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The Role of Social Networks in the Exchange of Genetic Materials and Productivity of Smallholder IC Farmers: A Case Of Nakuru County, Kenya

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An Msc. Student of Egerton University Mr. Edmond Majoni is studying the role of social networks in exchange of genetic materials and productivity of smallholder IC farmer. The study is being carried out in Nakuru County Kenya.

IC production contributes greatly to the livelihood of majority of rural households in Kenya who are mostly of low income and lack access to proper nutrition. Studies have shown that the potential of IC is yet to be fully achieved and that if this is done most of the rural populace will be lifted out of poverty. One of the ways in which this can be achieved is through the rearing of improved IC breeds which mature faster, weigh more and are disease resistant. This will enable the farmers to improve their productivity and hence their incomes, as a result alleviation of poverty.

There have been numerous attempts of equipping smallholder farmers with improved breeds but unfortunately the rate of adoption by farmers has been very low. Only a few elite farmers have adopted the rearing of these improved breeds despite efforts by research institutions. NGO’s and the government to sensitize the farmers on the benefits of rearing improved breeds. It is not clearly understood why farmers are reluctant to adopt the improved breeds yet it has the potential of improving their production.

However, with the current trend it will be difficult to improve productivity through the improved breeds’ policy unless we are able to clearly understand the behaviours of these farmers in terms of how they acquire their breeds and also where they acquire the breeds from. Unfortunately, there are few or no studies on the behaviour of farmers with regard to the exchange of indigenous chicken genetic materials in Kenya. This study therefore seeks to fill this information gap by analyzing the social networks that govern the behaviours of these farmers. This information will provide vital information that will help policy makers, research organizations as and NGO’s to come up with the best ways of providing improved breeds and other services to smallholder IC farmers.

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of social networks in assisting IC farmers in Nakuru to acquire information about new IC breeds and how these ties related to IC productivity. The specific objectives will comprise studying the role of affiliation networks in acquisition of genetic materials by smallholder indigenous chicken farmers, showing the relationship between farmers’ affiliation networks and information acquisition about new indigenous chicken, examining farmers affiliation networks in relation to support for productivity with new breeds and demonstrating the role of social networks on farmers’ associations with local groups.

The results from the study will benefit major stakeholders in the indigenous chicken sub sector in Kenya, by helping them fully understand the behaviour of farmers hence model technology transfer programs that will be adopted by a majority of the farmers. It will contribute empirically to the literature on social network theory and information exchange, group formation and adoption for increasing technology transfer, in relation to smallholder farmers in a developing country

Poultry Farming

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Chicken make most of domesticated poultry. The business of poultry farming has numerous benefits hence many farmers prefer to invest in it as a business. Many farmers generally engage in poultry farming for the purposes of producing eggs, meat as well as a way of generating revenue. There are many advantages associated with poultry farming.

To begin with Commercial poultry farming business ensures high return of investment within a very short period of time. For instance broilers take a shorter duration of time to mature making them a faster means of generating revenue.

Secondly poultry provides fresh and nutritious food and has a huge global demand. Globally consumers of poultry products prefer them due to their nutrients and freshness. Poultry products are not very expensive hence most of the people can afford them.

Thirdly, marketing poultry products is very easy. There is an already established market for poultry in almost all places. Therefore, one does not have to think about marketing their poultry products since they can easily sell the products in their nearest local market.

Finally poultry farming has over time created income and employment opportunities for most people. Unemployed youth can easily create a source of income and employment through poultry farming. Women and students can also engage in poultry farming along with their daily activities.

Layers are commonly raised for egg production. Chicken kept purposely for commercial egg laying, generally starts laying eggs at the age of 18-20 weeks. Regular egg laying begins at their 25^th week of age. Farmers generally keep the hens for a period of 12 months from their first laying period thereafter, they dispose them. The environmental conditions for layers production are usually controlled by the farmers. Keeping the temperature of the coop moderate comes in handy for better egg production, since they tend to lay more eggs in warmer conditions.

