Local Poultry Farming Business and Its Markets
There is a saying that is used by many people. It says; “work is the foundation of any person’s development”. I also agree with this saying because it is absolutely true that work is the foundation of any development step for any person under the main foundation which is God. On the contrary, those who do not work (employed/self-employed) will remain poor and have poor income, bad relationships with fellow human beings, be dependent etc. Since we really want to get out of this yoke of income poverty and poor living conditions, we are forced to do our main duty of praying to God so that He may enable us to know and understand various methods and then learn and understand carefully again in very simple ways to get us out of this state of extreme poverty.
It should be remembered that, learning only for excitement without incorporating the things you have learned into practice and deliberate actions in our lives is clear that it will not help us, but will remain in our heads as just stories of alfulelaulela and a life of chance known as akadabarakadabra. Therefore, let us pray to our God so that these teachings can change our lives for a better and sustainable economy so that we can earn income and return tithes and offerings to God instead of sitting around complaining that we have nothing to give back to our creator JEHOVAH.
Like the world’s salt, poultry farming also requires love, patience, gifts, personality and sincere prayers that will produce a good way to love this work of husbandry with all your heart. Otherwise, you will remain a person who tries and always ends up failing. As is the principle of any development, poultry farming also requires; Creativity, intellectual curiosity, trying without giving up, discovering, learning, working on the ideas of others, reading various books and magazines related to your work, engaging yourself, etc. Even if you are taught in class, you cannot be taught everything by your teacher, otherwise you will have to look elsewhere with great creativity, discovery and many other things to achieve the goal of getting a better education of what you want. This involves your mind well in learning from people or other things, etc. But more success will be achieved when you are more active.
FARMS FIVE (5) LOCAL CHICKENS TO GAIN TWO HUNDRED (200) CHICKENS IN JUST SIX (6) MONTHS!
(200 chickens x 5,000 = 1,000,000)
You may think I am crazy and daydreaming that is neither successful nor productive because this theory may not fit well into people’s heads. Many people have been saying and advising even being advised even by the wrong ones. I believe most of us do not like to believe what they are told until they see it with their own eyes and then believe it (the Tomasos). Listen to me! if you do not believe anything quickly, do not disappoint the person who told you that disappointing news, instead try to investigate and follow the instructions given to you step by step, then put them into practice (act/do) effectively and then wait for the results. After getting the results, you can now go a little further and ask/read/learn more to see if there is a place where you have made a mistake or did not consider the principles and instructions given to you. After getting additional information, try to do it again by improving through the previous instructions and the new ones you have received all together to measure its results. Then you will now have the right to believe or not believe that the matter is true or not true and not just to argue with any meaningless argument. By doing this you will definitely take a step forward in improving your present and future life. But if you succeed, do not blaspheme God who made you possible.
Start with just five (5) female chickens of the same age (or close to it). Take good care of them by feeding them a diet that contains a complete mix of nutrients required by the chicken body, namely; carbohydrates, proteins, calcium, salts, minerals etc. (as I have explained below). Keep one good local/white/crossbred rooster with them (as I have explained below on the choice of roosters).
When they start laying, prepare a good place for them to lay and hatch by building nests inside the enclosure. Make sure the place is not drafty or too humid or too hot. Make sure the place is safe enough (where dangerous animals like raccoons, bats, snakes, etc. cannot get to it).
If your chickens are laying eggs and you see that they are about to hatch, start choosing the type of eggs you want your chickens to lay. This means that; if you choose large eggs, those eggs will usually be roosters and small eggs will usually be hens. Stop giving them round eggs like balls!
Make sure all the chickens are waiting for each other to roost/incubate together.
Place 12 to 15 eggs per nest for each hen depending on the size of your hen. A hen can lay up to 30 eggs during each laying season. You can use a few of the 30 eggs to incubate your hen while the rest of the eggs wait for the second incubation phase. For example, if you keep five hens, 5 Hens x 12 Eggs = 60 Eggs.
Usually, hens incubate/lay eggs for only 19 to 21/24 days until they hatch. Make sure you provide the hens with enough nutritious food and plenty of water near their nests so that when they leave their nests, they eat food immediately and drink water and then quickly return to their eggs. This will help hatch all 12/15 eggs without damaging a single egg. Or even if they are damaged, it will not be much damage if you stop providing food for them so that they can go chasing grasshoppers and food in the garbage outside and be late returning to their eggs.
