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Manihot esculenta leaf meal in feed at post-hatch improves growth and egg production. One may question the efficacy of Manihot esculenta leaf extract for in ovo feeding. This study was conducted to determine the effects of in ovo injection of Manihot esculenta extract on hatchability, growth performance and biochemical parameters of Sasso broiler chickens. The hatching eggs from 38-week-old broiler breeders were set and at d 18 of incubation, 600 eggs with evidence of living embryos were assigned to 4 treatment groups of 150 eggs each. These groups were: (1) eggs without in ovo injection (negative control); (2) eggs perforated but no injection of any additive (positive control); (3) eggs perforated and injected with 0.1 ml of saline solution and (4) eggs perforated and injected with 0.1 ml of Manihot esculenta extract. Data were collected on hatching performance. During the post hatch growth phase, performance traits such as feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were collected and at 84 days of age, blood samples were taken for determination of serum total proteins, triglycerides, aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) and alanine amino transaminase (ALAT). The results showed that hatchability was similar in the negative control and Manihot esculenta extract groups but significantly higher (P < 0.05) than those of positive control and saline solution treatment groups. Chick quality was better in the groups with Manihot esculenta extract and saline solution application. Post-hatch, the body weight gain of birds from the Manihot esculenta extract group was higher than those in the groups with saline solution application and in the negative control and positive control groups.Manihot esculenta leaf extract increased significantly the triglyceride rate and reduced ALAT and ASAT concentration at hatch. It can be concluded that in ovo inoculation of 0.5 μg/ml Manihot esculenta leaf extract on d 18 of incubation into the eggs air chamber improved hatchability, chick quality and post-hatch growth of broilers.

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A survey to determine the causes of mortality of guinea fowl and the technical and sanitary constraints of the traditional breeding of guinea fowl was carried out among 106 poultry farmers from the Savannah Region in North Togo. The survey also made it possible to identify the breeding constraints and the endogenous practices of rearing of the guinea fowl. The results obtained from the investigations are: (i) the high rate (69.81%) of illiterates is not conducive to the definition or control of plans for prophylaxis and rationing. (ii) Breeders are unaware of disease-resistant strains of guinea fowl. (iii) Guinea fowl breeding starts with traditional methods, with 33.96% of the breeders who leave the guinea fowl in the wilderness and 13.21% who breed them in conflagration pell-mell. (iv) The formulations of food rations in order to satisfy the nutritional requirements of guinea fowl are virtually non-existent. The sources of proteins sometimes supplemented are only termites. However, food imbalance leads to growth lags. (v) Prophylaxis plans are not followed by breeders. Fifty two percent (52%) of the breeders self-medicate and other breeders (9.43%) do not treat. Several plants are used alone or in combination to control poultry diseases. (vi) biosecurity measures are non-existent in the farms (48.11% of the farmers give the dead guinea fowl to the children for consumption and 66% of the breeders throw the dead guinea fowl in the wild). (vii) The major constraints identified in this investigation are the remoteness of the veterinary supply centers, the lack of access to quality veterinary services, the low rate of training of farmers, the inadequate support of pastoralists livestock equipment; (viii) the problem of predators (93.40%) and the problem of access to effective veterinary products (79.25%) were noted.

In Togo, fish farming is faced with several problems which oblige farmers to develop local production techniques that explain the low level of production. To assess the current situation, a survey was conducted to collect information on this activity in 91 Togolese fish farms located in the five regions of the country. The survey has shown the existence of two production systems, namely the extensive majority system (87.91%) practiced in ponds and water reservoirs and the semi intensive system (12.09%) implemented in tanks and ponds. The lack of accurate data has made it difficult to estimate production. Nevertheless, eight fish species are found in these environments in which tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and the African cat fish (Clarias gariepinus) represent 80% of farmed species. Feed, representing over 50% of fish production cost, remains the major constraint on the development of this activity. However, agro-industrial by-product resources were available depending on region and are recoverable for use as fish feed. This is the case for palm kernel meal which was abundant and little studied in Togo. Sociologically, fish farming was more a matter of group (61.54%) than individual (38.46%) activity. The extensive fish farming system deserves to be improved and agro-industrial by-products analyzed and valued for the promotion of fish farming in Togo.