DAY OLD CHICKS AND FOOD SECURITY.

The process of of enhancing the performance of birds is aimed at producing more eggs,bigger chicken , reducing time of rearing and also extending laying periods.The seed for the poultry is the day old chicks,these must be sourced from proven hatcheries to ensure the goals of optimum growth and production is accomplished.Day old chicks must be clean,alert and vaccinated before they are ready for sales.There are a lot of technicalities that goes into hatching these chicks, the most important factor is that the parent stock must be proven,with desired traits before the breeding and incubation phase.The proper setting in incubators with stipulated temperature and humidity will ensure that the purpose of careful selection and breeding are not futile. The selection and breeding are carried out basically to increase productivity.This can be further harnessed by breeding exotic strains with local strains to ensure proper adaptability to environment . Many countries are implementing this practice at Nairobi International Trade Fair once again proved to be the hub of new innovations and technologies in agribusiness. A rooster weighing eight kilos worth Sh2,000 drew crowds at the trade fair.This is almost the weight of a dik-dik antelope and twice the size of a normal rooster. Kukuchic company sales person Nathan Koech said the 11-month rainbow rooster is a dual-purpose breed.The breed is originally from India. Koech said such weight is not ideal for natural fertilization as the rooster might hurt the hen.He said they do artificial insemination.“At five months the rooster is ready for the market,” Koech said.He said they have 20,000 roosters at the Eldoret-based company and sell day-old chicks at Sh100 each. Unfertilized egg costs Sh15. (The star). Call today to order day-old chicks.

AGRIBUSINESS: COMMON CAUSES OF CHICK MORTALITY .

AGRIBUSINESS: COMMON CAUSES OF CHICK MORTALITY . The brooding phase of production is the determinant of the overall success of the venture.This is definitely hinged on procurement of healthy chicks from renowned hatcheries.The management factor is key to the success of other operations in the cycle hence extra attention must be given to birds for the first few weeks of life. The common causes of chick mortality are; 1) hatchery defects,this is common in birds that were not exposed to proper conditions of temperature and humidity in the incubator.The chicks that were brought out under such conditions,will not thrive at all,they will die off after a few days. AGRIBUSINESS: COMMON CAUSES OF CHICK MORTALITY .Chocking and suffocation;these occurs when brooder lanterns/heating systems are faulty,this coupled with poor ventilation results in build up of smokes/fumes in the house.This results in inhalation of fumes by chicks resulting in chocking/suffocation. Chilling; when the brooder house is cold and the heat source is not adequate,especially on cold nights when its cold.The chicks will huddle towards light source,resulting in death from overcrowding as a result of chilling. AGRIBUSINESS: COMMON CAUSES OF CHICK MORTALITY .Thirst: when inadequate drinkers are provided and also when sufficient water is not made available,this will result in dehydration leading to death of chicks. AGRIBUSINESS: COMMON CAUSES OF CHICK MORTALITY . Starvation, arise when adequate feed is not provided,or when necessary feeders are not provided,the chicks will not have access to enough feed.This will encourage huddling towards feeder,where only few birds have access to feed,causing starvation and eventual death in the birds.Where the birds dont have enough water,they will not take adequate feed as well,because the chicks need twice amount of water for feed consumed. Trauma; can arise from improper handling,wrong placement of brooder equipment,or using equipment with sharp edges resulting in injuries that can result in death or deformation.This results in culling of deformed chicks. There are disease conditions that cause mortalities such as,yolk sac omphalities, aspergillosis,chronic respiratory disease,salmonellosis e.t.c.This will be discussed later.