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The study assessed the factors influencing credit access among small-scale poultry farmers in the Sunyani West District. In the sampling process, multi-stage sampling procedure was utilized. Data was analyzed descriptively and inferentially. The study showed that small-scale poultry farmers in the Sunyani West District accessed credit facilities mainly from informal sources such as relatives, friends, traders, moneylenders among others. Again, the study discovered that relatives and friends were the main informal sources where they obtained credit facilities in the Sunyani West District. Additionally, results of the regression analysis showed that there was a significant association between small-scale poultry farmer’s individual factors such as education, household size, size of farm, belongingness of farm based organization, savings and access to credit facilities. Again, the results revealed that there was huge connection between institutional elements such as capacity of households to repay loans, interest rate, collateral security and small-scale poultry farmer’s access to credit facilities. Moreover, the study discovered that challenges such as high interest rate on loans, high administrative and insurance costs on credit facilities from financial institutions, lack of collateral securities to secure loans and low educational background and lack of management skills impeded small-scale poultry famer’s access to credit facilities. Key words: Credit, poultry, multiple regression, Sunyani West District Assembly, Ghana.

The study aimed at examining the influence of some socio-economic variables on poultry farmers choice of feed types between self-compounded feeds and commercial feeds. Their choice was not affected by age, gender and experience in poultry business but was affected (P

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the poultry farmer's willingness to pay for agricultural tax in the Dormaa Municipality of Ghana. Besides, the study analysed the mean agricultural tax and constraints impeding the payment of the agricultural tax.Design/methodology/approachOne hundred (100) poultry farmers were selected for the study. The logit and Kendall’s coefficient of concordance were used to examine the factors that influence payment of agricultural tax and the constraints impeding the payment of the agricultural tax, respectively.FindingsInstructively, 83% of the respondents were interested in the regressive taxation model relative to 12 and 5% who were interested in the proportional and progressive taxation model, respectively. The empirical results of the logit model revealed that tax awareness, probability of being audited and public service provision of roads influenced the poultry farmer's decision to pay for the agricultural tax. Perception of corruption and high tax rates were the primary constraints impeding the payment of the agricultural tax. The results further revealed that the farmers are willing to pay an average maximum amount of Ghc 152.00 (US 26 dollars) agricultural tax per month.Originality/valueDespite the increasing relevance of agricultural tax, studies on poultry farmer's willingness to pay agricultural tax have been scarce in West Africa, particularly, Ghana. As a consequence, this paper broadens the frontiers of the existing literature on agricultural tax as well as the constraints impeding the poultry farmers to pay agricultural tax.

Avian influenza outbreaks have been occurring on smallholder poultry farms in Asia for two decades. Farmer responses to these outbreaks can slow down or accelerate virus transmission. We used a longitudinal survey of 53 small-scale chicken farms in southern Vietnam to investigate the impact of outbreaks with disease-induced mortality on harvest rate, vaccination, and disinfection behaviors. We found that in small broiler flocks (≤16 birds/flock) the estimated probability of harvest was 56% higher when an outbreak occurred, and 214% higher if an outbreak with sudden deaths occurred in the same month. Vaccination and disinfection were strongly positively correlated with flock size and farm size, respectively. Small-scale farmers – the overwhelming majority of poultry producers in low-income countries – tend to rely on rapid sale of birds to mitigate losses from diseases. As depopulated birds are sent to markets or trading networks, this reactive behavior has the potential to enhance onward transmission.One sentence summaryA cohort study of fifty three small-scale poultry farms in southern Vietnam reveals that when outbreaks occur with symptoms similar to highly pathogenic avian influenza, farmers respond by sending their chickens to market early, potentially exacerbating the effects of the outbreak.

