Kuroiler chicken
The Kuroiler is a dual-purpose breed that was introduced in Uganda in the year 2009 from Keggs Farms, India. Like Kenbro, Kuroiler can survive on free range, but they need to feed continuously, a reason why they put on weight faster than do indigenous chickens; at 4 months Kuroiler chickens can weigh up to 3kg and 4kg in 6 months.
Farmers rearing this breed say it has tastier meat compared to indigenous chickens; their meat is also soft and tender. Its eggs are larger than those of indigenous chickens. A Kuroiler hen can lay between 140-150 eggs in a year. However, Kuroiler’s quality goes down when they are crossed with indigenous chickens.
Farmers keeping them say Kuroiler birds are scavengers that can live on household food leftovers and related agricultural waste. Like local indigenous chickens, Kuroiler chickens are resistant to most diseases although farmers are advised to vaccinate them in the same way they do other chickens.
However, one big disadvantage with Kuroiler chickens is that the hens cannot sit on their eggs to hatch. Many farmers discover this fact too late. Kuroiler chickens are therefore suitable only for farmers with incubators.
Small- scale farmers in the rural areas who rely on hens to hatch chicks can only order fresh stock of chicks every time they want new stock for breeding. Indeed poultry farmers in rural areas in Uganda are already raising questions on the sustainability of this breed among resource poor communities who cannot manage to buy new stocks every time they want to rear new batches of birds.
“Unless the government sets up hatcheries at the village level, small-scale farmers will be exposed to businessmen with hatcheries, who will increase chicks prices or even charge them more for hatchery services,“ says Henry Kijanji, a poultry farmer in Mafubira Sub-county, Jinja, Uganda in a telephone interview.
Farmers interested in Kuroiler day-old chicks can contact Joseph Makumi on 0723 687 400, Gilgil.
Rainbrow Rooster chickenÂ
Like the Kuroiler breed, Rainbow Rooster is dual purpose breed meaning that farmers can keep it for both meat and eggs, multi-coloured dual purpose, low input bird which can be put on free range. However, it is a heavy feeder, which is able to put on weight fast attaining 3kg to 4kg in 6 months. However, like the Kuroiler breed, the Rainbow Rooster hen cannot sit on the eggs to hatch; so farmers who want to keep this breed must have an incubator for hatching.
The breed is therefore not suitable for small-scale farmers in the rural areas who cannot be able to buy incubators mainly for lack of electricity supply.
Chicken Breeds in Kenya: For interested commercial farmers, the Rainbow Rooster is distributed by Kukuchic Ltd Tel 0727 991 303, 0733 840 288 Eldoret.