Poultry farmers outsmart eagles with purple chicks

By MERCY KAHENDA

Since hunters have learned to shoot without missing, birds have learned to fly without perching, so goes the famous Nigerian saying.

The proverb aptly captures the practice of poultry farmers in Ruiru village in Nakuru, who are teaching their birds ‘to fly without perching’ by painting them in various colours to keep eagles at bay.

Their farms are dotted with bright purple and pink chicks as well as brown, white and grey hens and cocks that take care of them. The farmers paint the chicks with dye as a safeguard against predators like hawks and eagles that are a threat to free-range poultry rearing. The colours, according to the farmers, scare away eagles that are numerous in the district.

Geoffrey Mwangi, a chick painter, says the art was started by Farm Input Promotion Africa (Fipa) and adopted by farmers in the district in 2010.

Fipa, an NGO, is working to improve agricultural produce.

Tiny brush

The aim of this kind of art was to improve poultry production and thus farmers’ livelihoods.

Mwangi, an agricultural advisor, says production of chicken has improved highly since the project was adopted.

According to him, research has found that purple and pink are colours that scare away predators like eagles. “There are so many eagles hanging from trees around but when they fly to the ground and see the painted chicks, they take off,” says Mwangi.

The dye is applied using a tiny brush within three to seven days of hatching, when feathers are still soft and can easily absorb the light paint, which fades as the birds grow.

“Chick dye fades slowly as chicks grow and they are able to identify predators. Later, after about ten weeks, they regain their original colour,” he explains.

Farmers pay Sh3 per painted chick, with an additional Sh5 for a vaccine to eliminate poultry diseases and parasite attacks at that tender age.

Mwangi reveals infections among chicks are very high and early treatment and prevention measures help farmers to have high production.

“Chicks are highly vulnerable to disease at an early age. To help farmers have high produce, treatment is encouraged,” he adds.

Mwangi notes that the art has improved chicken rearing in the district, once a renowned hunting ground for predators.

Family of two

“This village has been the place for striking predators, which discouraged residents from practising chicken rearing. But after embracing the art, chicken farming is now a major income-earning activity,” says Mwangi, himself a chicken farmer.

With more than 100 birds at various stages of growth, Mwangi says he is able to provide for his family of two children and a wife after he adopted chick-painting.

He notes that due to availability of chicken in the district, farmers have formed poultry rearing groups that have enabled them better market their produce.

“Most brokers used to purchase chicken and eggs  at very low prices only to sell them at much better prices. This discouraged most farmers because there was less gain compared to the expenses encountered during the rearing process,” he adds.

He acknowledges that high production of chicken has supplemented diets and created food security among families.

 Indigenous chicken

Jacinta Kinyanjui is another farmer with indigenous chicken. Among them are purple chicks that loiter around her vegetable garden in search of worms and other food.

Kinyanjui says she generates a good income from poultry farming due to the chick-dye art.

She supplies three trays of eggs to Nakuru town every day, earning Sh900 per day. She also sells mature hens at Sh500 each and cocks for Sh1,000, mostly in December when demand is high.

White meat

“Two years ago, I would hear my chicken making loud noises only to realise chicks had been snatched by hawks,” recalls Kinyanjui. “But this has stopped ever since I started using the dye.”

Chicken rearing also supplements her diet. She consumes eggs and white meat, highly recommended by health experts due to less calorie content.

Jane Njoka, the Rift Valley Fipa coordinator, notes that the project has promoted chicken-rearing as a main economic activity in the region.

Njoka reveals most people did not practise indigenous chicken-rearing because of losses arising from the predators.

“There is a high demand for chicken, which is why we are encouraging farmers to venture into poultry farming as an agribusiness project,” says Njoka.