Kenbro Chicken Breed Information and management

Kenbro chicken is a dual-purpose breed developed and distributed by Kenchic Limited in Kenya.  The poultry farmer can keep it for both eggs and meat. 

Meant for free-ranging, Kenbro is disease resistant.  It has a well-rounded body shape. Kenchic developed this breed as a replacement for indigenous village chicken. 

Kenbro starts laying eggs at 25 weeks (6 months). Being a free-range breed, it is a good scavenger. If being raised for meat, it can be ready for consumption between 10-14 weeks. Kenbro chicken breed meat is tastier than commercial broilers.

With this breed, the poultry farmer can attain a fully organic poultry product, if raised under organic poultry conditions. 

According to Kenchic, It is not meant to be a replacement for commercial broilers and layers, since it’s productivity is not at par with commercial hybrid chicken.

Though some farmers are breeding kenbro and selling day-old chicks, the best quality kenbro chicks are sourced from Kenchic. This is because they are the only ones who have the parent stock.

Kenbro Chicken Breed Background Information

There is little or no available information on the origins of Kenbro. At the time of writing this article, we did not have information on how the breed was developed and what breeds were crossbred to come up with the Kenbro Breed.

Kenbro chicken Breed Profile

Breed Name: Kenbro.

Scientific Name: Gallus gallus domesticus.

Other Names: Muchunu for naked neck kenbro.

Temperament: Heavy feeder. Feeds continuously, Forages well.

Purpose: Meat and Eggs.

Body Size: Large and well rounded.

Broodiness: Never broods / Never sits on eggs.

Climate: Most Climates, can tolerate heat and cold.

Comb: Single.

Eggs Productivity: Medium.

Size of Eggs: Medium.

Colour of eggs: Brown.

Colour: Multicoloured. Has a naked neck variety and one that is not a naked neck.

Advantages of Kenbro Chicken Breed

– Kenbro Chicken feeds less as compared to commercial broilers and layers

– Kenbro chicken can feed on any type of feed, including kitchen waste

– Kenbro chicken has a higher resistance to diseases as compared to commercial layers and broilers

– Kenbro chicken can be reared in the free-range system

– Kenbro chicken produces more eggs than indigenous chicken species

– Kenbro chicken is fast maturing. With proper feeding, Kenbro chicken can attain 4kgs in 6 months

– With commercial feeds, Kenbro growth rate is impressive. It can attain 1.5kg in 7 weeks

– In a free-range system, with supplemental feeding, Kenbro chicken can attain 1.5kgs in 10-14 weeks

Disadvantages of Kenbro Chicken Breed

–Kenbro chicken is heavy feeder as compared to indigenous chicken and other improved free-range chicken breeds. The heavy feeding characteristic is the reason that  Kenbro chickens are able to gain weight fast.

-Kenbro chicken does not sit on eggs or brood.

– To get good quality Kenbro chicken stock, you have to order from Kenchic directly. There is a waiting period after booking the day-old chicks.

Kenbro Naked Neck. Photo Courtesy of Kenchic

How to manage Kenbro Chicken

Planning and sourcing Kenbro chicken.

When planning to source for Kenbro Chicken, It is important to order from a reputable breeder. Although there are several breeders selling day-old chicks in Kenya, Kenchic Ltd is the only one with the parent stock. It is estimated that they produce 20,000 chicks per week. This means that you will have to book early in order to get your chicks in time.

To make your Kenbro farming viable, you will need to plan and project your cash flow in advance. It is advisable that you do market research so that you can start selling early. A recommended strategy in rearing kenbro chicken is to keep multiple batches so that you will be able to sell a batch each month. An example is if you plan to rear Kenbro chicken for meat, for sale when they attain 4kgs at 6 months, you will need to keep 6 batches. This means stocking a batch every month.

Since Kenbro does not sit on eggs, you will need to implement a mechanism of hatching kenbro eggs, if you plan to. Some kenbro chicken farmers purchase incubators for this purpose, while others use indigenous broody hens to it on the eggs.

Housing and Hygiene for Kenbro chicken

Kenbro chickens will require adequate hygienic space for them to thrive. Adequate space is needed in case you are raising kenbro in a free-range system. This allows the kenbro chicken to forage for their own feed.

For laying hens, make sure you provide nests for laying. Kenbro chicken housing should have a litter on the floor. The litter can be disinfected using ash or a commercial disinfectant.

To control diseases, you will need to implement adequate biosecurity measures for your kenbro flock.

Kenbro Vaccination and Deworming Schedule

The kenbro vaccination schedule is similar to the indigenous (Kienyeji) chicken vaccination program. You can download the Kenbro chicken vaccination schedule in pdf format here

Kenbro Chicken Feeding Program

The feeding program for Kenbro chicken depends on the system of raising the chicken.

With the intensive system, you will need to provide kenbro feed throughout. You can choose either to formulate your own chicken feed or purchase commercial feeds.

Since kenbro chicken is great at foraging for their own food, they can be raised in a free-range system. This means they can eat grass and other insects. Make sure you identify which nutrients your kenbro chicken is missing so that you can supplement. This might include feeding them vegetables e.g cabbages and kale, giving them fishmeal. Some kenbro farmers supplement free-range kenbro with commercial or self-formulated feeds. They give a few kilograms on a daily basis while allowing the birds to scavenge for the rest of their food.