While you wait for those 21/24 days, start building a small hut inside the large hut you built earlier or in the kitchen, or prepare a large, sturdy box to house the chicks that will hatch within the next 21/24 days.
After those 5 hens hatch your 60 chicks, that’s when the big job of raising the chicks begins. Understand that to achieve success quickly, make sure that the job of raising the chicks becomes yours and not the hen’s! First, you need to remove and burn/cover all the remains of the eggs and improve the cleanliness of the entire coop to avoid diseases such as diarrhea, fleas, lice, etc. Then you can take out all 60 of your chicks one by one as they hatch until you reach the last chick, that is, the 60th one and put them in a small hut/box you built and put their other eggs with their mothers (the 15/18 out of the 30 you kept) so that they can incubate again for another 21 to 24 days. When you take a chick from a hen that has hatched, it makes that hen unable to hatch because she has no baby to raise.
When she has finished hatching all the eggs and you have laid more, it is easy for her to continue incubating because she will wait for the chicks and then she will find herself laying for another 21 days without worry. By doing this, you will have already got yourself more than 100 chicks/chickens in just 7 weeks! Now you need to take great care of these chickens that are laying for the second time by giving them enough food, water, elderberry leaves, spinach, fenugreek etc. so that they get other vitamins and minerals that are important for their health. Do this even when they have laid and you have taken away the chicks. This will help them not to lose their feathers too much because many chickens lose their feathers when they are incubating. By doing this, your chickens will stay for 2 to 3 weeks without chicks and then they will start laying again and incubating as before.
Make sure you make a room for your chicks inside the large coop/kitchen, then put any heat source such as; a chemli lamp/charcoal stove/fire pits etc. so that they are not affected by the cold especially at night. Great care is required here! Make sure you are careful at night to increase and decrease the temperature inside the chick coop because at this time the temperature often decreases and the cold increases and thus you can kill your chicks.
HOW TO RAISE CHICKENS.
In raising chicks, if the hens will hatch their chicks, you will need to build a small coop (inside the large coop/fence) for them to have a source of heat such as a lamp/charcoal stove (if it is a cold/winter season). If you are going to use a charcoal stove, you should first leave it until all the black charcoal is burned out and then put it in the coop because if the charcoal smokes, it can affect your chicks. Check how to place your charcoal stove a little higher so that the chicks do not burn. Make sure your lamp does not smoke too much and does not leak oil. Also, have enough kerosene in stock. Do not put too much oil in the lamp because it can explode and cause you losses. Chicks should not exceed 50 in 1 box. Make sure you have turned on your lamp/stove inside the box three hours or more before putting the chicks in so that the room/box gets warm before the chicks arrive. These methods require extreme caution as endangering/killing the chicks is jeopardizing your progress. If you decide to use electricity, it is also better because it reduces the risk even further.
Therefore, for all three methods, you can use the following table to determine the temperature of the chicken coop;
AGE OF POULTRY/CHICKENS WARM IN BOX/RATTING PATCH CHICKENS WARM IN ROOM/PATCH
Week 1 33-35oc 30-32oc
Week 2 30-33oc 27-29oc
Week 3 27-31c 24-26oc
Week 4 24-29oc 21-23oc
Week 5 26-27oc 22-23oc
After 4/5 weeks, remove the box/take them out to the brooder to raise them at the normal temperature of the brooder/room.
Usually the temperature is measured with a thermometer, but if you do not have this measurement, the easiest way is to observe them according to the following characteristics; If the chicks are gathered in one place then the temperature is low in their brooder, or if they move away from the heat source while spreading their wings and panting rapidly then the temperature is too high/excessive. When they are well spread out in the box/brooder while eating and drinking well then the temperature is moderate and appropriate. If you are using the Box method, then you are required to expand it according to the growth and needs of your chicks.
Give your chicks enough chick food, clean and safe water, fresh leaves that are tied by hanging with a rope, and DEworming vaccines etc. so that they get the vitamins, minerals and protein they need and prevent the habit of biting each other so that they grow well.
Make sure their room is clean and free of moisture at all times. Moisture causes colds and makes the chicks shrivel and shiver and can die suddenly!