There are different layer farming systems all of which make the productivity of the egg laying bird high. In free range system, the birds are generally left to roam freely throughout the day. One only needs to select a suitable land which has the facilities of adequate drainage system, good ventilation and protection from predators and free from excessive cold, heat and dampness. Excessive dampness, cold and heat usually reduces the poultry productivity.

In battery cage system, small sized metal cages are used. The walls of the cages are generally made of wire mesh or solid metal and the floor is made of sloped wire mesh which allows the faeces to drop on the floor. When the hens lay eggs, all the eggs gather at a collecting conveyor belt of the cage. Food is provided in front of the cages opposite the egg collection point by a long bisected metal or plastic pipe and water is served to them using overhead nipple systems. The cages are arranged in long rows in one above the other. The advantage that this system has is that eggs are easily collected; the hens are easily taken care of and a huge number of hens can be house in a specific space of the coop.

Biogas Plant at InCIP Consortia

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A biogas plant was recently installed at the consortia grounds. The plant which is already operational will make use of chickens’ droppings from the consortia which were initially being disposed to nearby farms as manure.

This new development goes a long way in curbing the problem of waste disposal and ensure the project demonstrate environmental friendly animal production. The gas being produced is useful for brooding purposes.

A biogas works as an anaerobic digester that produces biogas from animal wastes or energy crops. The plant is composed of an airtight container commonly known as the digester, in which the waste is dumped and decomposed, and a tank that harnesses the gases emitted by the slurry commonly known as the gas holder.

Biogas is increasingly preferred to fossil fuels or fuels made from ancient organic matter such as oil and coal. Carbon in small amounts is a vital component of a healthy atmosphere, but becomes problematic when too much of it is added into circulation. However, when it is released through burning of fossil fuels, it raises the carbon concentration. Biogas however, comes from live or recently dead organisms whose carbon content is still within the cycle, so burning these fuels does less to upset the carbon concentration in the atmosphere.

Biogas has a multitude of utilization option and is furthermore storable. As a result biogas is far superior to other renewable energies. Biogas plants can generate power continuously and this is independent of sun, wind and water. In addition, biogas fuel is often preferred to fossil fuels because of its low cost, is a renewable source of energy and uses otherwise wasted materials. Biogas is a real all rounder and with its multitude of utilization options, it is the only renewable energy source that is flexibly utilizable.

A Comparative Analysis of Transaction Costs in Collective and Individual Marketing of IC in Kakamega County, Kenya

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Market institutional support in majority of the Sub Saharan Africa has been poor, leading to thin, imperfect markets coupled with high transaction costs. For majority of actors in the food markets, transaction costs are high in factor and output markets and hence market perfomance is poor. It has been observed that high transaction costs have been undermine the exchange process by cutting down the returns to farmer investments giving rise to atomized rural markets with little rural urban linkage. A lack of rural urban linkage has in turn led to withdrawal of the farmers from the markets and ultimately result to subsistence production which is a low risk investment. Additionally, at times tapping into new commercial opportunities created by market liberalization.

Use of collective action by farmer marketing groups is seen as institutional innovation that reduce transaction costs and enhance market coordination. Realizing the potential of farmer marketing groups in mitigating the effects of imperfect markets by promoting economic coordination in liberalized markets depends on their ability to reduce transaction costs and improve competitiveness. This is achieved by effectively conveying market information, defining and enforcing property rights and mobilizing producers to improve their participation in the markets.

IC rearing has played a major role in the livelihoods of close to 90% of smallholder farmers in Kenya and therefore, overcoming transaction costs may result in higher farm household incomes and ultimately improved livelihoods.With this regard, InCIP conducted a study in Kakamega County of Western Kenya to analyze the sources of transaction costs in market development within the framework of group marketing of indigenous chicken and the contribution of famer marketing groups in reducing these costs. The study was conducted by Mr. Simon Gicheha an Msc student at Egerton University.

Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the differences in transaction costs incurred by farmers at collective and individual marketing. From this study we find out that transaction costs are closely related to the choice for a market arrangement where farmers choose the most rewarding arrangement in terms of expected transaction costs. The transaction costs observed in this study were more of the resultant of the choice made to either participate in IC marketing through farmer marketing groups or at an individual level. A comparative approach was adopted where analysis of variance was used to explain the partial difference between individual and collective marketing of Indigenous Chicken.

Different elements of transaction costs were compared between the two marketing arrangements. A two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was first conducted to test for equality of the distribution function with the results shown in the table below.

Table: A two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test

Elements of transaction costs	D-statistic	P>z
Cost of Bargain	0.26	0.049
Cost of information from NGOs	0.085	0.047
Cost of information from research institute	0.21	0.099
Cost of bargain	0.2617	0.049
Cost of information from radio	0.1858	0.0404
Cost of information from newspapers	0.2308	0.805
Cost of information from NGOs	0.8571	0.047

Transaction costs considered were transport costs, costs of information from different sources and costs of bargain. The costs of bargain was calculated in terms of minutes spent before a transaction was executed and then converted to wage rate per hour. Results showed that group marketing generally incurred lower transaction costs compared to individual marketing. The mean difference between the two marketing arrangements was significant for costs of bargain, transport costs, cost of information from government sources, Non-Governemnetal organizations and newspapers.

	Pooled mean	Collective marketing	Individual marketing	F-test
Bargaining costs	4.9004641 (1.0991036)	4.7734507 (1.1411966)	5.2850325 (.86556222)	6.07**
Information costs from government sources	5.6287564 (0.86338323)	5.1544764 (0.20342193)	6.1030364 (1.1380445)	1.35**
Cost of information from Radio	6.2640609 (1.7511763)	6.2082185 (1.8018472)	6.3633363 (1.6775977)	0.18
Distance to the nearest market	3.039212 (7.741184)	2.435146 (2.5593211)	4.8876 (14.655404)	3.31*
Cost of information from Mobile phones	7.0771692 (0.49692196)	6.8023949 (0.05)	7.1458628 (0.54569514)	0.32
Cost of information from NGOs	5.8681244 (0.8837769)	5.4397121 (0.74148385)	6.617846 (0.57117911)	7.43**
Transport cost	4.8710716 (0.91154527)	4.8547 (0.93592469)	4.9007174 (0.87750773)	0.8067
Cost of information from Newspapers	6.8916378 (1.6122246)	6.6797935 (1.632599)	7.3923605 (1.5170492)	1.53*
Cost of information from Farmer magazines	7.0728083 (1.8950946)	7.0023526 (2.0659049)	7.495542 (0.001)	0.05
Cost of Information from Research Institutions	6.3268522 (0.56218112)	6.2439304 (0.57435119)	6.3527653 (0.57482235)	0.14

¹***Significant at 1%, **5% and *10%

²Standard errors in parentheses.

³f-statistics reported for comparison of transaction costs

⁴Distance measured in Kilometres

Source: Survey data

Collective marketing incurred lower bargaining costs compared to individual marketing. IC Groups have reservation prices at which they sell their chicken based on the information they harbour regarding the prevailing market prices and therefore leave little room for bargaining. This saveson time they spend before reaching an agreement with the buyers. Individual farmers however are relatively flexible and may take more time bargaining with buyers.

Farmers selling their IC in groups faced lower transport costs compared to individual farmers measured in terms of distance to the nearest livestock market. Marketing groups were observed to cover an average distance of 2.4 Km compared to individual farmers who covered an average distance of 4.8 Km. They also reduce the transport costs further by pooling their chicken together and transport to the market as one batch.

Further, farmers marketing in groups were better able to access the market information from government sources. The same applies to private sector support through NGO‘s which prefer to work with groups than individuals. Collective action has been described as taking various forms including the development of institutions, resource mobilization, coordination of activities and most importantly information sharing. There is realisation among the extension service practice that information channeled through groups has more impact in terms of reaching and benefiting a larger number of farmers.

