CHARACTERIZATION OF VILLAGE CHICKEN PRODUCTION AND MARKETING SYSTEMS, EGG QUALITY ANALYSES AND PREVALENCE OF PARASITES IN ANKOBER WOREDA, NORTH SHEWA ZONE, AMHARA REGION, ETHIOPIA

Abstract

This study was conducted in three agro-ecological zones of Ankober Woreda to generate information on the existing production and marketing systems, egg quality traits, and prevalence of parasites of village chickens. A multi-stage sampling procedure was followed to randomly select a total of 180 chicken owners from highland, midland, and lowland areas. A total of 441 chickens of different breed and age categories were randomly sampled to collect and identify some of the ecto and endoparasites and determine their prevalence. Moreover, to evaluate the egg quality traits of village chickens a total of 360 eggs were collected from interviewed chicken owners in the Woreda. The result of the study showed that the average local chicken holding in the area was 11.14 birds per household (HH), while average holding of exotic chickens (Sasso) was 6 birds per HH. Village chicken was predominantly possessed and managed by women (39.9%) and girls (29.9%), respectively. The majority of the respondents (96.1%) in the study area practiced scavenging with supplementation. The vast majority of the respondents (98.3%) also provided water for their chicken. About 57% of HH’s had separate poultry houses. The majority of the respondents (96.1%) kept chicken for sale as an immediate source of cash for the basic necessities of the HH. About 33.9% and 14.4% of the respondents also highlighted that they kept chicken for home consumption and scarify, respectively. The result of the study also revealed that Newcastle disease (NCD) (50.6%) was the most dominant chicken disease followed by mites (49.4%). Mean age at first egg, clutches per year, slaughter age of cock and pullet for local chicken were 6.1, 3.1, 6.22, and 5.3 months respectively. An average egg per hen per clutch XXII of local chickens in the study area was 13.9±0.20. Age at first egg /month/, average number of eggs per clutch (no), slaughter age of cock and slaughter age of pullet for exotic (Sasso) chicken were 4.97±0.84, 23.67±0.34, 4.9±0.06 and 4.96±0.14 respectively. About 99.4% of respondents practiced culling of birds. The average number of eggs set to local broody hen was 11.61. About 57.2% of respondents used eggs for incubation, which are stored for less than 3 weeks. The overall mean egg weight of 44.91±0.446g, shell weight of 4.61±0.6g, shell thickness of 0.31±0.005mm, albumin height of 4.8±0.72mm, yolk height of 15.17±0.140mm, albumin weight of 21.61±0.245g, yolk weight of 14.79±0.127g, yolk diameter of 39.05±0.24mm, yolk color index of 9.53±0.11, Haugh unit of 71.87±0.824 (%), shape index of 74.54±0.12 and yolk index 39.20±0.42 of local chicken were noted. For exotic (Sasso) an overall mean egg weight of 63.9±0.404g, shell weight of 6.21±0.08g, shell thickness of 0.35±0.044mm, albumin height of 5.21±0.71mm, yolk height of 18.07±0.889mm, albumin weight of 33.89±0.354g, yolk weight of 17.21±0.149g, yolk diameter of 38.11±0.19, yolk color index of 6.57±0.181, Haugh unit of 67.63±0.655 %, shape index of 74.66±0.12 and yolk index 47.38±2.22 were noted. The overall prevalence of ectoparasites were 39.68% for skin mite, 34.92% for lice and 19.95% for fleas. While the overall prevalence of endoparasites were 18.74% for nematodes and 5.69% for cestodes. In general, village chickens in the Woreda showed substandard performance in terms of the most important production traits, though a substantial opportunity is available for improvement. Training and education of women, strong extension service delivery regarding husbandry practices, enhancing access to veterinary services, improvement of market infrastructure, and proper handling of eggs are recommended to boost up the current performance of village chickens in the woreda.