Lwamasaka earns from breeding geese, guinea fowls

By Umar Nsubuga

Lwamasaka Nsereko did not just want to rear animals. He wanted to choose a unique enterprise too. This is why he successfully breeds guinea fowls and geese from which he expects to earn handsomely.

"Many people doubted my dream when I decided to venture into rearing guinea fowls and geese because I did not have any experience. Now people ask me how I manage this project which makes me happy', he says.

Lwamasaka started with two goats, two sheep, a pair of guinea fowls, 10 local chicken and two geese.

"I also kept buying more goats, sheep and local chicken form nearly villages, within three years, I had acquired 50 goats, 10 sheep, 50 local chicken", he says.

Lwamasaka holds one of his geese. PHOTO/Umar Nsubuga

Guinea fowls project

To the residents of Kiwebwa, Lwamasaka's village, rearing guinea fowls and geese was strange.

"Guinea fowls are wild birds, although they are trapped and eaten domestically while geese can only do well near big water sources", he says. In spite of this Lwamasaka carried on with the wild birds.

"When the two guinea fowls laid eggs, I gave them to the chicken to hatch", he says.

Initially, he faced a challenge with the incubation cycle. Guinea fowls take three more days to hatch than chicken. So whenever a chicken completed its 21-day cycle, Lwamasaka had to immediately move the guinea fowl eggs to another chicken. That is how he managed to multiply his guinea fowls.

For the moment, Lwamasaka is retaining most of his geese and guinea fowls for breeding purposes. Before he starts selling them regularly, Lwamasaka wants to multiply their number to at least 100.

"I have discovered that the geese are high. They take between 26 to 28 days to hatch, so a farmer can get a good number within a year", he says 

A guinea fowl costs at least Sh50,000, while a goose goes for as much as Sh90,000.  Lwamasaka says guinea fowls are easy to rear since they feed on weeds, insects and wild seeds.

"They scavenge for food around the house, just like chicken", he says. Geese are sensitive birds, says Lwamasaka

"Sometimes they fly away whenever they are angry, but I have learnt how to handle them well," he says.

And like the fowls, their main diet comprises of leaves, making them easy to rear as well.

Lwamasaka says they can be kept for home consumption as well as for income generation.

"Do you think I "cry" of lack of good soup in my house?" he asks jokingly. The answer is obviously no thanks to my home for birds".