How to construct best goat shelter

By Beatrice Nakibuuka

Goats whether raised for meat or milk, need basic protection from the elements such as wind, rain and heat.
Provision of a simple shed with low cost housing materials in dry areas may be enough for goats to produce efficiently especially milk.
To keep your goats safe, there is need for you to provide them with that perfect shelter.
How elaborate your goat shelter is depends on where you live, how many goats you plan to have in the shelter and how much you can afford.
If you have or plan to rear many goats, you need to make sure you have a large structure or plan to build more shelters over time.
In other words you may need to have a relatively big piece of land because different groups such as bucks, does and kids to be weaned need separate housing areas.
Miriam Ankunda, a vet assistant at Shimmer Africa, warns that if they are all kept together, they may be fighting for resources such as food which will cause non uniformity in their growth as some may be weak and not get enough feeds.
You need to have a store place where you keep the goats’ feeds and care tools.
A suitable goat shelter should be well-lit with natural lighting and have adequate ventilation, but it needs to be free from breezes, particularly at ground level. Some of the things to consider when deciding to build a goat shelter include:

Kithinji Musyoka tends to goats in a raised shelter. PHOTO by Edgar Batte

Flooring
Gravel floors are the best option for goats although some people prefer wood. The dirt in the gravel absorbs urine and when the gravel is covered with straw, it helps keep the goats warm.
Sheds with mud floor may be suitable except in places where high rainfall is observed such as central and western Uganda.
Ankunda says, “Farmers should therefore avoid concrete flooring because it is cold and hard on the goats’ bodies even though it is easier to clean. Farmers should also remember to keep the floor of the shelter dry always because dampness can be a breeding place for various diseases among your goats.”
The shelter should be constructed in an elevated area or slightly slanting to prevent water and urine stagnation.
This also helps with drainage in your shed which should be good, to counteract any buildup of smells and urine.

Bedding
Regardless of type of flooring, you need to use some sort of bedding for warmth and comfort.
If you have to use a concrete floor, make sure to put down three to four inches of saw dust to insulate the goats with enough warmth while they sleep.
Dr Paul Zziwa, a freelance vet, says goats can be deep littered, with the bedding being topped up regularly then being mucked out completely every month. You need about 20 square feet per goat for sleeping space.

Fencing
Goats are notorious for getting out of enclosures, so you will need some tight shelter to protect them from bad climate but also a considerably strong fencing for them.
“Fencing is important for the safety and health of your goats. Fencing for goats needs to be secure, not just to keep them in, but to keep predators like dogs out. You will need perimeter fencing around the entire goat area or your property boundary, and then cross fencing within the goat area to keep goats separated from each other,” Ankunda says.

Kidding place
If you plan to breed your own goats, you will need kidding enclosures and the number of cages you will need depends on how many goats are kidding at a time.
“The kids may be left with their mother for the first three days but afterwards isolated into a special cage where they are bound to receive special attention. The same place should have bedding for the kids,” Zziwa says.
Also, regardless of the breed, you need an area for doing routine care, such as hoof trimming or clipping. If you are keeping dairy goats, you can use the same space for milking.

Costs
Of the two common types of goat shelters, experts at Give A Goat Farm advise farmers to invest in a raised goat house as opposed to the pen type.
The farm which was established in 2013 by American Scott Panella helps prospective and active goat farmers by providing housing, fencing, food, medical care, and education.
According to Panella the cost of a simple goat house, including material, two to three days of labour and transportation for all is approximately Shs800,000.
“Great dairy goats tend to produce more milk and live healthier when the proper treatment and management is in place. By building the raised goat house the risk of worms is less and the droppings can be used as fertiliser in gardens. Goat houses consist of one male/buck room and one or two female rooms depending on how many goats have been provided,” read in part guidelines authored by Panella.

Goat perimeter (Fencing)
Panella says one way to keep goats safe is by building a fence. “Fencing has been a successful way for us to keep the goats healthy and happy. We also bring in a mound of stones and bricks for them to climb on as a “play” area which can also help with hoof care. Fencing cost can vary depending on the size of the fence and the area we are separating for the goats, but the average cost including labour is approximately Shs575,000,” Panella says.

