Zambia Agribusiness Society

Infectious bursal disease (IBD) or Gumboro disease is a highly contagious disease of young chickens caused by infectious bursal disease virus characterized by immunosuppression and mortality. Young birds at around 2 to 8 weeks of age that have highly active bursa of Fabricius are more susceptible to the disease. Birds over 8 weeks are resistant to challenges and will not show clinical signs unless infected by highly virulent strains. Infection is through oral-fecal route (when the bird ingests contaminated faeces). Acute disease and death is due to the destructive effect of the virus on the host tissues. Kidney failure is a common cause of death in affected bird. If the bird survives, it remains immunocompromised which means it is more susceptible to other diseases. Clinical signs: 1.     Disease may appear suddenly and spread typically reaches 100%. 2.     Mortality commences on the third day of infection, reaches a peak by day 4, then drops rapidly, and the surviving chickens recover

Chronic respiratory disease (CRD) is one of the most common causes of disease in backyard fowls mostly now that we are in the harmattan and everywhere seems dusty with dry air all over. CRD occurs when chickens and turkeys that are infected with Mycoplasma gallisepticum are stressed. The bacteria then causes major damage to the bird's respiratory system. Mycoplasma gallisepticum spreads via eggs, airborne transmission and indirect or mechanical routes such as introducing infected birds to an existing flock, or via bird transport containers. Mycoplasma gallisepticum can reside in a flock with few indications of its presence until the flock or individuals in it are stressed sufficiently to show signs of respiratory disease. Signs of CRD The signs of CRD are sniffling, sneezing, coughing and other signs of respiratory distress. When suspected, observe the birds from a distance to get a good idea of the symptoms as birds often do not display signs of disease once caught.

As the month comes to an end, there are a few points about drug use among poultry farmers I would like to bring out. Many poultry farmers misuse drugs not knowing that they are posing a danger to themselves and other people. Strange diseases keep coming up and you wonder why this is so. As a consumer do you know the source of eggs, milk or meat that you buy from the shop or supermarket? How safe is it? Are farmers to blame for this? These are basic rules a livestock farmer should follow: 1. Do not administer drugs without a professional prescription. Get a prescription from your vet. Many farmers administer drugs like sweets at the slightest sighting of a symptom instead of waiting for disease diagnosis and drug prescription from a vet. 2. Beware of drug interactions- never carelessly combine drugs except if stated so by the manufacturers. Some drugs cause harmful interactions if combined. That's the reason you should work with your vet. 3. Make it a habit to read thr

“The rate at which weed killer is being used is alarming! My worry is that there is little or no sensitization at all on its application. I have seen many beginning to use it including peasant farmers not excluding use in backyard gardens . Should this be a source of worry or not? Someone to shade more light on this topic please.” - Kenneth Abrahams “Glad to see so many people questioning the decision to use herbicide or not...Each farming family will have their own context, how they want their lives to be, how their land must look in future to continue producing for the generations that follow us...10, 100, 1000 years from today...God has stopped making land, we need to leave the land we farm in better condition than it is now or our children could starve! So it’s critical we consider all the social, economic and environmental factors both short and long term when we make any decisions. We at Grassroots Trust use and promote the Holistic Management framework to plan and h

This aspect of poultry management must receive constant, close attention. Failure to maintain a high standard of disease prevention will usually result into unhealthy flock. The basis of poultry health management is: 1.     The isolation of the flock from disease causing organisms – quarantine, including fencing, restricting movement in and out, avoiding any attractants of wild birds, avoiding domesticated local and ornamental birds etc. 2.     The destruction of as many harmful organisms as possible – hygiene. Including use of tyre baths that have a strong disinfectant, footbaths with a strong disinfectant, misting the poultry house, portioning the farm into a buffer and clean area, etc. 3.     The use of an appropriate vaccination program – trigger the birds’ immune system. And after vaccination; 4.     The use of appropriate preventive medication programs – for diseases for which there are no vaccines. Avoid dusty litter, create enough ventilation, avoid spillage of feed a

This article is a useful guide on how to identity and utilize the common and different organic plant materials used to treat animals especially poultry. 1. Christmas melon (Tagiri) Poultry farmers can adopt Christmas melon (also called Tagiri) extract to cure the deadly and contagious Newcastle Disease (ND) that attack their birds and avoid the use of antibiotics and other synthetic drugs that often raise their production costs and harm humans. According to a previous report by International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on Newcastle disease control in Kibwezi, Machakos County, in spite of the availability of the disease vaccines its uptake by small holder farmers is generally limited due to its cost, hence Newcastle disease remains a major constraint among the farmers. “The cost of rearing chickens has become costly and it is high time farmers go organic in raising their chickens and put in place natural defences that will help protect their flock against deadly poultry

Are you fearful, intrigued, confused, or simply curious about herbicides? If so, you’re in the right place! Let’s dig a little deeper into the science of how herbicides function. To start off with, what is a herbicide? A  herbicide  is a chemical that can manage and control unwanted plant vegetation. The most common types of herbicides are synthetic, but there are also  organic options . These chemicals are typically used to effectively eliminate weeds in order to maximize the growth of more desirable plants. Herbicides can be utilized anywhere from your favourite golf course to a neighbour’s garden, and everywhere in-between! It’s important to understand the different ways these chemicals are applied as well as how they physiologically affect plants. Categories of Herbicides The two largest categories of herbicides are selective and non-selective. Non-selective herbicides are designed to harm just about any plant species that comes into contact with it. Selective herbicides are formul

Newcastle disease is a highly contagious disease of birds caused by a para-myxo virus. Birds affected by this disease are fowls, turkeys, geese, ducks, pheasants, partridges, guinea fowl and other wild and captive birds, including ratites such ostriches, emus and rhea. Humans aren’t normally affected, but people in direct contact with infected birds may develop a very short-term eye infection, which passes without treatment. Clinical Signs The clinical signs in affected birds can vary. The disease can be present in a very acute form with sudden onset and high mortality or as a mild disease with respiratory distress or a drop in egg production as the only detectable clinical signs. A sub-clinical ( asymptomatic ) form of Newcastle disease and many intermediate forms of the disease can also occur. The main signs are: 1. Sneezing 2. Nasal discharge 3. Coughing 4. Greenish, watery diarrhoea 5. Depression 6. Muscular tremors 7. Drooping wings 8. Complete paralysis 9. S

  The consequences of chemical pesticides are becoming more and more serious, hence the need to now opt for organic pesticides. Step 1: Getting good almonds: 1.     Harvest ripe neem fruit. 2.     Remove the pulp. 3.     Dry in the shade. 4.     Hull using a mortar. 5.     Store in a dry and ventilated place away from light. Step 2: Materials needed for manufacturing: 1.     Scale 2.     Mortar 3.     Scarf 4.     Sieve 5.     Bucket 6.     Clean empty container to receive the product. Step 3: Transformation: 1.     Reduce neem powder fines first. 2.     Weigh 1kg of dry neem fine; 3.     Put it in a mortar and pound it until it is reduced to a powder. Step 4: Preparation of the solution: 1.     Weigh 1kg of neem powder. 2.     Put the 1kg in a bucket and, 3.     Add 16 litres of water, (or even 10 litres of water depending on the intensity of the attacks) mix well. 4.     Added soap as an adhesive. 5.     Let the solution macerate for 24