Understanding broiler farmers' intention toward highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) control is important to design successful HPAI control programs. We used Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to identify factors (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) associated with the intentions of Western-Java small-scale broiler farmers toward implementing cleaning and disinfection (C&D), vaccination, reporting, and stamping-out without or with 50% compensation. For this, 203 Western-Java farmers were interviewed. The majority of the farmers had a positive intention to implement C&D (89%), reporting (88%), and vaccination (80%). A lower number had a positive intention to join stamping-out both with 50% compensation (67%) and without any compensation (53%). Farmers had a more positive attitude and subjective norm, but lower perceived behavioral control toward one or more of the intentions to implement measures. Attitude was positively associated with intentions to implement C&D and vaccination. Subjective norm of veterinarians of integrated companies was positively associated with intentions to implement vaccination. Perceived behavioral control (i.e., money and time) was positively associated with intentions to implement C&D, vaccination, and stamping-out without any compensation. Results suggest that farmers are in favor of implementing preventive measures (i.e., C&D and vaccination) on HPAI control over facing the consequences of control measures (i.e., stamping-out), and HPAI control programs should primarily focus on incentivizing farmers complemented by programs aiming to improve farmers' attitude. Thus, policy should be emphasized to preventive measures rather than control measures. Financial incentive-based instruments (e.g., price and performance bonus) can be used to increase the intention of farmers to implement C&D and vaccination. Trained vaccinators might help to save the time needed to vaccinate the entire flock can increase the intention of farmers to vaccinate their chickens. Also, informational instruments (e.g., education and communication) can be used to change and to improve the attitude of farmers to implement both measures.

Free‐range poultry farms have a high risk of introduction of avian influenza viruses (AIV), and it is presumed that wild (water) birds are the source of introduction. There is very scarce quantitative data on wild fauna visiting free‐range poultry farms. We quantified visits of wild fauna to a free‐range area of a layer farm, situated in an AIV hot‐spot area, assessed by video‐camera monitoring. A total of 5,016 hr (209 days) of video recordings, covering all 12 months of a year, were analysed. A total of 16 families of wild birds and five families of mammals visited the free‐range area of the layer farm. Wild birds, except for the dabbling ducks, visited the free‐range area almost exclusively in the period between sunrise and the moment the chickens entered the free‐range area. Known carriers of AIV visited the outdoor facility regularly: species of gulls almost daily in the period January–August; dabbling ducks only in the night in the period November–May, with a distinct peak in the period December–February. Only a small fraction of visits of wild fauna had overlap with the presence of chickens at the same time in the free‐range area. No direct contact between chickens and wild birds was observed. It is hypothesized that AIV transmission to poultry on free‐range poultry farms will predominantly take place via indirect contact: taking up AIV by chickens via wild‐bird‐faeces‐contaminated water or soil in the free‐range area. The free‐range poultry farmer has several possibilities to potentially lower the attractiveness of the free‐range area for wild (bird) fauna: daily inspection of the free‐range area and removal of carcasses and eggs; prevention of forming of water pools in the free‐range facility. Furthermore, there are ways to scare‐off wild birds, for example use of laser equipment or trained dogs.

We have developed an automatic visual egg inspection system for poultry farmers. The egg inspection system used by the aggregator in Japan is a large-scale system, and it is difficult for general poultry farmers to introduce a similar system. Under such circumstances, the small-scale automatic inspection system for small scale poultry farmers is desired. The developed system can detect the defective eggs moving on the conveyor in the same environment as human worker. In this system, the appearance of egg is detected by image sensor and its dirt or cracks are detected using convolutional neural network (CNN) with deep learning. Moreover, the system can indicate the result on the screen within very short time with high accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed system is confirmed by experiments.

We consider an EOQ inventory model for growing items, wherein the value and size of items increase during time, some instances of these items are livestock, fish, and poultry. The main difference between this inventory system and older ones is weight increment of products during stocking without buying more. This paper studies an inventory system of poultries that new-born items are fed to reach the ideal weight for consumers. In this study, based on the consumers’ preference of fresh foods over frozen items, we assume that shortage is permitted and consumers wait for fresh items when company pays some additional penalties, i.e., the shortage is fully backordered. On the other hand, for each cycle, the producer must prepare the place in terms of hygiene conditions; thus, a setup time per cycle is considered. The aim of this study is to obtain optimum system solution, such that total costs, including setup, purchasing, holding, feeding, and shortage, are minimized. To do so, we employ mathematical measures to approximate growing rates and model the system as a non-linear programming. To solve the obtained optimization model, we employ hessian matrix to obtain optimal solution for this inventory system. The proposed EOQ inventory model helps poultry industries in Iran to optimize their system considering costs and permissible shortage, and it can be employed in other countries. Finally, we provide a numerical example and its sensitivity analysis, plus some potential future directions.

