Kari improved kienyeji chicken is a kenyan chicken breed by KARI (kenya agricultural research institute) now KARLO.
The researchers carried out the experiment in the year 2002 , where their main goal was to produce indigenous chicken breed but with high value in egg and meat production.while also making sure the breed matures faster as compared to indigenous one.
Kari improved is a result of crossbreeding between indigenous chickens which had good characteristics.
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Advantages of rearing Kari improved kienyeji
Matures very fast
If you need a good breed which will not drain your pockets before giving you returns, then Kari is your friend.
This breed when fed well , it only takes just four months to mature and start laying eggs.
In addition to laying eggs, the breed also gains a lot of weight which can go up to 5kg for roosters and 4kg for hens.
In comparison to indigenous chickens, Kari improved are huge birds.
Eggs production
The best advantage of this breed is consistency in production of eggs.
Kari can produce 250 to 300 eggs in a period of one year.Furthermore it’s laying cycle can last up to 3 and half years thereby helping in maximising profits.
High level of disease resistance
Since it’s crossbred between the best quality indigenous chicken, it’s no surprise as to why Kari is not easily attacked by some common chicken diseases.
For any chicken business to flourish, managed mortality of your flocks or none is a key factor to success.
However, good feeding programme and strict adherence to vaccination schedule is important to manage mortality rate.
Tolerant to adverse climatic conditions
You don’t have to worry about adverse weather conditions since Kari’s one of it’s major characteristic is to easily adapt to any climatic condition and surprisingly maintain it’s production rate.
Good scavenging characteristics
If for once you find your pockets drying up or tired of buying commercial feeds , Kari can be left in the open and feed for itself.
Though the level of production will automatically depreciate if this is done for a long time.
Building of Kari improved chicken house
When building a house for your chicken security of the flocks should be seriously taken into consideration.
I have seen farmers not caring about chicken security and thereby building sub standard chicken houses.
Due to high prevalence of predators which attacks and kills chicken , it’s highly recommended to build a good shelter with either iron sheets or bricks and stones.
Spacing is also taken into consideration as too congested room might cause stress and low production rate.
Excellent ventilation is must since chickens requires good air circulation for good health.
Regular cleaning of chicken coop is also required to minimise diseases from your flocks.
Feeding programme per one bird
| Age | Per day/bird |
|---|---|
| 1 week | 13 - 15 g |
| 2 weeks | 15 - 20 g |
| 3 weeks | 20 - 35 g |
| 4 - 6 weeks | 35 - 50 g |
| 7 - 8 weeks | 55 - 60 g |
| 9 - 15 weeks | 62 - 67 g |
| 16 - 27 weeks | 68 - 80 g |
| Above 28 weeks | 120 - 140 g |
Vaccination schedule
| Age | Vaccine | Mode of Administration |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Mareks | Done at hatchery |
| Day 2 - 6 | Multi vitamins Liquid paraffin Mild antibiotics | Drinking water |
| Week 1 | Newcastle | Oral/eye drop |
| Week 2 | Gumboro Dose 1 | Drinking water |
| Week 3 | Gumboro Dose 2 | Drinking water |
| Week 4 | Newcastle | Oral / eye drop |
| Week 6 | Fowl pox | Wing stab |
| Week 8 | Fowl typhoid | Thigh muscle stab |
| Week 16 | Deworm | Drinking water |