POULTRY VALUE CHAIN; SET C

POULTRY VALUE CHAIN.

Investors! investors and more investors. Come and showcase your products connect with new clients. Feed millers,feed masters,manufacturers,all service providers in the poultry sector,come to our investors forum and help ensure food security. Poultry value chain champion!!! contact me with catalog of products,lets do business.

EGGS AND YOUR HEALTH.

The egg contains all the nutrient to produce a chick,hence its a power packed meal that promotes growth and development. Eggs are nutrient packed and plays immense roles in various systems in the body.The protein requirement is 0.8g/kg on the average: with the requirement for man is 56g,and woman 46g. The FAO has cautioned that the dietary intake is below the required levels in developing countries hence more protein especially animal protein should be included in diet. One medium egg contains 70-85 calories of which 6.5g is protein. Eggs are nutrient rich and if incorporated in diet on a regular basis will make up for the deficit in protein in the developing countries; hence the truth an egg a day keeps the doctor away. EGG-VALUES; 1) its an health boost,with high level of nutrients it contains it contributes to the general well being of the individual, 2)vitamin source; vitamin B2 which is important for break down of food to energy. vitamin B12 essential for red blood cell production. vitamin A responsible for great vision; eye sight integrity. vitamin E responsible for fighting off free radicals that cause tissue and cellular damage. Vitamin B2 responsible for proper growth. 3) mineral source..iron for blood cells,and maintenance of circulatory integrity. zinc....ensures proper functioning of immune system. phosphorus.......responsible for healthy bones and teeth. iodine...essential for thyroid hormones. selenium.....its an antioxidant that helps reduce cancer risk. Eggs are also used as a weight management tool; a study by Rochester center for obesity stated that eating eggs for breakfast helps limit your calorie intake all day by 400 calories.The mode of action here is that it gives a satiety signal while releasing the nutrients into body,thus maintaining energy level.The cholesterol in eggs are dietary cholesterol not blood cholesterol,the dietary cholesterol are high density lipo proteins which are essential for proper functioning of the body systems. Eggs also linked to intelligence quotient because of choline content in the egg which is responsible for production of cell membrane and also produce signal molecules in brain thus coordinating activities at that level. Eggs also contains lutem and zeaxanthin that are antioxidants with maintain cellular integrity in the retinal thus preventing eye disorders such as cataracts and macular degeneration.These benefits also apply to dogs, a nutritious meal for your dog must include eggs.

PEACOCK.!!!

Peacocks are lovely and a beauty to behold every time.They are to be handled with utmost care and fed a balanced ration. Wry neck is a common feature when ration is not balanced.A major disadvantage of feeding medicated feed is the inability of the birds to take up thiamine.The major nutrients lacking when the wry neck occurs are vitamin E and selenium,these can be crushed and mixed with feed to correct the deficit.The bird will have to be hand fed , and plenty of water should also be provided. Wry neck is not only caused by nutritional defects; it could also be observed in certain bacterial and viral infection,thus other signs and test are used to confirm the diagnosis.

INCUBATION AND HATCHING OSTRICH EGGS.

Ostrich are large flightless birds that lay big eggs and are of economic value.The ostrich eggs are so large and they need to be handled with care so that they can hatch healthy birds. Diseases,malformations and slow development can usually occur if the necessary conditions are not adhered to; the incubation period of ostrich is between 42-46 days. The eggs must be wiped with dry cloth,the hands that handle the eggs must be clean and sterilized with lodine wash/any disinfectant.The cleaned eggs should be left to air dry and sprayed with disinfectants before setting. The incubator room must be clean and disinfected with potassium permanganate/formaldehyde or any other disinfectant suitable for hatcheries. The eggs are to be stored for 7 days under ultraviolet light at 35% relative humidity and temperature of 17-21°c.Incubators maintained at 35-40% of relative humidity and 36°c with airflow of about 45 litres/hr will ensure maximum hatachability.Candling is done to monitor embryo development,this can progress until day 40. Once piping begins,the eggs are transferred to a hatcher,where the chicks use their beaks to break the shell.Gentian violet/iodine spray/any other disinfectant are used to clean the umbilical area for 3 days. Adequate incubator parameters and handling techniques coupled with strict bio security protocol is key to increase hatachability rate of the ostrich.

Incubators.

Incubators are handy machines in breeding farms whether commercial or small scale production. The incubators are of various types such as manual and electric, and in various sizes ranging from small to big sizes.The effectiveness of the incubator is hinged on proper temperature and humidity control,this determines the success rate of hatching the eggs. Incubation is not restricted to only chicken but other birds raised for commercial purposes such as quail,ostrich and turkey.The key to choosing an effective incubator depends on size of eggs and number of eggs and reliability of regulation of temperature and humidity.Many farmers have added incubation of eggs as part of their production to earn extra income.Raising birds starts from a proven parent stock but the handling of eggs in incubators and first few days after hatching determines the overall success of the production. Thinking of hatching birds for a living? choose the right incubator!

THE PEACOCK.

