It has been about two months since I shared with you my journey of commencing a small poultry project behind my apartment. Allow me to share with you how that little project, which turned out with some challenges along the way, ultimately resulted in being a blessing during this festive season.
I started with 16 baby chickens. Being a complete newbie in this poultry business, I was standing in front of quite a steep learning curve. Of those, only four survived-mostly due to my inexperience. So, though that does not sound like a success story I am quite relieved right now.
Well, our initial plan was to have some kind of profit made out of it. Well, things did not work out that way, but these four chickens alive mean something more valuable: I needn't spend money on chicken meat during this festive period. We have already used two of them for our Christmas celebration meals, and they were delicious! There's just something about eating what you raise.
The reality of the market price now points to putting things into reality. Presently, where one can get a live chicken, it costs $30, around 45,000 Naira. This same chicken that was being sold for less than 10,000 Naira last Christmas is going for more than double now.
With the way things have been going on in the market, buying chicken meat would have been an actual chore. We may have probably had to skip our favorite dishes. But of course, with my little poultry project, though didn't go fully according to my plan, I will not be at the mercy of these high market prices. Having two chickens left for New Year's celebrations gives me peace of mind.
I am quite proud of my decision to start this venture despite the initial setbacks. Those four chickens—two already enjoyed during Christmas and two saved for New Year—mean I can still enjoy the entire festive season without breaking the bank. Sometimes, what seems like a small success can be exactly what you need.
As it would happen, I might not have turned out to be the enterprising poultry farmer I had in mind, but I still had something of a different value in that regard: being able to provide our holiday meat despite ever-higher costs. Serving up home-raised chicken on Christmas was just a different satisfaction altogether; I look forward to the same thing on New Year's.
Here I am, celebrating the New Year with my remaining two homegrown chickens and not concerned about those crazy market prices. Again, it seems that what works best is just having taken the time to work out your solution yourself even if the outcome itself can far be from ideal. And next year, I would attempt again, armed with experiences. For the time being, I just feel relieved that this small poultry enterprise is seeing me through these expensive times.