Daijiworld Media Network – Puttur (MS)

Puttur, Apr 21: Broiler chicken, the most favoured food, is hit hard due to the hot summer. The chickens are dying in the farm itself due to intense heat. Poultry farm owners, traders and consumers are all affected due to this.

There are integrated broiler chicken farms in hundreds of villages of Dakshina Kannada. Though the growers put in their effort day and night to rear a batch of chickens for 35 to 40 days they are dying due to heat. The poultry farm owners are therefore facing huge losses.

In a farm which has 5000 chickens, more than 100 are dying every day. As the company which supplied the chicks keep count, only if the grower supplies them back to the company the same amount of chickens he or she will earn a good commission. However, due to the continuous death of chickens, growers are facing losses.

As the supply is short, the price has also skyrocketed in the market. The poultry owners should sprinkle water in the farm to prevent the deaths of chickens. In addition, they should spread coconut palms or arecanut palms on the building of the farm. The water which the chicks drink should not be hot. From 11 am to 5 pm less food should be given to the chicks. The chickens should not be allowed to stay at one place and make them run around. If possible jaggery water should be fed to the chicks. Using these methods, the deaths can be reduced considerably, according to a experienced poultry farmer.

“Chicken growers are incurring losses of around 25%. As the chickens are not eating the feed in sufficient quantity, they are not gaining weight. The price of chick which was Rs 20 to 22 has risen to Rs 50. The chicken feed rate has gone up to Rs 42 per kg. The cost of rearing a chicken has crossed Rs 115. The summer this year is giving tough time to the chicken growers,” said Jayanth Nadubail, owner of Akshay Farms, Puttur.