Cost of market information from newspapers was also lower in IC farmer marketing groups incurring an average of Ksh 1 less than individual farmers. Market Information obtained from a newspaper by one farmer is relayed to all the group members as opposed to an individual farmer who has to incur the cost of buying the newspaper alone.

Contracts in marketing of indigenous chicken among the smallholder farmers do not exist and therefore related costs such as contract enforcement and monitoring could not be captured.

The results generally indictate that farmers marketing chicken in groups incurred lower transaction costs than individuals in marketing of IC. This emphasizes the important role played by groups in promoting marketing of IC. Group marketing was effective in relaying market information from majority of information sources to farmers. However, there was no significant differences in the cost of accesing information from radio, phones, research institutions and magazines. This is because, these are the most widely used and accesible sources of information by farmers. The study reccomends the need to improve interactions between research and extension by involving farmers in mechanism through which they gather, obtain and synthesise the available market information to make informed marketing decisions.

One way in which this could be done is through establishment of farmer call centres where farmers can call to enquire a wide range of information on IC. These call centres should be localised to address issues related to a particular agro-ecological situation for example prevalent poultry diseases in a particular area and mitigation mechanisms.

This will create sustainability and also greatly reduce the related costs. Reduced transaction costs reflect a higher margin by chicken farmers which is key to livelihood improvement.

Artificial Insemination in Chicken

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Artificial insemination is the most widely used reproductive technology in the livestock industry. Its adoption in poultry species has increased in popularity, especially in the western countries for research and commercial purposes. In Kenya, this technique is mostly used by poultry research and breeding centres. However, there are scenarios in which commercial poultry farmers may benefit from artificial insemination in poultry:

· In broilers, the males have extreme body conformation, broad bodies and short legs, which hinder natural mating. Also, as the selection for faster growth rates in broilers is intensified, fertility in males is likely to decline due to the negative relationship between growth and fertility. Application of AI in such scenarios is cost effective in broiler breeding management.

· AI allows for incompatible individuals to mate; incompatibility arises when males are heavier than females and under natural mating this may result to injury of the females.

· AI allows for better use of the cage feeding system in hatchery operations, especially when dealing with large number of females that are required to lay fertilized eggs.

· AI allows for one male of high genetic merit for a particular trait of interest to serve more females therefore, increases the number of offspring per cock compared to natural mating which is limited to a mating ratio of 1male:10 females.

Artificial insemination in chicken requires one to understand the basic anatomy and physiology of the hen’s and the cock’s reproductive tract. In addition to this one must be technically competent with the semen collection and deposition procedures in order to achieve effectiveness in producing fertilized eggs.

Semen collection procedures

Handling and abdominal massage of the cock

Prior to semen collection, cocks need to be trained and this is achieved through abdominal and back massage for about a minute for 3 days, consecutively. The abdominal massage method is the most commonly used since it is non-invasive and has minimal stress on the cock. The procedure involves restraining the male, followed by gentle but rapid stroking of the abdomen and back region (testes are located in this region) towards the tail. This stimulates the copulatory organ causing it to protrude. At this point, the handler quickly pushes the tail forward with one hand and, at the same time, using the thumb and forefinger of the same hand to gently squeeze the region surrounding the sides of the cloaca to “milk” semen from the ducts of the copulatory organ. Semen may then be collected in a small tube or any cup-like container. This procedure is repeated twice, once a day; an additional round may cause damage to the testes and cloacal region.

Squeezing of the cloacal surrounding to milk semen from the copulatory duct The volume of semen that can be collected from a single cock ranges from about 0.7 to 1.0 ml, with a spermatozoon concentration of 3 to 4 billion/ml. However, the quantity of semen depends on genetics and environmental factors such as age, bodyweight, season and nutrition. The degree to which the male will respond to the abdominal massage technique and the pressure applied on the ejaculatory ducts will also influence the quantity of semen produced. Chicken semen begins to lose fertilizing ability when stored for more than 1 hour; therefore it must be deposited in the hen within the 1 hour of collection. In the case of short-term storage and transportation of the semen, it is necessary to use liquid cold (4⁰c) storage to maintain spermatozoa viability for up to 24 hours.

