Damaris Awino Ndeda, a farmer in Kisumu county, has discovered a reliable way of earning smart money through poultry and fish farming. Ndeda embarked on the venture after learning from the success stories of farmers doing similar business in Yatta, Machakos county, at an agricultural forum courtesy of the World Vision in December 2014.

During the seminar, her eyes opened and she later decided to invest in chickens in her one-and half-acre farm located in Koketch village, Nyakach.

“I discovered poultry keeping can be a lucrative business,” says Ndeda. Ndeda narrates that she began farming in 1999 as a peasant farmer, growing mainly tomatoes on small-scale before gradually expanding into commercial production.

She used Sh5,000 as seed capital to jump-start the tomato agribusiness. Later, she diverted profits from tomatoes into poultry and fish farming. Besides the skills she acquired in poultry keeping during the course in Yatta, the farmer says she was on the verge of diversifying activities in her farm.

“I saw the need to engage in other forms of farming opportunities so that I could maximise income from the farm,” Ndeda says. Three birds of the Rainbow rooster hybrid variety comprising two layers and a cock formed her first stock, which has since multiplied over time.

Currently her poultry farm has about 100 birds, including 50 one-day-old chicks, 30 layers and 10 broilers, comprising both Rainbow rooster and Kuroiler breeds. She also keeps a few guinea fowls, which on maturity she sells at Sh2,500 each.

She says first step in poultry keeping starts with careful selection of the breed in order to realise maximum profits. After the completion of incubation process, which takes 21days, Ndeda sells the chicks at different stages to local customers.

“The mature birds also have ready market here —hotels and families —within and outside Kisumu County and I can assure you the profit is good,” she says. Ndeda, 48, says the poultry keeping is profitable, adding that she can take home a good income a month after selling both hatched chicks and mature birds. Sales peaked in April this year after she sold 600 birds.

Ndeda says the secret of better production starts with keeping the birds healthy. She frequently vaccinates and deworms her stock – depending on the size of the birds – to keep them disease free.

“Better yields must come along with some costs. You must learn to vaccinate the birds in good time because they give out quality products if well taken care of,” says Ndeda, alias Nyar Suba. Additionally, she ensures the birds are fed on balanced diet.

This she does three times a day using both local and commercial feeds. The chicks are preferably fed on chick mash until the age of growers when they are introduced to growers mash. “The birds must also be given enough water and sand to enhance digestion process,” she advises.

Apart from the birds, Ndeda is making money from fish farming, a profitable business too. Her farm has three fish ponds each packed with tilapia (1,000); mud fish (1,000); and fingerlings (1,500). However, the glorious moments in the poultry business are not without challenges.

Diseases such as Newcastle and Fowl Pox often attack the birds, for instance. “The chicks are also predisposed to infections, especially when there is a change in weather pattern,” says the farmer. High production costs remain another challenge.

Ndeda is yet to own a hatchery and she outsources this at Sh20 each per egg at a hatchery machine in Kisumu town. She plans to expand her farming ventures with the anticipation of earning Sh1 million in a year. To cut the production costs for the birds, Ndeda plans to purchase her own incubator and hatchery machine.

“I have tested the sweetness in farming hence my desire is to further scale up the production,” she says. “Farming has become profitable and a reliable source of employment. The youths must not wait to pursue only the white-collar jobs only,” urges Ndeda.