Studies on the Structure and Problems of Family Poultry Production in Tanzania with Suggestions on Improvements and Interventi

STUDIES ON THE STRUCTURE AND PROBLEMS OF FAMILY POULTRY PRODUCTION IN TANZANIA. In order to identify the major disease conditions and factors limiting family chicken production in Coast and Dar-es-Salaam regions of Tanzania a survey was undertaken in six villages in two zones involving a total of 43 households. Field data were collected through identified farmer interviews in the wet and dry seasons of 1999/2000. During farm visits, the birds were clinically examined, sick and dead ones autopsied. Blood smears, serum and faecal samples were collected for laboratory examination. There was significant variation in the flock size and structure in the interviewed households. The 43 households kept 1099 chickens with an average of 25.5 per household in the wet season while in the dry season the numbers were 1352 and an average of 31.4. The ratio of chicks:growers:adults was 10:10:14 in the wet season and 11:10:10 in the dry season. The cock:hen ratio was 1:3.5. Average numbers of clutches per year ranged from 2.80–3.02 (average 2-94). The average number of eggs per clutch was 12 and consequently the number of eggs was 36 per hen/year. Hatchability was recorded to be 84.5. Chick mortality was found to be 30% and resulted mainly from diseases and predation. Out of 43 households interviewed, 23 kept their chickens in the chicken house, 12 within the family house, four in the kitchen/store, three kept their birds perched in trees and one used a woven basket. In all the households, scavenging was the system of feeding and sometimes supplemented by household scraps and other feeds. Poultry movement into the household’s flocks resulting in mixing of birds from different flocks was rampant. Several diseases and in particular Newcastle disease were mentioned by farmers in both zones as the major constraints restricting rural chicken development. Other diseases included coughing/sneezing, fowl pox and parasitic diseases (helminths, external parasites, protozoa). Women played a major role in family poultry development through provision of labour, but men made various decisions on the use of the resources.