The study assessed an indigenous poultry improvement project carried out at Irepodun LGA of Kwara

State. The focal objective of the project was to facilitate traditional backyard poultry development

through improved chicks’ survivability. Ten (10) indigenous backyard poultry farmers were selected

based on willingness to participate in the project from Rore Village of Irepodun LGA and were trained on

the rudiments of the projects and improved poultry management practices. Baseline data were collected

at the onset of the project on the level of chick survivability and other parameters. Cages, feeds,

medication were supplied while each farmer was to provide five laying hens. Upon hatching, the chicks

were reared in cages for six weeks without the mother hen. The project was found to yield 70 – 90% chick

survival up to 6 weeks of age. Bird mortality was noticed to decline considerably after 6 weeks of age

when the birds are turned to scavengers. It is concluded that the innovation is result-oriented and

therefore recommended for extension dissemination and farmers` trials

Adedeji, I. A.

AJALA, A.O

Alabi, O.O.

Animashahun, R.A.

Fabiyi, E.F.

Olubamiwa, O. O.

Owolabi, A. O.

The study assessed an indigenous poultry improvement project carried out at Irepodun LGA of Kwara State. The focal objective of the project was to facilitate traditional backyard poultry development through improved chicks’ survivability. Ten (10) indigenous backyard poultry farmers were selected based on willingness to participate in the project from Rore Village of Irepodun LGA and were trained on the rudiments of the projects and improved poultry management practices. Baseline data were collected at the onset of the project on the level of chick survivability and other parameters. Cages, feeds, medication were supplied while each farmer was to provide five laying hens. Upon hatching, the chicks were reared in cages for six weeks without the mother hen. The project was found to yield 70 – 90% chick survival up to 6 weeks of age. Bird mortality was noticed to decline considerably after 6 weeks of age when the birds are turned to scavengers. It is concluded that the innovation is result-oriented and therefore recommended for extension dissemination and farmers` trials

