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commercial sheep farming
Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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Hi wazuans, I'm setting up a small commercial farm starting next week on a quarter acre of land in kikuyu. Initial costs are the workman structure, sheep structure,tank and fencing totaling to around 130k or thereabout. Planning to start with 4 pregnant dorper ewes.
Feeds: to start with, there's nearby grazing land but I'm also planning to plant some maize, lucern and tulips for making silage esp for dry season.
Any words of advice will be highly appreciated.
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Rank: Member Joined: 4/7/2011 Posts: 105
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Sheep are grazers and require a large area to feed throughout the year. large pieces of land are subdivided into paddocks which enables good distribution of feed. I know that sheep are quite profitable given that they reproduce fast and they are a low maintenance animal
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/13/2012 Posts: 139
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Dorper do well in drier areas and as Zenge said, need plenty of land. Hio 130k take it to Laikipia, lease 10 acres(simple fence should do) get a maasai to look after them, water-River, Grass-Plenty of it,Deworm every 6 months, give salts every 4 months. Sheep give birth to twins, 8 months an Ewe can mate. Get a high quality Ram, prefarably from Dorpers Breeders association(change every year to avoid inbreeding)
management
visit the area twice a month.
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Rank: Elder Joined: 4/30/2008 Posts: 6,029
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shadowinvestor wrote:Dorper do well in drier areas and as Zenge said, need plenty of land. Hio 130k take it to Laikipia, lease 10 acres(simple fence should do) get a maasai to look after them, water-River, Grass-Plenty of it,Deworm every 6 months, give salts every 4 months. Sheep give birth to twins, 8 months an Ewe can mate. Get a high quality Ram, prefarably from Dorpers Breeders association(change every year to avoid inbreeding)
management
visit the area twice a month. Sheep give birth to twins???
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Rank: Member Joined: 12/10/2015 Posts: 103
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Small ruminants which include sheep & goats generally,have high probabilities of twinning.
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 6/22/2015 Posts: 51 Location: Nairobi
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 Great Idea,will you share the sheep structure you have in mind once completed. Doing a set up for goats early next month. A Theory of Everything.
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/17/2009 Posts: 47
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Dorpers in Kikuyu could be a problem as the area is cold. They seem to thrive in hotter areas like Kajiado. You may want to try a different kind of sheep like the Merino, which is accustomed to cold areas.
Also, just like humans, sheep do not always give birth to twins. They can however give birth twice a year depending on your breeding program.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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I thought and thought again and decided to do dairy instead. Pumped in some more capital since cows are expensive to buy. Structure on course, should be done hopefully end of week, then 2 in calf heifers come in
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 2/22/2015 Posts: 61
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theking wrote:I thought and thought again and decided to do dairy instead. Pumped in some more capital since cows are expensive to buy. Structure on course, should be done hopefully end of week, then 2 in calf heifers come in Goat farming in Uganda Only Fools Have No Plan B
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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Patiently waiting for Sept/Oct to start my harvest God willing, got myself 2 incalf heifers to kick start my dairy farming
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/20/2007 Posts: 252
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Hi @rheking,
Seems like we are neibours! Am also in Kikuyu.
I am finalizing my simple cow shed, looking for affordable starter cows (below 100k).
Any leads on where you bought the in calf heifers.
Watu wa Githunguri wote wamekatalia 150k per cow, must be a governor directive 😂😂😂😂
Asante
Cheers
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Rank: Elder Joined: 6/23/2009 Posts: 13,497 Location: nairobi
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Farming is good
HF 30,000 ABP 3.49; KQ 414,100 ABP 7.92; MTN 23,800 ABP 6.45
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Rank: New-farer Joined: 6/22/2015 Posts: 51 Location: Nairobi
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theking wrote:Patiently waiting for Sept/Oct to start my harvest God willing, got myself 2 incalf heifers to kick start my dairy farming A Theory of Everything.
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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mungaits wrote:Hi @rheking,
Seems like we are neibours! Am also in Kikuyu.
I am finalizing my simple cow shed, looking for affordable starter cows (below 100k).
Any leads on where you bought the in calf heifers.
Watu wa Githunguri wote wamekatalia 150k per cow, must be a governor directive 😂😂😂😂
Asante
Cheers bought mine at Githunguri, average price 100k, those going for 150k i think usually include some hefty broker fees. There's a lot of brokering there. Drop your email ad, can give you some contacts who might assist.
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Rank: Member Joined: 9/20/2007 Posts: 252
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Asante for the insight, reach me on mungaits at gmail dot com
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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mungaits wrote:Asante for the insight, reach me on mungaits at gmail dot com Check your email
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Rank: Elder Joined: 4/22/2010 Posts: 11,522 Location: Nairobi
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One thing I know about cows is that you should ensure feeding is done properly...you will get a cow doing 30-35 litres a day at one farmers place it comes to yours if you cock up on the feeding the cow will be doing sub 10. possunt quia posse videntur
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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8 or so months later, project has generally stabilized. Project comfortably sustaining itself plus some small profit. Aim to increase the herd slightly to start pocketing some decent cash since some costs are fixed. Main Challenge is fodder, still trying to formulate ways to push down fodder costs since it's the main cost.
Also doing some kienyeji chicken on the side. Started as a side hustle but they are multiplying so fast it might become a main business. Started with less than 10 hens, I've almost 50 chicken now and some more being hatched soon God willing.
In other news, please advise how to change subject from sheep farming since this has since changed
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Rank: Elder Joined: 2/16/2007 Posts: 2,114
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@theking, The chicken thing sounds nice.Are you feeding exclusively with commercial feeds?I suppose you have them vaccinated? theking wrote:8 or so months later, project has generally stabilized. Project comfortably sustaining itself plus some small profit. Aim to increase the herd slightly to start pocketing some decent cash since some costs are fixed. Main Challenge is fodder, still trying to formulate ways to push down fodder costs since it's the main cost.
Also doing some kienyeji chicken on the side. Started as a side hustle but they are multiplying so fast it might become a main business. Started with less than 10 hens, I've almost 50 chicken now and some more being hatched soon God willing.
In other news, please advise how to change subject from sheep farming since this has since changed
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Rank: Member Joined: 1/25/2010 Posts: 344
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Chaka wrote:@theking, The chicken thing sounds nice.Are you feeding exclusively with commercial feeds?I suppose you have them vaccinated? theking wrote:8 or so months later, project has generally stabilized. Project comfortably sustaining itself plus some small profit. Aim to increase the herd slightly to start pocketing some decent cash since some costs are fixed. Main Challenge is fodder, still trying to formulate ways to push down fodder costs since it's the main cost.
Also doing some kienyeji chicken on the side. Started as a side hustle but they are multiplying so fast it might become a main business. Started with less than 10 hens, I've almost 50 chicken now and some more being hatched soon God willing.
In other news, please advise how to change subject from sheep farming since this has since changed I'm feeding them with commercial feeds, I also supplement with some skuma planted on the farm to improve their laying percentage n eggs quality. I do vaccinate them especially against newcastle. Good thing about kienyeji is that their eggs are pricier 450 a tray and they multiply themselves by brooding hence no need for incubators. They also lay quite well with good feeding
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