Assessment Of Poultry Farm Structures And Facilities In Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Area Of Abia State, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Poultry needs to be protected from harsh environmental condition such as heat, rainfall, direct sunlight, and dangerous wind by placing it under good housing, structures and facilities, in order to get the best performance and output from the birds. The structures and facilities of five poultry farms in Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State, were assessed for their effectiveness in poultry farming. The poultry farm names are Good Seed, Buchi, Pelmate, Amenchirn Integrated and Ugwuma poultry farms. The observed structures and facilities were compared with approved standard from relevant literature. It was observed that only Pelmate farm chlorinated its drinking water, thereby, made it less susceptible to disease attack, in comparison with the birds in Good Seed, Buchi, Amenchim Integrated and Ugwuma poultry farms respectively, which could easily be attacked by disease, because their drinking water are not chlorinated; closeness of the poultry buildings; lack of footbath; no protective clothing and shoes respectively. Wood shaving as bedding material, roof design and stocking density needed further improvement in the five poultry farms. In the building design, the height of building of Ugwuma farm with 2.lm needed further improvement for good ventilation. Only Buchi and Amenchim poultry farms with 2 and 5 birds/rn2, respectively followed the recommended stocking density of 6 birds/rn2for broilers. On the other hand, it was only Good-Seed farm with 9birds/m2for layers exceeded the recommended value of 8birds/m2 according to FAO. Therefore, poultry farms in Isiala-Ngwa South Local Government Area of Abia State needed to be improved upon in terms of planning and design of poultry structures and facilities for its maximum utilization in poultry farming.