Growing sunflower, maize, and Azolla weed for his chicken has helped a poultry farmer realise mega-profits by trimming down the cost of buying chicken feed which was threatening to run him out of the poultry business.
Evans Mwania rears over 1,000 Red Leghorn and improved Kienyeji chicken on his Michorani farm in Kibwezi East constituency. He only buys 30-20 per cent of his birds’ feed in the form of Pembe chicken feed and wimbi (finger millet) which have an 80 per cent laying rate every day.
Livestock farmer group, the Kenya Livestock Producers Association highlights that depending on what farmers use to make their own chicken feed they can save up to half of every 70 kilograms of storebought feed.
“Before I started making homemade feed a year ago, I was struggling to break even and was even contemplating dropping commercial poultry rearing,” said Evans.
Today, the part-time farmer who visits his farm which is three hours away from Nairobi every weekend collects at least 600 eggs every day which makes him about Sh9,000 daily.
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At his Michorani farm, he rotates at least one acre throughout the year with rain-grown or drip-irrigated sunflowers.
Sunflowers are the main source of animal protein in store-bought poultry feed. They help to increase egg production, egg yolk height, and make the egg yolk colour much more yellow. Sunflower meal also increases the digestibility of other essential nutrients such as crude protein and Calcium which improves the bird’s ability to convert feed into eggs and meat.
The sunflowers which mature in just 2½-3 months in humid Kibwezi which has temperatures ranging from 25-35°C can yield 1,000kg per acre which he crushes using a simple one-engine petrol-propelled chopper.
The other major ingredient for his chicken feed is maize, both the seed and the cob.
Maize serves as the major source of energy for poultry as well as being an important source of protein. Mwania also passes maize cobs, usually thrown away after shelling, through his grinder, as they are a good energy source. They contain up to three-quarters of carbohydrates roughage and a bit of protein for poultry.
He also harvests Azolla every week from his pond. From one of his eight-by-one-meter ponds, he harvests 15 kilograms of plant feed every week.
Azolla is an easily grown water weed that can make up to 45 per cent of chicken feed and is and boosts the number of laid eggs. It also improves their quality by giving the yolk a striking yellow colour and ensuring the egg is of good weight.
In his own words, Mwania only trusts Pembe feeds which he buys at a cost of Sh2,300 for a 50-kilogram bag. This makes up about 20 per cent of the feed. “This helps give my chicken some of the micronutrients I may not provide with my homemade feed,” he said.
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Lastly, he buys finger millets which make up five per cent of his feed, and grinds them into his chicken meal. Millets provide 5–8 per cent protein and are high in carbohydrates.
“Whenever maize prices fall, such as now when a kilogram sells for Sh30-20 I also buy a couple of sacks and store them to increase my chicken feedstock,” he pointed out.
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