Landmark University Repository

Trop. Anim. Prod. Invest. 19 (2): 34 - 37 (2016)ISSN: 1115-2540http://animalsci.agric.ui.edu.ng/TAPI/index.php/tapijournal/indexSHORT COMMUNICATION34Evaluation   of   Indigenous Poultry Improvement Project in Irepodun Local   GovernmentArea of Kwara State1Olubamiwa, O.O., 2*Ajala, A.O., 2 Fabiyi, E.F., 1Alabi, O.O., 2Adedeji, 1 I.A. Animashahun,R. A., 2Owolabi, A.O.1Department of Animal Science, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara   State, Nigeria2Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara   State,Nigeria.*Corresponding author: ajala.abiodun@lmu.edu.ng; abiodunajala66@yahoo.com; 07068617924ABSTRACTThe study assessed an indigenous poultry improvement project carried out at Irepodun LGA of KwaraState. The focal objective of the project was to facilitate traditional backyard poultry developmentthrough improved chicks’ survivability. Ten (10) indigenous backyard poultry farmers were selectedbased on willingness to participate in the project from Rore Village of Irepodun LGA and were trained onthe rudiments of the projects and improved poultry management practices. Baseline data were collectedat the onset of the project on the level of chick survivability and other parameters. Cages, feeds,medication were supplied while each farmer was to provide five laying hens. Upon hatching, the chickswere reared in cages for six weeks without the mother hen. The project was found to yield 70 – 90% chicksurvival up to 6 weeks of age. Bird mortality was noticed to decline considerably after 6 weeks of agewhen the birds are turned to scavengers. It is concluded that the innovation is result-oriented andtherefore recommended for extension dissemination and farmers` trials.Keywords: indigenous poultry, improvement, innovation, evaluation.INTRODUCTIONPoultry as conventionally defined means alldomesticated birds used for egg and meatproduction (Oluyemi and Roberts, 2000,Wikipedia, 2011). Poultry meat is appreciatedand acclaimed as being the favourite worldwide.The meat is wholesome, with low fat, easy toprepare, tender and loved by children (Oluyemiand Roberts, 2000). The advantages andpotentials of indigenous poultry farming arenumerous. The indigenous breeds of poultry arestill held in high esteem in Nigeria even after 50years of industrial poultry production in Nigeria.According to Academia (2017), localpoultry breeds exhibit superior adaptability totheir habitat and possess the ability to survive,produce and reproduce on low plane of nutritionand sub-optimal management. The inputsrequired are very small as they scavenge theirfeed requirements and are raised with littleveterinary care. They possess the ability toprotect themselves from predators. All the localbreeds show broodiness and hatch their ownchicks making the system auto generating. Peoplehave a preference for the eggs and meat ofindigenous poultry compared to those realizedfrom exotic breed of chickens.Also, the meat and eggs are tastier andmore nutritious compared to those from hybrids.They also have a higher resistant and tolerance todiseases infestation and harsh weather conditionsthan the cross breeds. They can also be easilyreared without much investment in terms offeeding and housing management compared tothe hybrids.  Indigenous breeds of poultry arebetter survivors in natural disasters such asfloods, tsunamis and fires as they can fly to safetywhereas conventional commercial breed birds aregenerally all lost. (Alders, 2004) In addition, theability of indigenous poultry to fly and runenables them to be more likely to escape many oftheir predators (Alders and Spradbrow, 2001).They are generally owned and managed bywomen and children and are often essentialOlubamiwa et al.35elements of female-headed households (Guèye2000; Bagnol 2001). But small changes inmanagement, for example, regular watering,night enclosures, discouraging broodiness byregular collection of laid eggs, vaccinationagainst common diseases and small amounts ofenergy and protein supplements can bring aboutsignificant improvements in production. Suchimprovements in production have been reportedunder experimental and farm conditions inBangladesh (Jensen, 1996), Burkina Faso(Ouandaogo, 1990), Malaysia (Aini, 1990), Nepal(Smith, 1990), Nicaragua (de Vries. 1995), Niger(Bessei, 1990), Nigeria (Sonaiya, 1990, 1995)and Sri Lanka (Gunaratne et al., 1993)Nevertheless, with all the aforementionedbenefits in the production of indigenous poultry,it also has its own setbacks or shortcomings aswell. This ranges from high rate of chickmortality, hatching problems, inadequatemonitoring of vaccinations for the chicks,inadequate planning of poultry production inmeeting high seasonal demand especially duringMuslim and Christian festivals (Ramadan, Salah,Christmas and Easter periods).According to Alders and Spradbrow (2001), theproduction of these indigenous breeds ischaracterized by certain features which are: smallbody size as a result of low nutritionalmaintenance requirement, late maturity (up to 36weeks of age), low performance in egg numbers(20 to 50) and egg size (25 to 45g), small clutchsizes (2 to 10 eggs) and long pauses betweenlaying of clutches and a predominant inclinationto broodiness. It is a common knowledge thatchick mortality in indigenous backyard poultryproduction is extremely high. Many of thepractitioners regularly experience 70-90% chickmortality. Cases where 1 or 2 out of 10 hatchedchicks survive to 6 - 8 weeks of age are common.These vast loses notwithstanding, backyardpoultry production in most parts of Nigeria hascontinued in this manner for ages. This calls forimproved indigenous poultry production. It is inthe light of the foregoing