The short term goal is to measure how much feed they will consume, how many eggs and chicken I will have in the next 6 months and determine the market value.

Also, right now they are on a diet of millet, guinea corn, maize and wheat offal.

I am coming up with a feed ration that will include layer feed and some greens for them to forage on and get some much needed micro-nutrients.

Feed has been mixed and the chickens love it. I did a mix of layer mash, maize offal, rice bran, wheat bran, millet and guinea corn.

An approximate cost of N13,000 was spent for 65kg of feed. There are still ways to cut this down but because they have been free-ranging for a long time with no supplemental feed, I want them to bulk up fast before I reduce the crude protein to maintenance level. With a total of 17 chickens, we’ll see how long the feed lasts.

Farouq94:
Here are some pics (I have attached only a couple pics but its saying “entry too large”

There is a Chinese guy in YouTube that is doing what you are asking about. I cant remember his channel.

CodeTemplar:
There is a Chinese guy in YouTube that is doing what you are asking about. I cant remember his channel.

Let me know when you do, thanks!

Btw if anyone knows where I can get duckweed and azolla let me know please.

[quote][/quote]A major plus to where I moved the chickens to is how rich it is in SFRB (scavenging feed resource base). I had fattened some cattle earlier, and even after we packed all the cow dung, the soil has become very rich in organic matter.

The rain is finally here so when the soil gets wet, it becomes “alive” again and a great breeding ground for insects. The chickens head straight to the cattle posts when they are let out to free-range. They mostly dig up the soil for maggots and they go crazy for it.

I love watching them in action…

…

Farouq94:


Let me know when you do, thanks!

Btw if anyone knows where I can get duckweed and azolla let me know please.

Check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWjYLYulALs

CodeTemplar:

Check this out

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWjYLYulALs

Thanks! 70k chickens free-range?! Thats huuuuge, and encouraging. I like the part where he mentioned locusts as feed, that saves him a lot in feed. His environment is his major competitive advantage here.

Farouq94:
Feed has been mixed and the chickens love it. I did a mix of layer mash, maize offal, rice bran, wheat bran, millet and guinea corn.

An approximate cost of N13,000 was spent for 65kg of feed. There are still ways to cut this down but because they have been free-ranging for a long time with no supplemental feed, I want them to bulk up fast before I reduce the crude protein to maintenance level. With a total of 17 chickens, we’ll see how long the feed lasts.

Pls give us breakdown of the food u mix together and in what proportions too...

this post is quite interesting!
https://indoorplantsbuy.com/product-category/plants/flower-plants/

Masterkleenlaun:



Pls give us breakdown of the food u mix together and in what proportions too...

I mixed 25kg of Layer mash, 25kg maize bran, 5kg rice bran, 5kg wheat bran, millet and sorghum grain 5kg. Everything mixed together has an estimated 13.4% crude protein.

You can always look around and see the feed ingredients you have close to you that is cheap and nutritious to the chicken and mix it in, thats what I did.

Farouq94:
Two weeks later, the birds have acclimated to the new environment and have started laying. I brought in a total of 15 hens and 2 roosters, and left the rest on the farm.

So far we have 16 eggs, most of the hens are first time layers so I’m expecting an “eggs-plosion” in the coming weeks.

20 eggs later, three chickens went broody. Unfortunately thats one of the disadvantages of leaving the clutch of eggs. The natural instinct of the chicken to brood kicks in. Mind you, these eggs were not laid at the same time so some embryo’s had already formed whilst some eggs were still fresh.

I had to take everything away and put them in the incubator because the eggs not hatching at the same time means the chicken is going to abandon the nest as soon as the first batch hatches.

More chickens started laying today and this time we don’t leave the eggs in their nest so I expect much more eggs.

Farouq94:


I mixed 25kg of Layer mash, 25kg maize bran, 5kg rice bran, 5kg wheat bran, millet and sorghum grain 5kg. Everything mixed together has an estimated 13.4% crude protein.

You can always look around and see the feed ingredients you have close to you that is cheap and nutritious to the chicken and mix it in, thats what I did.

Thanks

Farouq94:


20 eggs later, three chickens went broody. Unfortunately thats one of the disadvantages of leaving the clutch of eggs. The natural instinct of the chicken to brood kicks in. Mind you, these eggs were not laid at the same time so some embryo’s had already formed whilst some eggs were still fresh.

I had to take everything away and put them in the incubator because the eggs not hatching at the same time means the chicken is going to abandon the nest as soon as the first batch hatches.

More chickens started laying today and this time we don’t leave the eggs in their nest so I expect much more eggs.

Pls. I need local chickens in bulk.., I don't want to buy front the market cos they said the ones from the market are always afflicted with different diseases....what is your source or can I get like 20 local chickens from you for a start?

Masterkleenlaun:



Pls. I need local chickens in bulk.., I don't want to buy front the market cos they said the ones from the market are always afflicted with different diseases....what is your source or can I get like 20 local chickens from you for a start?

If you are within Edo state, I can supply you that

Masterkleenlaun:



Pls. I need local chickens in bulk.., I don't want to buy front the market cos they said the ones from the market are always afflicted with different diseases....what is your source or can I get like 20 local chickens from you for a start?

I do not sell currently. I have been breeding mine for a while now so they have acclimated to the environment.

Thats true, buying from the market is very risky. If you are not buying from a single flock/farmer, I do not advise buying 20 at the same time.