Dimensions
Considering the height and width of the shelter, goats need to have about 15 square feet of housing if they also have an outdoor area. Make sure that your building is in an area with good drainage and, if it is open, that it faces away from the prevailing wind.
Zziwa says, “During the building process, it is important to consider how easy it will be to muck out old bedding. Having to bend over or stretch a long way while mucking is uncomfortable and hard on your back. The shelter should therefore be built a little taller than you are for easy mucking.”
When creating goat housing, consider where you will store feed, straw or other bedding, and other goat-related equipment.
Zziwa advises that goats should not be tethered while they are in the shelter except if they are outdoors. The roof should be strong enough not to leak when it rains.
Feeding & drinking place
You need to have space for feeders and drinkers, which will keep things cleaner and prevent wasting of feed. All animals should be able to eat or drink at one time.
Having easy access to water for your goats while they are in the shelter is important. This will prevent you from the hustle of transporting the water to the goat’s shelter all the time.

Okello tasting sweet money from honey

By TOBBIAS JOLLY OWINY

He is a man from the classroom; however James Okello Alele put his thoughts together and went back to his village to start keeping bees since chalk work was not yielding fruits any longer.
At the moment, Okello’s Akilo apiculture farm located at Ogur trading centre, 27 kilometres north of Lira town along Kitgum Road, boasts of a total 168 beehives, a honey processing plant, 30 cows, coffee, eucalyptus woodlot and goats.
At the entry into his home, a disclaimer which reads; ‘do not make unnecessary noise, bees are busy’ reminds one that bees do well in a silent environment, exactly what his home is.
Okello 60 revealed on Monday that he has discovered a goldmine in adding value to honey.
“I get a gross average of Shs8.5m to Shs10m per month from the bee keeping project,” he said.

Okello shows off his honey product. Photo Tobbias Jolly

How he started
“What I got from class could not allow ends meet 10 years ago because three of my 12 children needed to go to institutions of higher learning I baked an idea to invest in bee keeping so that I can earn from it to educate my children,” he said.
The Church of Uganda in 2007 came up with a project to support bee farmers, a factor that prompted him to register and get seven bee hives to start.
It was not easy at the beginning since he needed to balance between farm work and classes.
“That year I fetched Shs600,000 from honey sales. Half of the money was spent on restocking with the balance paying tuition for my children.”
However his income projection was not yet coming as he expected, this made him register his enterprise with Naads a year later as a CBO with 25 other bee keepers.
He says after forming a group, it became easier for them to look for better markets.
“We received training from Naads. After the training, we were appointed to train other prospective farmers and in return I was paid Shs6.5m. This was my turning point for I invested the money in my beehive project,” he said.
Using the money, he bought a motorcycle to help him mobilise bee keepers, look for market as well as expand land and buy 30 modern bee hives and metallic stands.

Innovation, value addition
After realising a profit of Shs35m at the end of 2015, Okello says he needed to shift to another level in bee keeping and honey business.
“Several field visits to central and western region to bee keepers opened my eyes and made me realise that I was losing a lot of money in selling raw honey. I then invested in a honey press that cost me Sh3m and other equipment totaling to Shs5m,” he said.
Using the new equipment, no part of his products would be thrown away as wastes.
“We now extract the honey, grade and package them into classes before sell. We use the wax for making candles, this significantly doubled my earnings from bee keeping,” he noted.
According to his records, Okello earned a gross income of Sh113m from the project in 2016 which he used to establish other enterprises.
“My profits were big compared to 2015 when I earned only Shs35m as gross income. The money I got last year has helped me to put up a new permanent structure at Sh50m, buy cows and introduce two acres of banana and coffee plantation combined,” he said.

Market
Okello says he has readily available market for the products and that on several occasions he is overwhelmed by the demand.
“Golden Bee and Natural Bee companies in Kampala are some of my clients. I also supply supermarkets in Lira town, Jinja, Kampala that provides my biggest share of the market as well as in South Sudan,” he said.
A kilogramme of processed and packed pure honey costs Shs20,000, while a five-litre jerrycan goes for Shs100,000.