The Biocheck.UGent scoring system was developed to measure and quantify the level of biosecurity in animal husbandry. This tool is composed of all the relevant elements of biosecurity in poultry farms (broilers and laying hens) and is subdivided into external and internal biosecurity. The peculiarity of this scoring system is that it takes into account the relative importance of the different aspects of biosecurity, resulting in a risk-weighted score. The biosecurity scores obtained are provided immediately after completing the questionnaire and the scores for each sub-category can be compared to global averages to allow the poultry farmer to compare the results obtained and correct any anomalies that are on their farm. In Algeria, preliminary results from a survey in poultry houses of 30.000 laying hens show a wide range of biosecurity levels on that farm, with internal biosecurity scores ranging from 6 to 72% and external biosecurity scores ranging from 28 to 92% in the subgroups. The overall scores were 50% and 54%, respectively. These early results show that despite the well-known importance of biosecurity, there is a lack of implementation of many biosecurity measures.

During the past few years, food fraud has become a source of concern for consumers in many parts of the world. Major cases of food fraud have been found in Canada in recent months, including the Mucci case, in which Mexican tomatoes were sold as Canadian, as well as the case of a poultry farmer selling nonorganic chicken as organic. The authors aim to assess the level of awareness and trust among Canadian consumers in relation to fraudulent and counterfeit food products. This exploratory study is meant to establish latent determinants on consumers’ risk perception of food fraud in general. These determinants include education, income, geographical region, age, sex, and health-related predisposition such as food allergies and intolerances. To this end, a random survey was conducted across Canada in January 2017. A sample size of 1088 was used for this study. Findings indicate that older, more-educated consumers generally feel more vulnerable, to various degrees, than do other consumers. Consumers w...

This study estimated poultry farmers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for fly larvae meal as animal protein source to feed local chickens in Benin. A double-bounded contingent valuation approach was used to collect data from 480 poultry farmers, and an interval regression model was performed. We found that 82.10% of poultry farmers are willing to pay for using fly larvae meal. The average WTP was estimated at FCFA/ kg 225.10 (€/kg 0.34), indicating a potential and reliable demand in fly larvae meal. Our analysis suggests that public actions can sensitize poultry farmers and support innovative small companies to produce and market fly larvae meal.

RESUMO: O segmento da avicultura vem mostrando um grande crescimento nos últimos anos, obtendo um lugar considerável na economia mundial, sendo o Brasil o maior exportador e o segundo maior produtor de frangos. No Brasil, o maior estado produtor é o Paraná. A presente pesquisa tem como objetivo realizar o diagnóstico do resultado contábil da atividade avícola em uma propriedade rural da região Sudoeste do Paraná. Esse estudo caracterizou-se como de natureza aplicada, no intuito atender ao objetivo desta pesquisa, foi feita uma pesquisa exploratória, com o levantamento dos dados feito através de visitas agendadas na propriedade e através de entrevista não estruturada ao avicultor. Foi utilizado o método de abordagem qualitativo, em que o pesquisador vai a campo permitindo entender melhor o fenômeno em estudo, levando em consideração a perspectiva das pessoas envolvidas, no caso o avicultor, e os pontos de vista relevantes. Quanto ao tratamento dos dados, à pesquisa foi realizada na forma de um estudo de caso, que teve como ambiente de estudo uma pequena propriedade que realiza atividade avícola. Por meio da análise e apuração dos dados, os resultados obtidos evidenciaram prejuízos nos períodos analisados.Palavras-Chave: Contabilidade rural, Atividade avícola, Resultado financeiro. ABSTRACT: The poultry segment has been showing great growth in the last years, obtaining a considerable place in the world economy, being Brazil the largest exporter and the second largest producer of chickens. In Brazil, the largest producer state is Paraná. The present research aims to verify the financial result of the poultry activity in a rural property in the Southwest of Paraná. This study was characterized as being of an applied nature, in order to meet the objective of this research, an exploratory research was done, with the data collection done through scheduled visits to the property and through an unstructured interview with the poultry farmer. The qualitative approach was used, in which the researcher goes to the field to better understand the phenomenon under study, taking into account the perspective of the people involved, in this case the poultry producer, and the relevant points of view. Regarding the treatment of the data, the research was carried out in the form of a case study, which had as study environment a small property that performs poultry activity. Through the analysis and data collection, the results obtained evidenced a negative financial income in the period of the poultry houses analyzed.Key Words: Farming accounting, Poultry activity, Financial result.

