Technical factors

Until the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), Newcastle disease (ND) was the major health problem for SFP chickens. Mortality is usually 70 – 100% in both sexes. There are knowledge system implications in the understanding and reaction of SFP producers to ND.

In Nigeria, there are claims of local indigenous knowledge of ND prevention such as using the water extract of the pumpkin, Lageneria breviflora, along with ground red pepper, Capsicum frutescens. Evaluation of these claims under controlled experimental conditions did not indicate their efficacy (Sonaiya, Reference SONAIYA2000). There is also a widespread but false belief that ND can be treated with a combination of tetracycline and analgesics. Villagers, however, do have a sound practice that forbids introduction of chickens from outside the village during the periods of epidemics. They equally forbid children from killing lizards believing that ND is spread by dead lizards but they rightly suspect spread of the virus by feathers of victims of ND. (Sonaiya, Reference SONAIYA2000).

The application of knowledge affects flock-level management practices. For example, Fasina et al. (Reference FASINA, WAI, MOHAMMED and ONYEKONWU2007) reported that the majority (89.2%) of the farmers they surveyed in north-central Nigeria, did not keep records and were not able to distinguish between major poultry diseases except for ND and coccidiosis. This is in spite of the fact that diseases, as reported by El-Yuguda et al. (Reference EL-YUGUDA, NGULDE, ABUBAKAR and BABA2007), still constitute the highest (59.9%) cause of losses in productivity of village chickens in northern Nigeria, followed by predators (23.2%) and ectoparasites (16.8%). When there is an outbreak of a disease among village chickens, El-Yuguda et al. (Reference EL-YUGUDA, NGULDE, ABUBAKAR and BABA2007) reported that the farmers either intervene by slaughtering (40% of respondents), selling (12%), treating (12%) or they do not intervene at all (36%); which may result in more losses in profitability and greater spread of disease among many more village chicken enterprises. In spite of the great economic loss that diseases constitute, many farmers in Nigeria still do not vaccinate their chickens. The reasons usually given for not vaccinating chickens include ignorance of the existence of vaccines against poultry diseases, ignorance of where to get the vaccines or ignorance of the cost-benefit ratio of the vaccine (Fasina et al., Reference FASINA, WAI, MOHAMMED and ONYEKONWU2007).

A survey in India (Conroy et al., Reference CONROY, SPARKS, ACAMOVIC, JOSHI and CHANDRASEKARAN2004) showed that, for the period under investigation, predation was a more important cause of mortality than diseases. The respondents reported indigenous predation control methods such as keeping thorny plants in the yard to provide cover for chicks against crows; and destroying mongoose burrows in the vicinity of the house or village. Given the importance of predation-induced mortality, predation prevention measures deserve more attention from SFP research and development professionals. Keeping birds in confinement is only one of several possible measures, and may be difficult for poor poultry keepers to implement on a sustainable basis. Even with HPAI and ND as the major constraints to production in SFP, the combined effect of factors such as predation, poor hatchability and infestation with intestinal parasites has an almost equivalent impact on productivity.

In the Indian villages studied, Conroy et al. (Reference CONROY, SPARKS, ACAMOVIC, JOSHI and CHANDRASEKARAN2004) found that 28% of eggs laid were infertile or contained an early dead embryo. Of the eggs that did not hatch, candling identified 50% of the eggs as having cracked shells, leading to infection. Two possible causes of poor hatchability that were identified included poor handling of the eggs by the SFP producers and too many eggs for the hens to cover during natural hatching. Conroy et al. (Reference CONROY, SPARKS, ACAMOVIC, JOSHI and CHANDRASEKARAN2004) concluded that, in situations characterised by high mortality and relatively poor hatchability, a SFP development programme should be initiated to address these problems. The programme should include: Step 1, measures that require little, if any, cash. Step 2, efforts to identify and establish effective market channels, and finally Step 3: interventions requiring higher expenditure or levels of organisation (e.g. supplementation using commercial feeds, ND vaccination etc.). It is clear that greater productivity and profitability will result from steps 2 and 3.