Vision
Akilo apiculture farm now employs six people who attend to the apiary.
“I pay each of these workers Shs100,000 per month and the earning has had a great impact on their lives,” he narrated.
Okello revealed that he has been able to settle tuition of his children, build a new home, drill a borehole as well as establish a coffee plantation and livestock.
He said that he now plans to establish an apiculture demonstration unit at the farm to train prospective bee farmers in Lira District.
“I drilled a borehole and my plan is to grow crops in the dry season through irrigation whose flowers can provide forage to bees throughout,” he noted.

Irrigation for increased crop production

By Michael J. Ssali

Unpredictable weather conditions are on the rise and farmers must resort to irrigation in case of prolonged droughts when crop production can prove very difficult.
Due to the favourable climatic conditions we have enjoyed in Uganda irrigation sounds a new idea among farmers but in other countries such as Egypt crop production has never been possible without it.
Irrigation and water conservation are among the strong measures being taken to increase agricultural production for a fast growing population amid climate change conditions.
For plants to grow well there has to be sufficient supply of water in the soil all the time.
Normally this need is fulfilled by rain but when there is inadequate rainfall and insufficient water within the rooting zone of the crops they wilt and die.
To sustain plant growth during times of rain scarcity the farmer must artificially supply water into the root area of the crops.
The water may have to be carried in containers and poured over the root area of the crops such as young coffee or passion fruit seedling or it may be carried in pipes to be sprinkled over the crops.
In situations where irrigation water is scarce, the water is put into containers like plastic bottles or cans which may be placed slightly above the rooting area of the plant.
A tiny hole is made at the bottom of the container to allow small drops of water out of it into the ground to keep the plant’s root area moist. This kind of irrigation is referred to as drip irrigation.
The farmer must closely monitor the amount of water in each container and ensure that more water is made available when the containers are dry.
Some farmers put fertilizers in the water to enhance soil fertility. In other cases of drip irrigation the water is supplied through pipes to the plants where a small nozzle lets out drips of water into the plants’ root area.
It is important to ensure that the water used for irrigation does not contain plant damaging chemicals or high salt concentrations. Drip irrigation does not support weed growth.

E-mail: ssalimichaelj@gmail.com

The success story of a city farmer

By Edwin Nuwagaba

Behind Shell petrol station on Jinja Road, and across the road near the railway line is a stretch of land. On it, there is a man digging. As other people pass by the wire fence that separates his garden from the pavement, others stop and call him.
He immediately drops the hoe and goes to sell them vegetables which are always available on his farm stall. Digging and attending to these customers is Charles Kwebingira’s typical day.

When he, with several workers, were laid off from the Uganda Railways Corporation, he did not walk away cursing. Instead, he approached the management and asked them to rent him part of the railway land for cultivation. It was easy, because while he still worked with the railway line he used a small part of the company’s land for farming.

“They charged me Shs1m for two years and I started working, but they did not charge me fees the third year because they realised I had helped them cut the expenses they used to pay salaries to people who were slashing the land,” he says. Kwebingira’s job before leaving the company was to slash the grass and shrubs along the railway line.

While there are other farmers on this land, Kwebingira is the one who does full-time farming and on a relatively large scale. His garden sits on two acres. Most of the food items on his farm gate are freshly harvested. They include egg plants, bitter tomatoes, sukuma wiki, greens like gobbe, doodo, tomatoes and other vegetables. “People like buying from me because I sell them fresh vegetables,” he says.

His customers range from passersby, who usually are returning home, to stall owners in his neighbourhood like Kibuli, Namuwongo and other places. He is lucky because he does not have to involve middlemen as all his customers find him here. He makes about Shs10,000 every day. And he is not bothered by Kampala City Council because he sells his products within the fence of his garden.