A study was conducted to assess the present status of poultry waste management by poultry farmers in Trishalupazila of Mymensingh district, Bangladesh during July to November 2013. A structured, pre-tested questionnaire was used for collecting data. The highest 52% respondents were involved in layer farming and majority of the respondents did not use any litter materials where 36% and 12% used rice husk and sawdust respectively as litter. The availability of storage and treatment facilities was in 24% farms but their storage system was uncovered. Fifty per cent of the farmers sold their litter while some other used as fish feed, soil amendment and for biogas production. Only 16% farmers faced diseases related to poultry waste and the rest (84%) never faced any disease. It was noticed that 54% farmers faced environmental problems and 46% were unconcerned about environmental problem. They considered odor, flies and mosquitoes and leaching as environmental problem. Only 24% farmer mentioned financial problem as barrier of poultry waste management and majority claimed about unconsciousness. It is concluded that poultry waste management by farmers in the study area is inefficient, implying inadequate awareness of the potential negative impact of poor handling of poultry wastes. More extensive work is required to trainup the poultry farmer for proper handling and utilization of poultry wastes.Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.2(2): 293-300, August 2015

The main purpose of this study was to explore the effects of Spirulina (Spirulina platensis) as a feed supplement by replacing Vitamin-Mineral Premix on the performance of broiler. The study explored that final body weight was 1039, 1070, 1044, 1065, 1117 and 893 g/bird in group 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 where significantly (p0.5). Feed conversion ratio (kg FI/kg LWG) observed significantly different like 1.72, 1.65, 1.69, 1.62, 1.61 and 1.99 in group 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively (p

Newcastle disease (ND) is one of the most catastrophic diseases of poultry and has potential to cause enormous economic losses in the poultry industry. There were several outbreaks of ND recorded in India; however, the economic impact of ND on poultry industry remains unclear and demanded calculation of economic losses due to ND among the commercial layer in the India. This paper analyses the economic losses among a total of thirteen flocks of eleven layer farms were ND outbreak reported during the period January 2013 to July 2014. A new economic model was developed to calculate economic losses occurred due to mortality, vaccination, production lost, treatment and biosecurity measures of individual layer flocks. Total economic losses in all the layer flocks were 3719223 rupees. Loss from mortality was contributed 2998105 rupees out of total economic loss. Highest 80.61 percent and lowest 0.70 percent out of total economic loss was documented due to mortality and biosecurity measure respectively. In India, ND is leading to enormous economic loss among commercial poultry farmer inspite of stringent vaccination against ND. The generation of valuable data from this study will be useful to calculate global economic loss due to Newcastle disease in the poultry industry.

Edmond Martin Venables was a self-taught geologist fascinated by the natural history of Sussex from an early age. He explored the Bognor Regis coastline where London Clay (Eocene) is exposed under favourable tidal conditions. His first paper on this subject was published in 1929 and provided the earliest detailed account of the stratigraphy. Venables soon became an expert in identifying macro- and microfossils, and provided important contributions to the study of the British Tertiary. A lifetime of collecting and investigation followed and, by the time of his second major paper in 1963, he had refined the stratigraphy of the Bognor foreshore section, listed some 450 taxa, including many new forms of which one genus and 14 species were named after him. During his life, he donated some 14 000 specimens to the Natural History Museum, London, including an important collection of pyritized fossil beetles from the London Clay. Employed first as a fruit and poultry farmer and later as a local museum curator, Venables published very few papers in scientific journals but produced over 2500 articles on natural history as a journalist for the local newspaper.

