Feeding village poultry in the Solomon Islands

In Solomon Islands:
Objective 1: To develop rations for village-based layer and meat birds based on locally available feedstuffs.
To enable assessment of village poultry rations it was necessary to develop a poultry production research unit in the Solomon Islands (SI). In May, 2005 SI collaborators Tony Jansen (Kastom Gaden Association-KGA) and Nick Nonga (Department of Agriculture and Lands-DAL) visited Lae to view the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI) research facilities. They followed this with a visit to Roseworthy with Russell Parker (SI consultant) to examine the poultry facilities at the Pig and Poultry Production Institute (PPPI) and plan the research facility required in the SI with poultry scientists from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). In June 2005, Phil Glatz and Bob Hughes from SARDI and Pikah Kohun from NARI visited the SI. After discussion amongst all collaborators it was decided to establish the production unit at the SI College of Higher Education (SICHE). The rationale for this (apart from developing research capability) was to encourage training of students in poultry production and to further strengthen the links between key staff from DAL, SICHE and KGA. Land was also available on the SICHE site to plant crops to test different feed resources in village poultry rations. Crops planted for nutritional evaluation were sorghum, pigeon peas and cowpeas. Construction of SICHE/DAL 16 pen poultry research facility (made from local materials) is almost complete with only perches, nest boxes, drinkers and feeders to be installed. KGA's poultry training facilities and DAL's Abulo Farm have been upgraded to enable village birds to be reared on site to supply stock to the SICHE research facility. These facilities at KGA and Abulo farm will be used as demonstration and training sites in Honiara for village farmers. A demonstration trial with village poultry is being conducted at the KGA facility comparing a free choice diet with a mixed diet. The diet comprises sorghum (30%); pigeon pea (30%), fresh coconut (20%), pigeon pea leaves (10%), and paw paw leaves (10%). SARDI has prepared dietary fact sheets on a range of SI feed ingredients and distributed to all collaborators. This information will assist with the formulation of diets to test in the SI research and demonstration facilities.

Objective 2: Interacting with farmers and farmer groups to evaluate, disseminate and communicate the value of rations based on local feedstuffs.
A survey form, that was used by NARI to obtain information from PNG smallholder farmers on chicken feeding practices in project LPS/2001/077 was used as the basis for developing the survey questions in the SI. Modifications of the questions were made by the project team to cover village poultry practices in the SI. During Oct and Nov 2005 DAL and KGA staff interviewed up to 80 village poultry farmers in the Malaita, Guadalcanal and Western Provinces. Information was obtained on farmer's attitudes, constraints and needs in keeping village poultry. The data from the survey will be collated and analyzed by SARDI early in 2006. KGA hosted 3 farmer attachments at Burns creek while the facilities were being upgraded. On their return to their villages, one farmer has introduced a moveable shelter and the other has set up a feed garden for his poultry.

In Australia:
Objective 3: Evaluate the nutritional value and palatability of innovative feedstuffs in organic poultry production and communicate information to industry.
In the Australian component of the study at Roseworthy Campus, the organic free-range poultry sector has shown interest in using traditional herbs to overcome some of the poultry health issues that arise in these systems of farming. The objective was to examine if herbs could be intercropped in a pasture and crop rotation system. However information on palatability and nutritional value of these plants is scant. One trial has been completed showing that meat birds will consume the leaves of the herbs Rosemary and Thyme when provided as a supplementary forage resource with compound feeds.

In Solomon Islands:
Objective 1: To develop rations for village-based layer and meat birds based on locally available feedstuffs.

There were 3 main activities in year 2 on developing rations for village layers. The first activity was to harvest and store grain and legume crops grown on the SICHE campus for the nutrition trials. The second was to complete the construction of the poultry research facility and the third activity was to develop and test poultry diets using harvested crops and other local feed resources.

Maize, sorghum, mung beans and pigeon peas were planted on campus by SICHE staff and students with support from DAL and KGA staff. The activity was undertaken to demonstrate that crops could be grown in association with a village poultry enterprise in the Solomon's. A covered concrete pad was used to dry the grain crops. Similar crops were planted by Tetere prison farm workers on the outskirts of Honiara.

Construction of SICHE/DAL 16 pen poultry research facility (made from local materials) was completed with the fitting of perches, nest boxes, drinkers and feeders. The Solomon Islands Minister of Agriculture officially opened the facility on Wednesday August 30, 2006. A staff sharing agreement was developed between DAL, KGA and SICHE to support the research activities.

A simple XL feed formulation spreadsheet was developed by SARDI to formulate 4 layer diets for evaluation in village poultry. Diet 1 ingredients comprised sorghum (30%), pigeon pea (30%), fresh coconut (20%), pigeon pea leaves (10%), and paw paw leaves (10%). Diet 2 was made up of corn (45%); paw paw fruit (5%), mung beans (30%), fish meal (5%), lime (8%), fresh cassava (7%). Diet 3 comprised corn (25%), pigeon pea (15%), paw paw fruit (5%), mung bean (30%), fresh coconut (7%), fresh cassava (10%) and lime (8%). Diet 4 was pigeon pea (25%); paw paw fruit (8%), sorghum (45%), fresh cassava (9%), lime (8%) and fish meal (5%). A village layer trial with diet 1 has been completed and evaluation of diet 2 is in progress.

Objective 2: Interacting with farmers and farmer groups to evaluate, disseminate and communicate the value of rations based on local feedstuffs.

The main extension activities completed in Year 2 were; 1) completion of survey report, 2) demonstration activities at farmer schools and at KGA and 3) formation of farmers advisory committee

The survey report covered information obtained from 90 village poultry farmers in 31 villages from Guadalcanal, Western Province, Malaita and Central Province. It was intended to provide baseline information to monitor changes and impacts of the project extension activities.

