AGRICULTURE
REPORT - Raising Chickens
By Gary Garriott
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English
Agriculture Report.
Raising chickens or other birds for their eggs and
meat is a popular family and business activity almost everywhere in
the world. The birds eat grain, seeds and grasses. They also eat small
pieces of food that people throw away. Many of these materials would
be wasted if the birds did not eat them. Chicken eggs and meat contain
high quality protein and other substances important in the human diet.
For many centuries, chickens were allowed to run free
to find food for themselves. Then people used fences to keep small groups
of birds from running away. After the chickens were kept inside a fence,
people had to provide food for them.
Early in the last century, raising flocks of thousands
of birds became a successful business for many people. But the size
of these flocks caused some serious problems, including pollution caused
by chicken waste.
Disease is one of the biggest problems in large flocks.
The birds are kept close together all the time. So if one bird becomes
sick, the sickness spreads. All the chickens in a flock can die from
a serious disease. Avian flu, for example, can in some cases also spread
to humans.
Diseases that affect chickens are different in different
areas of the world. One current example in Asia is an outbreak of avian
flu in South Korea. Troops have been helping to kill and bury chickens
and ducks that became infected at farms in North Chungcheong Province.
To help prevent disease, experts advise these steps:
Feed the birds a balanced diet. This will help them resist infections.
Do not add adult birds to your flocks. If you must add adult birds,
keep them separate from the flock for five to fifteen days to make sure
they are healthy.
Cover the floor of the buildings where the chickens
are kept with material like straw, rice husks or sawdust. Change this
material often.
After you sell the chickens, completely empty the
building where they were kept. Clean and wash the building. Then leave
it empty for four weeks before putting in new chickens.
Diseases affecting birds are not simple to understand
and treat, so expert medical advice is important. You can get more information
about caring for chickens and other birds from Volunteers in Technical
Assistance. VITA is on the Internet at v-i-t-a dot o-r-g.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written
by Gary Garriott. This is Steve Ember.
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