Chicken mortality rate is nearly 10-20%
According to the reporter's investigation, the project to support the development of community production of commercial H'Mong chicken farming in Muong Ang district, Dien Bien province, belongs to the National Target Program on socio-economic development of ethnic minority and mountainous areas in 2024 - 2025. These projects were deployed by the Agricultural Service Center (TTDVNN) of Muong Ang district to provide breeds from the end of October 2024. Of the total 423 households supported, there are 300 poor households and 123 near-poor households. These households are supported 100% of the costs of breeds, feed, vaccines and training according to the State's standards. However, after more than 1 month of providing breeds, there was a mass death of chickens.
According to Mr. Lo Van Thang (Keo village, Ang Cang commune, Muong Ang district), up to now each chicken weighs more than 600g but the chicken death rate in households in Keo village is quite high, from 10-20%.
“Although they are Mong chickens, because they are not allowed to roam freely and are kept in cages, they feel a bit weak. Along with the fact that it is quite cold at night, many chickens die,” said Mr. Thang.
Mr. Ta Manh Cuong - Vice Chairman of Muong Ang District People's Committee - said that immediately after receiving information from people about the mass death of chickens, the District People's Committee established a team to inspect and evaluate the project implementation situation.
"If the chickens are raised and cared for according to instructions but still die due to objective reasons, they will be compensated. If the chickens die due to improper care, people must be instructed and asked to promptly adjust the care methods as trained," said Mr. Cuong.
Mr. Lu Van Cuong - Deputy Director of the Center for Agricultural Extension in Muong Ang district - said that to ensure the effectiveness of the project implementation, the district has requested the unit supplying the breed to provide support for longer-term breeding.
"All the breeds given to people are over 21 days old, although according to regulations, the breeds only need to be 7-14 days old," added Mr. Lu Van Cuong.
According to the Deputy Director of TTDVNN, the results of the inspection after more than 1 month of project implementation showed that the survival rate of the chicken flock reached 93.5%. The average weight was from 0.8-1kg/chicken. However, there were still some families where the mortality rate of the chicks was up to 20%.
Causes and solutions
The Deputy Director of the Center for Rural Development of Muong Ang district said that through actual inspection, many households still did not take care of their chickens properly, leading to 10-20% of chickens getting sick and dying, affecting the project results. Because the project's chicken support quota did not include some veterinary drugs, poultry farming in the mandatory stage required the use of some drugs to prevent and treat some common diseases. Meanwhile, many people did not buy drugs to prevent and treat chickens according to the instructions of experts, causing many chickens to die.
Currently, TTDVNN has assigned project officers, along with commune and village authorities and community representatives, to regularly inspect and provide guidance to raise people's awareness in caring for, preventing and treating diseases and preventing cold for chickens...
"We are also considering cases where many chickens have died to provide additional supplies. At the same time, we are providing adequate food for each stage and age so that the chickens have enough nutrition and can grow," said Mr. Lu Van Cuong.
