Small Backyard Chicken Farming: Can You Raise Kampung Chickens?
Yes, small backyard chicken farming works with kampung chickens. See the benefits, a 30x30 coop layout, cleaning, composting and low-cost feed ideas.
Ayam buras, or non-breed chicken, better known as kampung chicken (Indonesia's free-range native chicken), is one of the easiest types of chicken to raise or farm. It's not only big companies that can raise them; ordinary village communities generally have the know-how too. No wonder raising kampung chickens in a small yard sometimes becomes a source of income for people in rural areas, or even for those who don't have much land. So if you're wondering whether you can raise kampung chickens in a small yard, the answer is yes, absolutely.
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Benefits of Raising Kampung Chickens
Raising kampung chickens in a small yard has several benefits worth knowing about. As we know, kampung chickens are the easiest type of chicken to care for and raise, and their upkeep is very simple. In fact, some kampung chickens in unspoiled rural areas get by easily without much feed, because their habitat is good enough for them to grow and breed.
Plentiful food sources in the countryside also mean kampung chickens breed easily and grow quickly. Besides saving you the cost of renting a large plot of land for farming, raising kampung chickens offers other benefits too. On top of the promising returns, the chickens can also be good food for the farmer: with good care and sound farming methods, you won't have to worry when you eat food from your own flock.
Also read Commercial Breeds vs. Native Chickens: The Business Differences
How to Breed Kampung Chickens
You can breed chickens on a small plot, too. It may not be as big as a typical chicken farm, but raising chickens on a small plot is quite promising. All you need is a 30x30 area laid out as a chicken coop. You can handle breeding and hatching in that space. It isn't very big, but you can save room by stacking the chick cages vertically along the edges of the space. Make sure the stack isn't too high, so you can still reach it and so the cages don't collapse if they get jolted.
The center of the space can serve as the coop for adult chickens, complete with feed and drinking water.
Caring for Kampung Chickens
Besides giving your chickens enough food and water, pay close attention to coop hygiene. Don't let chicken droppings pile up until they're hard to clean and start to smell. You don't want the smell to bother your neighbors. Use a composter to collect the droppings. A composter is a plastic drum set up to break down, or decompose, chicken droppings into organic fertilizer that's good for plants. Rather than dumping droppings carelessly and annoying the neighbors, isn't it better to turn them into compost?
If you have a leftover tapered or corner-shaped plot of land behind your house, you can use it to raise chickens too. A hut or rundown house that is rarely used can also serve as a chicken coop. Just make sure you have the owner's permission first. You can offer a profit-sharing arrangement if needed.
Also read Foolproof Tips for Raising Kampung Chickens in a Small Space
As for feed, kampung chickens aren't fussy eaters, so you can give them corn kernels, food scraps, chopped snails, water spinach, leftover rice and rice bran mixed with factory-made feed such as vur 511 or Vur 521.
We hope this guide to raising kampung chickens in a small yard is useful to you.
