A young veterinary officer in Uganda has come up with an organic powder fed to poultry that offers alternatives to conventional supplements and which doubles egg production while increasing the weight of the bird by between 30 to 50 percent.
Christened Bavonite, the powder has the ability to maximize feed conversion rate, the amount of feeds used by the birds to gain a specific weight or to lay eggs among broilers and layers respectively, hence better returns to farmers. It currently retails at Ush4000 per kilo. One kilo is mixed with 100 kilos of feeds.
The product is a revelation of how young vibrant and determined youths are shaping the future of farming in Uganda. Bavonite powder was discovered by a young veterinary graduate from Makerere University Joseph Kizito. Having gained experience in the poultry feeds and nutritional supplements during his tenure as a veterinary expert working for one of the leading local farm input supplier, Kizito saw need to offer alternatives to the over relied pharmaceutical chemical supplements.
After 2 years of intensive research, consultations and trials, the youthful vet felt it was time time to commercialize the product. According to Kizito, although his team began on a small scale, they were overwhelmed by the demand for Bavonite within two months of commercialization. “Bavonite is effective and since most farmers came on board on a trial basis, they stuck to the product owing to the results that they were witnessing after using it and therefore we had to change tact quickly and increase production to about 3 tonnes per day in order to meet these growing demand,” explained Kizito.
The powder which is organic in nature according to Kizito acts as mycotoxins binder. “Most birds encounter moulds during their feeding cycle and this has negative impact on the health and production of the birds. Bavonite when taken by the birds will bind these mycotoxins so that they are not available for absorption for the birds.” Binding of the ammonia gases in birds eliminates respiratory infections. In addition, this ability improves carcass quality among broilers by increasing shelf life after slaughter hence ideal for suppliers in food store and supermarkets.
For those farmers dealing in layers, Kizito explained that Bavonite is ideal for them to realize the full potential of their breeds. Our product helps the bird lay at maximum and also harden the eggs. In addition, farmers will spend less on vet services since the Bavonite guards against most out breaks and strengthens the birds’ immune system.