Lessons on ferrying chicks from my 500km road trip

This is a story I have looked forward to telling you because of two things; one, it was my first successful attempt and second, it was an intriguing journey.

The day was July 3 and I had 104 healthy, four-week-old chicks to transport to my other farm in Busia because I had ran out of space in my farm in Nairobi.

I had administered to the chicks the first and second Gumboro vaccines on Day 10 and 18 respectively.

I had also given them the first Newcastle Disease (ND) vaccine, which I administered at week three. The vaccines protect chicks against the highly contagious viral diseases.

Newcastle is the most lethal poultry disease. It has no treatment, and affects chicken of all ages, often wiping out the entire flock within four to five days. Gumboro, known as Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD), also has no treatment and affects the developing immune system of chicks.

Symptoms and death occur between three and six weeks.

Ferrying chicks from Nairobi to Busia, or to any other destination for that matter, is no child’s play. In my case, it took a battered 4.2 litres 1991 diesel-fired six cylinder Nissan Patrol about 10 hours to do the 500km journey.

I had packed the chicks in metre-square carton boxes and placed them in the boot. To avoid suffocation, I had poked enough holes on the sides of the boxes.

For day-old chicks, a metre long by a metre wide and 10cm high box with openings can carry 100.

The journey started at 4am to reduce the time the birds were to spend in the extreme heat of day.

It was pitch dark as I meandered through the misty highway towards Limuru. When I reached Delamere farm in Naivasha at about 7am, I was stopped by a police officer.

He asked me for my driving licence. Was I speeding? I doubted. My car can barely sneak past the 80km mark on the speedometer.

After checking my driving licence and insurance, the policeman asked me what I was carrying in the boot.

“Chicken,” I replied. He appeared perplexed - you should have seen the look on his face.

“Are you a farmer?” he asked, handed me back my licence and added, “Chai ya wazee?”

I told him I didn’t have any money on me but he could pick as many chicks as he wished. He let me pass. The rest of the trip was uneventful save for little stop-overs I made to check on the hungry chicks.

I arrived in Busia at about 4pm a happy man. This time I had only lost two chicks during the entire 10-hour journey, a milestone in my life as a poultry farmer.

The last time I transferred 33 mature five-month cocks, I lost three.

The younger the chicks, the easier it is to transport them. When transporting chicken, loses should not exceed 2 per cent of the stock.

As long as the birds are healthy at the time of transporting, there is no risk of infection, and there is absolutely no need to feed them during the journey as the feeders and drinkers take up unnecessary space. Birds normally do not need any food or water during transportation.

Upon arrival, I offered the chicks glucose in water for energy revival and multi-vitamins for about four days to relieve stress.

I mixed the chicks with others on the farm soon after arrival. It is normally advisable that if all the birds have been vaccinated, then mix right away. If not vaccinated, vaccinate and wait for 21 days before mixing them.

My worker Wilson and poultry farm manager, Jesse, did a wonderful job of caring the chicks and none died. They are now bigger, consequently expanding my poultry farm.

Obwogo is a poultry farmer, a medical doctor and a senior quality improvement adviser in health policy and systems strengthening.