Most surveyed farmer's thought chickens were easy to care for and a good enterprise for providing cash income and extra food for the family. Other farmers were interested in farming but there was a shortage of village chickens. Some potential farmers thought that chickens would damage their gardens. Some respondents ceased keeping chickens due to predators and stealing or they sold or consumed all of their stock. The main feed sources available for chickens are fresh coconut, food scraps, white ants, copra meal, fishmeal, millrun and forage. The problems respondents faced were a lack of available information and training on local chicken management. Many villagers had tried keeping poultry, but lacked knowledge on how to manage them. Some villagers learnt how to care for chickens from parents. Some farmers had built a chicken house using bush materials or had purchased the materials. Others need information on how to build a house. Farmers would like government officers to provide fencing materials such as wire netting to protect chickens from predators. Family members including children were involved in the care of chickens.

KGA hosted 8 farmer attachments at Burns creek. Farmers were given instruction in husbandry and feeding of village chickens. Demonstration feeding trials for village chickens were also established by KGA at Turusuala Training Centre near Avuavu on the weather coast of Guadalcanal, at Gwaunafiu Farmer School in an inland area of Kwarai, Malaita Province and Sausama Farmer School on Kolombangara Island in the Western Province. The diet used was sorghum (30%); pigeon pea (30%), fresh coconut (20%), pigeon pea leaves (10%), and paw paw leaves (10%)

A workshop was held by SI partners (DAL, KGA, farmer schools and local farmers) at the Tanagai Community Based Training Centre. Recommendations included the formation of a farmers advisory committee to suggest feeds to test. The advisory committee had its first meeting early in 2007 and agreed with the ingredients being used in the rations being currently tested.
In Australia:
Objective 3: Evaluate the nutritional value and palatability of innovative feedstuffs in organic poultry production and communicate information to industry.

There is growing interest in using herbs as a substitute for synthetic antibiotics in poultry diets as a result of the ban in European Union on the inclusion of antibiotics in poultry diets. Meat birds were given access to the herbs Rosemary, Thyme, Fennel and Sage in feeding trials at Roseworthy Campus. Broilers housed in eco-shelters were fed broiler grower diets (control) and their performance compared to birds grazing on fresh herbs. There was no significant difference in daily weight gain between the treatments. Herb intake was 15.9g/day/bird for Rosemary, 16.0g/day/bird for Thyme, 8.6g/day/bird for Fennel and 5.0g/day/bird for Sage. Grazing on fresh herbs did not significantly influence bird growth, feed conversion or the flavour of the meat but improved the weight of some sections of the digestive tract. There was a variation in the mineral content between herb species and for different parts of each herb.

In the Solomon Islands approximately 21,000 families (about 40% of the rural population) produce eggs and live village hens selling them in local markets. The sale of chickens is one of the major sources of income from the livestock sector of traditional smallholder farming systems. Birds are fed household food scraps and other locally available feedstuffs. There is a wide variety of local feed resources available that could be utilized more effectively such as root crops, fruit, forages, bush plants and vines. Farmers in the rural areas are introducing new crops with higher nutritional value for poultry such as sorghum, mung bean and pigeon pea. This project has established the infrastructure and capability in the Solomon Island to test and identify effective rations for village birds based on the wide variety of potential feeds and has developed the skills of staff to educate farmers on poultry feeding management.
Earlier in the project a poultry research facility was established at the Solomon Islands College of Higher Education (SICHE) in collaboration with Department of Agriculture and Lands (DAL) and Kastom Gaden Association (KGA). During the reporting period three experiments with village hens were conducted at the facility, feeding diets using local feed resources. The diets included various combinations of sorghum, pigeon pea grain and leaves, fresh coconut and cassava, paw paw fruit and leaves, corn, mung beans and fish meal. The trials compared the performance of birds fed the local home mix layer ration (formulated to NRC requirements) with an imported commercial layer feed. Corn and mung beans were included as whole grain in the rations. Cassava and pawpaw were chopped, weighed, mixed and fed fresh twice daily. Egg production, body weight and egg weight were lower in birds fed the local mix ration compared to the commercial ration. However the cost of imported feed was 5 times greater than the cost of growing local feed resources at SICHE.
KGA conducted farmer workshops on improved poultry feeding and management with over 100 village participants in Malaita and Western Province during the reporting period. KGA also hosted 30 farmer attachment programs (1-6 months duration) at the Burns Creek poultry extension facility during the project. The farmers learn how to feed, house and care for village poultry. The KGA attachment program is generating good results with the majority of students putting into practice the feeding and management skills learnt. Farmers from Turusuala have set up the improved feeding and management model on the remote weather (?) coast of Guadalcanal. A number of villagers have returned to the village, built a raised floor poultry house and fed the bird's pawpaw, coconut, sweet potato and cassava. Some farms have planted crops of cow peas, beans and sorghum to feed to the chickens. This activity has generated interest from other farmers.
Work is underway on preparing laminated one-page information leaflets on best practice feeding methods for village poultry. The leaflets show pictures of the feed ingredients, how they are prepared and fed to birds. The KGA poultry trainer's handbook and farmers booklet is being updated to include information generated from the project for distribution through the KGA village farmer network.
Prior to this project, the Solomon's village hen sector of the chicken industry had been largely overlooked for R&D&E support. This project has already improved the productivity on farms where villagers have been trained. Further encouragement of these activities would have a significant impact on national production and well-being of the rural communities. There is a high demand for village chickens in urban, peri urban and village communities in the Solomon Islands. This could be met by establishing commercial, semi-commercial and village scale poultry breeding units. In addition, use of local feeds in village hen poultry rations could be stimulated by establishing semi-commercial and village-scale mini feed mills to supply local feeds to village chicken farmers.