It is recommended that it is not safe to keep other types of birds such as pigeons, ducks, turkeys etc. by mixing them with chickens because each type of bird has its own diseases. So mixing them will make you unable to treat them when they get sick. Also, pigeon lice bring smallpox disease especially when the chickens hatch their chicks. Here the disease can kill all 60/100 of your chicks if you follow my advice!
After 2 to 3 weeks after taking away the chicks, your chickens will start laying eggs again. If they hatch all 5 If you strengthen the care for them and for those 100 chicks/chickens you will already have 105 chickens or more. If the first 5 hens lay again in 21 to 48 days (if you follow the original system of laying them twice) you will get another 100 chicks and thus have more than 200 chickens in just 5/6 months! If you take good care of the first 100 chicks for 3 and a half months and they will start laying like their mothers. So, take the first 5 hens and the 50 hens that were found after the first brood in the first 3 months and you will have 55 hens. If they all lay and produce 10 chicks each in the same 21 to 46 days, you will already have 550 chicks! Now add the 150 that remained from the 200 hens and if they all grew well you will get more than 700 hens and chicks! Add to that the 550 that will be released by their mothers, the first 5, and the 50 of the 1st and 2nd generations for the 2nd time, won’t you already have more than 1,200 chickens in just 6 to 8 months? So you will find yourself with more than 1,000 chickens!
Out of 1,000 chickens, if you say you want to sell 800 chickens and sell them at a price of Tsh. 4,000 per chicken, you will already have a total of Tsh. 3,200,000/= which you can use to invest in other things or improve your project further. Do you think that you have not started to reach the goal of 1 chicken bringing you 1 million shillings? If you continue like this, it means that 1 chicken will produce more than that.
CHICKEN COTTAGE.
You need to have a good chicken coop that will be able to take care of the chickens so that they do not suffer from various harms such as; being eaten/injured by wild animals, taken by thieves, etc. But a good coop will also help the chickens withstand various weather changes that may occur.
The area that is suitable for building a good coop is one that is easily accessible, has enough light, is not exposed to strong winds and does not allow water to stagnate or enter.
The coop should be made of strong walls/wood/slats. reeds/bamboo so that it can hold the roof well and not fall. These walls can be built of cement/mud/slats/wood etc. For roofing, you can use corrugated iron/tiles/grass. The coop should be large according to the number of chickens and their age. Something to consider is that the coop should have enough ventilation.
Chickens kept indoors should be given a wide enclosure (at least 8×10 meters) so that they have a place to sunbathe, rest/breathe and exercise (put ropes/swings/ladders inside the coop). Make sure the coop is sturdy and they do not go outside the coop and go far so that you can provide them with enough food and water and even those that are laying/breeding can get food and return quickly.
A large and good shed will reduce diseases as it will have enough ventilation which will help reduce unnecessary heat and humidity in your shed. This will help to introduce enough oxygen and reduce harmful air pollutants for chickens. It will also help to make cleaning easier and reduce dust which can cause coughing in your chickens. It is best for the shed to be no less than 3 meters high.
Important things inside the pavilion.
Good flooring (made of cement/clay so that it does not accumulate water. It should not have cracks so that it can be easily cleaned.
Make sure that the coop has good nests for laying. The nests should be 30 centimeters long, 30 centimeters wide, and 35 centimeters deep. The front part should be covered only 10 centimeters below. All these areas should be covered with boards. If your chickens are large, you can increase the width, height, and depth to a sufficient size, for example, Width and Height 35cm, depth 55cm, etc. Make sure the nest/nest is relatively dark because chickens like to lay in a dark/hidden place.
Darkness will help prevent the hen from eating the eggs or from fighting with other hens. The nest should also be in a place that is easy for the hen to get in and out of, and easy to clean.
Inside the nest, place dry leaves/soft wood shavings and sprinkle with flea/mite control powder before adding hay.
ALSO, it is very good to keep hens that lay eggs at night because if you keep them during the day, they may abandon them.
A hen that is expected to lay eggs should be checked for mites/fleas/lice on her feathers. These insects make the laying hen uncomfortable and many will abandon their eggs and run away/not settle in their nests. This leads to fewer chicks hatching. You can see a veterinary specialist for further advice.
The coop should have perches because chickens like to sleep on perches because they are birds.
Clean and good containers for food and water.
Lay dry leaves/wooden planks/crop straws on the floor throughout the shed.
SELECTION AND STORAGE OF EGGS.
