Ojedele, O.
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike
Adama, J. C.
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike
Opurum, E.
Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike
ABSTRACT
Poultry needs to be protected
from harsh environmental condition of heat, rainfall, direct sunlight, and
dangerous wind by placing poultry under good housing, structures and
facilities, in order to get the best performance and output from the birds. The
structures and facilities of five farms were assessed in Isialangwa-South of
Abia State, for their effectiveness in poultry farming. The farms are Good
Seed, Buchi, Pelmet, Amenchim Integrated, and Ugwuma farms respectively. The observed structures and facilities were
compared with relevant literatures. It was observed that the birds in the five
farms can easily be attacked by disease because only Pelmate farm chlorinates
the drinking water; closeness of the poultry buildings; lack of footbath;
protective clothing and shoes respectively. Also, wood shaving as bedding
material, roof design, stocking density needs improvement. In the building
design, the
height of building of Ugwuma farm with 2.1m needs improvement for good
ventilation. Only Buchi and Amenchim farms with 2 and 5 birds/m2 respectively
followed the recommended stocking density of 6 birds/m2 for
broilers, also, it was only Good-Seed farm with 9 birds/m2 for
layers that exceeded the recommended value of 8
birds/m2 according to FAO (2011). Therefore, Isialangwa-South
of Abia State poultry farms needs to improve in terms of planning and design of
poultry structures and facilities for excellent utilization of the benefits in
poultry farming.
Keywords: Poultry, Structures, Stocking density, Farms, Footbath
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Published
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Issue
Vol. 3 No. 2, DEC 2017
Article Section
GENERAL
The contents of the articles are the sole opinion of the author(s) and not of UJET.
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