Semen deposition procedure

Cloacal evertion Vaginal insemination is commonly used for semen deposition as there are less risks of injury the hen. Preliminary stroking and massaging of the back and abdomen is required to stimulate the hen. This is followed by applying pressure to the left side of the hen’s abdomen around the vent causing evertion of the cloaca hence protrusion of the vaginal orifice. An inseminator containing the semen is inserted 2.5 cm deep into this opening for semen to be deposited. As the semen is expelled by the inseminator, pressure around the vent is released, so that the oviduct can return to its normal position and draw the semen inwards to the utero-vaginal junction. Inseminators such as straws, syringes or plastic tubes may be used. During insemination, the volume of semen required per hen is about 0.1ml which contains about 100 to 200 million sperms. Timing of the insemination should be considered. It is best to inseminate hens in the late afternoon (2:00pm and 4:00pm), since in the morning hours hens may have an egg in the oviduct, making it difficult for the sperm to swim up to the ovary. A significant feature of the reproductive physiology of the hen is her ability to store fertile spermatozoa for up to 14 days in the sperm storage tubules located at the utero-vaginal junction. The tubules release the semen, slowly over time, which swim to the fertilization site and therefore allows for hens to be inseminated consecutively for two days for the first time, and thereafter at regular intervals of 14 days. Twenty-four hours after insemination, egg-breakout analysis is carried out to determine egg fertility.

semen deposition in the female Currently, the Smallholder Indigenous Chicken Improvement Program (InCIP) – research unit at Egerton University offers training to interested farmers on the artificial insemination in poultry. The training does not require any background on poultry science, just an individual’s interest. This is because the training covers the fundamentals of the reproductive anatomy and physiology of the male and female, at a theoretical and practical level. Thereafter, the trainees are taken through a practical lesson on semen collection and deposition techniques, and egg fertility analysis. The training takes a period of two weeks and the expectation at the end of it is that individuals have the capacity to carry out semen collection from males (abdominal massage, semen milking and semen handling), semen deposition in females (cloacal evertion, semen deposition) and differentiate fertile eggs from infertile eggs.

Story by Sophie miyumo (research assistant at InCIP-research unit, Egerton University)

DR. M. Ambula Facilitates IC Handbook Preparation Workshop

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Dr. M Ambula from Egerton University facilitated Indigenous Chicken (IC) module preparation exercise which was held in Malawi on 13th and 14th of January, 2014. Dr. Ambula will lead the ongoing work which will produce a training module for IC farmers. The exercise is a task that contributes towards activities 3 and 4 of InCIP.

The module will incorporate all aspects of IC production from production to processing. This is particularly intended for the Sub-Saharan Africa region. The process is participatory in nature and involves IC practitioners, scientists and farmers who interacted through presentations and detailed discussion of case studies from Malawi and Kenya.

Dr. Ambula and the Malawi InCIP technical team observed several challenges facing IC but key among them was breeding strategies and this requires innovative interventions for improved performance of IC among smallholder farmers.

Benefits of Breeding for Disease Resistance in IC

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Productivity of this chicken is varied due to genetic diversity and variation in production environment. The predominant production system in most rural areas is extensive management system characterized by scavenging, little or absence of immunization programs, increased disease and predators’ exposure to birds, uncontrolled natural mating and hatching of eggs by broody hens.

The extensive management system has the unfortunate consequences including heavy infestation with coccidian and other Helminthes, frequent Gumboro and Newcastle diseases outbreak that inflict the major economic loss and compromise production.

The strategy to control these diseases has been majorly vaccination which is rarely practiced by the resource poor rural farmers.

And for the few indigenous chicken keepers who vaccinate, the effectiveness of vaccination is limiting due to a plethora of different pathogens and continual shift of pathogen epitopes.

