Egg production rate is one indicator of a flock’s performance. In this article we present a study that we undertook to measure the egg production rate for pure Kienyeji chicken.
In 30 days, we got
- A 20% – 80% EPR
- An average of 48.39% EPR
- An estimate of 160 – 170 / hen / year
Kienyeji chicken is a poultry breed reared in parts of East Africa. It is particularly common in Kenya and neighbouring countries, although the strains may differ.
Some reasons that make the Kienyeji chicken popular is their high resistance to disease. Additionally, they are quite resilient and can be raised as free range chicken without any feed supplementation. Furthermore, the breed is a special delicacy and its egg and meat products sell for higher value in contrast to graded breeds.
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Measuring Kienyeji egg production rate
Although the Kienyeji chicken are very popular, not much is known about their egg productivity.
We’ve already posed the question to a number of Kienyeji farmers but no one has given a definitive answer. Moreover, so far, no one has been able to definitely tell us where the pure Kienyeji breed is originally from.
In contrast, there is some data on improved kienyeji breeds, but in our opinion, based on actual EPR data, data on pure kienyeji is either not reported or is significantly under reported.
| Kienyeji strain | Eggs laid per year | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Pure Kienyeji | 160 – 170* | Kukufarm [1] |
| Kari improved kienyeji Kenbro Pure Kienyeji | 180 – 240 240 – 300 36 – 120 | Daily Nation [2] |
| Kari improved kienyeji Kuroiler Pure Kienyeji | 220 – 250 150 – 200 40 – 100 | Bizna kenya [2] |
NB:
- This is a projection of egg production rate (EPR) based on a actual data where the EPR about 48.39%
- We do not ascertain the correctness of the data since there is no actual flock records. Furthermore, there are no verifiable sources or references
One of the things that we wanted poultry farmers to do with Kukufarm was to track the egg production rate of their flocks.
However, we have been so curious about the egg production rate of Kienyeji chicken that we decided to actually do the study ourselves.
Method
In this section we present the flock management aspects that we implemented for the study. These include the flock’s age, poultry system, feed type, and broodiness handling.
We commenced the EPR data logging from 29 July 2024 to 27 Aug 2024. However, our flock management methods remained unchanged, from what they had been before the study.
Flock size and age
The study Kienyeji-flock has 18 birds, 15 of which are hens and the rest 3 are roosters.
The flock was actually hatched in 2 batches. Firstly was a batch hatched on 10 Oct 2023, and the other batch was hatched a mere 6 days later, on the 16 Oct 2023.
We therefore do not differentiate the two batches. We consider the 6 days a small difference to count.
Poultry system
The 18 bird Kienyeji flock is raised on a semi intensive poultry system. This means that the flock spends part of the day, usually the mornings, in the coop, and then spends the afternoons outside, at least 3 days a week.
The coop has a small litter box where the birds do dust bathing. However, we keep the rest of coop litter free to keep down the dust. Furthermore, the chicken dust bathe when they venture outdoors.
Feed
We feed the flock a mixture of Kienyeji mash and (grade) layers mash. Essentially, we buy 2 sacks of 70kg of each, and then mix them together on a 1:1 ratio. We also dry egg shells, which we crush and mix with the feeds.
In our case, the 140kg of feed lasts our flock about 3.5 months. That is, 140,000g for 105 days. This comes down to about 1,333g / day for the flock. Essentially that’s about 74g / bird / day.
| Amt of poultry feed consumed |
|---|
| 74 grams / bird / day |
Moreover, since we use the semi intensive system, the flock also feeds on vegetation, bugs and so on, when they are outside. Additionally, we also feed them sukuma wiki, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and food scraps.
FYI we do not buy the usually expensive starter feeds or chick mash variety. We raise our chicks on the same feeds.
Broody chicken
From our knowledge, Kienyeji hens lay X number of eggs and then become broody. Essentially, when a hen becomes broody it does not lay any eggs.
In our case, we separate a broody hen from the rest of the flock in order to break the broodiness. However, we also assume that it takes some time for a hen to start laying eggs again after it has broken off its broodiness. We do not know exactly how long that is.
Our identification and handling of broody hens happens at dusk. Typically, hens lay egg from morning to early afternoon hours. As a result, a hen sitting in a nesting box at 19:00 hours is our criteria for identifying it as broody.
We made note of hens that became broody so that we could have more contextual data of the flock’s productivity.
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Results
Average EPR: 48.39%
For once, we have EPR data on Kienyeji chicken. Surprisingly, this is quite high to the common assumption that Kienyeji hens have very poor egg production rates (EPR). See the details below.
| On a 30 day period (29 Jul – 27 Aug) we collected 225 eggs |
| Least collection in a day was 3 eggs – 20% EPR |
| Highest collection in a day was 12 eggs – 80% EPR |
| Average egg production rate in 30 days was 48.39% |
| Our Est. based on the average EPR suggests 160 – 170eggs / bird / year |
See the actual data as recorded on Kukufarm app.
