Village Chicken Production System in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana

Abstract

The study was conducted to evaluate village chicken husbandry practices and productivity in three administrative districts in the Greater Accra region. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 110 rural households. Respondents were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Chickens were mainly owned by women and kept under scavenging system with very minimal feed supplementation.  About 50% of the respondents housed their birds. No formal disease control measures were adopted. The mean flock size was 13.4 ± 1.10 and the average annual egg production per hen was 37.2.The total number of clutches per hen per year was 3.8  ± 1.2 with an average of 9.8  ± 2.4 eggs per clutch. The hatchability recorded was 75%. High pre-weaning chick mortality was recorded. Diseases, predation and poor nutrition were the major constraints to village chicken production in the study zones. . Newcastle disease was identified as the most devastating disease. Measures for improving productivity and protection of village chickens are discussed.

Keywords: Village chickens, husbandry practices, productivity, constraints, Ghana.