The study assessed the determinant factors influencing the adoption of biosecurity principles by poultry farmers in Kwara State, Nigeria. The major objective was to determine poultry farmer awareness and adoption of various biosecurity principles. A multistage sampling technique was used to select the respondents. Data for the study were collected from 92 respondents, through the use of structured questionnaire and interview schedule. Data were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistic (Logit regression analysis). The results revealed that majority of the poultry farmers were still within their productive and active age (M=47years), majority were well educated (M=15years) and majority (60 %) reared both broilers and layers. The study also showed that there was 100% awareness and trial of all the biosecurity principles under consideration The most adopted biosecurity principles with 100% adoption however, were provision of adequate ventilation, removal of dead birds, offering of good quality feed and water, vaccination and provision of proper medication. The result further revealed that respondents with larger number of birds (1.994), access to credit (1.715), frequent contact with extension agents (2.183) and access to training (2.083) had high propensity to adoption of biosecurity activities. The respondents perceived all the biosecurity principles under consideration as effective in preventing looses in their farms. They however, perceived the following constraints as severe constraints: inadequate capital (M=2.96), disease and parasites (M=2.97) and inadequate credit facility (M= 2.74). The study concludes that poultry farmers’ awareness of biosecurity activities was high, with moderate rate of adoption of the activities; they however, perceived biosecurity principles as effective means of preventing diseases infection. Keywords : Adoption, biosecurity principles, poultry, farmers

The study examined the Agricultural Information and communication networks among poultry farmers in three (3) area councils of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja, Nigeria. Snow-ball sampling technique was adopted for the study, a total of One hundred and twenty-two (122) respondents were sampled for the study. The main objective was to examine the communication sources and networking available to poultry farmers. Descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data collected. The study revealed that majority (60%) of the respondents were still in their productive age, male were the majority (81.1%) , while 79.3% had one form of education or the other. The study also showed that majority of the respondents (71.3%) had between 901-1100 birds and 56.2% sold their birds directly to the consumers. The study showed that information disseminated via extension agents, radio, poultry farmers associations and feed millers were found to be effective means of networking among poultry farmers. Out of the thirteen independent variables under consideration: Age, Gender, Household size, Educational level, Years of experience, Access to credit, Access to training, Membership of co-operations and access to communication networks were found to be statistically significant and influence the frequency of access to information. All the constraints under consideration affecting access to information were found to be serious constraints in exception of poor market structures and poor transportation. The study concludes that socio-economic and institutional variables significantly and positively influence poultry farmer’s access to information and communication networks. Keywords: Information system, Communication, Network, Poultry farmers

This paper presents a model for determining optimal all-unit quantity discount strategies in a channel of one seller (poultry farmer) and one buyer (retailer). The poultry farmer’s stock increases due to the growth of items. In contrast, the retailer purchases items as fresh chicken meat from the poultry farmer, the inventory level of the retailer is therefore depleted due to the combined effects of its demand and deterioration. The poultry farmer attempts to increase her profit by controlling the retailer’s ordering schedule through a quantity discount strategy. We formulate the above problem as a Stackelberg game between the poultry farmer and the retailer to analyze the existence of the poultry farmer’s optimal quantity discount pricing policy, which maximizes her total profit per unit of time. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the theoretical underpinnings of the proposed formulation.