Eggs spoil very easily if they are not prepared and stored properly and carefully. Preparation starts from the outside to the inside by doing the following;
Ensure all nests are clean at all times.
Food should be for strengthening egg shells and other foods.
Egg collection containers should be clean and sturdy.
Collect eggs 2 to 3 times a day to avoid eggs being broken/eaten/messed up with too many eggs and cooling down quickly.
Remove eggs with cracks and weak shells.
Clean eggs immediately after collection and before placing in a storage container for 12-24 hours. Eggs can be washed in warm water (35oC) and gently rubbed by hand to remove dirt (if any). However, it is recommended to rub by hand without water to clean because water reduces egg quality and often eggs spoil quickly.
Place in clean containers with the wide end of the egg facing up and the narrow end facing down, and handle with care.
Store eggs in a cool place at 10 to 16 degrees Celsius.
Eggs should be graded according to size and color to attract customers and increase prices. You can also grade them according to the time you collect them from the barn. Label them with the date so you don’t mix them up when you move your chickens/sell them.
Selecting eggs for laying hens for hatching chicks.
Eggs suitable for incubation and hatching should be of average size, free of cracks/cracks, round like a ball, free of any dirt on the shell, and not have been separated for more than 1 week (7 days).
DIFFERENT METHODS OF POULTRY FARMING.
There are two main methods of poultry farming.
Free Range Farming
In this type of farming, chickens are left free to find their own food and water. This method is mostly used to raise local chickens where the farmer incurs losses and perhaps makes little profit because the chickens lack supervision and are not given additional food.
Advantages.
It does not have high farming costs.
The chickens get enough exercise.
Disadvantages:
They destroy the environment because they eat grains, crops, etc.
It is easy to get infected and spread diseases.
It is easily affected by bad weather, people and wild animals such as cats, foxes, hawks, skunks, snakes etc.
It is easy to lay eggs in the wild/bushes and thus the eggs/chicken itself are lost.
Its growth is poor/deteriorated.
There is a possibility of moving to another house/neighborhood easily.
Indoor farming.
It is done in a fenced area/inside a special fence where there is a system for chickens to be given food and water easily. Inside the fence, a good, good and strong cage is placed that allows chickens to enter and exit when they rest/sleep/lay eggs. This farming is mostly used for foreign chickens and hybrid chickens and even local ones as well.
Advantages.
The cost of raising it is high.
Its advantages are great especially for commercial farming.
It is easy to understand the level of laying and hatching of your chickens.
It is easy to know the good chickens to lay eggs and raise for quick profit.
Chickens are not easily affected by thieves/animals/birds/hawks/bad weather.
It is not easy to contract various diseases from outside.
It is easy to treat and know the progress of your chickens easily.
They have guaranteed safety.
Its advantages are many than free-range farming.
Disadvantages
The initial costs of building a shed, fencing, and feeding and water supplies are relatively high. Therefore, they require capital.
This method requires a large and open area.
It is easy to spread disease if it occurs.
This farming requires expertise and sufficient attention .
CHICKEN SELECTION.
Choose chickens with the following characteristics:
Fast-growing,
disease-resistant,
high egg-laying,
and capable of incubating and hatching many chicks and raising them (female/male).
It is best to use hybrid roosters or local roosters that are large, tall, and have short claws. Choose those with good conformation, medium weight, and attractive colors, then mix them with hens/roosters with good conformation, good weight, and good color to get hybrid chickens that grow quickly and are of good weight for business, etc. If you do not have chickens with these characteristics, then it is best to buy from somewhere else.
During incubation, it is best for one hen to be given/put in her own nest 12 to 15 eggs and not to mix them together as when laying eggs. If they have laid 2 or more chickens at the same time, it is best to look for a hen capable of raising chicks so that she can leave all the chicks (if you cannot make a box/cage for them as I advised above) and the other hens should be separated from the chicks so that they can start being fed well and mixed with the roosters, here they will start laying after about 2 weeks.
IMPORTANT: It is very good to separate groups of chickens according to their age to reduce chickens from scratching/hurting each other.
THE BEST WAY TO FEED AND WATER CHICKENS.
WATER.
Water is very important for chickens in the coop. Give them enough water every time you see it running low/running out so they can continue to digest the food they eat and reduce body temperature. 1 chicken can drink up to a quarter of a liter of water a day. So you will put them according to their size. Get a good container to hang them slightly above ground level. This will help reduce water pollution and waterborne diseases.
