In the bustling, heavily inhabited suburbs of Kisaasi. A neighborhood renowned for its dynamic, young, mixed middle-class population and growing real estate sector. The area has experienced the growth of new apartment buildings like trees during the last five years. Because of the reasonably priced homes, Kisaasi is now the Bayiribi Capital. The majority of the youthful hustlers who do their jobs in the central business district reside in Kisaasi or nearby.
You wouldn’t expect a young man who has landed in such a place to be involved in agriculture. As a source of income. Here is the success tale of an exceptional young farmer. One who has made the most of the limited area to engage in agricultural activities that sustain his family. He was willing to share his experiences with us during our interview this past weekend.
A diligent citizen named Salongo Latifah. Pays $250k to rent a modest one-room home with his spouse and two young children. He and four other tenants occupy the 75-by-25-foot area where he conducts agricultural operations.
Salongo decided to use his leftover funds. To start a chicken farm after encountering numerous financial difficulties following the COVID-19 phase. In just one year, the one who started with four hens (three females and one cork). He had ordered from the town a three-chamber enclosure pen that he received from a close friend. As of right now, Salongo increased the quantity to Sixty hens of different ages, including both local and grill birds. What does he do? The complete story is available here.
The farmer Salongo shares the specifics of the methods of how he has managed to raise chickens. To large numbers in such a small space. Additionally, the chicken is raised with both cage and free-range methods.
Latifah says he releases his chicken in the morning to loiter around. As picking the food leftovers and insects in the surrounding areas. Moreover, he still buys maize brand which supplement their feeding. The results are evident according to the chicken size present.
In the beginning, Salongo remembers two chickens laying about 10-12 eggs each. Of which only 17 chicks hatched all together 21 days later.
Furthermore, Salongo mentions that he suffered a higher death rate in the first 3months. After hutching his first batch of chicks. Whenever he let the mother chicken raise the chicks herself on the free-range system. This was simply because the chicks are vulnerable to several predators and diseases. He then resorted to raising the chicks separately from the mother in a well-prepared brooder. The upper chamber of the chicken pen served the purpose.
Additionally, he raises the chicks in the brooder for about 2 months before letting them out on a free-range system. This initial care at the early stages saw his numbers increase steadily and gradually. Amidst the diseases that affect the chicken.
In the brooder, the chicks receive extra attention, care, and protection. From external environmental factors hence increasing their chances of survival. The chicks grow faster and stronger with food availability. Salongo goes the extra mile to feed these local chicks with a mix of pellets and maize brand.
After 8 weeks, the chicks are big and strong enough, so he lets them out to move free and scratch around for insects. After this, his only worry is the rainy season, which comes with the disease spreading and pathogens that thrive in mad, running water and cold weather. In this season the chicken becomes susceptible to diseases like Newcastle and Gombolo, which he treats with herbs, especially cannabis leaves. The process is simple; crash the leaves with some water to make a green solution then force it down the sick chicken’s throat.
Every after two months, he graduates chicks into the free range. This way he can keep up with the number of his chickens. They grow in groups he calls Regiments. Along the way, Salongo has been buying a few more local female chickens to increase numbers faster. As he gained express The farmer bought broilers adding to the numbers still.
Disease control is mostly organic since no chemical drugs are used. He carries out routine cleanups using ash from the charcoal stove. The ash is a biosecurity disinfectant and kills pathogens, especially those that thrive around chicken drops. Ensuring that the pen is always dry and clean.
Additionally, he says Lice locally known as obulolo is a big problem. They cause discomfort for the chicken. The laying hens fail to sit on their eggs because of Lice. Therefore they may not hatch 100% of the eggs. To control this he uses a powder called duducide. The farmer also uses Local herbs and grasses like Alvera, red paper, canabis, lemongrass, etc. to treat and boost his chickens’ immunity.
He buys about 20 kilos weekly to feed the growing number of chickens. Akilo of the maize brand goes for between eight hundred and one thousand shillings. The aim is to have healthy heavy, chicken for the market. He only started selling the live chicken recently at fifty thousand Ugandan shillings. His market is mainly from the neighbors for now. Thou he has managed to sell a few occasionally to save himself some financial emergency. He also collects the droppings, which he sells to the florist along the roads as manure for their flowers.
However, he still faces several challenges some of which he has mastered and others yet to experience. These include;
- High cost of feeds
- Disease Control.
- Space for expansion.
- Market Uncertainty.
His Expansion Plan.
Fast forward, Salongo constructed another pen to accommodate the growing number of older chickens. The newly constructed pen also has three chambers. One chamber filled with boxes quarter-filled with sand for the egg-laying hens. Surprisingly he used the timber remains from the newly built apartments around his rentals.
The man hopes to start local egg production because of the growing number of females that will soon start laying eggs. He also hopes to collect the money one by one and buy a plot of land where he plans to establish a whole operational farm. Additionally, he hopes to one day be able to supply 400 chicken at ago when requested. He plans to further venture into goat farming when he gets land.
Way Forward.
As an agriculturalist, I had some advice to provide Salongo so that he could improve his productivity. First and foremost was to take on record-keeping of his activity. As I noticed he kept no record of his expenditure numbers and the health of the hens. I went ahead and elaborated on the importance of record keeping to him. How it will help him keep track of his chickens’ progress and help him realize profit later on.
I didn’t live out the part that with records, he could be able to process agricultural loans. I wrote about farmer loans in the previous articles. You can read more on how to get them. Furthermore, I introduced the concept of mixing his feeds presenting him with a feed ratio formula suitable for his chicken. I didn’t leave the concept of regular vaccination out to prevent diseases like the Newcastle disease.
I’ll be going around to cover more engaging stories about hard-working young men and women like Salongo in Kisaasi. As a token of thanks, the farmer presented me with one live female chicken following our lengthy chat. It was a fatty, juicy dish. If you liked this material, please share and comment so that our staff can continue to provide great information. Thank you.
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