20,000 broilers every month and still growing

On the two-acre Sheikh Commercial Poultry Farm in Kilifi County, some of the broiler birds are resting, while others are feeding or watering when the Seeds of Gold team arrives.

It is one-of-a-kind poultry farm started in 2018, which churns out over 20,000 birds every month, farm manager John Chea says.

The poultry house is a stone-walled structure with a concrete floor and is divided into various sections using wood and wire mesh to keep the birds according to their ages.

Chea, 43, who holds a certificate in livestock production from Pwani University, says, “We rear the birds in a cycle of four weeks, enabling us to serve the market regularly.”

So how do they manage to keep thousands of birds?

“It is all about housing, hygiene and good management,” he says.

“We began the farm by constructing units that are adequately spaced. A good house should be built in such a way that there is smooth airflow and enough ventilation for the chickens.”

One then has to keep on monitoring the birds to see whether they need warmth, food or are stressed. “Then act fast whenever it is necessary to avoid losing the entire flock,” he states.

Hygiene is crucial, since the birds are too sensitive when they are less than a week old.

“We have 20 workers who ensure that the houses are always kept clean and are regularly disinfected before a new batch of one-day chicks is brought into the compound,” he says.

The chicken houses’ floor has wood shavings laid on the ground to a height of four to six inches for better hygiene.

“We started out with wood shavings but there was scarcity, so we had to innovate and we are introducing raised beds and automatic drinkers that receive water from a 5,000-litre tank.”

“The beds enable the chicken manure to drop through the wire mesh to the floor, which makes cleaning easier,” Chea adds.

The farm, owned by businessman Najma Ahmed Jabri, gets its broiler chicks from Kenchic in Nairobi and Isinya.

“Once they arrive, the brooder is heated to a temperature of between 33 to 350C. At the same time, the feeders and drinkers are strategically placed at points where the chicks can easily access them.”

Then the new chicks are provided with anti-stress multivitamin because of the long-distance travel.

“After an hour, we feed them with fresh feeds for the first five days and provide water continuously. To avoid deaths in the early stages, we change water regularly, at least thrice a day," he states.

The birds are vaccinated against Newcastle on day seven, followed by Gumboro on day 14 and Newcastle once again on day 21.

“When we started out in 2018, we had 1,500 day-old chicks that we bought at Sh65 each. We have been increasing the numbers since then,” says Chea.

They sell the birds to hotels in Mombasa and Kilifi in kilos, with each carcass weighing between 1.5kg and 2kg going for between Sh495 and Sh660.

"From day 21, no more antibiotics are used on the chickens," he says. The farm plans to own its own hatchery and produce own feeds to cut on costs.

Dr Ibrahim Kariuki, a veterinarian in Mombasa, says high standards of hygiene reduce pathogens in poultry houses, prevent spread of infections from birds to humans and vice-versa and offers quality produce that attracts customers.

"New birds should always be isolated from the rest to curb spread of diseases. The chicks need to be treated for stress due to the long distance of travel," he adds.