Don’t uproot this shrub, it kills moles in your shamba

WASTED EGGS
I have this disturbing issue about my chicken. They lay a lot of eggs but they fail to complete the cycle of laying and leave their nest after a few days. This results in a lot of wasted eggs. The other issue is, I have three big kuchis which are so ferocious that they feast on the eggs and even the small chicks.
Aisha
The hens are poor brooders, which may be due to hormonal imbalances or their breed type. If you rely on natural incubation of eggs to multiply your flock, consider finding a broody hen to be used as a foster brooder or induce broodiness in your hens by having a nest box in a quiet and dim area.

For the kuchi, the aggressive behaviour is mostly considered genetic and as such you should simply separate them from chicks and, as a caution, do not put the males together. Instead use them for mating by giving each male its own females to avoid unnecessary fighting (one male to five females).

Sophie Miyumo, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University

DAIRY GOATS
I would like to know which breed of dairy goat is best to keep in Embu County in respect to milk volume, milking duration, rate of kidding, adaptation, maturity and feeding.

Kithaka
I would recommend the German Alpine or Toggenburg dairy goat breeds with at least 75 percent of either of these genotypes if you intend to upgrade from local breeds. The German Alpine is a relatively hardy breed with an impressive observed performance in the tropics in terms of milk yield, lactation persistency / length and reproduction. The breed is popular around Nyeri region and has been known to produce on average 4.5kgs per day under good management. Likewise, Toggenburg crosses have also performed quite well around Meru region with farmers under the Meru Dairy Goat Breeders Association.
Kimitei Ronald Kipkogei, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University.
DAIRY COWS
I live in Kabondo Kasipul Constituency in Homa Bay County. I would like to venture into dairy farming but I am really troubled over what breed can do well in the area, if at all there is.
Collins Otieno
The choice of breed should not cause you a lot of worry rather it is management practices that matter. Dairy cattle breeds common in Kenya can all thrive in your area so long as the right conditions are provided.

These conditions include balanced and adequate feed, unlimited access to cool clean drinking water and shelter against adverse elements of weather. Nonetheless Ayrshires can be more ideal for Homa Bay County due to their relatively smaller body frames, lower feed consumption and perceived hardiness.

Kimitei Ronald Kipkogei, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University

LAYERS
I’m interested in keeping layers; please advise me on the best variety in the market, the best feeds and how to feed them at all the levels of maturation.

Bonny
For hybrid layer birds, consider the Issa Brown, which you can source from Kenchic. In management, provide supplemental heating using infra-red bulbs for the first four weeks of the chick’s life. Vaccination procedure should be as follows; New Castle Disease at day 7, Gumboro at day 14, fowl typhoid at week 9, fowl pox at week 18 and de-worm at 19 weeks just before laying begins and thereafter, de-worm after every six months.

Provide chick mash of 35-75g/chick/day between 0-7 weeks of age. This should be increased gradually such that the birds are fed 75g/bird/day by the 6th week. Introduce growers mash gradually during the 7th week, thereafter provide 75-110g/bird/day of growers mash until 20 weeks of age.

Finally the adults should be fed 110-140g/bird/day of layers mash. Ensure feed is of good quality, consider Unga/Pembe Feeds. Avoid abrupt changes in source of feed and feeding times. These factors greatly affect egg production. Provide clean water daily.

Sophie Miyumo, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University

CONTRACT FARMING

I own a 1/4 acre plot, and hire a half acre. Please let me know more about contract farming, especially of pigs, chicken and rabbits. I intend to raise about 100 pigs for 10 months which can fetch me Sh1m, but the cost of feeds and startup capital is a challenge please advise.
Ben

Contract farming, though a fairly novice concept in Kenya, ensures that farmers have a ready market for their products irrespective of market fluctuations and therefore cushions them against potential losses. Several companies in the country enter into various contractual agreements with farmers.

For instance, Farmers Choice has an arrangement with farmers where they can offer free field extension and pig transportation services as well as sell superior genetics and subsidised feed to farmers who supply slaughter pigs to the company.

Kenchic also offers contracts for poultry farmers who meet certain requirements through its farm-to-fork policy for enhanced traceability. Alcare Kenya Limited engages rabbit farmers in contracts. Write up a detailed farm business plan for about five years and consider taking a low interest farm start-up loan. The secret to farm success is always prudent management.

Kimitei Ronald Kipkogei, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University.

FEATHER PECKING
I have been keeping some chicken, and of late I have realised that some of them feed on their feathers. What could be the cause of this?

