An overview of village chicken-

keeping practices in Sanza ward in

Singida region and proposed areas of

intervention Elpidius Rukambile1, Wende Maulaga1, Julia de Bruyn2, Brigitte Bagnol2,3,4,

Robyn Alders2,3 and Furaha Mramba1

1. Tanzanian Veterinary Laboratory Agency, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania2. Faculty of Veterinary Science & Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Australia3. International Rural Poultry Centre, Kyeema Foundation, Australia4. Department of Anthropology, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

Tanzania Veterinary Association ConferenceArusha International Conference Centre1-3 December, 2015

85% of all households in sub-Saharan Africa keep poultry 70% of poultry are owned by women Poultry products (eggs, meat and organs) are a potentially valuable

source of high-quality protein and bio-available micronutrients for children in rural areas

Chickens present an opportunity for household income throughout the year, through the sale of birds and egg

This study is intended to assess existing chicken-keeping practices in Sanza ward and to propose possible interventions to maximize the benefits obtained from village chickens

BACKGROUND

METHODOLOGY

Baseline data from a five-year longitudinal study following households with children under 24 months of age and an expressed interest in chicken-keeping

Sanza ward, Manyoni district – first of five project locations Sample size (240) based on stunting figures in children under 5

years (42% at a national level)

TANZANIA ZAMBIA

SINGIDA region DODOMA region LUSAKA province

MANYONI district MPWAPWA district RUFUNSA district

SANZA ward MAJIRI ward IWONDO ward BUNDA BUNDA ward

SHIKABETA ward

Table 1: Research locations

METHODOLOGY

Pre-tested, structured questionnaires in Kiswahili Trained members of community collected data through interviews Local languages (Kigogo and Kisukuma) used where appropriate Household members over 16 years were eligible to respond Intended respondents’ gender were 50% male and 50% female Topics included:

Ownership of chickens Reasons for not keeping chickens Feeding practices Chicken housing Use of poultry products Seasonal patterns in mortality, consumption and sale

RESULTS Ownership

51.7% of households were keeping chickens in May 2014 Of households keeping chickens, 53.5% were reported as

male-headed and 38.5% as female-headed Average number of chickens per HH was 10.5 Average number of adult chickens (more than 5 months) per

HH was 4.7 Average number of growers (2 -5 months) per HH was 4.4 Average number of chicks (day old to 2 months) per HH was 9

RESULTS Ownership

Figure 1: Reasons for not keeping chickens

Disease

s

Never

tried

Not int

ereste

d

Affordab

ility Sold

Intere

sted i

n duck

s

Preda

tion

0102030405060

Reasons for not keeping chickens

Res

pond

ent

perc

enta

ge

RESULTS Feeding practices

Feed items Proportion of households providing item

Maize or maize bran 68.0%Sorghum 44.2%Kitchen or table leftovers 28.5%Millet 21.7%

Table 2: Commonly provided feed items for chickens

62.8% of households

reported providing

additional feed to chickens in

May 2014

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec0

20406080

100120

Months

Num

ber

of r

e-sp

onde

nts

Figure 2: Trend on feed supplementation

Bedroom Chicken house

kitchen Outside05

10152025303540

Places

Perc

enta

ge RESULTS Chicken housing

Figure 3: Location where chickens are kept overnight

RESULTS Use of poultry products

Uses% of HH

used chicken

Number chickens

(per household)

% of HH used eggs

Number eggs(per

household)Consumed within household 25.2 0.5 25.6 1.7

Consumed during guest visits 6.4 0.1 2.1 0.8

Sold 16.7 0.6 2.9 0.06Given as a gift 1.7 0.05 0 0

Table 3: Average number of chickens and eggs used for various purposes (Sanza ward, May 2014)

RESULTS Seasonal patterns in mortality, consumption and sale

Figure 3: Reported timing of chicken deaths, sale and consumption

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Selling Consumption Deaths

Months

Num

ber

of r

espo

nden

ts

DISCUSSION Potential areas for intervention

Increasing chicken flock size Promoting feed supplementation for chickens Improving the quality of supplementary feed Promoting disease control Educating on the importance of chicken housing Promoting use of poultry products (including sale and consumption) Providing entrepreneurship education

CONCLUSION

Promoting village chicken-keeping is an important avenue towards combating under-nutrition for the poor

Education on the use of poultry products by pregnant women, breastfeeding women and young children should be emphasized

AhsanteniThank you