Bird Dreams (LOH #247)

I don’t know if I wrote about it last year but I reared a couple of chickens. Mom and I decided to try raising our chickens like many others do here. I have to say, that was the best decision of my life. A blessing in disguise.

Two things happened. We lost more than half of the chicks and only one survived. That taught me a very big lesson. You can’t be too prepared in regards to things you do not know.

The second thing that happened was the fat growth of the survivor. Its name was Doodle and Doodle grew ten times in size than its mates that when I took it to the slaughter, a couple of people taught she was a turkey. The others taught she was about four or five months when in reality she was a little less than three months.

This gave me an idea immediately. I thought, why not begin a poultry farm? You see, I had to ask questions like how do I begin? Where do I start? Is it something I can do? Yes, I lost three out of the four of them but there was still a positive outcome. When the meat entered the pot, it was like having three chickens inside it.

There was not even a trace of fat in it and this was noticed by the people who watched it get slaughtered that day. They asked where I bought mine so they can buy. I told them I raised it and the look of surprises on their faces was absolutely stunning! Ha! I didn’t tell them I lost more than half, of course.

So, something happened this year. My cousin came over to join us and our current apartment became too small for all of us. I told mom that I won’t renew the rent here and instead set out to look for a bigger place. We settled on a two bedroom flat and like a sign, there is a goat pen here. The compound is extremely large and spacious, perfect for poultry business.

I wanted to convert the pen into a chicken pen but I remembered that the place might be infested and it was way too covered. So, I decided to take it off instead and rebuild a new one. The previous tenant reared goats there.

This was like the sign I needed. I immediately set an appointment with a vet (poultry specialist) so I could start learning what I should about poultry. I don’t need to lose anymore. I was told when I pay the necessary fees, they would create a caging system for me and give me the right feed to use. They would also prescribe me the right medication and tell me all I need to know about it. Apart from helping me start up, they would teach me other things like how to cut cost and show me ways to go about maximising my profit. I thought this was a nice package.

This is just adding more to what I already have. Mom and I have decided that apart from food, we would branch into poultry farming. The goal is to start very small with as low as 8 - 10 chickens depending on personal capacity and local regulations. I should be going there this Thursday.

This concludes my new plan for this year. I have no idea how this would go. Like someone said, “Poultry is a very good business. You either get rich or become homeless. You can’t be in-between”. I felt that.