Objectifs: Les asticots sont une source importante de proteines animales faiblement valorises dans l'alimentation des poulets locaux. L'etude vise a analyser les perceptions des aviculteurs traditionnels et les facteurs determinant l'utilisation des asticots dans l'alimentation des poulets locaux ( Gallus gallus ) au Benin. Methodologie et Resultats: 960 aviculteurs traditionnels ont ete enquetes de facon aleatoire dans 48 villages. Les principales donnees collectees sont les caracteristiques sociolinguistiques du cheptel et le choix d'utilisation des asticots. Les facteurs determinant l’utilisation d’asticots ont ete analyses au moyen d’une analyse canonique discriminante. Un modele lineaire generalise a effets mixtes a ete utilise pour analyser les facteurs determinant le souhait d’adoption des asticots. Trois groupes d’aviculteurs traditionnels ont ete distingues et leurs caracteristiques ont ete etudiees. La localisation geographique et le sexe de l'aviculteur sont les facteurs qui determinent l’utilisation des asticots. Conclusion et Application des Resultats: Les aviculteurs souhaitant utiliser les asticots constituent le Groupe 2 avec 81,68 % des enquetes, ceux utilisant deja les asticots forment le Groupe 1 avec 5,73 % des enquetes et le Groupe 3 est constitue des aviculteurs refractaires a l'utilisation des asticots avec 12,59 % des enquetes. Les aviculteurs du Groupe 1 se differencient de ceux des Groupes 2 et 3 par la taille du cheptel et le revenu annuel, ceux du Groupe 2 se differencient de ceux du Groupe 3 par le sexe, le groupe socioculturel et l’anciennete dans l'elevage. Ainsi, les aviculteurs traditionnels au Benin ont une bonne connaissance des asticots et consentent majoritairement a l'utiliser dans l’alimentation des poulets locaux. Cette acceptation doit etre accompagnee par l’organisation de seances de sensibilisation a grande echelle et des actions d'accompagnement a la production des asticots afin de faciliter l'adoption des asticots dans les pratiques alimentaires d’aviculture au Benin. Mots cles: Mouche, alimentation, perception, aviculteurs traditionnels, Benin English Title: Local perceptions and factors affecting fly larvae adoption for traditional poultry ( Gallus gallus ) feeding in Benin English Abstract Objectives: The maggots are an important but underused source of animal protein in the diet of local chickens. This study aims to analyze the perceptions of traditional poultry farmers and the factors determining the use of maggots in the diet of local chickens ( Gallus gallus ) in Benin. Methodology and Results: 960 traditional poultry farmers were randomly surveyed in 48 villages. The main data collected were sociolinguistic characteristics, information on livestock and the choice of using maggots. Factors determining the use of maggots were analyzed by canonical discriminant analysis. A generalized linear mixedeffects model was used to analyze factors determining the desire of adopting maggots. Three groups of traditional poultry farmers were distinguished and their characteristics were studied. The geographical location and the sex of the poultry farmer are the factors that determine the desire of using of maggots. Conclusion and Application of Results: Group 2 are the poultry farmers wishing to use maggots (Group 2) with 81.68% of the respondents, those of Group 1 are already using maggots with 5.73% of respondents, and finally the Group 3 consists of traditional poultry farmers who are against the use of maggots, with 12.59% of respondents. Poultry farmers in Group 1 differ from those of Groups 2 and 3 by their herd size and annual income, those in Group 2 differ from those of Group 3 by gender, socio-cultural group and seniority in the breeding. The traditional poultry farmers have a perfect knowledge of maggots and the majority agrees to the use them in the diet of local poultry. This acceptance must be accompanied by the organization of large-scale awareness sessions and accompanying actions for the production of maggots to facilitate the adoption of maggots in the food practices of poultry farming in Benin. Keywords: Fly, feeding, perception, traditional poultry farmers, Benin

In some European countries, footpad dermatitis (FPD) is measured as an indicator of broiler welfare. Prevalence and seasonal variation of FPD was determined within broiler flocks (fast-growing breeds) in the Netherlands. Samples were taken from 386 Dutch flocks at 8 slaughterhouses during a period of one year. Prevalence of footpad dermatitis was related to background information gathered using a food chain certification scheme to identify possible factors of influence. On average, 35.5% of the broilers had no lesions, whereas 26.1% and 38.4% had mild or severe lesions, respectively. Season, age, thinning of flocks, slaughter age, breed, slaughterhouse, and the interaction between thinning and slaughter age significantly affected severity of FPD. Peak flock FPD scores occurred in flocks where 1-d-old chicks were placed in March and December, whereas flocks placed in warm months, between June and August, displayed lower flock FPD scores. Generally, birds sent to slaughter when thinning a flock displayed less severe FPD than birds from completely depopulated flocks. Severity of FPD decreased with age. Because poultry farmer, hatchery, veterinary practice, and feed manufacturer were included in the model as random factors, it was only possible to assess their contribution relative to each other. The broiler farmer had the largest contribution. Also, a large contribution was found for hatchery, perhaps indicating that broiler quality is important. No relationship was observed between FPD and mortality. Across farms, less severe FPD was observed on farms using antibiotics. However, within farms, FPD was more common in flocks where antibiotics had been used compared with flocks that did not require antibiotic treatment. In conclusion, footpad dermatitis was frequently observed in Dutch fast-growing broiler flocks, and many factors had significant effects on severity of FPD, such as breed, thinning of flocks, age at slaughter, slaughter plant, and hatchery.