NOTE= make sure the water is clean and safe.
FOOD.
It is good to find good equipment for feeding them. Look for containers that you can hang/hang a little higher from the ground depending on the age of the chickens. This will greatly help reduce the possibility of diseases spreading, especially those spread through the shoes we wear when we enter the coop. It will also greatly help reduce food spilling on the ground when the chickens eat.
For any chicken farmer, you should understand that chicken feed is expensive. So it is good to follow good feeding procedures and make/buy containers that the chickens will not be able to spill food. Remember that if the containers are not good, they will spill a lot of food and thus cause you losses.
In order to get good and profitable crops, it is good to buy chicken feed in stores or make it yourself as I will explain below to give your chickens food with all the necessary nutrients considering the age of the chicken you have. For chicks, you can put food on the ground on newspapers/bucket lids/plates. After 10 days, you can put them in a special container.
How to prepare chicken food.
Chicken food should contain essential nutrients such as Protein, Carbohydrates, Minerals and Vitamins.
These foods are divided as follows;
Body-building foods are; Legumes, fish, seafood, sesame/sunflower/cotton seeds,
Foods to protect the body from disease are; Fish oil and green leaves such as; cabbage, spinach, papaya leaves and green grass.
Foods that build the body/bones are such as; Minerals, lime, salt and crushed bones.
The foods mentioned can grow chickens well until they are sold/eaten. Surghum Larrymeal prevents galling, improves egg yolk and increases egg production. Mix 1 kg with 50 kg of bran.
Lack of minerals such as phosphorus and calcium causes lameness, crooked fingers, muscle spasms, lameness, and blindness in chickens.
A poultry farmer can buy these foods at agricultural/livestock input stores. And if you cannot, you can make them yourself by gathering the necessary feed requirements as follows below;
Type of feed Mixing rate (%)
Feed Chicks
(Kgs) Broiler
(Kgs) Laying hens
(Kgs)
Maize 70 70 70
Cultivation 20 40 40
Millet 20 30 30
Rice 40 70 70
Wheat 5 40 40
Maize bran 10 20 20 Rice bran
10 20 20
Maize bran 10 20 20
Wheat bran 5 15 15
Coconut husks 10 30 40
Cotton husks 5 10 10
Sunflower husks 10 20 20
Sesame husks 10 10 5
Dried blood 5 5 5
Ground bones 5 5 7.5
Seafood 10 5 5
Lucina 5 5 5
Lime 5 5 5
Salt 0.5 0.5 0.5
Soya 10 20 20
Sorghum Larry Meal 1 1 1
NB. Before doing this work, you may want to see a veterinary specialist for further advice if you deem it necessary.
Example of how to prepare 100 kg of chicken feed.
Example of feed for chicks from 1 day to 4 weeks of age.
FOOD QUANTITY (Kilogram) KG
Maize 30kg
Maize Bran 20kg
Soybean 18kg
Sunflower Seeds 20kg
Seafood 5kg
Ground Bones 4kg
Salt 0.5kg
Vitamins 2.0kg
Total 100
Sample feeding schedule for 4-8 weeks
FOOD QUANTITY (Kg)
Maize 45kg
Maize Bran 20kg
Cottonseed 5.0kg Soybean
20kg
Seafood 2.5kg
Ground Bones 5.0kg
Salt 0.5kg
Vitamins/Dried Blood 2.0kg
Total 100
POULTRY DISEASES.
Poultry can be attacked by many diseases that often cause significant losses to the farmer. These losses include; medical costs, egg shortages, chicken stunting, and mortality.
Poultry diseases have become a threat and are very frustrating for people who raise chickens. Many diseases are caused by Bacteria, Viruses, Parasites, Worms, Fleas, Lice, Mites, Poor Nutrition or Dirt. But this issue has been discovered that often the mistakes are the farmers themselves as they often ignore the importance of seeing veterinary experts (poultry) and some when they are lucky enough to see experts, then they ignore the advice of those experts.
