The Kuroiler chicken as a means of

reducing poverty and providing

nutritional security in Uganda

*

D. K. N. Semambo

Mary Concepta Mbabazi*

Jagdev Sharma**

Mbabazi M. C.*

*NAGRC (please spell)

**Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ U.S.A.

jms1

Slide 1

jms1 jmsharma, 5/15/2013

BACKGROUND OF POULTRY INDUSTRY

IN UGANDA

• Poultry integral part of rural households(food,

income and social roles

• Poultry population of 42m (88% indigenous

and 12% exotic)

• Kuroiler project initiated in Uganda in 2009

Village Flock Production

• Production inadequate to meet nutritional

and economic needs of an average family

• Production remains poor despite effort to

increase production

Approaches used to improve

poultry

• Improve management

• Creep feeding

• Reduce brooding period

• Introduce high producing cock

• Introduce hybrid exotic birs

• Selection within flocks for better produced

• Control of Newcastle disease

Advantages of Kuroiler chickens

• Kuroiler is a hybrid chicken suitable for village

environment

• Dual purpose

• Phenotypically similar to local indigenous

chickens

• Hen lays 200 (vs 40) eggs, males weigh 3+ kg

(vs 1.5 -2.0 kg)

• Distributed to over 1 m rural households in

India

Is Kuroiler suitable for rural Africa?

• A pilot trial in Uganda compared the

performance of indigenous and Kuroiler

chickens under identical scavenging conditions

• The trial was a collaboration between Arizona

State University, National Animal Genetic

Resource Centre and Databank and Keggfarms

Summary of the trial protocol

• Local and Kuroiler fertile eggs hatched in Entebbe

• Wing-banded, vaccinated (NDV, IBDV, MDV) and

brooded for 3 weeks

• Ten local and 10 Kuroiler chickens distributed to

100 families in 5 districts and raised as scavangers

• Data collected on mortality, weight gain, egg

production, sale price and quality of meat

• Farmer feedback at the end of the trial

Results of the Kuroiler Trial

• Hatching results

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

total eggs set Fertile eggs set

Pe

rce

nta

ge

ha

tch

ed

Eggs set

Percentage hatched of the total and fertile eggs set

Kuroiler

Indigenous

Growth rates

Growth rates

Growth rates Kuroiler vs. Ugandan Indigenous Size Comparison

Both chickens were 7-week-old hatchmates and were raised in

Entebbe in confinement with access to feed.

Egg production

Farmers perception and experience

• Taste of Kkuroiler meat - tastes better – 78.9%

• Texture of meat - soft – 75%

• Meat :bone ratio – better 90.8 %

• Size of Kuroiler eggs – are larger 92%

Conclusions from the Trial

• Kuroiler can survive and produce under

Ugandan conditions

• Outperformed local chickens :meat and eggs

• Co-existed peacefully with local chickens

• Did not introduce new exotic diseases

• Not more vulnerable than local to predator

• Majority of farmer preferred Kuroiler meat to

indigenous chicken

Sponsored Kuroiler Project: Phase I

Initiated August, 2012

• The vision is to reduce poverty and to improve

the quality of life for impoverished rural

households in Uganda

• accomplished in Uganda in two stages:

– fertile Kuroiler eggs imported and hatched in

Entebbe

– importation of Kuroiler parent stock

– Brooding hatched chicks for 3 weeks in mother

units

Kuroiler Distribution System for Rural Uganda

Day-old Kuroilers

produced by the

parent flock will be

sold to a dealer

Dealer will transport

and sell day-old

chicks to mother

units located near

target villages

Mother unit owners

will sell 3-week-old

chickens to local

vendors

Local vendors will deliver

(on foot or bicycle) and

sell chickens to village

households

Households will raise

birds, consume eggs and

meat

Households will sell

surplus at the village

market

Income

Income

Income

Income

Better

Nutrition

Income

Kuroiler Project Milestones

• By Year 2, serve 100,000 rural families or

700,000 persons

• Each family to produce twice the amount of

meat and four times the number of eggs

• Hold 4-6 women empowerment workshops on

family nutrition, poultry rearing, income

generation and money management

Estimated Production of Eggs, Meat and Income from

Family Chicken Flocks in Rural Uganda:ITEM INDIGENOUS CHICKENS KUROILER CHICKENS

Starting Flock size (vaccinated) 20 20

Purchase price for day-old

chick*

$3 (20 @0.15/bird) Not Applicable

Purchase price for 3-week-old

chickens

Not Applicable $45.00 (20 @$2.25/bird)

Mortality 40% 10%

Remaining chickens 12 (6 males, 6 females) 18 (9 males, 9 females)

Weight of male at 5-months 2.0kg 3.5kg

Males consumed by family 3 (Total weight 6kg) 4 (Total weight 14kg)**

Males sold at 5 months of age 3 5

Sale price for males at 5 months

of age

$8.40 ($1.40/kg) $24.50 ($1.40/kg)

Eggs laid per female per year 40 150

Total eggs laid by all females per

year

240 1,350

Eggs consumed by family (50%) 120 675**

Number of eggs used to

perpetuate family flock

80 (25% hatch) 0

Sale price of remaining eggs $4.00 (40 eggs @$0.10/egg) $67.5 (675 eggs @0.10/egg)

Weight of spent hen 1.0kg 2.5kg

Sale price of spent hens

($1.4/kg)

$8.40 $31.50

Profit per flock per year $17.80 (8.4+4+8.4-3)*** $78.50 (24.5+67.50+31.50-

45)**

Anticipated benefits of Kuroiler distribution in

Uganda.

Accomplishments of the project

• Imported 85,000 day old chicks

• Imported 6000 parents stock and importing

15,000 hatching eggs fortnightly

• Expecting to produce 2.7million day old

chicks starting from November

• Expecting to acquire grandparent stock to be

located in an identified centre.