Keeping Chickens Healthy and Running a Chicken Farm

1Common chicken diseases

2How to prevent disease

• Vaccinate at the right times. The vet will tell you when.
• Keep it clean: clean the house, feeders and drinkers, and change wet litter.
• Buy healthy chicks from a trusted hatchery.
• Separate new birds and sick birds from the flock.
• Keep visitors out of the chicken house.
• Bury dead birds deep or burn them. Never throw them in the bush.
• Wash your hands after touching chickens, and ask the sector veterinary officer for help.

3Why keep chickens?

• Food: eggs and meat are full of protein, which helps children grow strong.
• Money: eggs and birds sell well at the market.
• Manure: chicken droppings are rich manure for crops.
• Little land: chickens need little space, and local chickens eat kitchen scraps and insects.

4Steps in chicken farming

1. Plan: eggs or meat? How many birds? Where will you sell? How much money do you need?
2. Build a good chicken house.
3. Buy healthy chicks or birds of the right type.
4. Care every day: feed, water and clean.
5. Vaccinate and watch for signs of disease.
6. Collect eggs every day and keep them in a cool place, or sell broilers when they are ready.
7. Sell, and keep records of the feed you buy, the eggs you collect and the money you spend and earn.

Why records? Suppose you sell 300 eggs at 100 Frw each: 300 × 100 = 30,000 Frw. If the feed cost 20,000 Frw, you made 30,000 − 20,000 = 10,000 Frw. Records also warn you early: if the hens suddenly lay fewer eggs, something is wrong.

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.