Raw Data
| Date | Eggs collected | Broody hens |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Jul 2024 | 10 | |
| 30 Jul 2024 | 11 | |
| 31 Jul 2024 | 12 | |
| 01 Aug 2024 | 6 | 1 |
| 02 Aug 2024 | 11 | 1 |
| 03 Aug 2024 | 12 | 2 |
| 04 Aug 2024 | 6 | 4 |
| 05 Aug 2024 | 9 | 3 |
| 06 Aug 2024 | 6 | 3 |
| 07 Aug 2024 | 6 | 1 |
| 08 Aug 2024 | 7 | 1 |
| 09 Aug 2024 | 4 | 4 |
| 10 Aug 2024 | 7 | |
| 11 Aug 2024 | 3 | 3 |
| 12 Aug 2024 | 5 | |
| 13 Aug 2024 | 6 | 1 |
| 14 Aug 2024 | 7 | 1 |
| 15 Aug 2024 | 3 | |
| 16 Aug 2024 | 8 | |
| 17 Aug 2024 | 7 | |
| 18 Aug 2024 | 11 | |
| 19 Aug 2024 | 7 | 1 |
| 20 Aug 2024 | 7 | 1 |
| 21 Aug 2024 | 8 | 2 |
| 22 Aug 2024 | 8 | 2 |
| 23 Aug 2024 | 7 | 1 |
| 24 Aug 2024 | 7 | 1 |
| 25 Aug 2024 | 9 | |
| 26 Aug 2024 | 6 | |
| 27 Aug 2024 | 9 | |
Analysis
Poultry systems and nutrition
As far as we can tell, poultry systems can have an impact on egg production rate. However, we do not think that our system negatively affects our chickens productivity.
However, we do assume that the timing when the hens are let outside can affect their EPR. That is, if they are fed and can go outside already in the morning, this can result in a drop in egg production.
Moreover, we suspect that a Kienyeji flock fed purely on grade-layers feeds may have a higher egg productivity rate. Our assumption is that typical Kienyeji feeds are deficient of important nutrients and are therefore not suited for optimal health and productivity.
Broodiness handling
If you’re looking to raise a kienyeji flock primarily for egg production, you need to be very observant of your hens.
Essentially this means that you need to handle broody hens in a way that they break from their broodiness as fast as possible. Moreover, it is important to do so while imparting as minimal stress to the hen as possible.
Egg production – brooding cycle
There is so much we do not know about the egg production and brooding cycle of a pure Kienyeji chicken. The table summarises our assumptions:
| Egg production – brooding cycle phase | Number of days |
|---|---|
| 1. Hen lays X eggs X = egg-chain length + Y days Y = number of days a hen does not lay eggs but still has eggs in its egg-chain | X + Y |
| 2. Start of broodiness (Hen becomes broody after laying all eggs in its egg-chain) | |
| 3. Breaking broodiness If broodiness is not handled correctly, a hen can continue being unnecessarily broody for too long | 1 – 3 |
| 4. Hen develops new egg-chain After the development of a new egg-chain, a hen will thereafter resume laying eggs | Z |
As we have already mentioned, we usually separate a broody hen from the flock and in that time only allow them to forage. As a result, within 2 – 3 days, the chicken breaks its broodiness.
In the cold season, 1 day can do the trick. We recommend you have a folding unit so broody chicken can still keep safe when separated from the flock. Prolonged and unnecessary broodiness will result in an unnecessarily low EPR.
It is also worth noting that broodiness tends to spread in a flock. That is, if you do not separate a broody hen from the rest of the flock, in a few days you will find that more hens have become broody. However, if you separate the broody hen, you can manage to keep the number of broody hens on a minimum.
Weather
Although we conducted the study in August, which is usually a cold season, we do not think it was cold enough to affect the hens productivity.
In addition, it is our assumption that extreme cold or hot weather can negatively affect the egg production rate of kienyeji chicken. However, we do not have any data on this.
Ask for EPR data OR collect it yourself
As a rule of thumb, if you’re doing research on which Kienyeji strain to raise, do not make your decision based on hearsay. Ask for actual EPR data or benchmarks. Essentially, it is not enough that a seller or hatchery gives you some number, go and talk to farmers in your neighbourhood and get actual numbers.
Do not buy a poultry flock based on hearsay, ask for actual flock performance data!
Lastly but not least, we would like to invite other farmers and poultry enthusiasts to carry out their own studies so we can have more data on the productivity of Kienyeji chicken.
Importantly still, you can now do your own research. Download Kukufarm and start keeping flock records. Poultry records will make you a data based poultry farmer and you will find yourself making data based farming decisions.
Flock management
The general sentiment with pure kienyeji poultry farming is that it is done as a hobbyist activity. As a result not enough attention is paid into raising a pure kienyeji flock in comparison to hybrid flocks.
In our view, if you want to achieve optimal EPR and productivity with your flock, you have to be attentive to your flock management methods. Otherwise, your flock productivity will be low.
Kienyeji hens are profitable
Based on our findings, we have come to the conclusion that Kienyeji hens farming is a profitable venture.
From our maths, with only 15 hens, you can easily make KSH 2,000 a month without breaking a sweat.
The only thing you need to pay attention to, is flock management. These include feeding, breaking broodiness as quickly as possible, and keeping your flock safe and stress free.
For instance, you should feed your chicken around the same time everyday. If your feeding time is 07:00 hours, try to stick to that. Changing flock feeding time can stress your hens and negatively affect EPR
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What has been your EPR experience with pure Kienyeji or other Kienyeji strains? Let us know in the comments section below.