Agriculture Business Week

Chicken broiler and egg production are the most progressive animal enterprises in the Philippines today. The poultry industry in fact began as the backyard enterprise but has shifted to the formation of very large integrated contract farming operations.

The growth of poultry industry in the Philippines has been impressive but its problems include inefficient management and the prevalence of many destructive poultry diseases and parasites cannot be ignored.

This manual provides technology and management know-how for poultry raising which we hope present poultry raisers and prospective poultry producers may find useful in effectively managing their poultry farms and also help them realize substantial financial returns from their enterprise in this period or high production cost inputs.

The Chicken: Classes, Breeds and Varieties
The chicken is the most exploited species of poultry, which is utilized for food production in the whole world. Scientific researchers have been done on this species for past centuries and it is still the focus of the present and future experimentation. In the Philippines chicken rank first, while ducks rank second in economic importance as source of meat and eggs.

Breed of Chicken can be classified by its utility. This is based on the purpose for which the breed or variety is most efficient.

Egg Class- The breed belonging to this class is characterized by their comparatively small size. They lay large white shelled eggs, very active and nervous in temperament. They are non-sitters. The earlier selection of geneticist for this class showed record of early maturity that may not necessarily be true with the modern breeds under this class. Examples: Leghorn, Minorcas, Anconas, Mikawa.

Meat Class- to this class belong the breeds that are large, slow movement, quiet and gentle in disposition. Geneticist of the past described them as relatively slow maturing which may not hold true anymore with the present meat breeds. They are generally poorer egg layers and generally lay brown shelled eggs. Examples are: Brahmas, Cochin,Langshans, Comish, White Rocks.

General Purpose Class- Breeds of Chicken in this class are medium sized good layers and the young are fast growers. They are not s nervous as the egg class but much more active than the meat class. Examples are: New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red, Plymouth rock, Lancaster, Nagoya, Cantonese.

The general purpose breeds had its popularity period when the idea of the poultry breeder was to hit both products of eggs and meat in one kind of breed. Later developments proved that specialization of breed purpose is better goal for more efficient production. The general purpose class at present has been modified and developed by breeders in the production of broiler chicks.

Fancy class- The breeds under this class may be characterized as possessing decided beauty of plumage or form of having a rare unusual appearance. Most of them are raised chiefly as ornamentals or pets by hobbyists, regardless of their value as source of food. Example: Frizzle, Bantams, Long tailed.

Fighting Class- Since this sport is now legalized in the Philippines it should revolutionalize our original vision that fighting cock breeds has no place place for our study. There are groups of this kinds of chickens now developed by national and international aficionados in this game. Since there are no studies conducted on the breeding and raising of these game fowls, the LAS could not profess any knowledge of what kind and what process of raising will assure a cock to win in the fight. The popular ones are the Ruble, Hulsay, Claret, Oasis

Health and Diseases

AVIAN Pest (New castle Disease)

Cause: Virus
Transmission:

* Direct contact with the nasal and mouth discharges of infected birds
* Airborne transmission
* Through mechanical means such as being carried by sparrows (maya) predators or other birds
* Human being transmit the disease through infected clothes and shoes

Signs

* In young birds gasping, coughing, rattling of the windpipe, hoarse chirping, paralysis, walking backyard and circling
* In adults, coughing and occasional paralysis, abrupt drop in egg production shoft shelled eggs, greenish watery diarrhea

Prevention: Vaccination. Consult your veterinarian for a program suited to your operation

Treatment: There is no treatment for the disease. In case of an outbreak, the following measures could be adopted to minimized its further spread and effect control of the disease.

* Isolate sick birds quickly
* Quarantine the area by regulating persons entering the disease-affected premises of from other farms as well as from one poultry house to another
* Revaccination of the birds if titer (detected by serological test) is already low
* Thoroughly disinfect the houses and premises. Allow to dry before occupancy
* Bury dead birds deeply or burn

Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD)

Cause: Mycoplasma organism or pleuropneumonia like organism (PPLO)

Transmission:

* CRD organism or is egg-borne; contracted exposure with infected flock
* Airborne transmission

Signs

* Tracheal rales, sneezing coughing watery or sticky discharged from the nostrils
* Foamy exudates in the eyes
* Feed consumption is reduced and the birds lose weight

Treatment: Broad spectrum antibiotics, either by injection or mixed with feeds or drinking water

Coccidiosis

Cause: Microscopic organisms called coccidian (Eimeria species) usually occurs in flocks below two months of age.

Transmission:

* When birds pick up or swallow the coccidial organisms
* Contaminated feed and water
* Indirect contact thru flies, human beings and other mechanical means

Signs

* Tendency to huddle together in a corner
* Decrease feed and water intake and poor weight gain

Prevention

* Incorporation of coccidiostat in the feeds or drinking water. Use of sulfa drugs. Most feed companies incorporate this in the feed mixture as indicated in the feed tags

Mareks Disease

Cause: Virus

Transmission: Exposure to infected birds or to environment with existing virus, poultry nests and feeders

Signs

* Initial symptoms are leg weakness and paralysis of one or both legs
* Birds tend to rest on their breast with one leg extended forward and the other backward
* They could hardly reached the feeders and the waterers resulting in the dehydration and emancipation which finally cause death

Prevention: Vaccination with MD vaccine, the most commonly used is the so called Herpes virus of turkey (HVT)

Treatment: There is no known treatment for the disease

Avian Malaria

Cause: Microscopic Protozoan Parasite

Transmission: Bites of mosquitoes, mechanically by blood transfer as in mass vaccination, caponization and injection

Signs

* Severe anemia (paleness) extreme leg weakness, emancipation and nervous signs like twisting of the head
* The shanks and the toes are dry and birds have ruffled feathers
* Greenish-yellow or greenish white diarrhea

Prevention: Control if mosquitoes within the premises and houses with effective insecticides, include spraying the breeding places of mosquitoes. Proper drainage of stagnant water

Treatment: Anti malarial drops like plasmochin, quinine hydrochloride and pyrimethamine combinations were found effective. Confer with the veterinarians

to be continued…