Fifty faecal samples each were collected randomly from free range fowls of varied ages in five communities in Choba, Obio-Akpor, Local Government Area of Rivers State to determine the prevalence of coccidiosis in free range fowls. Samples were collected in sterile vials (between 6.00 and 7.00 a.m.) and analysed in the laboratory using the concentration (sedimentation) technique. Results obtained showed an overall prevalence (54.2%) of coccidiosis in the 1-6 weeks aged chicks (p gradually declined as the age of the fowls increased with; 7-16 weeks (49%) and (45%) recorded in the (16+ weeks) fowls (p>0.05). On the community level; the prevalence of the infection showed relatively low; (4,0%), Okocha; (12%), Rumuchakara; (11.2%) Owhipa; (8%), Ndidor and (8%) for the University of Port Harcourt Community. Build-up of immunity in older fowls was attributable to exposure to repeated infections under natural conditions; thus the observed age-related decline in prevalence. The percentage of infected fowls compared to the uninfected was significantly different (p coccidian oocysts in the host was attributes to contents of the plant materials the free range fowls forage on. The study suggests that the prevalence of the coccidiosis in free range fowls could be reduced by improved hygiene and proper farm management. However, there is need to identify plants with anti-coccidial properties in order to reduce the burden of coccidiosis control on the poultry farmer.

A poultry farmer reported a case of abnormal growth among 17 to 25 days old broilers chicks in his farm to the poultry Unit, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University Malaysia Kelantan. The housing system was a modified closed type with a total of 130,000; 10,000 birds per house. The clinical signs observed were damp feathers which are poorly developed, stunted growth, watery droppings containing undigested feeds and unequal sizes of chicks. Post mortem examination was conducted on thirty culled chicks and the gross lesions observed were; corrugated intestines (83.3%) with some being thin and translucent with poorly digested feed within the lumen, atrophied pancreas (70.0%) and liver (66.7%), slightly atrophied thymus (33.3%), dilated proventriculus (50.3%) and enlarged gall bladder (43.3%). Histopathological evaluation of the intestine and pancreas showed lesions such a cystic dilation and degeneration of intestinal crypts, degeneration of the pancreas with vacuolation in the paranchyma and atrophy of the acinar cells. Based on the clinical signs observed, post mortem lesions and the histopathological findings, the case was diagnosed as Runting Stunting Syndrome (RSS). There is no treatment for this syndrome and it can only be prevented through good management practices

The objectives of this study were 1) to compute appropriate mathematical curves that describe the daily production process by the input variables daily feed consumption, water consumption, ambient temperature, and output variables hen-day egg production, egg weight, second grade eggs, floor eggs, cumulative mortality, body weight, and flock uniformity; and 2) to obtain insights into the daily variations in these variables, in order to support the poultry farmer with an aviary housing system in his daily management. Literature and research data attained from six unmolted flocks that were housed in aviary systems were used to formulate the mathematical curves. The curves were a function of the number of days in the laying period. Curves for cumulative mortality, hen-day egg production, egg weight, body weight, and percentage of floor eggs described individual flock results well (0.72 < R2adj < 1.00). The coefficients of determination for feed consumption, water consumption, flock uniformity, and percentage of second grade eggs were in general low (0.33 < R2adj < 0.54), which implies that the form of the curve differs between flocks. Egg weight, body weight, cumulative mortality, and hen-day egg production had the lowest minimum coefficients of variation (0.8 to 1.9), followed by feed consumption, water consumption, and flock uniformity (2.8 to 3.6). Ambient temperature, percentage floor eggs, and percentage of second grade eggs had the highest minimum coefficients of variation (4.8 to 9.1).

