Focus on . . . Poultry
Throughout the tropics in villages, and even in cities, poultry are the most common of all farm stock. Although raised at all levels of husbandry, these birds occur most often as scavenging, scattered flocks which survive only by scratching for a living. Chickens, ducks, geese, guinea fowl and pigeons help provide the protein requirements of all income groups, including the poorest of the poor. Some are raised in regions where domestic cattle struggle to survive due to diseases such as trypanosomiasis. Others are an important source of meat in areas where farmers have insufficient land for other livestock. In addition, these birds grow quickly, mature rapidly, their life cycles are short and the production of offspring is generally high. But, in spite of their potential, until relatively recently, backyard poultry production has generally been ignored. In this edition of New Agriculturist we highlight some of the current challenges for improving scavenging poultry systems, including species which have not yet fulfilled their potential. We also take a brief look at the potential for farming the world's largest bird - the ostrich.
Most village chicken production systems are based on the indigenous or native domestic fowl and are characterized by low levels of inputs and outputs. But, in the past, the majority of poultry . . .
Cracking down on Newcastle Disease
Newcastle disease, or pseudo-fowl pest, is to chickens what rinderpest is to cattle. It is a highly infectious viral disease that causes very high mortality (up to 100% in severe epidemics) in poultry and wild birds around the world. However . . .
Naked Necklines come back into fashion
Farmers in Namibia are benefiting from the reintroduction of indigenous chickens. For small scale farmers in isolated, rural areas, they are a wiser choice than over-sensitive and demanding exotic breeds. Their genetic . . .
Peking duck is a popular dish on Chinese menus around the world and the popularity of this meat in Asian countries is why it always sells at a premium. The scavenging system of duck farming is a particularly important activity in many south-east Asian countries and yet . . .
Scrawny, long-legged, village chickens have long caught the attention of development agencies, even if the birds themselves are hard to catch. The reasons are obvious. It takes very little extra effort to . . .
To the rural and peri-urban poor, chickens provide a critical nutritional resource. However, other poultry species are equally well adapted to the integrated production systems of the tropics and are often more resistant to disease than backyard chickens. Scarcity of land . . .
With the recent emphasis on gender in development activities there has been a tendency for poultry production to be seen as a means of reaching women's groups. But providing training exclusively to women is not necessarily the most efficient approach as . . .
Ostriches hold their heads high
Ostrich feathers, worn throughout the ages as a status of nobility, are still valued for cleaning fine machinery and equipment. But ostrich meat and hide products are even more valuable today and worldwide supply has yet to meet increasing consumer demand. The ostrich industry has been . . .