that this project was setup to improve the indigenous poultry productionthrough chick survivability in the project areawith a view to improving the standard of living ofthe farmers.METHODOLOGYThe project was carried out in   Rore Village ofIrepodun Local Government Area of KwaraState. It was sponsored by Landmark University,Omu-Aran, Kwara State. Ten indigenousbackyard poultry farmers were selected based ontheir willingness to participate in the   projectand were trained on the rudiments of the projectsand improved poultry management practices.Baseline data was collected at the onset of theproject on chick survivability. Cages, feeds,medication were supplied while each farmer wasasked to provide five laying hens. Upon hatching,the chicks were reared in cages for six weekswithout the mother hen with improvedmanagement practices.OPERATIONAL MECHANISMEach   of the 10 participating farmers wasmandated to purchase 5 point-of-lay birds. Theywere also to provide laying hutches for the birdswhile they will be served by cocks in theneighbourhood as they scavenge on free range.They were to brood and hatch themselves and thechicks were separated from the hens a week aftercomplete hatching. The birds were transferred tobrooder cages and were protected from cold andharsh weather conditions. The chicks werevaccinated against common diseases. This wasdone for the farmers. They were also givenmultivitamins to improve feed intake. The birdswere fed with chick mash for the first 4 weeksand later with grower’s mash for the 5th and 6thweek before they were released from the cagesfor scavenging.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONAs shown in Table 1, the mean survivalpercentage of the birds was 76 % whereas thebaseline study result for chick survivability was30%, Sonaiya (2005) reported 33% chicksurvivability in South Western Nigeria. Thisimplies that 8 out of every 10 chicks survived.This study proves that chick survival can beimproved in indigenous poultry. This will go along way towards improved flock size andconsequently enhance economic benefits accruedto the farmers. One of the weaknesses of theindigenous system has been the predominantEvaluation   of   Indigenous Poultry Improvement Project36inclination to broodiness of the hens. Thismethod has reduced the period of broodiness totwo weeks and it has enhanced quick return tolaying instead of 5.3 weeks. For instance, the eggbrooding which is the incubation period andchick rearing activity increases the reproductivecycle length by 58 days to about 74 days (16 daysfor egg laying and clutch formation and 21 daysfor hatching) plus 37 days for chick rearingequals 74 days. Horst (1990) Also, the growthrate of the chicks improved considerably becausethey were fed with livestock feed instead of thenormal guinea corn and maize as done in thevillage poultry. During evaluation visits we notedthat 60 percent of the farmers have adopted theinnovation.Table 1: Distribution of the farmers according to percentage survivability of the chicksFARMERS CHICKSHATCHEDNO SURVIVED % SURVIVAL COMMENTSFARMER 1 19 16 84 HighFARMER 2 13 11 84 HighFARMER 3 27 24 88 HighFARMER 4 12 8 66 HighFARMER 5 16 8 50 MediumFARMER 6 18 14 77 HighFARMER 7 24 19 79 HighFARMER 8 15 13 86 HighFARMER 9 23 16 69 HighFARMER 10 13 10 76 HighMEAN / % 13.9 75.9% HighSource: Field Survey, (2015)Problems encounteredPoor management on the part of some farmerssuch as placing the cages in open and airylocation and low commitment to carrying outrecommended practices especially feeding andwatering.Conclusion and recommendationThe project was found to yield 76% chicksurvival up to 6 weeks of age. Growth rate of thebirds improved considerably. Bird mortality wasnoticed to decline considerably after 6 weeks ofage when the birds are turned to scavengers. It isconcluded that the innovation is result-orientedand therefore recommended for extensiondissemination and farmers` trials.ReferencesAcademia 2017. Project proposal fordevelopment of background poultry inOrissa under SGSY InfrastructureDirectorate of Animal Husbandry andVeterinary Services, Orissa, Mangalabag,Cuttack.Alders R. 2004. Poultry for profit and pleasure.FAO Diversification Booklet 3. Food andAgriculture Organization of the UnitedNations: Rome.Alders, R. and Spradbrow, P. 2001. ControllingNewcastle disease in village chickens: afield manual. ACIAR MonographNo. 82, Canberra.Aini, I. 1990. Indigenous chicken production inSouth-East Asia. World’s PoultryScience Journal 46(March), 51– 57.Bagnol, B. 2001. The social impact ofNewcastle disease control. Pp. 69–75 in‘SADC planning workshop on Newcastledisease control in village chickens.Proceedings of an internationalworkshop, Maputo, Mozambique, 6–9March 2000’, ed. by R.G. Alders, R.andP.B. Spradbrow. ACIAR ProceedingsNo. 103, Canberra.Bessei, W. 1990. Past experience with poultrydevelopment projects. Proceedings:Smallholder rural poultry production—requirements of research anddevelopment, 9– 13 October 1990,Olubamiwa et al.37Thessaloniki, Greece, Volume 1: Resultsand technical papers, 53–60.de Vries, H. 1995. Performance of free rangehybrids in Nicaragua. Centre forInformation on Low External Input andSustainable Agriculture (ILEIA), March1995, 28.Guèye, E.F. 2000. The role of family poultry inpoverty alleviation, food security and thepromotion of gender equality in ruralAfrica. Outlook on Agriculture 29 (2),129–136.Gunaratne S.P., Chandrasiri A.D.N., HemalathaW.A.P.M. and Roberts J.A. 1993.Scavenging chickens in Sri Lanka.Tropical Animal Health and Production20, 249–257.Horst, K. 1990. Some results on poultryimprovement in Bangladesh as related tosocio-economic facts. 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