Port Blair, Apr 07: Small-scale, rural poultry farming is the primary source for poultry meat and eggs for the rural farmers in these Islands as it constitutes more than 50 per cent to the total poultry population which comprises of desi birds, vanaraja birds and broilers. Poultry feeding is the major component in the management of poultry farming. Feeding attributes to about 70 to 75 per cent to the total production cost of poultry. Supplemental feeding is needed to improve the production of meat and eggs from desi poultry; whereas balanced feeding is highly essential for vanaraja birds and broilers. The commercial feed is costing high in these Islands and the small scale poultry farmers are not affordable.
Considering the significant role of poultry feeding and the economic and nutritional importance of small scale rural poultry farming in these Islands, scientists of ICAR-CIARI, Port Blair have identified locally available feed ingredients for the small scale poultry farmers of these Islands. Poultry need energy and protein, as well as vitamins and minerals. Type of feed will be changed, depending on the age and production status (chick, grower and layers).
Poultry should be fed up to 8 weeks with chicks feed; from 9 to up to laying with grower feed; at the time of laying with layer feed. Energy feeds are the most important feeds to maintain body temperature and production levels of the birds. Locally available energy feeds are Maize (corn) and its by-products (bran), wheat and its by-products (bran, shorts, screenings), rice and its byproducts (bran, polishing), cassava root meal, yam meal, sweet potato meal, plantain and banana meal. Roots and tubers should be soaked in water for 60 minutes or cooked before drying to remove harmful substances and the proportion in the diet in general should be kept below 1/10.
Protein is needed for growth and keeping up a good health status. Locally available protein sources are fish scraps and coconut. Minerals are important for bone formation and eggshell formation. The most important minerals are calcium and phosphorous. Laying hens need free access to calcium (lime stone or crushed shells) to produce strong shells for their eggs. Mineral sources are Bone meal, crushed oyster shells and burned egg shells. Eggshells and used bones should always be scorched or cooked before re-use in diets to remove any disease germs. Vitamins are obtained from green grass and vegetables.
Small scale poultry farmers are generally in crisis of commercial poultry feed and the situation is worse during this lockdown period. Chick and grower feed (100 kg) could be prepared by adding Wheat or rice or maize up to 60 kg, dry fish and coconut grates up to 35 kg, rice bran up to 5 kg and 100 g of salt. Layer feed should contain additionally 400 g of shell grits, eggs shells and used bones. Poultry should be fed @ 15 to 35 g per chick per day; 80 g per grower bird per day and 110 g per layer per day. These ingredients need not be grounded and may be fed as whole grain. At this juncture of crisis for poultry feed owing to the lock down restrictions upon Covid-19 precautions, small scale rural poultry farmers need not depend on commercial feed which is economically unviable. The farmers can prepare their own poultry feed to sustain the body weight and egg production of rural poultry. By doing so, the small-scale, rural poultry could be sustained in the Island areas ensuring livelihood, food and nutrition security.
