Construction of brooder

Entrepreneur

About Me

Hi Folks. I am Lucia Bosire. A 33 year old single mum of two lovely boys, aged 11 and 8 years. I live in an area called Kitengela, in the outskirts of Nairobi. I moved there for the spacious surroundings. I started raising broiler chicken this year, to supplement my income, so as to enable me to provide for my kids just as well since the loss of their dad a couple of years ago.
The business has continued to grow, thanks in part to the Zidisha loan i got to purchase infra red lights and additional equipment.
As i was looking for a project that could supplement my income, i settled on the chicken, because i wanted a project that could also involve my kids. They really enjoy helping out after school and weekends. They change the drinking water and re-filling the feeders with the chicken mash/pellets. They really feel like they are chipping in and its a way for them to earn a little cash for themselves as allowance! (I imagine THAT must motivate them!!).

My Business

I started to rear poultry (broiler chicken) to maximize use of my compound space and earn a little extra cash to take good care of my kids. Initially, i was selling to colleagues, friends and family. But i realize it is profitable and would love to expand my stock to satisfy my customer demands.
the average profit i make per bird is 1.20usd. I initially started with keeping 150 birds, and after getting my initial Zidisha loan, i increased this number to 300 birds.
maturity is 6 weeks.
the risks to this business is usually disease, but i received training from kenchick, and with my previous stock, mortality has been about 3%, with acceptable rates being between 5%-7% of the initial stock. it costs about 375sh to raise a single bird, this is inclusive of feeds, heating, vaccines and dressing. In 6 weeks, they usually weigh in at around 1.4kgs, dressed weight. i sell each bird at 4.8usd or 3.70usd per kg.

Loan Proposal

A brooder is special structure where you keep the day old chicks from the day you bring them home to about 2-3 weeks when they grow big enough to withstand the normal room temperatures.
I have been using a corner of the garage as a brooder, insulated with old blankets and plywood. I want to construct a separate brooder so i can put in the correct measures to ensure its properly heated and sanitized, to reduce the chick mortality further.
The brooder house should be complete with infra red lights, insulation, wooden floors and room thermometers.

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