Academic Paper from the year 2017 in the subject Veterinary medicine, language: English, abstract: Indigenous village chicken is the most prominent class of livestock in the country and constitutes about 60-80% of the total poultry population, their productivity is low because of poor nutrition and low genetic potential. The number of flock per household in most Ethiopian communities is small constituting on average of 7-10 mature chickens 20-24 adult hens, a male birds and a number of growers of varies ages. Such production system may result in slow growth and poor layers of small sized eggs. About 40-60% of the chicks hatched die during the first 8 weeks of age mainly due to disease and predators attack. About half of the eggs produced have to be hatched to replace chicken that have died and the brooding time of the laying hens is longer, with many brooding cycles required to compensate for its unsuccessful brooding. Pullets and cockerels reached sexual maturity at an average age of 6.4 months and 5.7 months, respectively. Even though the productivity of local chicken is very poor, they are very important to withstand certain harsh environmental conditions, and can perform better under poor management than cross and exotic breeds, they are also well known to possess desirable characters such as ideal mother, good sister, hatch their own eggs, excellent foragers, resistance to common poultry disease and special meat and egg quality.

Breeds and breeding; Incubation; Management and housing; Poutry equipment and housing; Poultry equipment and appliances; Brooding and rearing; Management of adult birds; Mangement of table birds; Feeds and feeding; Poultry diseases; Handling and marketing poultry products; Planning poultry production.

Covering a variety of essential topics relating to commercial poultry nutrition and production—including feeding systems and poultry diets—this complete reference is ideal for professionals in the poultry-feed industries, veterinarians, nutritionists, and farm managers. Detailed and accessible, the guide analyzes commercial poultry production at a worldwide level and outlines the importance it holds for maintaining essential food supplies. With ingredient evaluations and diet formulations, the study's compressive models for feeding programs target a wide range of commercially prominent poultry, including laying hens, broiler chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and game birds, among others.

"The poultry production systems of Africa are mainly based on the scavenging indigenous chickens found in virtually all villages and households in rural Africa. These systems are characterized by low output per bird. Nevertheless, over 70 percent of the poultry products and 20 percent of animal protein intake in most African countries come from this sector. Therefore, increased rural poultry production would result in a positive impact on household food security both in increased dietary intake and in income generation. ... This study coincided with the World Food Summit, held at FAO, Rome, from 13 to 17 November 1996, where delegations committed their governments and civil society to a global attack on food insecurity and poverty. Poultry, like other short-cycle animal stock, is viewed by the FAO Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS) as a crucial element in the struggle for sustained food production and poverty alleviation. The guidelines provided in this study are particularly pertinent to those countries participating in the SPFS where village chicken production will have a substantial impact on increased household food security and gender equity."--Foreword.