An Evaluation of Village Chicken Management Practices in Bauchi State, Nigeria

Abstract

A study to identify gaps in the management practices given to village chickens was conducted using a structured questionnaire administered on 72 farmers drawn from eight communities in Bauchi State, Nigeria for the purpose of obtaining information that could be used to improve the productivity of these chickens in the State. The demography of the respondents revealed that most of them were farmers 47/72 (65.3%) married 71/72 (98.6%), females 40/72 (55.6%) and over 20 years (77.8%) of age; many of them had received some formal education 37/72 (54.5%) and had kept village chickens for over 5 years 55/72 (77.8%). Income generation was the main reason why respondents reared village chickens 33/72 (45.8%). Breeding stock were mostly bought from the market 48/72 (66.7%) and reared under an extensive system of production 72/72 (100%) together with other rural poultry 41/72 (56.9%); with birds receiving feed supplementation 68/72 (94.4%) and water 72/72 (100%); and kept at night in some locally made housing 37/72 (51.4%). Respondent do not vaccinate chickens against diseases like Newcastle disease (ND) nor keep any production record 72/72 (100%). Poor biosecurity practices like permitting chickens to intermingle with those from other households 72 (100%); sales of sick chickens (80.6%); consumption of sick chickens and the disposal of its inedible parts on the garbage that is accessible to chickens from other households are common. The results seem to suggest the need for farmers to improve upon the existing management practices especially with regards to vaccination, record keeping, housing and biosecurity measures in order to increase the productivity of these chickens in Bauchi State.

Key words: Village chickens, management practices, biosecurity, vaccination, Bauchi State, Nigeria