From earning 20,000 per month to quitting employment for entrepreneurship, Bernard Osunga is now proud for overcoming multiple challenges in quest for success.
The 34-year-old owns one of the biggest turkey farms in Migori County. According to him, he resorted to Turkey farming in his rural home after the collapse of his businesses in 2020 due to the impacts of Covid 19 pandemic.
“In 2018, I left employment and started a butchery and fast food business, which was picking up until COVID-19 hit the country. This affected the business, and I could no longer afford to pay rent. I started incurring debts,” Osunga said.
He explained that things worsened leaving him with zero options other than to sell his business to repay the debts which had grown into fold.
Despite the business being worth about half a million, Osunga sold it at Sh110,000 and used a chunk of the money to repay his debts. He was left with Sh30,000, which he used as the seed capital for his farming venture.
“I came home empty-handed and started to ask myself what I could do to support my family. I decided to start turkey farming as my grandfather used to keep them while growing up.”
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“I bought four birds, one male, and three females. Since I was tight on cash, I used to graze them, and by April 2022, they started laying eggs, which gave me room to cut on costs,” Osunga added.
He said the four gave him 40 chicks. Each bird lays 17-23 eggs, and he sells each at Sh350. The farmer has since increased his flock to over 100 birds.
According to him, turkeys are cheaper to raise and give better returns compared to chickens. For instance, in feeding, Osunga notes that 75 percent of their food is from grass, and they graze around the compound.
“Equally a chicken egg sells at about Sh20 while that of turkey is between Sh350 and Sh500 apiece. At two months, a chicken costs Sh300-400 per bird, while for turkey of the same age fetches Sh1,500,” he said.
He also earns extra cash from the sale of his mature birds, which fetch between Sh10,000 and Sh15,000 per pair.
Osunga, however, notes that even though turkey farming is lucrative, it can equally be a loss-making venture due to diseases, especially when the chicks are one to six weeks old.
“At this time, they feed on chick mash and are given multi-vitamin for the first three weeks. If a farmer does not have money, he or she can boil aloe vera and pepper together and use them as an alternative,” he explained.
On week four, the birds are vaccinated against Newcastle disease, and on the seventh week, a fowlpox vaccine is administered.