The Kuku Project: Raising my own chicken
- Vera
- Jun 20, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: Jul 22, 2019
This is certainly a blog post I never thought I’d write. Ifakara offers many things amongst delicious exotic fruits, friendly welcoming people and streets filled with small shops and colourful cloths.
Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to find the perfect daily after-work activity. Therefore, I decided to find myself a project to keep me busy whilst I am not working. The idea of building a chicken run came to me when one morning I walked outside in our garden and I observed the neighbour’s chickens pecking away in his garden.
The most important pro-argument was the idea of having a sustainable and organic source of fresh eggs. Luckily, my father is a chicken whisperer and has a lot of knowledge on how to care for them and that’s why I decided to just go for it.
First things first, I went into town with my Swahili teacher and looked for a carpenter (his name is Hussein) who would help me build a chicken shed/coop. We agreed on a price for the materials and the work itself and we exchanged phone numbers.
The day after he came to the house and together we built the wire fence on the top of the house and put in some floor boards (according to my father it is very important that the chicken house stays dry and has no puddles). Since Hussein worked so hard in the sun and was very patient with my beginner Swahili, I treated him for some fruit juice and a home cooked meal.
On the second day of building we finished the door and replaced one of the old walls of the cabin.
Now that the shed is finished and the garden is well fenced, it was time to furnish the chicken house. According to my father, the essentials are a soft and dry floor of hay or dried grass and obviously a nest for the eggs.
The nest I bought from Dr. Anna's nanny, Agnes, and the dried grass I cut myself from our own garden lawn and dried it in the sun.
The moment has come: everything was ready to get the chickens. My favourite nurse at the hospital, Mama Chale, offered to give me some of her own grown chicken who would already lay eggs so that I could really make the most of them whilst I was living here.
The first portion of food was kindly provided by Stefan although I hope that in the future the chickens will help me decompose the left-over veggies, fruits and greens.
So let me introduce to you: Lulu (Pearl), Uzuri (Beauty) and Bwana (Mister/Mr.).
Two days ago was the first night they spent in their new home. Although quite nervous at first they soon settled into their new cozy home.
The first evening was the hardest for them and for me. Ideally when the sun goes down, chicken will find the way back into their chicken house to be protected when it's dark. However, when the first night dawns they have to be chased into it. The hens were quite cooperative after a few tries. Bwana - being an alpha - was very stubborn and had to be chased down in the garden. Eventually a nice stranger from the street assisted me in catching him and we successfully put them to bed.
Naturally, I was dreading the second evening. But I was not disappointed: Bwana, Lulu and Uzuri made me really proud and found their way back all by themselves just in time.
Now that my chicken project has begun I will hopefully soon be able to harvest eggs. I will keep you posted!
Little update 1 month later: Unfortunately, chicken are a rare but very popular dish in Tanzania and Bwana and Lulu became victims of my hungry neighbour.
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