There are two breeding centres established in the Chatenga and Chinungu villages of Mkwinda and Mitundu EPAs, respectively. These sites were identified upon agreement by traditional chiefs, from the surrounding areas, in prior consultation with government extension officers from the EPAs. Clubs were formed to run the centres and the activities of the project. These include assisting in constructing traditional poultry houses, working out the administration of vaccines and the associated logistics through a contributory system and later running the stock distribution and sharing system from the breeding centres. The breeding centres are therefore fully under the control of the rural people through the club committee. The construction of the Chatenga centre is under way and almost complete. An additional centre to provide facilities for complementary on-station research has already been established at Bunda College.
At these centres, indigenous chickens, pigeons and ducks will be stocked for multiplication and improvement. Each bird will be individually identified through numbered wing and leg bands. All birds will be raised under the traditional free-ranging system. Supplementation will consist of traditional maize bran. The birds will be under performance evaluation for meat, egg production, hatchability, mothering ability and adaptation. Young cocks will be evaluated for growth traits until they start crawling (reproductive maturity, at 20 weeks), and the top 10 to 25 percent will be recommended for breeding purposes and distributed to farmers. Selection will eventually be based on an index, taking into account different traits of use at village level. The hens will be evaluated for egg production, hatchability and mothering ability, among other traits.
Some farmers with high flock diversity have been selected as breeders and fertile-egg producers. To date, ten farmers have been chosen. They were selected in consultation with field extension staff from Mkwinda EPA. The process for Mitundu is currently ongoing. The farmers will have their birds individually tagged and evaluated at the breeding centres. There will be sharing of breed stock between the breeding centres and fellow farmers.
The organization of an open-nucleus breeding system for rural poultry is outlined in Figure 2. Production farmers will obtain superior breed stock from breeder farmers and from the breeding centres. Breeders will obtain top young evaluated cockerels from the breeding centres.
There will be cockerel exchange among breeding centres and breeder farmers, based on a six-month cycle, established to reduce the chances of inbreeding.
Farmers interested in having their birds tested must bring six-week-old cocks to the breeding centre, where they will be evaluated until they reach 20 weeks of age. Depending on the performance, the birds will be recommended for use in breeding or for consumption.
Figure 1. Flock distribution by age groups in Mkwinda EPA: chicks, ducklings and squabs (1-10 weeks); grower (>10-£20 weeks); grower/layers (>20-£30 weeks); mature (>30-£52 weeks); old (>52 weeks).
There are two breeding centres established in the Chatenga and Chinungu villages of Mkwinda and Mitundu EPAs, respectively. These sites were identified upon agreement by traditional chiefs, from the surrounding areas, in prior consultation with government extension officers from the EPAs. Clubs were formed to run the centres and the activities of the project. These include assisting in constructing traditional poultry houses, working out the administration of vaccines and the associated logistics through a contributory system and later running the stock distribution and sharing system from the breeding centres. The breeding centres are therefore fully under the control of the rural people through the club committee. The construction of the Chatenga centre is under way and almost complete. An additional centre to provide facilities for complementary on-station research has already been established at Bunda College.At these centres, indigenous chickens, pigeons and ducks will be stocked for multiplication and improvement. Each bird will be individually identified through numbered wing and leg bands. All birds will be raised under the traditional free-ranging system. Supplementation will consist of traditional maize bran. The birds will be under performance evaluation for meat, egg production, hatchability, mothering ability and adaptation. Young cocks will be evaluated for growth traits until they start crawling (reproductive maturity, at 20 weeks), and the top 10 to 25 percent will be recommended for breeding purposes and distributed to farmers. Selection will eventually be based on an index, taking into account different traits of use at village level. The hens will be evaluated for egg production, hatchability and mothering ability, among other traits.Some farmers with high flock diversity have been selected as breeders and fertile-egg producers. To date, ten farmers have been chosen. They were selected in consultation with field extension staff from Mkwinda EPA. The process for Mitundu is currently ongoing. The farmers will have their birds individually tagged and evaluated at the breeding centres. There will be sharing of breed stock between the breeding centres and fellow farmers.The organization of an open-nucleus breeding system for rural poultry is outlined in Figure 2. Production farmers will obtain superior breed stock from breeder farmers and from the breeding centres. Breeders will obtain top young evaluated cockerels from the breeding centres.There will be cockerel exchange among breeding centres and breeder farmers, based on a six-month cycle, established to reduce the chances of inbreeding.Farmers interested in having their birds tested must bring six-week-old cocks to the breeding centre, where they will be evaluated until they reach 20 weeks of age. Depending on the performance, the birds will be recommended for use in breeding or for consumption.Figure 1. Flock distribution by age groups in Mkwinda EPA: chicks, ducklings and squabs (1-10 weeks); grower (>10-£20 weeks); grower/layers (>20-£30 weeks); mature (>30-£52 weeks); old (>52 weeks).
การแปล กรุณารอสักครู่..
