Chickens play a vital role in many poor rural households by providing an important source of high-quality nutrition and income at very little cost. Chickens are a renewable asset, important for insect pest control, for providing manure and for their role in social activities, religious ceremonies and the traditional treatment of illness. Village flocks usually range from 10 to 30 birds per household and annual egg production ranges from 40 to 60 eggs per hen. The age at first lay for hens ranges from six to eight months, and the average hen has three laying cycles per year. By estimating that at least 5 chicks per clutch will survive to maturity, a household with a core breeding group of 5 hens will produce, on average, 25 chickens for sale or consumption per laying cycle. As in many developing countries, women play a major role in family poultry production in Tanzania. Women are often the primary caretakers of chickens, feeding, watering and treating birds and cleaning their shelters. Indigenous poultry keeping is an important economic venture that plays a key role in poverty reduction in the small villages of Kondoa.
You will catch a chicken for the the women’s chicken collective in a small village in Kondoa. You will have lunch with the women in their domain learning about chickens and the village. A wonderful way to spend the day with a small community in Tanzania.
