How to reduce mortality in poultry farms
The greatest fear of most poultry farmers in Nigeria is perhaps high mortality rate. The moment a poultry farmer records high number of deaths of birds, especially in the early stages of production, the investor will certainly not reap maximum benefits.
This obstacle has scared many people from poultry farming in the country and some of those who dared it probably took a risk by investing sparingly.
Some farmers who seem to have succeeded in taming this ‘worst enemy’ of poultry farming gave insight into how mortality can be wisely tackled to ensure that the business is profitable.
One of the poultry farmers, Mr. Cornelius Ude, based in Nasarawa State, said: “I never thought I could do it, but a neighbour introduced me to poultry farming some years ago and kept encouraging me. I did it first time and recorded high mortality rate and almost gave up. But I was determined and did it again second time and the mortality rate reduced a bit.
“The third time, I got it right because I have known the secrets. I recorded only 2% mortality rate and became happy. Though I started small before increasing the stock, it was worth the effort as I made good profit to keep the business running.”
The poultry farmer said the first thing to do to avoid high mortality rate is to get a good stock.
“Your day-old-chicks must come from a very reliable source or else you miss it right from the foundation,” he advised.
Ude advised that vaccination, which he listed as the second item, should be adhered to by every poultry farmer, saying: “No stage of vaccination must be omitted, it’s very necessary. If you are careless or you think you are cutting cost and ignore it, you lose your chickens and your business fails. It’s a must do.”
He said the number three thing to do is sanitation, adding: “You must maintain high level of sanitation all the time. Disinfectants must be made available for use by farm workers and visitors and the pens, feeders, drinkers and the entire environment must be clean to avoid infection.”
The fourth item listed by the poultry farmer is feed. He