So you may be thinking whether to start rearing indigenous chickens but still not sure. In this article, I will share with you six reasons why you should consider indigenous chickens as an income-generating venture.
Proper indigenous chicken
farming involves the chickens being allowed more room to roam around and forage
for their own feed as opposed to being confined in cages like the case with
broilers. So you really need to have space for the birds to freely run around.
Here are the six reasons why I think you should consider indigenous chicken farming:
1. Indigenous Chickens
are on High Demand
There is so much high demand for indigenous chickens these days. This can be attributed to the quality of meat
and eggs provided by indigenous chickens
which is tastier and healthier.
Indigenous chickens that
are properly allowed to roam around develop stronger muscles and the meat is
much firmer and rich in nutrients. Indigenous chickens eat different types of feeds such as worms, insects and
grass which adds so much value to the meat and egg nutrient quality.
Restaurants and retail shops are actually looking for poultry
farmers who can supply indigenous chicken
meat and eggs on a consistent basis. With proper advertising like in the
Classifieds where you can post an advert for free, you can find a market for
your roadrunner meat or eggs.
2. Indigenous Chickens
are Dual-purpose Birds
Indigenous chickens can
be kept for meat and eggs. For instance, one can keep Sasso chicken breed for
meat and in 8 to 11 weeks can start selling off the birds for consumption and
get revenue.
Keeping the same birds for longer also allows one to harvest table
or fertilized eggs starting from 20 weeks onwards. The birds can lay for up to
a year or two and can also be sold as off-layers for a much higher price as
well.
3. Indigenous Chickens
are Resistant to Diseases
Indigenous chickens are
hardy birds and have the ability to withstand harsh environmental conditions.
Utilizing natural herbs such as aloe
vera and chilies also helps keep the indigenous chickens stay healthy and fit without much need
for costly antibiotics.
4. Indigenous Chickens
are Much Cheaper to Keep
Feed accounts for around 70 to 80% of costs in poultry production.
The ability to manage feed costs provides a farmer with room to maximize
profits. Indigenous chickens are
much cheaper to rear as the birds can forage or scavenge for their own feed.
One can feed the birds with kitchen waste or food leftovers,
sorghum, rapoko, green vegetables, plants such as black-jack
and even red worms normally used for fish bait.
Supplementary feed can also be provided through commercial feeds
bought from local poultry feed manufacturers such as starter mash, growers mash,
layers or breeder mash.
Most people always find that keeping indigenous chickens is also less stressful as compared to
other types of birds such as broilers.
5. Indigenous Chickens
fetch a Higher Selling Price
The price of indigenous chicken
meat and eggs is always much higher largely due to the quality and scarcity
of the product. Indigenous chickens fertilized
eggs, chicks, meat or table eggs all sell for a much higher price yet the
production costs are much lower.
6. Indigenous Chickens
are good for Breeding
So if you have
space for indigenous chickens to roam around, you should seriously consider investing
in keeping these birds.
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