The peacock is the male pheasant bird with beautiful plumage which he uses to attracts the female( peahen) during courtship.The common ones are the Indian types with beautiful blue feathers, the females are not as brightly colored as the male and the female choose their mate based on the size of the train,and colorful display. These birds are quite easy to manage,feeding mainly on grains,leafy vegetables or commercial feed and the birds must have cool clean water .The birds are a beauty to behold, they can be kept for ornamental purposes or raised for breeding purposes.The peafowl attains sexual maturity at about 2 years of age,and the male is used at about 3-4 years when they have fully developed train to ensure high fertility rate. The peafowl lays eggs and tends them alone,but in cases of commercial breeding the eggs can be set in the incubator. The birds can be raised in living areas,but the perimeter must be predator proof.The birds thrive properly in grassy areas with plants and flower,they make great house pets. The peacock............lovely to wake up to the beauty of this bird every morning.

Quails and incubators.

Raising quails can be fun and financially rewarding,irrespective of the aspect you decide to focus on. The production of fertile eggs hence day old chicks,production of table eggs,sale of mature quail birds ,processing for sale in markets and superstores and sale of their waste as fertilizer. There are various types of incubators in the market to fit every need,and are very affordable,check out these ones; come on board,join the quail multimillionaires.

BREEDING QUAILS.

Breeding Quails. The male-female rate should be 1:2.5 which means 4 quail cockerels to 10 quail hens. The individual males and females placed separately and put the cockerels into the hen’s cages periodically. This way you will achieve high fertility rate and the breeding quality can also be well monitored. It’s a good practice on a small scale breeding. Incubating quail eggs. The domesticated quail don’t sit on their eggs hence incubators are necessary. An alternative choice is to place the eggs under a broody hen for hatching. If you choose this option you will need to remove any other egg types from under the broody hen . Collect the eggs 3-5 times a day to reduce infection rate. Select healthy looking eggs with strong looking shell, inspect them thoroughly looking for any cracks or other damage. Do NOT wash the quail eggs, this will remove their porous protective coating and they’ll become vulnerable against bacterial infections. It’s also advisable to perform a candling check. This will show you any possible cracks, the health of the yolks and the size of the airspace. If you get an egg Candler make sure you get the high intensity one because the standard Candler will not shine through the dark shell of the quail egg. Store the quail eggs in a dry, cool place on egg trays with pointed end down. The storing temperature should be between 13 – 17 degrees Celsius and the relative humidity around 70 - 80 %. Care is essential that the temperature does not rise above 18°C, or the development of the little embryos will start and your hatching quail eggs become useless. Do NOT store hatching quail eggs in the fridge; it’s too cold for them. The eggs should be fumigated after collection but some breeders do the fumigation when the quail eggs are placed in the incubator for hatching. The room where you set your incubator up should be of a steady constant temperature. The incubator must be clean and disinfected. Make sure you run the incubator for about a day with correctly set temperature and humidity before you place the quail eggs inside. Using a fan assisted incubator with automatic turning facility is ideal. If you get a fan assisted incubator you will not have any cold spots, with automatic turning facility you won’t forget to turn the eggs, so you’re half way there to achieve a successful hatching rate. If your incubator is not equipped with an automatic egg turning system turn the eggs manually 3-4 times day. Egg turning is very important to keep the little chick embryos in the middle of the egg and prevent them from sticking to the inside of the shell. There are only two major other things you have to watch out for, and that is to maintain the correct temperature which in the case of the quail is 37.8°C (100.04°F) and the humidity level of 45-55%. Even if you have a fully automatic digitally controlled incubator it’s recommended to place an extra temperature and humidity meter into the incubator in the way that you can check the values through the viewing window just to make sure that your incubator is at required temperature. The correct temperature level is very important. Under-incubating (temperature too low) will result in late hatching and over-incubating (temperature too high) will result in early hatching. None of them is beneficial, you will lose a lot of quail chicks if it happens. On the 7th day you can perform an egg candling to see how many eggs are fertile. At this stage you should already recognize the quail embryo inside the egg. Discard any “empty” quail eggs to prevent the transfer of infections onto the healthy eggs and carry on incubating for another 8 days. On the 15th day stop the turning mechanism or if you’ve been turning the eggs manually stop the turning and lower the temperature slightly to 37.5°C (99.5°F). At this stage raise the humidity level to above 80%. This will soften the shell and help the little quail chicks getting out easier. If your incubator has a separate hatching tray then put your quail eggs on the hatching tray. Quail chicks will begin to hatch from the 16th day of incubation, but most of them should hatch on the 17th day. Any quail chicks that hatch after the 18th day will probably die. If you achieve 75% of hatching rate or above, its a job well done . Important!!!!!! Quail chicks MUST come out on their own and don’t help them /DON’T CRACK SHELL. If they need help they are not strong enough to live and will die within a day or two. Keep the chicks in the incubator until they become dry and fluffy, then place them into the pre-heated brooder. Don’t rush this or they will catch a cold, get curled up feet and die. The quail chick can be left in the incubator for up to 24 hours after hatching.