This condition is known as feather pecking and it usually starts with back feathers, and may progress to the tail and the whole body. Feather pecking is mostly a consequence of poor housing conditions that result in bullying.

The predisposing factors include overcrowding, excessive light and temperature, insufficient or improperly placed feeder or drinking space. Chicken are by nature territorial and as such consideration must be given to the stocking density.

In addition to environmental conditions, the other probable factor is nutritional imbalances such as mineral deficiencies, like sodium which is common in cases where the birds lack salt in their diet. Amino acid (methionine) deficiency, feeding high energy diets with low fibre are also likely to result in feather pecking.

Sophie Miyumo, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University

COUGHING

My chickens are discharging some mucus from their noses and they keep on coughing. It’s like their noses are blocked and they struggle to breathe. I have tried some antibiotics (skarzone) but the problem is still there. Kindly advise.

Ombata Erick
Consider your ventilation conditions and dust within the poultry house, also factor in the condition of the litter material if being used. These are some of the factors that predispose your birds to respiratory disease which will continue being a nuisance if the birds are kept in poor environmental conditions.

Once these factors have been corrected, consider a broad-spectrum anti-biotic (tetracycline) which you can source from the agro-vets to help control the pathogens infecting your birds respiratory system.

Sophie Miyumo, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University

DROUGHT
After a drought or dry spell, what happens to a cow in terms of feeding and how can one remedy the situation.
Githinji Jon

Dry spells are usually characterised by reduced availability of water both to animals and plants. Plants become fibrous and their mosture content decreases, and they may loose nutrients. During this period a cow’s digestive system adapts to high fibre feedstuff and may require higher level of supplementation to avoid losses in production.

After a dry spell comes a wet season which is characterised with lush forages. This change in diet implies that the cow’s digestive system will equally adjust from digesting highly fibrous material to succulent material high in soluble sugars and unbound nitrogen sources. This drastic changes in diet, if not checked, leads to digestive system upsets such as bloat and diarrhoea.

To minimise these, ensure that the proportion of roughages fed to the cow is near uniform as much as possible both in the wet and dry seasons.

During wet season, feed the animals with wilted forages and as well provide them with dry forages such as hay preferably early in the morning. During the dry season, its advisable to add value to the dry forages by mixing with a soluble sugar and nitrogen soures such as molasses and urea respectively.

James Wangui Chege, Animal Sciences Department, Egerton University

QUALITY OF FEEDS

I am a poultry farmer with some farming experience. I have established a pen for more than 5,000 birds. I am interested in venturing into exotic layers. My preferred supplier is Kenchic due to their experience.

However, I have an issue. From 1986 to 1988, I was in charge of rearing exotic layers on behalf of my parents. We used to feed them on Unga Feeds. The results were wonderful; after 18 weeks I could get the first egg.

I want to achieve similar results. I have visited other poultry farmers and have found that they have achieved inferior results using a variety of feeds.

Today, there are a variety of chicken feeds being sold everywhere. I am zeroing in on two brands — Unga and Pembe. Kenchic vets have recommended to me Pembe Feeds. I would like your professional advice on the best choice of feeds based on balance of nutrients disregarding the costs, between Unga and Pembe.

BONIFACE
The exotic layers from Kenchic have no genetic connection with Pembe feeds. What you should bear in mind is that good feeding management and good genetics are key to high performance.

Therefore in your case, what the Kenchic vets are experiencing is simply high quality feeds from Pembe complementing the good genetics from Kenchic resulting to high performance. With regards to choosing feeds between the two companies, am in no position to advice on one brand over the other. However, note that both companies are reputable regarding quality of feeds.

Sophie Miyumo, Animal Science Department, Egerton University

EXCESS WATER
How do I use half an acre of waterlogged land during the rainy season? I have already prepared the land.

Paul Mwangi, Mois Bridge

Excess water in the crop root zone soil is injurious to plant growth. Crop yields are drastically reduced on poorly drained soils and, in cases of prolonged waterlogging, plants eventually die due to a lack of oxygen in the root zone. This may result in excess soil salinity, i.e. the accumulation of salts in the plant root zone.

Waterlogged soils release increased amounts of nitrous oxide (N2O), a particularly damaging greenhouse gas. Drainage can be improved on many sites and is the first thing to consider once a waterlogging problem has been identified.

Artificial drainage is essential on poorly drained agricultural fields to provide optimum air and salt environments in the root zone. Drainage is regarded as an important water management practice, and as a component of efficient crop production systems.

To solve the problem, you can dig trenches to drain the water from the farm as a better alternative of reclaiming the waterlogged piece of land.

Hezekiah Korir, Crops, Horticulture and Soils Department, Egerton University