Poultry farm expected to supply province with day old chicks, broilers

WORK on a commercial chicken hatchery and broiler farm project in Gazelle, East New Britain, is gaining momentum and only months away from supplying day old chicks and broilers to the province and the New Guinean Islands.
A policy submission for the project was deliberated on and approved for implementation at a recent Gazelle development authority board meeting.
Gazelle Business Corporation Ltd (GBCL) will manage the project.
The project, owned by the people of Gazelle, has been endorsed by the district’s five local level government (LLG) presidents.
Incoming executive manager of agriculture and livestock with GBCL Scott Needham said the project was on schedule and under its initial K5 million budget.
Needham said the project had sourced stock (day-old breeder parent) and equipment (incubators) from Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom and were expected to arrive next month.
“When stage one is completed, it is anticipated that day old chicks will be available for sale in East New Britain and the surrounding areas by August.
“When stage two is completed then larger quantities of day old chicks and even broilers will be available for sale before Christmas,” he said.
“When all stages are completed, the hatchery will have the capacity of 200,000 day-old chicks per week.
“We will initially be hatching out fertile eggs brought in from New Zealand to get an immediate start however, we will have our own commercial parent breeder farm in the province as well.
“This will give us 100 per cent PNG-bred fertilised eggs to run through the new state of the art commercial hatchery that will be located at Kerevat.”
Needham said the chicken hatchery was a long-term major project of significance to the province and the NGI.
“We are not receiving enough protein and one of the best and easiest sources of protein is poultry,” he said.
“All of the poultry into the region is currently now either coming from Zenag and Niugini Tablebirds in Morobe with the balance being imported.
“Unfortunately, there are not enough day-old chicks to go around, so it appears other provinces may receive a good share of day-old chicks but East New Britain and other NGI provinces are missing out and not getting enough.
“The price of day-old chicks, if you can get them, and after you have to wait in long queues is ridiculous and well beyond the financial means of every day Papua New Guineans which is distressing to see.”