Nutritional status of village poultry in the central highlands of Ethiopia as assessed by analyses of crop contents

Scavenging represents the major source of feed for village poultry in Ethiopia. Assessing the amount and quality of feed from scavenging aimed at improving the dietary status of local hens seems to be appealing. A total of 270 local hens were used to study the nutritional status of village poultry, consisting of 90 hens from each of three villages at different altitudes (high, medium and low in the central highlands of Ethiopia). Thirty hens from each village were slaughtered in each of the three seasons (short rainy, rainy and dry) and the crop contents subjected to physical and chemical analysis. The physical analysis showed that the proportion of seeds was higher in the short rainy season and plant materials during rainy season. Concentrations of CP and calcium were below the recommended requirements for egg production, and the diets were seven more unbalanced if energy to protein and calcium to phosphorus ratios are taken into account. The DM, CP and CF% of the crop contents varied significantly (P0.05) between the different villages and other extract (EE) was significantly (P0.05) lower in the low altitude village. The overall crude fibre (CF) content of the crop contents was 10.2 plus of minues 1.6%, which would have reduced the digestibility of the other components of the diet. The true metabolizable energy values of the crop contents were calculated and the results revealed that three was a significant (P0.05) difference between season and altitude, with a relatively higher energy content in the short rainy season, followed by the dry and main rainy seasons. The dietary status of local birds as indicated from the analyses of crop contents was inadequate for production of more than about 40 eggs/year. From the crop contents analysis results the high and medium altitude villages are in a relatively better position as compared to the lowland village, in which most of the nutrients were critical. Also the results indicate that energy is likely to be deficient throughout the year and protein supply inadequate in the dry season. The competition between people and poultry for cereal grains necessitates the continuation of efforts to search for alternative energy and protein sources for poultry.