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Poultry farm sees 180% egg increase shifting to free water weed feed

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By Francis Ndirangu

Naivas poultry farm has increased its egg production from 500 to 1,200 per day from their 1,500 kienyeji chicken by doing away with expensive chicken feeds for a free weed grown on water.

According to farm manager Alex Maina who is a veterinarian by profession this has all been made possible by Azolla. The weed that grows on top of water is 28 per cent crude protein which means it can provide enough protein needed by chickens to form eggs. 

“Azolla plants grow naturally on stagnant water. We plant them in 50 pods that we make ourselves on our farm in Laikipia.

Before we started feeding our chicken with Azolla we used to buy chicken feeds in agrovets at sh. 5,500 per 70kgs and got a maximum of 500 pieces of eggs per day which sometimes went as low as 450 pieces depending on the nutritional value of the feed. 

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Nutritional value varies depending on different companies. However, most of the feed manufacturers make feeds of low quality to maximize their profits. 

 We are now able to satisfy our clients unlike in 2023 when we could not be able to meet their needs simply because our production of eggs was very low. They were also small in size and soft-shelled,” Mr Alex said.

To maximize profit Naivas Farms has fully adopted the method since it’s faster, cheap, affordable, reliable, and quality feeds can be achieved guaranteeing good production. Azolla can be fed to chicken either directly from the pod or dried under the shade to avoid nutrients being lost from the sun’s heat.

They are dug two feet deep and have a width of three feet. The length is up to the farmer. The width should not be so big to facilitate easy harvesting. The pod is then covered inside with a polythene to avoid water seepage. Water is then introduced into the pod and well-rotted cattle manure is put inside the pod to stay overnight. 

Chicken manure should not be used since it contains high levels of nitrogen and urea and can cause scorching of the plants. 

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Azolla vegetative seedlings are introduced in the pod where it is rubbed between the hands to split them. In two to three days the plant will have produced vigorously and after one to two weeks the plants will have filled the pod and are ready to be harvested and fed to the poultry. Harvesting of Azolla is done by sieving the plants shallowly to avoid damaging their roots.


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