maximise profits.

A two-week chick goes at Sh130 while a month old goes at Sh180. This guarantees them profits that now place them in a position to expand their business.

“We have people who book the eggs that have not even hatched and this to us is an advantage because when we release the chicks a tender age, we are able to make more profits as we spend less on the feeds,” observed Mirembe. As their business expands, the venture forced the duo to scale up their efforts such as ensuring that they provide a more enabled environment for their business to thrive.

“We have decided to build more spacious structures and at the same time we provide regular medication to the birds to ensure that they do not fall sick and for the longest time we have been in this business this has not happened due to the measures that we have laid out,” averred Kisia.

In the structures, they are able to regulate temperatures artificially using clothes and blankets, which assist them though not sufficiently.

The harsh weather conditions however still remain their biggest challenge. In the recent past, they lost a sizeable number of their poultry. “We are yet to get to modern equipment and this is our biggest let-down at the moment,” said Kisia. The two have been making regular visits to veterinary officers to seek advice on how to better their venture. “The business is growing and we have to match the high expectations. That is why we are teaming up with experts to learn better ways of doing the business,” said Kisia.

Enrich gardens

The wastes from the birds are used to enrich their gardens where they have grown vegetables for subsistence consumption. The earnings from the business have assisted the two to fend for their families and at the same time educate their children.

“I have my children in school and they have never slept hungry, thanks to this business,” stated Kisia.

The duo’s broad vision is to tap into the fruits that come with devolved governments. They plan to endear themselves as the biggest suppliers of chicken in Vihiga County to enable them attract more customers.

“People are slowly recognising our business and now that governance has come down at grassroots it is time we create a large brand to help us stretch our wings and grow,” noted Mirembe.