Free-range Village Chickens on the Accra Plains, Ghana:Their Husbandry and Productivity

Abstract

A cross-sectional[4pc] survey investigating husbandry and productivity of free-range village chickens was carried out in four administrative districts within 60 km of Accra. Responses were provided by 101 men and 99 women. The mean (SD) household flock size was 28.7 (25.97) and the median was 20. The factors included in the final model investigating variance in flock size were sex of the respondent (p = 0.011), administrative area (p = 0.004), the numbers of members in the household (p = 0.017) and the number of cattle, sheep and goats owned by the household (p = 0.031). Chickens were owned by individual members of the household, but women and children were the predominant providers of care for chickens. All respondents described their chickens as scavengers that were provided with supplementary feed, and over 80% of respondents named maize as a supplementary food source. Approximately 50% of respondents claimed difficulty in providing supplementary feed, with the degree of difficulty varying between administrative areas (p < 0.001). A majority of respondents (approximately 65%) claimed that their chickens laid 3-4 clutches of eggs per year. Over 70% of respondents estimated that each clutch contained 10-20 eggs, and approximately 70% of respondents estimated that 75% of the eggs hatched. Opinions on mortality varied, but 60% of men and 70% of women estimated that between 50% and 75% of both chicks and adult birds died each year. Approximately 80% of respondents named Newcastle disease as the most important health issue. The opportunities for and consequences of controlling Newcastle disease are discussed.

Farmer perceptions on the use of non-conventional animal protein sources for scavenging chickens in semi-arid environments

“…Higher proportion of adult males than youths in owning chickens agrees with Muchadeyi et al (2004) who reported that men owned 36% of the chickens and boys and girls owned 6 and 6%, respectively. The finding that households were largely challenged by diseases agrees with previous reports (Aboe et al, 2006;Okeno et al, 2012). Extension officers of the municipality highlighted that Newcastle disease was the commonest disease that can kill the almost entire flock (Naidoo, 2003).…”

“…Government extension officers, in conjunction with local non-government organizations and farmers, need to collaborate when attempting to purge prevalence of Newcastle disease. When the management or combating of Newcastle disease has been done, it would promote investment in chickens (Aboe et al, 2006). Chicken theft necessitates appropriate chicken housing with security features.…”

HPAI H5N1 Vakalarının Kızılırmak Deltasındaki Köy Tavukçuluğuna Finansal Etkileri

“…By comparison, flock size in backyard poultry enterprises in France ranged from 15 to 20 [17] and in Africa ranged from 10 to 20 [3,18] . HPAI is a disease that requires the implementation of varying degrees of biosecurity measures across all components of the poultry sector and those measures are interpreted in economic terms [19] .…”

Poultry industry in the Wa Municipality of the Upper West Region of Ghana: Prospects and challenges

“…Meat and eggs from poultry serve as ready source of food for most households. Poultry meat and eggs provide a preferred form of animal protein for most people (Aboe et al, 2006). Poultry products which are cheaper and more acceptable source of animal protein have decreased the purchase of red meat which is more costly and beyond the purchasing power of the average citizens (Appiah, 1993).…”

“…Poultry products which are cheaper and more acceptable source of animal protein have decreased the purchase of red meat which is more costly and beyond the purchasing power of the average citizens (Appiah, 1993). Thus poultry production can be one of the surest ways of addressing the problem of protein malnutrition which happens to be one of the most destructive disease affecting children (Aboe et al, 2006). Poultry does not only serve as food security item, but also provides ready cash for investment for all age groups (Karbo and Bruce, 2000).…”