Some of these diseases and the simple way to treat them are as follows (I have tried to translate a little, but some of the words are in English and I could not easily find the translation);
DISEASES OF DOMESTIC BIRD
(ESPECULATIVELY CHICKEN)
ORIGINAL NAME SYMPTOMS CAUSE
(PRESUMPTIVE DIAGNOSIS) MAIN SYMPTOMS
(CLINICAL SIGNS) SIMPLE BUT IMPORTANT AND FAST TREATMENT AT A CHEAP COST
Newcastle Disease
(Newcastle Disease) Drowsiness,
diarrhea, lowering the wings, loss of appetite etc. Newcastle Virus Chickens produce green/white feces eg lime and yellow, coughing, difficulty breathing, salivation in the mouth, dizziness, dehydration, loss of appetite, lowering the wings, chickens die up to 90%.
Pepper and ashes Hemp
/Alovera
Professionally use NEWCASTLE vaccine.
Cleanliness of the barn & voting equipment.
Clean the environment and burn all carcasses.
Do not allow people to enter the barn without permission/do not bring in unvaccinated chickens.
Follow the doctor’s advice
Fowl Pox Nodules on the wings and bare areas. Fowl pox Nodules on the wings, ears, legs and bare areas. Chickens die, especially young ones.
Chickens should be vaccinated, vitamins and antibiotics should be given.
The cleanliness of the coop and the environment should be improved.
Chicken flu/Swollen eyes/Flu Bacterial Swelling of the face and eyes, mucus flows from the nose and mouth, coughing, difficulty breathing and snoring, white/yellow mucus in the eyes), blindness, etc. Improve the cleanliness of the coop and its environment, sick chickens should be isolated and if necessary, slaughtered.
See a veterinarian to get vaccinated.
A disease that attacks the respiratory system. Chronic Respiratory infection. Infections bronchitis laryngotracheitis/Chicken Influenza (Bacteria) Chickens get flu, difficulty breathing, mucus discharge, chicks die, their growth decreases and their bones swell. Improve hygiene, make sure there is enough air.
See a specialist to give you antibiotics, it cures/for more advice. Isolate sick chickens.
Gumboro/Whitish diarrhea Fowl typhoid Chicks have white stools, lose weight, cannot breathe, feathers stand up, tremble and eventually die. Vaccinate chicks when they are 1 day old.
Pay attention to the cleanliness of the barn, water and food containers.
Use charcoal.
There is no professional treatment
Fleas/ Utiri/ Fleas/mites Ectoparasites Fleas around the eyes, Restlessness (Long-term calmness without being active) Use to put ashes in the barn. Professionally use a powdery medicine like powder.
Papasi Soft ticks Soft ticks Sores on skin, Paralysis, Anaemia Use ashes in bandages. In theory, use a powdery medicine like powder.
Hair loss
Worms/bacteria Hair loss and remaining bare. Neck retracted, unable to eat properly. Use cow’s milk. In theory, use Vitamin B12 and Egg Plus Formula.
White Bacillary Diarrhea White Bacillary Diarrhea
Mostly in chicks before 4 weeks of age, white diarrhea. Use charcoal, Alovera.
Professionally use OTC+
Typhoid Fever Bloody diarrhea/
Typhoid Coccidiosis This disease is transmitted through water/eggs/feces/contact with dirty environments. Chickens have green diarrhea, the wattles and wings turn pale due to anemia, feathers stand up. Use charcoal, Alovera.
Quarter kilo of garlic, peeled, chopped and mixed with 1 liter of water, strain and give them its water for 1 week.
Remove sick chickens and do not use sick eggs to hatch chicks.
Professionally use Furazolidone.
See a specialist
Swollen legs Scaly legs Scales on legs (cuts on the legs), lameness. Use Aloe Vera
See a specialist
Fowl Cholera Bacteria Yellow fever, sleepy and lethargic, sleep with head hanging on wings, feathers stand up, unable to breathe and eventually die. Strengthen the cleanliness of the barn, utensils and its environment.
Professionally you can use Sulfur-type drugs/see a doctor.
Eggs broken in the abdomen Egg peritonitis Sleepy, on PM broken eggs with foul smell See a specialist for u
By using the natural remedies I mentioned above;
50 chili peppers, grind, mix with 1 cup of ash, add 1 liter of water and give to the chickens.
Hemp/aloe vera. Crush it, soak it in water overnight, give it to them to drink.
Charcoal. If your chickens have diarrhea, take some charcoal, grind it, mix it in the food, give it to them, they will not defecate again. Mother EGWhite in her book Uponyaji wa Mungu p.64 has explained about Charcoal Therapy. Try it and see its success for chickens to defecate normally and not with diarrhea.