The feasibility of separating manure management from pig and poultry production units in the same way that feed production is separated from utilization is examined. The basic idea is that centralized storage facilities for manure should be provided for a group of pig and poultry units. The manure collected into the central store can be disposed of by land spreading on selected land areas in a separate operation. An analytical model is developed to optimize the siting of the store and the determination of the number of tanker wagons to collect and spread the manure. The model is applied to a specific example comprising 58 pig fattening units and the results indicate that the system may have economic application while at the same time minimizing pollution hazards and relieving the specialist pig or poultry farmer of the task of manure management.

There are two commonly met with types of defective eggs laid by the domestic hen that result in considerable financial loss to the poultry farmer, and are frequent enough in their occurrence to affect perceptibly the potential food supply derived from the poultry industry.The first of these results from the inclusion of blood or meat spots in eggs, and the second is the production of eggs so small as to make the majority of them unsaleable—the so-called “Miniature” eggs.The presence of blood on the yolk of an egg was recorded by Aristotle as early as 300 B.C., and he attributed it to premature ovulation. Later, about A.D. 1600, Fabricius (Adelmann, 1942), during a demonstration of “sanguineous” eggs to his anatomy class, described a livercoloured body included in an egg. The occurrence of blood spots in eggs led both these authors to propound the theory that the yolk was directly formed from blood.

THE development of rotenone and similar substances as insecticides has resulted in a tremendous number of publications outlining the uses and properties of these compounds. There is no doubt that rotenone preparations can be of service to the practical poultry farmer and may be of great interest in the scientific treatment of poultry problems. The more interesting points in the prolific literature are briefly outlined in the following article. The authors have attempted to collect the facts most interesting to the practical as well as the research poultryman, from the more authentic sources. From the time of the early explorers we have known of the use of certain plants by the aborigines of eastern Asia, the East Indies, Central America and South America, as fish and arrow poisons. The natives ground portions of the plants to a pulp and threw the pulp into the water with the fish. Soon the . . .

Innovation is exerting greater and greater pressure on the various sectors of the economy. With the developments of science and the rising standards of living, our societies are becoming both more productive and more exacting. They are constantly calling in question conditions of work and patterns of consumption. This means that our entrepreneurs must conform more and more closely to the Schumpeterian notion of an entrepreneur. The innovations of the present day are both technical and commercial; they concern the distribution of goods as much as their production. Moreover, they affect agriculture as well as industry. But because of the conditions peculiar to the agricultural sector, the new ideas have reached it at a later date, in original forms and with different repercussions on people’s lives and work.

To the Editor: —Communications from various authors have emphasized the possibility of treating virus diseases with aureomycin. Dendritic keratitis is a case in point. For this reason, when I was faced with a case of conjunctivitis of supposed Newcastle (Philippine fowl) disease aureomycin was used. The patient, a poultry farmer aged 50, had an epidemic of Newcastle disease among his chickens. Two days prior to his consulting me, he had had onset of severe pain, burning and redness of both eyes. There were no associated systemic complaints. Physical examination revealed considerable injection of both the bulbar and the palpebral conjunctiva. There was no evidence of iritis. The pupils reacted to light, and funduscopic examination revealed nothing abnormal. A smear of the secretion revealed a predominance of lymphocytes and no organisms. Antistin® (2-[N-phenyl-N-benzylaminoethyl]-imidazoline) ophthalmic, which had been given because of the possibility of an allergic origin, was discontinued. No new effect

An agreement was made with a poultry farmer in a suburb of La Paz (altitude 10,800 ft) to submit for post-mortem examination all birds that died in four separate lots of broilers. In each lot the birds were of the same breed, a proprietary hybrid. The parent stock had been imported from the United States of America and was kept at a supply farm 75 miles from La Paz, where it is possible to hatch successfully at the much lower altitude