VITA - Volunteers in Technical Assistance

Poultry Raising

The brooder is heated by a regular electric light bulb, placed under the brooder floor. Depending on the temperature rise required, the wattage of the light bulb will have to be chosen by experimentation. The metal floor and roof prevent predators such as rats from entering the brooder. If electric power is not available, an excavation can be made for a lantern. Be sure the lantern has adequate ventilation.

Raising Chickens And Ducks - 01/01/1990

Because chickens and ducks can utilize surplus grain, table scraps, garden trimmings, and by-products, they can provide a valuable food reserve. Some farming communities produce more grain than their people need. Of course the excess could be sold, but if not, it can be fed to poultry. Then, if there is a decreased production of grain in a certain year, the poultry flock can be reduced instead of decreasing the grain that is supplied to the people. Many farmer co-ops could maintain this kind of balance between grain production and poultry husbandry.

Modern science has greatly increased our knowledge of poultry production. New breeds have been developed, our understanding of nutrition has grown, we have learned how to better house poultry, and new medicines have come on the market that protect flocks against disease. This manual incorporates many modern techniques of poultry science with practical experience gained in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and the United States of America.

This publication does not address itself to commercial projects (flocks containing hundreds and thousands of birds). Operations of this type require a highly efficient level of production and access to professional technical help to provide a reasonable income.

Understanding Poultry Meat And Egg Production - 01/01/1984

Since ancient times, chickens, ducks, and geese have served farming communities by gleaning the fields of grain that otherwise would be lost; picking up grain that is dropped by the wayside in threshing, drying, and transportation; making productive use of the scraps from the family table; and, supplementing those feed items by foraging for grass, weed seeds, and insects. With such a diet these animals are able to produce eggs and meat, which provide protein of high quality plus several essential vitamins and mineral elements. Eggs and meat are ideal supplements for the cereal grains, tubers, and roots that provide much of the energy in many human diets.

Besides being recoverers of waste grain and users of scraps and by-products, poultry can function to provide a food reserve. Any farming community that can do so would like to produce more grain than the people need. Maybe the excess can be sold; but, if not, it can be fed to poultry. Then if there is decreased production of grain in a certain year, the poultry flock can be decreased instead of decreasing the grain that is supplied to the people.

Small flocks of poultry--from a few birds to a few hundred--were the rule all around the world, until the 20th Century. In the early 1900s, flocks numbering in the thousands began to appear in North America and Europe. In the 1920s and 1930s, geneticists, nutritionists, physiologists, and disease specialists developed improved breeds and strains of chicken and improved methods of feeding and managing them and protecting them against disease. The rapid introduction of new technologies so increased the efficiency of producing eggs and poultry meat that costs to consumers went down at a time when prices for most other consumer goods were climbing.

This paper addresses the following important questions to help you decide whether poultry raising is for you:

* How can poultry flock owners in developing countries take advantage of modern technology?

* Is it better to use native birds or import improved modern strains?

* Is it possible with local feedstuffs to approximate the composition and the efficiency of feeds based on corn (maize) and soybean meal?

* Can vaccines, coccidiostats, antibiotics, vitamins, and mineral supplements be imported economically? Can any of them be made locally?

* Is it possible to make feeding and watering equipment, cages, and nests locally?

Understanding Dairy Production In Developing Countries - 01/01/1985

The dairy industries in many industrialized countries have developed elaborate facilities in an effort to: (1) save labor, which is plentiful and inexpensive in most developing countries; (2) provide protection for both the cattle and their caretakers from cold in winter; and (3) provide sufficient sanitation and refrigeration to ensure the keeping qualities of the product, for shipping, long shelf life, and manufacturing procedures. It should be kept in mind that very elaborate facilities are not always necessary. In tropical countries, for example, cattle do not need shelter from cold winters, and areas where milk is consumed quickly and locally have different storage requirements. Relatively high levels of milk production can be achieved without elaborate facilities, and the dairy operation can be upgraded gradually as economic conditions permit.

Improving dairy production begins with careful attention to breeding in order to improve native cattle, to feeding practices so as to assure good diet year-round, and to the harvesting and preservation of forage.

Understanding Dairy Goat Production - 01/01/1990

Goats are among the smallest domesticated ruminants and have served mankind longer than cattle or sheep. They thrive in arid, semitropical, or mountainous countries. More than 460 million goats in the world produce over 4.5 million tons of milk and 1.2 million tons of meat annually, besides mohair, cashmere, leather, and dung for fuel and fertilizer. Goats are friendly animals; with proper attention they maintain good health and can be managed easily even by children.