Deep in Trans Nzoia County, Gladys tends to her enhanced Kienyeji chicken within a small area. Her approach to agriculture entails smart farming, where she uses a small space to generate a lot of revenue.
Keeping in mind the profits that chicken farmers can potentially generate, the trained nurse decided to leave her nursing job and venture into agribusiness.
She raises chicks from one day old to one month old and then sells them. Her improved Kienyeji breed is suitable for meat sales in four months and is capable of laying eggs after five months.
In a YouTube interview, Gladys shared that she completed medical school in 2015. Afterwards, she went through an internship and later began earning a salary. It ranged between Sh. 15,000 and Sh. 20,000.
As the salary was not enough to cover all her basic needs, in 2019, Gladys decided to set up her side hustle. She had prioritized chicken over all other ideas.
Gladys recalled having a close friend who always practised improved Kienyeji chicken farming. She was making enough money to supplement her teaching salary.
“Towards the end of 2019, I decided to resign from the private hospital that I was working in. I was a good architect and I had a good poultry layout in mind,” she said.
She started her chicken business with a modest structure and gradually made improvements. During the 2020 pandemic period, Gladys decided to fully commit to her chicken business idea.
Currently, she sells more than 1,000 one-month-old chickens each month. Gladys revealed that her profits range between Sh. 80,000 and Sh. 100,000 in a month.
“I don’t see myself finding another job or going abroad to get a white collar job because I can make what most of the employed people in Kenya are making from my small business that has grown to something bigger,” Gladys noted.
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She enjoys her chicken business, noting that it provides her with pocket money for her children and supplements her husband’s income. All of this is achieved from the convenience of her home.
Through her poultry business, she has bought a car, a motorbike, and has employed a rider. Additionally, she has acquired a plot of land. Her goal in 2024 is to build rental properties.
Gladys draws inspiration from President Ruto who was previously a roadside chicken seller and the late Nelson Muguku who rose from owning 2 chickens to a billionaire.
“I have never regretted being in poultry because it has changed my life,” she says.
“There’s no dirty job. What matters a lot is your bank account. There has never been dirty money nor has an empty account made anyone happy.”