One thing that keeps a smile on his face is that, he is not limited by seasons. Vegetables are available at his stall every day of the week. It works this way; as one egg plant is germinating, another is flowering and the other one is ready for harvesting.
That happens because he plants in stages. “There are even times when they are so many that they get wasted,” he says. He adds that bitter egg plants which are enjoyed by many city dwellers, can last up to two years, while he picks them on a daily basis.

Not only does Kwebingira reap financially, he also returns home with food for his family. His home is in Kibuli, close to his garden so he doesn’t spend money on transport to and from his home, or when going downtown to the Container Village to buy farm inputs.

He is happy. “I get some money to use on a daily basis. I am paying school fees for my five children and I also bought a piece of land at Shs4m in Kabale which I hope to develop very soon.” He is currently developing another garden on the other side of the railway line.

Kwebingira sells produce directly to his customers thus eliminating the need for middlemen or transport costs to the market. PHOTO BY ISMAIL KEZAALA

Improved farming methods
Two years ago, like many farmers in Uganda, Kwebingira’s methods of farming were poor. His harvests and profits were largely dependent on the weather. But now he has gotten wiser.

He has just finished digging a small dam from where he will be fetching water to spray his crops. In recent months also, he started applying fertilisers to enrich the soils. “Ever since I started applying fertilisers, my profits have increased,” he says.
Much as almost everything appears blissful for this city farmer, there are a couple of challenges he faces. Because his garden is within the city centre attracts many thieves. A private security guard for a nearby bank has been helping him patrol his garden, but thieves still keep coming. “Whenever I got them and took them to police, policemen always asked me to feed them until the time they would be remanded to Luzira prison. And I had to pay Shs10,000 for their transportation to the prison. If I didn’t, police would release them and they would come back to my garden,” he says. But now the incidences of theft have reduced a bit.

More to that; “Because customers see that I grow the vegetables myself, they always want me to sell them many things cheaply. But I always tell them that I have to sell at the market price because farm inputs are very high.”

However, since most of these are his daily customers, he has to compromise. He sells five egg plants at Shs500, greens at Shs200, tomatoes range from Shs400, Shs500 and Shs2000 and about a bunch of about 20 bitter tomatoes at Shs200.
Kwebingira says he has been farming a long time, and he has become weak. He wants to acquire capital and start up a business. Nevertheless he does not regret venturing into farming, and urban farming at that.

Well, as food prices and other commodities rise, it would make sense for city dwellers with access to any size of land to start practicing urban agriculture. It doesn’t have to be to the size of Kwebingira’s garden.

Homeowners willing to put some effort into this, can be sure to keep the cost of their grocery bills down, as well as earn money by selling their surplus produce. The Ministry of Agriculture could also step up and encourage urban agriculture to boost food security.

Farmer finds goldmine in local breed chicken

By DAVID MAFABI

Steven Mukweli, a resident of Bungokho in Mbale, is a self made millionaire.
A dropout at 17, Mukweli decided to venture into poultry farming.
The man who started with just seven birds, today boasts of over 20, 000 exotic and 1, 600 local breeds.
“Farming was the only option. I started with a handful of free-range birds but today the story is different,” he said.
Mukweli, who has gone a step further into breeding, says anyone can make it. In the tips below, the farmer shares how best one can make cash from eggs, hatching and chicken sales.

The farmer is pictured holding a water container for his exotic birds. PHOTO by David Mafabi 

Egg hatching
Mukweli who two years ago graduated into the business of hatching chicks at his farm says for proper results, farmers should provide nests for laying hens and that the nests should be close to each other in a slightly darkroom.
According to him, hatching chicken eggs is an extremely rewarding experience, which requires good planning, dedication, flexibility and observation by the farmer.
“Put some soft material such as dry grass or coffee husks in the bottom and use sand, soil or small stones to support the nests so that they don’t collapse or drop the eggs as the hens enter and leave,” advised Mukweli.

Egg selection
Mukweli says that at this stage a farmer needs to choose eggs which the hen can comfortably sit on and hatch as anticipated.
He says the right eggs one should select for hatching must have no cracks, avoid too big (twins), too small, too pointed, too oval and too spherical.

