A. O. Ajuyah

In most South Pacific Island countries, in particular low-lying atoll countries rural family poultry production is their primary source of animal protein. For example in Nauru and Tokelau 100% of the total chicken population are village chickens. However, production system range from little to zero-input cost, as a result of which growth rate is slow, production low and pre-weaning mortality very high. The major causes of mortality with young chicks are feral dogs, cars, rats, cat and disease; while theft account for over 60% of adult losses. To maximize production efficiency it is important to review and identify intrinsic and extrinsic constraints, which should include the village poultry farmer (owner), the village chicken (subject) and the village (environment), since all these factors interact together. In the region more research is required on °owner-subject' interaction and less on °subject-environment' interaction.

Key words: South Pacific Islands, village chickens, status and management.

Back

The South Pacific Island countries could be classified into the following three broad groups depending on their size and topography:

(i) Large countries with raised islands (2,850 km2 - 27,540 km2) - Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Samoa

(ii) Small countries with raised islands (230 km2 - 701 km2) - Tonga, the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau and Cook Islands.

(iii) Low-lying atolls countries (10 km2 - 712 km2) - Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tokelau.

The importance, growth and development of the rural family poultry in each island country depend upon Eco-systems, size, resources, political, cultural and socio-economic structure. However, the per capita distribution of village chicken ranges from 0.1 in Tonga to 1.8 in Samoa and Cook Island. If only the population of the rural areas is considered with over 75% of the local chicken population, the per capita distribution may be 10fold the above figures. This observation further supports the importance of the village chicken in the nutrition and economy of the rural population.

Although, the indigenous, village or island chicken is the most prominent class of livestock in the Pacific Island countries, there has been little or no research work done in this area. It is important to note that in some countries in the region the village chicken contributes significantly to the rural economy, customs, welfare, health and nutritional needs of the people. For example approximately 100% of the total chicken population in Nauru and Tokelau are local breeds, and less than 30% of the chickens in Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Samoa, Niue, Federated States of Micronesia, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Tuvalu are commercial breeds (Table 1). Local chickens are well adapted to normal village situations, requiring little or no input in terms of capital and specialized management skills. In addition to scavenging for insects, grubs and plants the chickens subsist mostly on farm rejects and household waste for their growth, development and reproduction.

Table 1: Country profile

However, the major constraints affecting the development of the rural family poultry in the region include the following: breed productivity and breeding system, management systems, production unit or size, religious or cultural attitudes, the lack of continuous supply of supplementary feed and improvised marketing system.

Back

The village chicken is widely distributed in the region (Table 1) mainly as a source of meat and occasionally eggs. They are usually small in body size; an adult male may weigh from 1.5 to 2.5 kg and female 1.0 to 1.5 kg at 18 months. They are usually unimproved or unselected, but very hardy mainly as a result of continuous environmental selection. However meat yield (60-65% of live weight) and egg production (50 to 90 eggs per year) are usually very low, this is in addition to slow growth rate resulted partly from under-nutrition. They are mostly single combed with plumage of different patterns and colours, ranging from white through black to red with some black on the tail hackle neck and wings.

There is no planned breeding program under this system of production. Mating is naturaland usually a group of males run with the whole females. The ratio of males to females under this system varies, and may range from as high as 1:40 to as low as 1:3. This ratio depends on the time of the year (lower ratio prior to festivals), the habitat (lower ratio in semi-urban areas) and the feed availability (lower ratio with supplementary feeding). However, immediately after festivals there is heavy demand for replacement birds. In most instances inbreeding is usually high and fertility quite low because in most cases the dominant males are old, exhausted since most time is spent fighting and establishing dominance within and across flock. As a result of which they are sexually less active or mating becomes then a secondary activity.

Back

The traditional method of managing the village chickens accounts for about 95 to 98.5% of total production in some countries in the region. In fact most household in rural areas keep village chickens. The birds are usually free ranging with access to unlimited pasture and grassland, therefore stocking density is very low. The level of management and financial input range from very low to zero, for example supplementary feed and sleeping or laying accommodation are rarely provided. In most cases adult chickens sleep or roost on treetops at night. The chickens hatch their own eggs by natural incubation and the mother hen raised her young chicks until weaning. There is no record of production. Identification is done by keen observation by the traditional farmer.

Back

The chickens roam in/around the homestead and suburbs in search of sustenance. The diet of the scavenging chicken is location specific. For example chicken around coconut meal processing unit may obtain about 70-80% of their feed from the site. Other feed includes white ants, grub, insects, kitchen leftover, farm wastes or purchased feed/grains. Usually these feed sources are unreliable during heavy rains which sometimes last for days. On the average therefore nutrition is poor, growth rate is slow and level of production or product yield is low.

Back

Village chickens may be owned by individuals or group of people, which include men but mostly women and children. A person or family may own on the average between 10 to 20 chickens, and ownership and number changes frequently, in particular preceding a feast and by reproduction and replacement.

Under this system of production, chicken mortality is very high as a result of losses of birds and eggs to predators, such as rats, cats, pigs and dogs. Other sources of losses and mortality include from thieves, cars and diseases. The degree of losses depends on the intensity of predation and age of the chickens. For example losses from dogs, in particular juvenile and feral dogs, cars and rats may be as high as 40-100% for young chicks, while losses of adults birds (20 to 100%) is greatest from thieves (Table 2). The cumulative effects of all these losses is that on the average a hen might lay between 12 to 14 eggs, hatch 10 to 12 chicks, 4 to 6 might survive the growing stage and only 2 to 4 might be available for replacement, food or commerce.

Table 2: Mitigating factors that influence village chicken number

Back

In a scavenging flock of village chickens there is no age separation as a result of which the younger chickens are the most susceptible to parasites and diseases. The complete lack of effective disease control, poor nutrition and no protection from rain, wind and sun further compromise the health status of village chickens. Infectious diseases are easily transmitted within and between scavenging flocks. Some common diseases that affect the village chickens include fowl cholera, fowl pox, coryza, coccidiosis, worms, lice and mite infection.

The consumption of village poultry is quite high in most countries in the region, in particular countries with high concentration of Indians (50% of population - Fiji); Muslims (Fiji) and members of the Seven-day Adventist (3-5% of population) who prefer chicken meat to pork and beef.

Back

In most island countries there is little or no trade in live chickens or eggs, because they are kept mainly for domestic consumption. However, there is the occasional commerce between relatives and friends. Under these circumstances cost prices are highly variable and rarely reflect age of bird, live weight or production cost.

This segment of the industry plays an important role in the Region supplying the rural domestic market for social or traditional purposes such as weddings, funerals, etc, and consumption. However, the development in this sector has been hampered as a result of the following:

1. Lack of socio-economic data for project development and efficient planning;

2. Unselected genotype, lack of efficient disease control and poor nutrition, hence the level of productivity is quite low;

3. High losses from hatch to maturity, mainly as a result of zero level of management.

To maximize the potential of the rural family poultry in the South Pacific Island research addressing current problems and the involvement of government are prerequisite.

Back

Ajuyah, A. O. (1998): AG 273: Livestock Production 1 Ï Course Book 2. Published by University Extension. The University of the South Pacific, PO Box 1168, Suva, Fiji.

Annual Reports for the Ministries of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry Ï Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Solomon Islands, Cook Islands and Samoa.

Back