Cow dung. Dry cow dung, grind it and then mix it with chicken food. This is very helpful for chickens that are losing their feathers.
WORMS.
These are insects that are harmful to chickens and other animals as well. Chickens get worms by eating food that contains insects/parasites of these insects.
Symptoms. Chickens are in poor health, their feathers become dull, their blood and weight decrease, their egg production decreases, and worms may be seen in their feces.
How to prevent worms.
Clean the coop regularly (use insecticides if possible)
Change the bedding regularly.
Clean the food and water bowls 2/3 times a day.
Separate the older and younger chickens.
Deworm the chickens every 3 months.
See a specialist for further advice.
DISEASES CAUSED BY FOOD/NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES.
If chickens are fed a diet low in nutrients/lacking essential nutrients such as; Protein, Carbohydrates, Minerals and Vitamins they may suffer the following effects;
Stunting,
Weight loss,
Anemia,
Bones become bent/swollen/unstable,
Egg laying decreases and its brightness also becomes weak,
Egg shells become soft,
Feathers become sparse and soft,
Neck/legs and fingers become curled,
Having heavy lumps under the skin of the chest,
Getting diseases frequently,
This condition can cause the chicken to die.
How to prevent.
Chickens should be given a diet that contains a mixture of all the essential nutrients such as Vitamins, Minerals and Calcium according to their age/species and needs.
They should be given green leaves such as spinach, cabbage and papaya leaves.
They should be given a mixture of vitamins and minerals such as calcium and salt in a specific amount because if it is excessive, it can also affect the chicken.
IMPORTANT.
In order to prevent chicken diseases and get great profits from raising chickens, it is very important that the person who takes care of the chickens in the coop can quickly recognize the symptoms of chicken diseases as I explained above, including paying attention to the cleanliness of the coop. He must know the daily behavior of the chicken. You can identify a sick chicken by looking at the following;
Chicken behavior.
Chicken droppings (changes in droppings).
Food and water intake if decreased.
Egg production and egg quality if decreased.
Chickens not being active.
Death is the final sign.
If you see a sick chicken in the coop, isolate it from the others as you would chicks. So that you can care for them alone. Others who have not shown symptoms should be given a preventive medicine as soon as possible through the advice of a nearby veterinarian.
Any vaccination and treatment should follow the advice of the relevant expert/drug manufacturer without ignoring it in order to achieve success. This will enable you to reduce/cure diseases and reduce medical costs and deaths. Make sure that the vaccines/treatments come from an expert who knows how to keep the vaccines/drugs at the required temperature according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
NOTE
The following factors can cause diseases or reduce production, thus causing unnecessary losses to the farmer;
Keeping too many chickens in a small area.
A room/shed that is not well ventilated and has adequate light.
The shed is dirty.
Few/inadequate containers for food and water.
Dirty water and food containers.
Food that is not nutritious enough/insufficient.
Changing the taste of food.
Delaying the control of chicken diseases.
Vaccinating/treating chickens without proper procedure/professional advice.
Threatening chickens when entering the shed/catching them/distracting them.
Changes in weather.
Arbitrary keeping without checking them.
THE END
Choose the best and easiest method that suits you according to your area and your needs as well. Look for a method that will give you benefits at a low cost.
Choose chickens that are able to grow quickly, are resistant to diseases, lay a lot of eggs, can hatch many chicks and raise them.
Choose a rooster that is of good weight and has short claws.
The ratio of roosters to females should be 1 rooster to 10 females/hens
. A hen that is expected to lay eggs should be free of lice/fleas/mites.
A hen that does not meet the qualifications of being a good chicken suitable for the flock should be removed so that it can be fed at a loss while in the barn.
Most of us Africans do not have a tradition of keeping records. It is good that you start keeping records of the progress of your poultry farming activities. This will make it much easier for you to know the advantages, disadvantages and even know the best way to improve your farming. For example;
Egg production records will enable you to know the number of eggs laid per day. If the number is less than 60%, the laying is not good so you will look for the cause of the problem etc. The laying should be 70% to 95%.
Mortality records will help you know the risk that will come to you. For example, if the mortality exceeds 1%, it indicates a disease problem. Therefore, an investigation must be carried out to solve the problem.
Income and expenditure records will also help you know the profit and loss etc. Here you will know how much money you spent on raising and how much profit you have made after selling the eggs/chickens in question.
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