Guinea fowl smallholder producers in West Africa reported that the causes of death of guinea keets between day old and 6 weeks include panic (Bessin et al., Reference BESSIN, BELEM, BOUSSINI, COMPAORE, KABORET and DEMBELE1998), undigested supplemental feed, e.g. termites which are high in chitin content (Chrysostome, Reference CHRYSOSTOME1997), and diseases (Hien et al., 2000). A survey reported by Dahouda et al. (Reference DAHOUDA, TOLEBA, YOUSSAO, BANI KOGUI, YACOUBOU ABOUBAKARI and HORNICK2007) revealed that guinea fowl productivity was low because of high keet mortality. Average keet mortality was estimated at 48%, while 74% of farmers interviewed reported that this factor constituted the major constraint to guinea fowl rearing. Other reported constraints included keet weakness, poor quality of eggs, egg losses (hidden under) in undergrowth, keet predation, poor housing and infestations.

Research has established that feed scavenged by guinea fowl from free range includes (68%) grains, (21%) kitchen waste, (2%) food residue and (2%) termites (Ayeni and Ayanda, Reference AYENI and AYANDA1982); and that earthworms can be given as a supplementary feed at the rate of 6g/chick and 15g/bird (Bonkoungou, Reference BONKOUNGOU2005). Other supplemental feedstuffs typically include maize, guinea corn, pepper, cassava meal (‘gari’), milled cassava waste, kitchen waste and left over tubers (Ogundipe, Reference OGUNDIPE1976). Despite this, there is still a great deal of ignorance about the nutritional quality of the diet in determining productivity as measured by adult body weight, eggs/year, hatchability and age at lay (Idi, Reference IDI1998; Teye and Adam, Reference TEYE and ADAM2004; Saina, Reference SAINA2005). In a trial to measure the impact of management systems on local guinea fowl body weight, Dahouda (Reference DAHOUDA2003) found no differences in body weight at six months of age between confined birds receiving a complete feed and scavenging birds. In the free-range systems, keets raised during the rainy season, when insects and vegetation are available, had higher body weights compared to those raised in confinement during the same period (Ayorinde and Ayeni, Reference AYORINDE and AYENI1986; Savadogo, Reference SAVADOGO1995; Bounkoungou, 2005).

In all SFP, the application of knowledge about the use of nests, artificial hatching, prompt marketing of surplus eggs, and locally available feed resources results in increased productivity and profitability (Binali and Kanengoni, Reference BINALI and KANENGONI1998; Mwalusanya et al., Reference MWALUSANYA, KATULE, MUTAYOBA, MTAMBO, OLSEN and MINGA2002; Saina, Reference SAINA2005).

Socioeconomic factors

SFP producers have poor levels of knowledge regarding how productivity and the rate of output/rate of input is affected by various socioeconomic factors, such as motives for keeping poultry, flock size and economic cost (of stock, feed and health maintenance). This inadequate understanding of how profitability depends on performance indicators (laying rate and hatchability of the eggs as well as mortality rate in the various age groups) and market prices of inputs and outputs reduces SFP productivity and profitability.

The parameters required for the calculation of production efficiency of SFP flocks have been shown to include flock structure and composition; mortality rate; buy-in rate; rate of home use (consumption, gifts and sacrifice); and net sales (offtake) of birds (Martindah, Reference MARTINDAH1991). Such calculations require flock inventory data including female/male ratios, egg production, egg utilisation – sale, consumption, incubation, hatching, and spoiled eggs - data which are not kept by SFP producers.

SFP productivity and profitability are better evaluated by flock value on the basis of flock characteristics – structure, composition; flock management – housing, breeding, feeding, health; and flock marketing. It is the changes in flock value that give a picture of profitability (or gross margin) of an enterprise for a given period, and allow comparisons between different flocks and, if needed, between different enterprises in the same flock.

It has been observed that SFP producers usually avoid credit as they have low flock value because of the high risk of mortality. In free range systems (FAO Sector 4) flock size is always limited by mortality and capital but even more so by the motive for production. Village poultry producers, who wish to join the cash economy, are willing to pay up to 25% of the cost of adult birds for health services, and to buy vaccinated growers as replacement stock if available. They prefer to pay cash for supplies rather than exchange (barter) for goods (Sonaiya et al., Reference SONAIYA, LAOGUN, MATANMI, DANIYAN, AKANDE, OGUNTADE, OMOSEIBI and OLORI1992).