Abstract:
Backyard poultry production in Africa suffers major setbacks due to factors such as disease and parasite infestation. This has resulted
to dwindling quantities of meat and eggs produced and also increased mortality rate observed in poultry birds. We carried out a study
on 90 helmeted guinea fowls from Bungoma South, Teso North, Bungoma West, Mt. Elgon and Laikipia, and 296 indigenous chicken
from three agro-climatic zones of Kenya; Lamu Archipelago, L. Turkana basin and Mt. Elgon catchment during the period September
2014 to January 2015.
Of the several possible diseases detected through clinical examinations, we noted that indigenous chicken that showed Newcastle
disease clinical signs were the most common with Lamu Archipelago recording the highest number of cases (83%) while L. Turkana
basin recorded the lowest (9%). Low Newcastle disease prevalence was mainly attributed to superior innate immunity by indigenous
chicken unaffected by poultry improvement programs and also effective vaccination. Mites, lice, fleas, and ticks were confirmed as the
common types of ectoparasites affecting poultry. Mites were the most common (43%) followed by lice (40%), fleas (37%) and ticks
(2%). Wild guinea fowl populations were found to be less affected by ectoparasite infestation when compared to the domestic
populations. Poor husbandry was the main cause of high ectoparasite infestation observed. We report that chick mortality rate is
highest during the first week mainly due to diseases, predation, poor feeding and lack of proper housing. However, it reduces with the
growth of the poultry birds over time. There was no significant relationship between chick mortality rate and the different agro-climatic zones. We also noted that most farmers prefer disease-resistant poultry when compared to other traits such as body size,
egg yield, and growth rate.
This study outlines how prevalent Newcastle disease is irrespective of the agro-climatic zone. It also confirms the high intensity of
ectoparasite infestation in indigenous chicken and domesticated guinea fowls. All these factors that negatively impact on poultry
production are mainly centered on poor husbandry.
Keywords: indigenous chicken, Newcastle virus, production