Conditions
Mukweli explains that he has over five cocks and advises that each farmer must have a cock on the farm that mounts the hens. According to Mukweli each cock should be given eight to 10 hens to avoid competition and fighting.
He says during laying and hatching, the chicken house and the nests should be free from parasites such as lice and mites as these might make the hen abandon the eggs.
Zainabu Muyobo, also a poultry farmer in Manafwa district advises famers to prioritise good health saying the birds should be feeding very well.
“You need to provide enough water and feeds at this time because the hens will stay on the eggs to warm them for hatching for 21 days,” says Muyobo.

Profits
The farmer explains that ideally hens are bred domestically mainly for eggs and meat but investing in massive production is a viable business idea because you can get meat, eggs, and hatch more chicks, which can also be sold at one’s wish.
“And the revenue potential for this kind of business investment is estimated at about Shs50m annually and in order to achieve this, one should have at least an initial capital investment of about Shs3.5 million,” he said.
Mukweli says that chicken droppings collected daily have enabled him get free manure for his gardens where he has also embarked on fruits and banana growing.

Market
According to Mukweli the birds especially from his farm are on high demand.
“Custormers find me at my farm,” he says.
He earns about Shs500, 000 weekly from the sale of local chicken and eggs, which has enabled him transform himself from a poor rural farmer to a model farmer in Bungokho.
“I also earn Shs700, 000 from selling broilers and exotic eggs in Mbale municipality hotels and businessmen, so all together I earn more than a million shillings a week from my farm when the chicken begin laying eggs,” Mukweli revealed.
Mukweli says as a poultry farmer he has earned a lot of money from the sale of local chicken eggs because they begin laying eggs after about five months and have a long laying period.

Management
Mukweli says although the chicken are locally bought within the community, his birds undergo nine different vaccinations.
He also disinfects his chicken houses every time new birds are brought in.
He explains that visitors on the farm are limited because some of the diseases are transmitted by humans.

Incubating guidelines
Keep the temperature between 98 and 101 fahrenheit (The optimal temperature that you are striving for is 98.5).
Keep the humidity between 55 and 70 per cent.
It will take 21 days for the eggs to hatch.
Gently rotate the eggs 1/4 to 1/2 turn three times a day for the first 18 days
For the last three days of incubation do not rotate the eggs.
Don’t wash the eggs before putting them in the incubator, leave them as they are.
The eggs for incubation must be bought from from somebody that raises chickens, ask for fertilised eggs because you want to incubate them.
There is no way to guarantee fertilisation but the chicken raiser will give you good eggs that have probably been fertilised.
Keep the humidity on the low end of the scale 55-65 for the first 15 days but try to get the humidity up to around 65-70 for the last few days. This will help the hatching.

Hatch
A hatch generally requires specific design and specifications for handling the parental stock together with the cocks, brooders, young chicks and feeds.
The bottom of the nest can be dusted with ash to prevent parasites from co-habiting the facility.
The parasites normally suck blood from the brooder hen on top of disturbing the peaceful settlement of the hen on the eggs.
Local chicken
Mukweli says hatching health local chicken starts with procuring disease free birds and that this requires the buyer to be every observant while buying birds.
“For instance they should not have falling feathers, running nose, red eyes, fallen comb, pale comb, and bloody comb. And these symptoms might be a pointer of Newcastle disease, fowl pox and coccidiosis,” said Mukweli.
He explained that to improve the quality and output of poultry, a farmer is advised to cross breed their chicken and that in cross breeding, one cock should mount not more than 10 hens.

Facts about indigenous chickens
• Meat and eggs are tastier and preferred by most consumers to those obtained from commercial breeds
• Initial investment is less than that needed to keep commercial breeds
• More tolerant of harsh conditions, including diseases, than commercial breeds
• Can be fed on cheap, locally available feeds
• When allowed to range freely, they need little feeding or other care
• Women and youth often control income from chickens
• Local markets are readily available for both eggs and chickens
• Droppings are rich in nutrients: can be used for compost making, pond fertilising and as feed for livestock.