A total of 70 farmer groups in Lira district have received more than 14,000 kuroiler chicks worth 35 million shillings from the area woman Member of Parliament, Linda Agnes Auma.
MP Auma said the delivery of kuroiler chicks (an improved chicken breed) is part of her wide initiatives to eradicate poverty among local residents through commercial farming, which is being promoted by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
“Once our individual households are empowered, it means our community can afford to meet their needs instead of begging from the government. I will ensure that all farmer groups in the district are supported,” said MP Auma.
The farmer groups were drawn from all the sub counties in Erute North and South.
Boniface Okello Omara, a veterinary officer and also the deputy speaker of Lira District Council who supervised the distribution of Kuroiler chicks to beneficiaries, said the breed is strong and can grow in any condition.
“The kuroiler chicken lives like our local chicks, and it’s easy to manage. This is a good initiative from our MP to eradicate poverty,” said Okello Omara.
According to Okello, each of the 70 farmer groups received at least 200 kuroiler chicks in this first phase of distribution. Each kuroiler chick was bought at Ugx2,500.
Moses Lydia Alal, the vice chairperson of the Yooleng group in Itek Sub County, believes that once the birds are well raised, it will ensure great support for local residents in their quest to eradicate poverty.
Alal appealed to MP Auma to also consider searching for markets for their birds once they have produced them.
“I understand that after six months, we can sell each chick for more than Ugx30,000; therefore, MP Auma should start looking for a market for our chickens when they grow,” said Alal.
Judith Alum, from the Kony Awoti women’s group in Amach Sub County, applauded MP Auma for fulfilling her pledges made during the 2021 campaigns.
This is the second largest delivery MP Auma is making to her constituents within a period of one week after she handed clean energy saucepans to over 1,200 households in Aromo Sub County.
FACTS ABOUT KUROILER
Kuroiler chicken breeds are reared for both meat and egg production since it is a dual breed. Kuroilers are disease resistant and can lay up to 150 eggs per year as compared to the indigenous breeds that lay about 100 eggs per year. The good thing about rearing kuroilers is that they can easily grow while feeding on only kitchen waste products and agricultural products. Some of the basic things that you need to know about the kuroiler are it is extremely poor at broodiness, has a single comb, lays brown eggs, feeds continuously and can tolerate any climatic weather. The price depends on the size of the kuroiler but it can go as low as shs45, 000 depending on where you have bought it from.
The advantages of growing kuroilers include the following
- They have a high growth rate
- Kuroilers have a cheaper production as compared to other poultry products
- Kuroilers also weigh more than the normal chickens leading to a high competition on the poultry market
- Kuroilers have an extremely high hatchability.
- They can easily survive in harsh conditions and can easily look for their own food.
Kuroilers were introduced into the country from India and due to their mixed nature they bring in a lot of money due to their ability to grow at a faster rate. After its introduction into the country, many small scale farmers started rearing them however due to their ability to reproduce at a faster rate, many farmers jumped on the bandwagon and now it is a household name among many farmers in the country and the market for poultry produce. It is also commonly referred to as the improved indigenous chicken and can easily be identified due to the white spots that cover their feathers. The kuroiler hens weigh an approximate weight of 2.5kgs whereas the roaster weighs about 3.5kgs.
Feeding of Kuroilers in Uganda
kuroilers can easily scavenge for their own food but in case you want to use the intensive system for rearing then you will need to get a proper feeding system for the birds so that they grow up healthily Below are some of the ways in which you can feed the kuroilers if they are being reared using the intensive care system.
When purchasing feeds for the kuroilers, you need to make sure that you look at the expiry dates so that you do not buy feeds that are already spoiled. There are numerous brands of feed that are on the market and it is advisable that you buy from well-known suppliers in order for you to get genuine products. There are two stages of feeds that you can use to feed the kuroilers and these are:
- The stage one feeds is given to the young kuroilers that have just been hatched.
- The chicks that are between 5 to 6 weeks are fed on grower feeds plus other supplementary feeds from the kitchen leftovers and greens.
Kuroiler feeds should have all the nutrients in a balanced state so that the birds get all the nutrients that they need to keep healthy. Some of the nutrients that should be included in the feeds include proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, fats and many more others.
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