Poultry farming is gaining momentum in Kenya; thanks to the all time market and quick returns associated with the business. This has sometimes seen farmers hastily purchase chicks that end up dying while on transit, incurring huge losses.This has sometimes seen farmers most hastily purchase chicks that end up dying on transit, incurring huge losses.
In a bid to help farmers purchase quality chicks, www.farmbiz.glorycarefoundation.org has prepared a check list to consider while purchasing especially one day old chicks for commercial purposes.
The validity of the hatchery
Farmers are advised to purchase chicks from hatcheries certified by agricultural stakeholders like the KALRO’S Non-Ruminant Research Centre. The hatchery must display its valid license and receipt must be offered after sells. Most farmers are being duped by unscrupulous dealers who invoke names of trusted brands in the market. A physical visit at the hatchery is therefore a must
Health and history record
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Farmers must check the health history of chicken producing eggs for the hatchery. A farmer must ensure that the hatchery he is buying from has a good history and day old chicks bought from there have low mortality rates.
Before purchasing chicks, a farmer must confirm if they have been vaccinated against common poultry viral diseases. If you choose the latter option, then you must have a veterinary doctor on hand who would give the vaccinations to the chicks as soon as they get to you to prevent diseases or death.
Ecological region
High breed chicken is highly sensitive to changes in temperature. Farmers are advised to purchase chicks from hatcheries within their ecological sphere. Chicks bred in areas with low temperatures are likely to die of heat stress if taken to areas with high temperatures. The knowledge about temperature changes will also help a farmer prepare himself adequately for energy needs like solar, electricity or cooling gadgets in case of extreme heat.
Time
Time is also a very important factor when buying day old chicks. This is because day old chicks require a lot of care and attention especially in the first 5 weeks of purchase. Therefore, you must clear out your schedule and ensure that you would have time to care for them when you buy them.
The size of poultry
When you buy day old chicks, they are usually so small that a thousand of them can fit into a tiny space. But you shouldn’t allow this initial size deceive you; as they grow older, they begin to consume a lot of space and if you didn’t do proper space planning at the point of buying day old chicks, you would face a lot of space challenges.
Means of transport
It is advisable to use special containers because chicks are quiet delicate; when transporting day old chicks from their current location to the destination you want to send them it is proper to use containers that are hard on the outside and inside very soft. When the inside of the container is very soft it will act as shock absorbers to protect the chicks from bruising.
Day old chicks are very delicate and find it difficult to sustain injuries when they are bruised and they may die. The container should be put in a place that will prevent strong shaking and somersault because when that happen your chicks will crash into each other strongly and some will get their limbs and other parts of their body broken.
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Ventilation in transit to avoid draughty conditions; they type of transport you are using to carry the chicks should be well ventilated to enable proper breathing of the chicks because they will need the breadth to get energy to be able to continue the journey. The portions allocated for the ventilation shouldn’t be too much as to expose the chicks to the strong wind because when that happens they suffocate and may die too. Care must be taken to ensure that there will not be any mortality during the journey.