Ex civil servant reaps pension deal from chicks

In 2018, when her employer offered staff the option of early retirement, Beatrice Jepkemoi who had worked for more than 10 years took the deal.

Jepkemoi says for the years she had worked at the parastatal, her earnings never sustained her increasing demands.

A year before the early retirement, the 48-year-old mother had started testing the waters with chick brooding and rearing at her home in Kipkorgot, Uasin Gishu County. And it was a journey full of trials and errors.

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Nearly lost the flock

Back then, she had bought 50 day-old chicks and she really struggled to rear them to maturity as they suffered several attacks from diseases and predators. At the early stage of life, the birds are small and delicate and need close care, otherwise, they might die. 

“I used to wake up early in the morning, feed the chicks, then go to my day job. In the evening, when I returned home, I would find like ten chicks were dead and some were missing. The cats also used to enjoy the delicacy of chicks. Within a few weeks all of them were dead. I learnt monitoring of the chicks is key for their survival and growth,” says Jepkemoi. 

Frustrated and eager to see progress, with the help of her sister who works with a company that hatches and sells chicks to farmers, she enrolled for training on the same. After rigorous training for a month, in 2018 when she finally retired, she hit the road running with the hatching business.

“Going for training was a priority because, I was afraid to gamble with my retirement package. I had no job, meaning no income and if I just invested such an amount of money, chances of losing it all were high,” recalls Jepkemoi.

Lucky for her, at the training, she got comprehensive tips on how to construct chicks house, brooding, vaccination regimen, biosecurity measures to keep infections at bay.

When she was good to go, from her retirement package, she injected a larger part of the lumpsum in the construction of the chick’s house and purchase of equipment like feeders and drinkers.

“I opted to brood day old chicks and sell to farmers within my neighbourhood because I saw a market opportunity.”

Taking care of day olds

To start off, she bought her first flock of 600 day-old Rainbow Rooster chicks at  Sh80 each. Having lost a number of chicks at the beginning, she was keen on taking good care of the chicks this time round.

“During the first day, I gave the chicks warm water mixed with chick start, an instant energy and anti-stress formulation containing glucose, amino acids, vitamins, and other essential minerals that provides energy for the chicks,” she says.

She also gave the day old chicks liquid paraffin mixed with warm water to clean the digestive tract making it easier for them to digest the feed.

The farmer was also keen to ensure that the lighting and the temperatures were rights to avoid needless deaths.

Luckily, from the batch of 600 chicks, only 10 died. She sold the birds before they were a month-old to farmers in her locality.

“Within a week, farmers around had already booked them. Some bought while others waited for them grow, but they had already paid for,” she says.

She made over Sh150,000 and ploughed back the profits into the business.

Her strategy is selling month-old chicks that are fully vaccinated, according to the vaccination manual attached to the chick’s carton during delivery. That gives her a competitive edge because many dealers do not vaccinate their chicks well.

“Vaccination against various infections is important in brooding chicks, and many farmers avoid brooding day old chicks, preferring to buy when they have been fully vaccinated because it is a delicate process,” says Jepkemoi. 

Major breakthrough

In 2020, she got a major breakthrough when a customer made an order for 2,200 chicks. From that deal, she made more than Sh250,000. Slowly by slowly, she recovered her investment costs and started to make solid profits.

From the chicken money, she has managed to build a retirement home.

“I was impressed by the amount I made in a short period compared to the time I was at the parastatal.” 

When The Smart harvest team visited her farm, she was brooding 1,600 one-week-old chicks that customers had already paid for.

The challenge

Though she has broken even, her biggest challenge is the high cost of feeds.

For instance, the price of chick mash, an important feed with a complete feed component for day old to two months old chicks is out of reach.

She is paying more to ensure the month-old chick consumes 800gms, but the customers still insist that they buy them at Sh150, and that affects her profit margins.

Currently, a 50kg bag of chick mash retails at Sh3,300 up from Sh2,500 in 2018. She is appealing to the government to step in and address the plight of poultry keepers.

To rear healthy chicks that the market prefers, she works closely with a private vet who does routine check on the chicks. That is an extra cost, but worth every penny.

Ï know many farmers like working with quacks but I have learnt that cheap is expensive,” she says.

For those interested in rearing day-old and month-old chicks, like Jepkemoi, Kenchic Head vet Dr Watson Messo shares key insights: First, Dr Messo says the brooder area should be ready at least 24 hours before the chicks arrive.

The first 14-21 days of a chick’s life sets the precedent for good performance, he notes. Extra effort during the brooding phase will be rewarded in the final flock performance. It is important to provide the chicks with bio-secure, clean housing environment.

Arrange feeding and water equipment to enable the chicks to access water and feed easily upon arrival. Chicks should not have to move more than one metre (3ft) to find water or feed in the first 24 hours.

Position supplementary feeders and drinkers near the main feeding and drinking systems. Pre-heat the house and stabilise temperature and humidity before chick arrival – achieve a floor temperature of 28 degrees centigrade to 30 degrees centigrade. 

Settling chicks in a brooder

On arrival at the farm, unload, and place chicks quickly. Ensure feed and water is available immediately. Allow chicks to settle for one to two hours then check behaviour.

During brooding, emphasis should be on temperature, spacing, ventilation, feeding and water supply. Temperature should be monitored by installing brooder thermometers at the height of the chicks but away from heat source.

Also use chick behaviour to determine if temperature is correct. Excessive chick noise during brooding is an indication that the chicks are uncomfortable.

Chicks will huddle together especially under the brooder, leading to poor early feed intake and low water intake hence dehydration. Address such concerns in good time. During brooding, it is essential to maintain proper ventilation regardless of the cost of maintaining the brooder temperatures. Ventilation is important in removing the ammonia from the house and ensuring that the litter is dry thereby reducing disease challenge. Chicks also require fresh air to grow and be productive.