Agriculture
A 40-year old poultry farmer, Usman Muhammad, says he had taken advantage of the demand for Noiler chicken brand and eggs to rake an average of N150,000 monthly from his sales.
Muhammad, chief executive of Uzeey Ventures, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Kaduna described the business as highly profitable.
He explained that the word Noiler, which was formed from the amalgamation of two words, “Nigeria” and “Broiler,” was an improved chicken breed developed for eggs and meat, to improve the rural economy, as well as provide the protein needs of rural consumers.
The Noiler birds are affordable, enduring, easy to handle, and produce eggs four times more than the native chicken.
Female Noiler birds produce 160 eggs in their lifetime, after which they are sold for their meat, while the male birds mature to table weight quicker than their native counterparts.
The male matures to table weight of between 2.0 to 2.5 kg in 14 weeks, while the native chicken takes 10 months to gain 1.5kg body weight, under similar conditions.
“Most farmers concentrate more on broilers and layers, so, I decided to do something different by growing a special breed known as Noilers; that are disease resistant like our local fowl.
“Unlike broiler, their feed is less expensive as one can formulate his own feed thereby cutting cost, they also have a longer life span than layers and broilers and their eggs are bigger costing N100 each,” Muhammad said.
The farmer said he started the poultry business in 2007, as a side business with layers but later decided to change to the Noiler breed in 2018, saying that things had been easier as he now pays his bills from the business.
Muhammad said he started the business with 50 Noiler day old chicks worth N12,500 but lost 20 of the chicks due to inexperience in their management.
He, however, said that he never gave up and continued with the 30 chicks that grew and began to lay eggs.
Muhammad, who said he had employed five workers, added that he had also trained many other farmers on the business.
“I currently provide incubator service for people who want to hatch their eggs,” he said.
He advised those who planned to venture into the poultry business to always consult experienced poultry farmers and veterinary doctors, so as to avoid mistakes that could lead to losses.
The poultry farmer urged graduates, waiting for white-collar jobs, to venture into agriculture with the little money they have, to become self-reliant and contribute to the nation’s economy. (NAN)
– Mar. 10, 2021 @ 14:55 GMT |
Tags: 000 monthly Kaduna Youth poultry farmer canvasses Noiler breed for income as he rakes N150
