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Mramba RP, Mwantambo PA. The impact of management practices on the disease and mortality rates of broilers and layers kept by small-scale farmers in Dodoma urban district, Tanzania. Heliyon 2024; 10:e29624. [PMID: 38655291 PMCID: PMC11035043 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e29624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2023] [Revised: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
The demand for chicken products in Tanzania has increased due to population growth and rising incomes. As a result, the production of broilers and layers has been promoted to fill the gap due to their high productivity. However, exotic breeds of chicken are susceptible to diseases, thus requiring good disease management practices. The current study aimed to increase production of exotic breeds of chicken in the Dodoma region, which is growing rapidly, by identifying management factors associated with disease and chicken mortality. One hundred and four households that keep broilers or layers were selected randomly from the Dodoma urban district. The households were interviewed to gather information about chicken diseases, mortality, and management practices. The proportion of sick and dead chickens per farm was determined and used in beta regression to test its association with management practices and chicken breed. The proportion of sick chickens in a flock was low when stocking density was low and in large households, but it was higher when the farmer lacked knowledge of disease management. Further, mortality rates were high when farmers lacked disease knowledge and cleaning frequency was low, and low when farmers had extensive experience in chicken production. Improvement of extension services and education programmes for poultry farmers on good disease management practices is necessary to increase the production of layers and broilers in the region.
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Ouma EA, Kankya C, Dione M, Kelly T, Enahoro D, Chiwanga G, Abukari Y, Msoffe P, Kayang BB, Zhou H. Poultry health constraints in smallholder village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania. Front Vet Sci 2023; 10:1159331. [PMID: 37465273 PMCID: PMC10352078 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2023.1159331] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Smallholder poultry production is a major contributor to food security and rural livelihoods in low-and middle-income countries. However, infectious diseases limit improvements to smallholder poultry production and performance of the sector in general. Infectious diseases of poultry, especially viral diseases, have major impacts on the health and productivity of flocks and account for significant morbidities and mortalities of birds each year. Methods This study utilized participatory epidemiology approaches to better understand the poultry health constraints and challenges faced by smallholder poultry producers in village poultry systems in Northern Ghana and Central Tanzania. Results The results show dominance of small-scale semi-intensive and extensive scavenging poultry production systems in the study areas. Newcastle disease ranked as the highest cause of morbidity and mortality in chickens in the two countries. The disease occurred mainly during the months coinciding with the dry season in both countries. Other health challenges among poultry flocks included worm infestation, fowl pox, coryza, and coccidiosis. Producers, especially in rural locations, had poor access to veterinary services and critical inputs necessary for poultry production. In the Northern region of Ghana, producers lacked definitive diagnoses for sick poultry due to a shortage of veterinary personnel and diagnostic laboratories. Discussion These challenges point to the need for increased investment in poultry disease control and prevention programs, particularly in rural areas. Interventions focused on expansion of veterinary and agricultural extension services and diagnostic laboratory capacity in rural areas and increased gender-sensitive training to enhance smallholder knowledge in poultry husbandry and disease prevention measures will support the development of the smallholder village poultry systems. Tapping into the diverse genetic reservoir of local chicken ecotypes with enhanced resistance to Newcastle disease through genomic selection, coupled with models for enhancing ND vaccination supply and use in the rural areas are potential future avenues for addressing ND constraints to production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Awuor Ouma
- International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Clovice Kankya
- Department of Biosecurity, Ecosystems and Veterinary Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Michel Dione
- International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Terra Kelly
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- One Health Institute, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Dolapo Enahoro
- International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Gaspar Chiwanga
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Tanzania Veterinary Laboratory Agency, South Zone, Mtwara, Tanzania
| | - Yakubu Abukari
- Regional Department of Agriculture, Northern Regional Coordinating Council, Tamale, Ghana
| | - Peter Msoffe
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania
| | - Boniface Baboreka Kayang
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Animal Science, School of Agriculture, College of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana
| | - Huaijun Zhou
- Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Genomics to Improve Poultry, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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Ngongolo K, Andrew C. Effect of sex, age, diseases and control intervention on chickens’ mortality and its financial implications in Dodoma, Tanzania. Poult Sci 2022; 101:101785. [PMID: 35305302 PMCID: PMC8933696 DOI: 10.1016/j.psj.2022.101785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Chicken diseases significantly contribute to the financial losses of small-scale chicken keepers in Tanzania through mortality and control management. However, little is known about the relationship between chicken mortality and disease, sex, and control measures. In addition, the financial losses for farmers in Dodoma resulted from mortality due to diseases and poor productivity due to improper management. A cross-sectional, longitudinal questionnaire survey with multistage sampling was conducted in the Kongwa district and Dodoma municipality to gather data from 400 randomly selected households (200 from each district). Semistructured questionnaires were used for data collection over four quarters of the year. Low morbidity and high mortality due to diseases were observed in first and second quarters (Q1 and Q2), whereas high morbidity and low mortality were observed in third and fourth quarters (Q3 and Q4). The Kongwa district experienced significantly higher mortality than the Dodoma Municipal district (P < 0.001). Disease mortality was negatively affected by cocks, hens and chicks (P < 0.001). Control interventions such as treatment, prophylaxis use lowered the effect of chicken mortality due to diseases and pronounced effects when at least 2 approaches were applied by the farmers (P < 0.005). The total financial loss incurred by the 400 interviewees is approximately Tsh. 119.9 million (52,146.96 USD). This study outlines the financial losses associated with mortality, poor productivity, poor performance, and increased costs of disease management and control in chicken-keeper households in the Dodoma region. To avoid these losses, farmers and other stakeholders should design proper control strategies while considering the season of the year and disease categories affecting chickens.
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