Scavenging system of management - Low input technology

Scavenging, backyard and semi intensive system

Lecture out lineBackyard poultryAdvantages and disadvantagesFree range and semi-intensive systemFeeding through scavengingFeed resources under free – range rearingScavenging feed resource base

• Rearing of poultry in small numbers in the backyards under free range or semi-intensive system.

• Backyard poultry in India consisting of 5-10 non-descript birds maintained in extensive system under zero input conditions

• Desi birds in villages constitute as source of ready money and so called “Walking Banks”.

• Backyard poultry farming will generate petty cash for house hold requirement

• more beneficial to small, marginal farmers, land less labourers, tribal and backward class people

• alleviating the protein hunger in rural sections of our country.

• Less land, less investment and minimum management requirements but can bring about a sizable income to the rural families

• Feeding is easy by using household wastes, farm products and green vegetation, besides free scavenging for waste grains and insects

Advantages of Rural Poultry

low investment, Maintenance cost& risk. Needs minimum care Eco-friendly hardy to diseases Thrive well in harsh conditions Survive well from predation Efficiently utilizes local resources (kitchen waste) Blends with the prevailing social structure and local farming

Provides nutritional security for the household.

Easily be integrated with other Agriculture, aqua & livestock farms. Generation of self-employment, women

empowerment and gross increase in family incomeProvides economic empowerment to village women.Serves as an efficient waste disposal systemCan improve rural livelihood. Pest control & weed clearance

Constraints:Several constraints that slow down

• Low quality feed Poor marketing system High disease incidence

Weak extension services

Low productivity of country chicken

• Low quality feed:

By providing protein supplements

Feed to be formulated with locally available

materials.

High disease resistance:

• Vaccination against RD, Fowl pox, MD

Poor marketing system:

Middle man dominate the rural marketing denying the benefit to the farmer.

Weak extension services

• Most of the failures are due to: Lack of knowledge Lack of experience In sufficient exposure to poultry rearing

• Providing extension services including management, vaccination, disease diagnosis, market information, supplementary feed.

* Training programs at village level

Chicken with other AH acticvities

Chicken with other poultry

Flock composition of backyard poultry

Women empowerment

EXTENSIVE SYSTEM OF HOUSING

EXTENSIVE SYSTEM /FREE RANGE

• Rearing of poultry by letting them loose on ground (field) is known as “Free-range system“

• The birds are let out for foraging during the day time while at night they are kept in night shelter.

• Provide clean drinking water every day before birds are let out under backyards.

• We need not provide separate feeding and watering • The improved backyard chicken varieties could not sustain only on scavenging• backyard chicken varieties could• not sustain only on scavenging

In the back yards….

• Rudimentary shelters may be provided by way of temporary roofing supported by ordinary poles.

• The birds may also roost outside, usually in trees and nest in the bushs.

• Feed on kitchen leftovers, Household grains, insects, worms, depending on the season and natural food base.

SEMI - INTENSIVE SYSTEM OF HOUSING• combination of extensive and intensive

systems.• Birds are half-way reared in houses and half-

way on ground or range (Pen and Run system)• are provided with feed and clean potable

water.• The feed could be a well balance mash or

pellet, or household waste, vegetable waste mixed with some cheap grains and by products of grains

• The stocking density rate on an average for adult birds is 750 per hectare.

• This system is usually adopted for duck and turkey rearing.

• Vaccination and disease control

FEEDING THROUGH SCAVENGING

• scavenging conditions - maize, jowar and millets to meet their energy requirement.

• Scavenge on insects, warms, larvae, snails, termites, maggots, marine wastes etc.

• sustainability of poultry depends upon the interplay between environment, local resources, agricultural practices and skills in poultry management

• Any gap between the scavenge able feed and the feed required has to be compensated with supplemental feed.

• Birds can not find all the nutrients round the year.

• Hence, offering supplemental feed.

FEED RESOURCES UNDER FREE - RANGE REARING

geographical, climatic and agricultural factors household wastes naturally occurring organic material like worms, in

sects, maggots termites etc,  crop surpluses and their by products fodder material and grasses, herbs, algae etc.

SCAVENGING FEED RESOURCE BASE (SFRB)

• SFRB is defined as the total amount of food items available to all scavenging birds in a given area.

• It depends on the number of households, the type of food crops grown, and their crop cultivating and crop processing methods as well as on the climatic conditions that determine the rate of deposition of the food items.

SFRB

• If the biomass of the flock exceeds carrying capacity of SFRB, some birds in the population, particularly the weaker ones will die.

• On the other hand survival will be more when SFRB is more than the requirement of flock

• Seasonal fluctuations.• The land area available for scavenging and

the distance a flock can travel to scavenge will depend on flock size, feed availability, population density, agricultural activities, predators etc.

• The SFRB includes termites, snails, worms, insects, grain from sowing, harvesting by-products, seeds, grass, fodder tree leaves, water-plants and unconventional feed materials

• The crop contents can be utilized to determine the metabolizable energy and protein components of scavenging feed resources.