Major Production and Health Constraints of Chicken in some Districts of East Wollega, Horro Guduru Wollega and West Shoa zones, Oromia, Ethiopia

A preliminary survey was carried out in some districts of east Wollega, Horro Gudur Wollega and west Shoa zones to investigate the production and health constraints of village chicken under farmers’ management condition and generate baseline data for future improvement poultry production. Purposive sampling technique was used for sites selection mainly due focusing on accessibility and chicken production potential. A total of 120 farmers were interviewed using semi-structured questionnaire by the researchers from Bako Agricultural research center. The questionnaire was pre-tested before commencement of the actual work. The overall average chicken flock size was 9.3+0.7 per household. Traditional poultry production is conducted in the study areas. No supplementary feed is offered other than grains in wet season when feed is scarce. According to majority of the respondents (65%) chickens are reared for income generation. Some also produce chicken for household consumption (17%) and for cultural and religious purposes (10%). There were attributes preferences like feather color and comb type both for market and breeding purposes. Red feathered (59%) and white feathered (25%) chickens are the most preferred types. Owners attributed white feather color with high egg production. Disease of which diarrhea was identified as the major problem by respondents of the study areas. Predators such as eagles were also reported as major bottlenecks to chicken production. We suggest capacity building for farmers and extension staff in areas of ration formulation from locally available feed resources and record and record keeping for improved production and productivity and also to follow appropriate disease and predators control measures. Keywords: Chicken, traditional management, Oromia, Ethiopi