Following the COVID-19 outbreak, several Kenyans embraced urban farming, and most of them, including Catherine Macharia are now proud of.
She is one of the farmers who switched to urban farming two years ago, and she has no regrets about it.
A medical professional, Macharia raises broiler chicks on the rooftop of a residential building in Saika Nairobi.
Her agricultural knowledge was limited to observing her lovely mother, who was also a poultry farmer.
Macharia buys day-old chicks, feeds them, and then sells them as mature chickens after four weeks for a profit.
In an interview, Catherine stated that broiler chicks are a better choice because it just takes a few weeks for a farmer to start profiting, as opposed to layers, which require months.
“I began with both broilers and layers, and based on my experience, I decided to concentrate solely on broilers because they take only 28 days to reach the market,” she said.
Macharia further explained that she feeds her layers for 4-5 months before they start laying.
The farmer, who presently has 200 two-week-old chicks and 350 three-week-old chicks, claims the business is very profitable and has allowed her to accomplish things she would not have been able to do while working.
Macharia purchases day-old chicks for Ksh 95 each and sells them to hotels and other individuals for between Sh350 and Sh400 after one month.
She estimates that she spends between Ksh 250 and Ksh 275 on each bird every month, including the purchase price.
Macharia notes that not all broiler chickens reach maturity in four weeks; some kinds can take up to six weeks.
According to her, many poultry farmers fail as a result of poor breed selection, a lack of market research, and incorrect bird handling.
“Some people simply begin keeping poultry without any prior knowledge. You wind up buying a subpar breed that consumes more and takes longer to mature. Also, if you do not vaccinate your birds, they will begin to die,” she noted.
