Eggs everywhere along Kano highway

As one passes through some of the villages along the highway, the egg sellers could be seen at different spots with the eggs on display.Ibrahim Idris who sells guinea fowl eggs at Kasuwar Dogo, along Kano-Zaria express road, told our correspondent that the business entails going to village markets and Fulani camps in the bush […]

As one passes through some of the villages along the highway, the egg sellers could be seen at different spots with the eggs on display.
Ibrahim Idris who sells guinea fowl eggs at Kasuwar Dogo, along Kano-Zaria express road, told our correspondent that the business entails going to village markets and Fulani camps in the bush to buy the eggs. To enable them run the business successfully, partnerships are formed between two people so that when one of them is out in the village markets sourcing for the commodity, the other would be on the highway selling what they had gathered, adding, “we travel to markets in places like Tudun Wada, Karaye, Getso, Kwanar Dangora all in Kano State and many Fulani camps in the bush to buy the eggs.”
Eggs are measured with calabash where each calabash is filled with one hundred eggs. A calabash is sold to buyers by the retailers at N2,500 or alternatively, 40 pieces are packed in a polythene bag at the cost of N1,000 per bag. The business is lucrative because whatever they are able to display at the highway, by evening time, they have sold it all.
“This business is lucrative. Sometimes one person would buy most of the eggs on display or hardly would an evening pass without us selling the whole of our wares. Loss is also minimal because it is only while transporting the eggs from the markets that a few would be broken and it is always not so much a loss that would affect the business,” said one of the eggs seller.
According to him, there are more than 50 of them that are selling eggs along the highway from Kano to Abuja, adding that the business is a seasonal one due to the fact that guinea fowls lay eggs only during the rain season. “You can only get eggs during the rain season because unlike the chicken that would lay eggs at any time of the year, guinea fowls would lay theirs only when the rains begin to fall. For every trip to the market, one can get up to N5,000 profit,” he added.  
Malam Idris said the continued marketing of the eggs will not threaten the existence of guinea fowls because modern system of hatchery and farming are helping to increase their number thereby enhancing egg production and the birds’ multiplication.
Another egg seller along the highway at Gadan Yan Kifi, Malam Safiyanu Danfulani, said like cows and other domestic animals, guinea fowls are also reared by the Fulani. He said the bulk of guinea fowl eggs are found in Fulani settlements around Bauchi State, adding that the birds can lay up to 100 eggs each within four months in the rainy season.
“Because guinea fowl likes water, those that live around swampy areas lay eggs earlier than those living in dry areas. The quality of the eggs is also different because those laid at the swampy area are better than those from dry land. One thing that is affecting the eggs is the storage system. One needs to store it in a cool and open place away from direct sun and heat and not in polythene bags.
“Many people are not aware that guinea fowl eggs do not like heat or sun and exposing them to these will make the egg rot. If for example one buys the eggs in a basket or calabash, on reaching home he should put them in a tray at a cool place or put them in a plastic basket which is very loose to allow enough air to get into it,” he said.
He said the bulk of the guinea fowl eggs are supplied to the state from Masassaka, Gadan Maiwa, Gada Biyu, Falgore and Anchau in addition to the ones that are locally produced in the state, saying non-Fulani farmers are also into guinea fowl farming though the bulk of it comes from the Fulani farms.
Dr Ayuba Adamu is an expert on rural development who has been training people on modern ways of enhancing guinea fowl eggs production. He told our reporter that the mass selling of the eggs would not affect the continued existence of the birds, adding, “people should not have any fear that in future guinea fowl will disappear because despite selling the eggs, more also are being hatched.”
He said with the introduction of modern guinea fowl farming where the birds are able to produce eggs during the dry season using artificial ways of watering their environment, their reproduction is on the increase.
In addition to the use of modern hatchery system to produce more guinea fowls, the eggs are also added to those of chicken for the mother chicken to hatch the guinea fowls.