Improving village chicken production to elevate the
livelihoods of poor people in Ethiopia
Tadelle Dessie (ILRI)
EIAR Workshop, Debre Zeit, April 11, 2013

Poultry production in Ethiopia
• Village system responsible for majority of poultry
production (more than 90% meat and egg)
Poultry offers poor people pathway out of poverty
(by and for the poor!!!!!! –real opportunity)

Let us go for a
walk

K
o
e
p
o
n
F
u
n
d
i
n
g
-Egg production
-Growth (wt at 16 wks)
-Age at first egg
B
r
e
e
d
i
n
g
O
b
j
e
c
t
i
v
e
Set up breed
improvement
program
-2nd
generation
-Promising
results
Diagnostics
High
mortality
Facility
Man
power
D
F
I
D
F
u
n
d
i
n
g
Egg production
34-75 at 45
wks of age
Age at first egg
223-148 days
Growth
550-788 g
High
within
variability
C
h
a
r
a
c
t
e
r
i
s
a
t
i
o
n
Livability
50%-97%
-10th generation
-Color fixation
-Divergent
selection for
Disease
resistance
-Crossbreeding
and supply
-Composite
breed
development
and test
-Develop and
test different
scenarios of
dissemination

SELECTION STRATEGY . . .
G E N E T I C I M P R O V E M E N T O F L O C A L C H I C K E N S
G_9 Population
G_5 Population
G_6 Population
G_10 Population
20 Sires 200 Dams
G_7 Population
G_8 Population
20 Sires
20 Sires
20 Sires
20 Sires
200 Dams
200 Dams
200 Dams
200 Dams

The simplest and lowest cost intervention is to disseminate
improved indigenous chickens, with some improved management
Model breeders
Breeding Units
Farmers
Community/Farmers
Eggs
Key elements
 Establish a supply of chickens
with improved growth, egg
production feed conversion and
disease-resistance traits
 Potentially within-breed
selection
 Multiplier flocks established and
scaled-up via mini-hatcheries
 When target scale is reached,
hatcheries begin sale of day-old
improved chicks to farmers
 Chicks vaccinated by poultry
workers in the mini-hatcheries
Mini Hatcheries
Day-old chicks
Community/
Market
Eggs
Live chickens
Vaccines
Medicines
Genetically improved hens and cocks
(Improved Horro)

Selection /
development
Dissemination /
multiplication
Supply to
smallholders
• Research project identifying and
testing different sources of
indigenous chickens.
• Could involve within-breed selection
or cross-breeding
• Might take 2 to 3 years (we
have it).
• Establishment of multiplier flock.
• Starts with initial flock of female
birds (and suitable number of cocks)
selected or developed in Phase 1
• Rapid multiplication over period of
24-30 months to achieve scale
• Ongoing supply of chicks from the
multiplier flock
• Some chicks retained as
replacements to sustain multiplier
flock
• Male and female chicks vaccinated
and sold to farmers
KeyactivitiesOutcomes
• Create initial flock:
– 100 hens
– Appropriate # of cocks
• Grow multiplier flock (hens)
– Start: 100
– 12 months: 1,970
– 18 months: 38,800
– 24 months: 765,000
– 30 months: 15 million
• Supply vaccinated chicks to farmers, while
sustaining flock
– 10 male, 10 female per year
– Benefit: $???? per smallholder
– millions smallholders
– More million smallholders
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 32 years Ongoing
Scale can be achieved quickly through
multiplier flocks in village-based mini-hatcheries

Poultry’s high rate of reproduction enables rapid
scale; Distribution could begin after 18 months
6 12Phase 2 Months
18 24 30
Size of multiplier
flock 100* 1,970 38,800 765,000 Millions100
Number of
smallholders
benefited
7,300 145,000 millions More
millions
No chick distribution Limited distribution (5-10%) Full dissemination
This model can be implemented simultaneously in multiple geographies.

Some people who contributed to the
success!!!!!

• Continue animal health investment to
determine if lifelong disease resistance can be
conferred by either a single vaccination to the
chick, or through breeding
(Newcastle, Marek’s disease)
• Opportunity to breed for disease resistance, or
for synergy between breed and vaccine
Additional Recommendations

Thank you