If your only option is the open market, there are still ways to select the best breeds, then isolate and medicate them accordingly before letting them free-range or mix with your other poultry,

Just candled the 20 eggs I put in the incubator, as expected they are all in different stages of development because the laying and the brooding chickens kept sharing the same next, and 5 embryo’s died as a result.

So I’m left with 15 developing embryo’s, in 3 different stages. I expect the first batch to hatch by weekend. The rest of the chickens have finished molting and are starting to lay.

Farouq94:


Let me know when you do, thanks!

Btw if anyone knows where I can get duckweed and azolla let me know please.

I must commend that you are doing a good work & you are so open to help others out

Well done & may God continue to bless you more than you expect in Jesus mighty name..
I am an experience farmer too

Please WhatsApp me on 08120528950 to give you contact of a lady who can sell both duckweed & azolla to you.

I produce BSF maggots from rabbits waste, poultry waste, fruits waste, brewry waste,pkc slog etc for my local chicken and ducks
I give them dry & fresh Moringa leaves too as vitamins and minerals

Farouq94:


I do not sell currently. I have been breeding mine for a while now so they have acclimated to the environment.

Thats true, buying from the market is very risky. If you are not buying from a single flock/farmer, I do not advise buying 20 at the same time.

[/b]If your only option is the open market, there are still ways to select the best breeds, then isolate and medicate them accordingly before letting them free-range or mix with your other poultry,

[b]


Pls explain the ways to select the best breeds and then isolate/medicate them accordingly.
Thanks

chukskafor:
If you are within Edo state, I can supply you that

Thanks...I'm nt in the area.

BoluwGoldenFarm:


I must commend that you are doing a good work & you are so open to help others out

Well done & may God continue to bless you more than you expect in Jesus mighty name..
I am an experience farmer too

Please WhatsApp me on 08120528950 to give you contact of a lady who can sell both duckweed & azolla to you.

I produce BSF maggots from rabbits waste, poultry waste, fruits waste, brewry waste,pkc slog etc for my local chicken and ducks
I give them dry & fresh Moringa leaves too as vitamins and minerals

Thank you very much. I will send you a message now.

Yes growing BSF maggots is a cheap way to supply chickens protein. I looked into it a while back and
unfortunately BSF is not native to my environment, and growing them in an enclosure is not sustainable for me.

Masterkleenlaun:
[b][/b]


Pls explain the ways to select the best breeds and then isolate/medicate them accordingly.
Thanks

There are a lot of ways to do that, but in a market-setting they might not let you set them free to observe.

First observed the physical appearance, the chicken should have a bright red comb, the legs must be clean and not scaly, blow under the feathers to observe if there are no mites. Then check the vent area, it should be clean, if you see poop in the feathers around the vent area, its most likely a sign that the chicken has diarrhoea. The chicken should also be “heavy” and active when you pick it up.

After observing that, I also like to keep the chicken (they are usually tied up) on the ground and watch it for a few minutes. Sometimes what these sellers do when you go to buy chickens is to agitate the chicken and shake it very well, pressing it to show you that it is healthy. But when you keep them on the ground or in the cage and leave them for a few minutes, if its sick it will most likely close its eyes to sleep or huddle in one corner.

There are other things that you might not figure out if you’ve not kept chickens before, like determining an old spent hen and a young hen.

About medication, I think I have written about natural antibiotics before in the thread, moringa, aloe vera and neem are very powerful in combating diseases. In any case that you observe a sickness, you can visit a vet to get broad spectrum antibiotics and vitamins to treat accordingly.

If anyone else has anything to add or correct, please feel free to share.

Masterkleenlaun:


Thanks...I'm nt in the area.

Ok, regards

The next batch of eggs went in the incubator today. I packed a total of 27 eggs but one cracked, so I ended up with 26. Total eggs gotten so far 20 + 27 = 47 eggs.

The eggs come in different shapes, sizes and color. Usually a pure indigenous chicken lays white eggs, but mine are a mix of white, brown and cream because they have been cross-bred over time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcaXdglqUn4

Help my life bikonu

Farouq94:
Just candled the 20 eggs I put in the incubator, as expected they are all in different stages of development because the laying and the brooding chickens kept sharing the same next, and 5 embryo’s died as a result.

So I’m left with 15 developing embryo’s, in 3 different stages. I expect the first batch to hatch by weekend. The rest of the chickens have finished molting and are starting to lay.

Please, where did your get your incubator from?

I bought my first Fulani cock and hen yesterday from Kwara, I’m glad to welcome them to my small farm. I have 2 female Noiler that’s laying egg already. 1 local hen that just hatch and one local cock too.

Farouq94:
Here are some pics (I have attached only a couple pics but its saying “entry too large”

Of course, it's economically viable to breed local chickens in a commercial scale. At SS Farms (http://www.ssfarms.ng/products/poultry/), we implement free ranging for our local chickens, to reduce operating cost.

Farouq94:
The short term goal is to measure how much feed they will consume, how many eggs and chicken I will have in the next 6 months and determine the market value.

The 65kg feed I made lasted for 40 days and during that time I got a total of 166 eggs. There are still ways I’m exploring to get feed costs down. So far so good, I believe this is a viable venture especially if you have a farm/large space.

My focus is now on commercializing this operation with the addition of my a new brooder with an automatic temperature control for the chicks that are hatching.

Hopefully I will be sharing milestones once in a while on here. For now, Adios!

IamAsiri:


Please, where did your get your incubator from?

Locally constructed in Kano.

Farouq94:


Locally constructed in Kano.

Oh, okay.

Farouq94:


Locally constructed in Kano.

Good evening sir, how did your experiment went,

Please share pictures from the chicken farm.

Thanks