Use of drugs by farmers for prophylaxis purposes especially upon diseases outbreaks has raised concern to consumers due to risk of antibiotic resistance and allergies caused by carry-overs effects.

This calls for breeding for enhanced immunity of indigenous chicken that can resist infection and meet farmers’ and consumer’s expectation. InCIP is therefore in forefront of achieving this through the PhD research of Mr. J. Khobondo who is registered at Egerton University.

InCIP has realized that the possibility of genetically improving chicken resistance constitutes an attractive alternative for both the industry and consumers.

The positive attributes for such endeavours include improved food security nationally, economical empowerment of women and the village poor as envisaged in the Kenyan Vision 2030 policy paper.

Besides, genetic selection for enhanced immunity has been suggested as a safe and logical tool to reduce infectious diseases’ problems in animals worldwide.

This method could be an effective way to improve the innate and correlated acquired ability to respond to antigenic challenges and aid in generation of more disease resistant IC against a wide pathogens base under different environmental conditions.

The sustainability of this method is robust; the gain in efficient immune response and disease resistance may be transferred to subsequent and future generation until fixation point.

Breeding for disease resistance will reduce the inputs required by commercial and small scale holder farmers to maintain IC since the flocks will be more efficient and disease resistant.

This will culminate in high profit margins. InCIP has therefore initiated a noble scheme to breed for hardy chicken that will at least survive the disease outbreaks and maintain high production. The science has just started.

Study on the Different Ecotypes of Indigenous Chicken

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This study was carried out by Mr. Kiplagat Ngeno, a PhD student at Wageningen University. A high performing ecotype was identified amongst many other characteristics. This included studies on:

A. Genetic Diversity and MHC Region Variability in Indigenous Chicken

A study was conducted to investigate genetic diversity and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) region in indigenous chicken (IC) ecotypes in Kenya.

Blood samples were collected from eight counties of Kenya, namely; Kakamega and Siaya in the Western region, West Pokot and Turkana in North Rift, Bomet and Narok in South Rift, Lamu and Taita-Taveta in coastal region.

Blood samples were genotyped with twelve microsatellite markers. In total, 140 alleles were detected. Indegenious Chicken

All markers were polymorphic with 11.58 (range: 6 to 46) mean number of alleles per markers. Inbreeding coefficients for over-all population (Fit) was 0.056. Pair-wise coefficient of inbreeding between populations (Fst) estimates varied between 0.001 and 0.1 with an average of 0.03.

AMOVA revealed a high within ecotype variation (97%).

The chicken MHC marker LEI0258 revealed 46 alleles and this indicates that IC host many and highly diverse alleles which are associated with disease and parasite tolerance.

Therefore their conservation needs to be prioritized to maintain such a diverse MHC gene pool for the current and future development of chicken. Clustering analysis indicated a clear ecotype subdivision into three genetically distinct groups.

Two main population clusters indicated by ad hoc statistic ΔK, posterior probability (Ln P (D)) of the data and PCoA are Lamu (one cluster), Taita-Taveta (second cluster) and populations from Kakamega, West Pokot, Turkana, Bomet, Narok and Siaya a third cluster.

Quantification of genetic diversity is useful to policy makers and other stakeholders in determining priorities for conservation, utilization, management and genetic improvement.

B. Consumers’ Preference and Behavior Towards Indigenous Chicken Meat and Eggs

A study was conducted to determine consumers’ preferences and behaviour towards indigenous chicken (IC) meat and eggs.

Survey data obtained from consumers from three regions of Kenya were analysed to identify consumers’ preferences towards IC meat and eggs.

A principal component analysis technique was used to extract principal components that explained the maximum variance within the data.

Consumer clusters were defined in accordance with their preferences and behaviour using cluster analysis. Indegenious Chicken

Results indicated that sex of the chicken, bodyweight, tenderness, flavour, juiciness, salt content, meat colour, smell, fat and price were the most important sources of variation influencing the preferences and behaviour of IC meat consumers.

