DIARY OF A POULTRY FARMER: Fresh from the farm

Ms Lydia Kanyika, a modern poultry farmer in Isiolo town makes her routine inspection of her birds on September 8, 2017. The Sh6million modern poultry farm houses 3,000 chicken. PHOTO| VIVIAN JEBET | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • From my research, I have realised that there are many ways of keeping a chicken coop clean
  • The good bacteria also keep at bay lice and mites and help prevent new infestations.
  • Now, the experts I have spoken to told me that too much moisture in the coop, on one hand, and deep litter, on the other, are like oil and water.

Every time I get visitors on my farm in Njiru, Nairobi, many always offer me some unsolicited advice.
While I often don’t agree with them, I take it as a learning moment because as they say, no one has the monopoly of knowledge.


“There’s no smell here?” Egesa, a visitor, paused the other day.
“We changed the wood shavings two days ago. We do it fortnightly,” I informed him.
And then he blurted out the unexpected. “During my training at the university, I was taught to clean the chicken pens only once a year, and the coop would still smell fresh.”


From my research, I have realised that there are many ways of keeping a chicken coop clean. In my case, I practice the old-school two weekly shovelling and bagging into sacks.

The problem arises when I have to dispose the manure. I used to sell a sack at Sh100 to my good neighbours but with time, they came to realise that I needed to get rid of the stuff more often than they needed to use on their farms. They now prefer to wait until the bad smell on my side is unbearable so that I can offer it for free.
From my conversation with Egesa, I realised he was referring to a way of keeping the coop clean using the so-called ‘deep litter method’. This method doesn’t require the usual daily, weekly or even monthly shovelling and replacement of the bedding.

If you are using deep litter method (also called ‘deep bedding’ or ‘built-up litter’), instead of cleaning the bedding all out, you simply stir it up with a rake (the birds can do this bit even better) and toss another layer of clean wood shavings on top once a week or so.

Sounds easy? Not quite especially if you consider that I am just recovering from a serious disease outbreak on my farm that made me de-populate my entire flock, clean up the premises and leave them empty for at least three months. (Seeds of Gold, May 20 and 27).

Another thing is that I use manual water drinkers, which spill water easily. Now, the experts I have spoken to told me that too much moisture in the coop, on one hand, and deep litter, on the other, are like oil and water. The two never mix. “If you have too much moisture in the coop, as the litter is breaking down, you will end up with a big stinky smell from ammonia,” one vet told me.


However, with the right moisture, the litter stays dry, breaks down and smells like cake in an oven.
Another thing is the density of the birds required in the coop for deep litter method to work well. “Anything less than three square feet per bird you’re calling for trouble,” I was advised. When birds are congested, the manure is a lot and this leads to a bad smell.


I finally understood the science behind built-up litter as espoused by Egesa. By not removing the waste often, bacteria make it their homes. So they eat and break down the droppings and devour the bad bacteria, only leaving the good one.


The good bacteria also keep at bay lice and mites and help prevent new infestations.
It means that when you clean out the deep litter coop once a year, you have to leave behind between one and two inches of the “old stuff”. The already decomposing stuff left behind helps the new stuff to start breaking down fast.

The other advantage is that after a year, you get a perfect compost manure that you can use on the vegetable farm.
Another thing is that never use a chemical insecticide on the wood shavings like I do. This will kill the beneficial micro-organisms that feed on bacteria, fungi and other harmful organisms.


Having a good ventilation and monitoring the moisture to keep the bad odour at bay are key to the success of the system.  
I am considering going the deep litter way but first, I have to ensure that the farm hygiene practices (farm bio-security) and the vaccination programme are working.