While for some, temperatures rise Her experience in Bulawayo has brought nothing but discomfort. For Ms Nobuhle Chuma from Kensington on the outskirts of Bulawayo, the temperatures have had dire consequences on her business, after she lost 160 chickens to adverse weather conditions.
The chickens are supposed to be Ms Chuma’s grand retirement plan, having recently returned to the country from South Africa where she has been based for more than 20 years. Now, after losing 160 of her birds, she finds herself asking fellow farmers who own dogs to buy them so she can recoup some of her losses. Ms Chuma, who ventured into poultry farming in October last year, lost about 50 chickens from the first batch of 2,700 chickens. Despite the loss, it said its profit margins were not significantly affected.
“All the time, I have been based in South Africa, but with more people returning home, I also decided to return at the end of 2022 to settle down and venture into agricultural ventures. I decided to raise poultry sometime in October and started with a batch of 2,700 chicks despite That my poultry run has the capacity to hold more. However, due to the heat wave we had sometime in November, I lost more or less 50 broiler chickens. This did not affect my profits much because their value was about $250 I I lost it.
She said she decided to produce the second batch as she had recently suffered a major loss of 164 chickens that were about four weeks old due to heat stress. Typically, according to poultry experts, most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between five and six weeks of age.
“Losing 164 broiler chickens was a huge blow to my poultry business. In values ​​over $820 lost. Keep in mind the numbers I have are 2,700, a lot of things are needed, unlike those backyard run projects. Most expenses go to food, vaccines, disinfectants and equipment, among other things.
She said that because of the high temperatures and with a workforce of three people, including herself, they have been spending sleepless nights for six weeks to ensure they do not continue to lose more broilers. When a Sunday News crew visited her plot on Friday afternoon, Ms Chuma was in her metal-roofed coop, spraying the broilers to make sure they stayed cool.
“If I don’t do this we will continue to lose more. We have to spray them constantly during the day and at night, that’s when they eat and when the temperatures drop. That means we also have to take turns watching them. We have an intense six weeks from incubation to slaughter time.
Experts say chronic heat stress has detrimental effects on the performance of broilers raised in open-sided poultry houses, primarily by reducing feed intake and growth rate, negatively impacting feed efficiency, carcass quality and health.
“My wish is to be able to get help or from an investor willing to invest in solar-powered fans and heaters, lighting and other necessary equipment, among other things. This will go a long way to improve the business. Once these issues are addressed, I will also be able to Creating job opportunities, especially for young people who continue to ruin their lives through drug abuse.
Ms. Chuma said returning and venturing into agriculture was a way to respond to the call of the Second Republic to return and invest in the country. She said that agriculture is one of the sectors that is performing well in the country, and with adequate support, women farmers like her will flourish and contribute positively to achieving the 2030 vision of upper-middle-income status.
Matabeleland South Provincial Veterinary Services Director Dr Inat Mdlongwa said the environment of broilers needs to be controlled at all times.
“It is a huge task to maintain the required temperatures within the range of the birds. Chickens need proper ventilation systems. These types (broilers) of chickens are delicate and need to be handled with care. He said that poultry farmers need to have complete and wide bird passages placed in a bird-friendly environment. For birds.
In their findings, researchers in poultry physiology and management Lara and Rostagno indicate that chicken feed consumption decreases by five percent for every one degree Celsius increase in temperature between 32°C and 38°C.
When the ambient temperature rises to 34 °C, the mortality rate due to heat stress will be very high in broilers at 8.4 percent and the feed intake of chickens decreases from 108.3 g/bird/day at 31.6 °C to 68 ,9 g/bird/day At a temperature of 37.9°C, egg production will decrease by 6.4%. Feed consumption in broilers decreases by 16.4 percent when exposed to chronic heat stress, and body weight decreases by 32.64 percent. Sunday news
