TURNS OUT, MY HEN WAS AN IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN!

I just realized that my newly bought hen was a Kari Improved Kienyeji Chicken. Excited to know that I own a hybrid! I decided to look into this breed of chicken in detail. This is what I learned;

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ORIGIN OF THE KARI IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN

The Kari improved kienyeji chicken was bred by the Kenya Agricultural and Research Institute in a move to come up with a dual purpose breed of chicken that has equal qualities of the pure kienyeji chicken and can also be kept for eggs and meat. KARI which is now KALRO (Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization) developed this breed of chicken at their research location in Naivasha with the help of Egerton University Officials.

The breeders at KALRO started developing this breed of chicken in the year two thousand and two, a long time ago! I have only gotten to learn about the Kari improved kienyeji chicken in the year 2021. The purpose of this research on this improved breed of chicken was to come up with a hybrid chicken that had the characteristics of a pure kienyeji chicken but should have the advantage of maturing faster, gain weight faster and be significantly resistant to common diseases that affect chicken.

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WHAT WERE THE RESULTS?

Good qualities of the Kari improved kienyeji chicken were;

• Production of more eggs at a period. (approximately 200-270 eggs per year)
• Gaining of weight very fast. (Ready for slaughter in 5 months)
• Significant resistance to disease.(but farmers are still advised to vaccinate them)

This bird was proven to be a better version of the pure kienyeji chicken because of the above-mentioned qualities and many more. KALRO, therefore, sought to introduce the improved kienyeji chicken breed into the Kenyan market in the year 2012.

WHY DEVELOP A NEW BREED OF CHICKEN?

The main purpose of this research was to simply come up with an indigenous chicken breed that was better than the local chicken in aspects of productivity and disease resistance. This improved breed of chicken was also supposed to be able to survive in any climatic or weather conditions that It was subjected to.

In order to come up with the need for this new and improved breed of chicken, the institute of research had to study the local chicken that is found in homesteads all over Kenya today. This is one of the most sought-after breeds of improved kienyeji chicken because of its originality and improved characteristics that lessen the burden of costs to the farmer and increase profit margins.

The Kari improved kienyeji chicken was fully developed by the agricultural organization in the year 2016 and was supplied to poultry farmers in the market for breeding.

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HOW TO GET IT?

The best place to source for Kari improved kienyeji breeding stock would be from the agricultural organization KALRO. This is because farmers who have been supplied with first generation stock may decide to breed and continuously breed the same and subsequent generations. This is disadvantageous to you when you buy chicken from the same farmer.

PRODUCTIVITY AND MATURITY PERIOD.

The Kari improved kienyeji chicken matures at the age of five months and is ready to start laying by five and a half months. The average well-fed Kari improved kienyeji chicken will lay a total of approximately 20-25 eggs per month. The average weight of a fully grown jogoo will be around 2 kilograms to 2.5 kilograms after five months and hens will weigh roughly 1.5 to 2 kilograms respectively.

 ADVANTAGES OF KARI IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN

1. This breed of chicken is a disease-resistant breed and is not as prone to diseases as the local chicken.
2. Kari Improved kienyeji chicken is a dual-purpose chicken that can be kept both for meat and its eggs.
3. This breed matures faster than other local kienyeji chicken which takes approximately six to eight months to mature.
4. Since the breed matures faster, there is a lower maintenance cost that is associated with keeping this breed of chicken.

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DISADVANTAGES OF KARI IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN

1. This breed of chicken does not naturally brood or sit on its eggs. This may or may not be a problem to farmers with access to incubators that can be used to hatch the fertilized eggs of this breed of chicken.

 

WHERE CAN YOU PURCHASE KARI IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN.

Like I mentioned above, the best place to source first-generation Kari improved kienyeji chicks would be from the agricultural organization or any other referral provided by them directly. This will avoid instances of reduced quality of the breed in the market.

IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN VACCINATION SCHEDULE.

Vaccination of the Kari improved kienyeji chicken is just the same as any other chicken. Have a look at this simplified table of a vaccination schedule that I came up with;

 

AGE OF CHICKEN	VACCINE TO BE ADMINISTERED
DAY 1	MAREKS
2 WEEKS	GUMBORO VACCINE
3 WEEKS	NEWCASTLE VACCINE
6 WEEKS	FOWL POX VACCINE
8 WEEKS	FOWL TYPHOID

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WHAT TO FEED THEM?

The type of feed you give to your improved kienyeji chicken will fully depend on your goal for your flock. It may be, you would like to sell your chicken for meat or you may want to keep your improved kienyeji chicken for eggs. Either way, the feed specifications are relatively similar in the initial stages of growth but a change in the later stages. Obviously, cockerels grow bigger and heavier than hens, thus can be kept strictly for meat while hens can be kept strictly for eggs.

Check out this simplified feeding table;

AGRIPRENEUR.CO.KE IMPROVED KIENYEJI CHICKEN FEEDING PROGRAM.
AGE	QUANTITY TAKEN BY EACH	FEED
1 WEEK	15 GRAMS	CHICK MASH
2 WEEK	20 GRAMS	CHICK MASH
3 WEEK	35 GRAMS	CHICK MASH
4 WEEK	50 GRAMS	CHICK MASH
5-6 WEEKS	50 GRAMS	CHICK MASH
7-8 WEEKS	60 GRAMS	CHICK MASH
9-10 WEEKS	67 GRAMS	GROWERS MASH
10-15 WEEKS	70 GRAMS	GROWERS MASH
16-27 WEEKS	80 GRAMS	GROWERS MASH
28 WEEKS–	140 GRAMS	LAYERS MASH/ FINISHERS PELLETS

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