Indigenous chicken farmers who had planned well for the Christmas season are smiling all the way to the bank because the prices have shot up by 50 per cent in the last one week.
An indigenous chicken farmer, Rhoda Chebet said for the last three years she has learnt the importance of timing the market, and that knowledge has assisted her to make profits.
Speaking to in Nakuru town Sunday, Chebet said she has 250 indigenous chickens and in the last one week, she has sold 70 of them between Sh1000 and Sh1400, depending on the size.
She said the ones she is selling at sh1000 sold at sh500 last month and they weigh one and a half kilograms. But the ones which weigh two kilograms are selling at sh1400 up from Sh700-800 last month.
The trader attributed the skyrocketing prices for the indigenous chicken to the increased health awareness of citizens and the superior taste compared to the broilers which are selling at Sh500 in butcheries and super- markets, although at farm gate they are bought between Sh400 to Sh450.
She said unlike in the past there was more money in the rearing of indigenous chicken, but the high prices of feeds was a setback since they can no longer allow them to forage and scavenge because they are likely to destroy people’s crops and vegetables.
“In the past, the indigenous chicken were referred to as free-range but with increased population and smaller farms, we don’t allow them to roam around. We have built special houses for them and we also feed and vaccinate them, which we never used to do in the past,’’ she said.
The Christmas mood has also caught up with the residents and despite the complaints of lack of money and poor economy the shops and streets of Nakuru town are bustling with families shopping for Christmas.
By Veronica Bosibori