Based on magnitude and sign, five meat preference clusters were non-specific, fat, weight, sex-tenderness and meat-quality sensitive consumers.

For eggs, two clusters were egg size and egg yolk colour sensitive consumers.

Through identification of the IC meat and egg preferences, producers and breeders can understand and respond to consumer preferences more efficiently and allow segmentation of market as well as increasing competitiveness.

C. Morphological Features and Attributes of Indigenous Chicken Ecotype Population of Kenya

A study was carried out which characterized indigenous chickens (IC) ecotypes morphologically and described attributes of their different body plumage colours towards disease resistance, mothering ability, camouflaging, broodiness and meat, and egg production.

Five IC ecotypes were studied; Kakamega, Siaya, West Pokot, Narok and Bomet. Data on morphological features and attributes of different body plumage colours were collected from 1580 chickens.

Results revealed that, proportion of black, black-white striped, brown and red body plumage colours were significantly different (P<0.05) between the ecotypes.

Normal feathered chickens were dominant (>90%) over frizzled. However, statistical analysis revealed that feather morphology between the ecotypes is not significantly different. Distribution of body feathers were significantly different (P<0.05) between ecotypes.

Results showed that majority of IC population have different shank and skin colours. Comb types across ecotypes varied significantly (P<0.001) and dominated by single comb (>83%).

Indegenious Chicken Eye colours varied significantly (P<0.001) within ecotypes unlike between the populations.
The widely distributed eye colour was orange (>62%).

Zoometric measurements were significantly different between ecotypes (P<0.05).

Body plumage colours were attributed to disease resistance, mothering ability, camouflaging and broodiness, meat and egg production difference, depending on the region.

In conclusion, IC ecotypes studied are heterogeneous population with huge variability in morphological features without standard phenotypic characteristics.

Feeding Strategies for Selected Ecotypes

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Activity 2 tasks 5 of InCIP is on evaluation of indigenous chicken feeding strategies for selected ecotypes. This has been effectively attained to a great level with only a few steps left for its completion.

Jesse Gakige an MSc student at Egerton University has facilitated the attainment of this task. His work is majorly on the effects of targeted phase supplementary feeding on performance of scavenging ecotypes of indigenous chicken in Kenya.

The main objectives of the study being to determine the effect of supplementary feeding at exponential growth phase on mature weight, evaluate effect of feed intake, feed conversion efficiency and ecotypes on weight and gain.

The morphological characteristics of the gut of the ecotypes at different growth phases will be examined. All the data collection has been done and he has embarked on writing a thesis on the same.

At the end of the study period, organoleptic tests will be conducted to examine the effects of treatments on meat quality.

The end result of this study will be to provide a scientific basis for feeding strategies that will exploit the physiological adaptations induced by the requirements for improved growth rate.

My Experience Working at InCIP

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Brian Oketch, a third year Bachelor of Arts (Economics and Mathematics) student at Egerton University has been working at InCIP as an office assistant for quite a period of time.

It is no doubt that InCIP has inculcated good values and morals such as discipline, in students more specifically those in the Faculty of Agriculture. It has empowered most of the students to be more of job creators than job seekers in this world of gross unemployment.

“Being my first job, it is a memorable thing in my life. I started working at InCIP in February, 2013. During this 8 months period, I have learnt life lessons of sacrifice and responsibility.

At the beginning of my job, I was really excited to learn and know about my duties and responsibilities in the project. Though, at the beginning I had so many challenges, thanks to my colleagues who helped me whenever I encountered difficulty.

With their help I am now able to meet my daily activities with ease. I was taught how to handle office equipments and documents more efficiently and to communicate with people in an official way.

I am grateful that working at InCIP has given me the opportunity to develop my communication skills and self confidence. At InCIP, I met the Project Director Prof A.K Kahi, who has been a mentor, trainer and a friend.

He is friendly and kind and has passion for young people’s talent and has always offered assistance whenever needed. Working for this project has made me appreciate and develop an interest in agriculture. I consider this a great advancement and achievement”.