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AVIAN INFLUENZA, SHOULD I BE WORRIED?

An outbreak of avian influenza has been detected on a chicken farm in South Africa’s central province of Gauteng.

Your Questions About Avian Influenza Asked & Answered:

Q. What is Avian Influenza?

A. Bird flu, or avian influenza, is an animal disease caused by viruses
that usually infect birds - particularly poultry - but since 1997 have,
according to the World Health Organisation, on very rare occasions
jumped the species barrier and infected humans. So far this has only
happened in 12 countries around the world, 2 of which are in Africa,
although bird flu has presented itself within poultry flocks in more than
45 countries, of which 6 are in Africa.

Q. How serious is it?

A. There are 15 different types of bird flu known to regularly infect
birds around the world. Most strains infect only birds (though they can
potentially infect other species such as pigs), but they do not infect
humans. The type that has mostly affected people is H5N1,
of which there is more than one sub-type. The most common is known
as the "Wild Strain", and is low-pathogenic. The "Asian strain", on
the other hand, is highly pathogenic and is a mutant of the lowerpathogenic "Wild Strain".

Q. Is there avian influenza in Eswatini?

A. Avian influenza is nothing new in wild bird populations, but to date
Eswatini remains free of the highly-pathogenic H5N1 strain of
avian influenza. However, as of the 13th of April 2021, South Africa registered 300 new cases of Avian Influenza in a farm in Johannesburg. The N-type strain is yet to be determined.

Q. How is it transmitted?

A. Humans generally acquire the virus through direct contact with living,
infected birds or their faeces. This has happened almost exclusively in
the informal sector where people are in very close contact with their
poultry. Even then it has been shown to be very difficult to get the
disease. Spread between people has occurred on only one or possibly
two occasions.

Q. Should I avoid poultry products in order to
protect my family?

A. The simple and truthful answer is no. It isn't necessary to avoid eating
chicken and/or eggs - thoroughly cooked, locally produced poultry
products from certified abattoirs and pack houses are safe to consume.
If highly-pathogenic H5N1 should present in Eswatini, by simply
cooking all poultry products correctly, you will inactivate the virus
completely. As a rule of thumb: hard boiled eggs are completely safe to
eat as is meat cooked until the juices run clear.

Q. What other precautions should I take?

A. Good hygiene always helps with prevention, so continue to wash your
hands before and after preparing food to avoid infection, as you should
do to prevent all potential infections from food, such as bacterial food
poisoning. Also, make sure that all food cleaning and preparation
surfaces are thoroughly cleaned.

Q. Is there a treatment for bird flu in humans?

A. There is one antiviral drug that may be helpful in treating bird flu in
humans. It is oseltamivir, known in most of the world as Tamiflu™. It
can be taken by poultry workers for example, who have been exposed to
infected birds to prevent them from getting bird flu.

FREE. Step by Step Guide to Farming Watermelons.

Climatic Requirements
Soil Requirements
Product Types
Cultivation Practices
Soil Preparation
Planting Periods
Plant Population and Spacing
Seedling Production
Transplanting Seedlings
Interplanting of Pollinators With Triploid Watermelon
Fertilization
Irrigation
Bees and Pollination
Harvesting

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What to do when there is no Vet?

Farmers need to keep healthy animals - or help others to keep healthy animals - in places where there is no vet or veterinary services are not easily available. It is also
important they know how to work out what is wrong with an animal and know what to do about it.

If you understand diseases and treatments better you will find it easier to work together with others to keep
animals healthy and to ask for better animal health services.

People keep animals in many different ways, in houses or out on open rangeland, for
example, People who keep animals out on open rangeland can do things such as
moving their animals a long way to different pasture that more settled farmers cannot do.

Short Courses Eswatini has compiled examples of ways to treat and prevent disease in different places so that
you can find one suitable for your area.

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A LITTLE GOES A LONG WAY
Below is how an extra E200/month on your loan repayment can set you free so much sooner!

(reposted from Stealthy Wealth)

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Short Courses has compiled a Short Covid-19 Course for Individuals, Business owners, Employees.

This FREE course on the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) focuses on the history, transmission, symptoms, possible treatment and potential prevention of the novel coronavirus. As part of the international response, Short Courses Eswatini has created this free online course on what people need to know about the novel coronavirus, its background, and how to best deal with the threat it poses to you, your family and community. Last updated: May 6 2020.

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It's 2020, Happy New Year!

Make this year matter, Learn more!

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝟑𝟎𝟎 𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐒 𝐏𝐄𝐑 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝟏𝟎 𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐒

Many people would want to venture into poultry farming but have no idea how. Poultry farming especially chicken farming isn't difficult to start. Starting out a poultry farming also doesn't need huge number of chicken.

It is the simplest agricultural investment and in this article we will share a simplified way how. This is knowledge will be shared free of charge.

𝐇𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐎 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐈𝐓
You can start with 10 hens and 2 cocks.You need to programme these hens to hatch chicks at the same time.

- Provide each hen with it's nest. Use a plastic basin with grass,wood shavings or old clothes.
- Place one unfertilized egg in each basin or even boiled egg.This is to trick them so that they can start being broody.Be sure to dust the nest with an insecticide powder (carba dust) to keep out parasites.
- Mark the eggs placed there with a pencil.Be sure to remove eggs that are laid but leave the marked eggs in the nest.The collected eggs should be stored in a cool,dry place not in the kitchen or cupboard.Be sure to write the date of laying on the eggs with a pencil.
- Normally one bird will start sitting on the marked egg(boiled egg/unfertilized egg) overnight.Leave it for 10 days while it's waiting for others to start incubating or sitting on eggs.
- After 10 days give all hens that would have started sitting on eggs 12 eggs each to incubate.The eggs must have been laid recently.
- Leave the hens which may not have started incubating alone.You can eat the old eggs or sell them.When choosing the eggs for incubation make sure they are not too small,too big,cracked,dirty,too pointed,round or old eggs that are more than 10 days old.
- When done this way the birds will all hatch at the same time after 21 days or 22 days latest.Farmers with incubators can also use them to hatch the eggs instead of using hens.

𝐋𝐄𝐓'𝐒 𝐃𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐒 (𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐒 𝐎𝐅 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐔𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍)
In this case 𝟖𝟎% of hens can be programmed to lay at the same time.If we have 10 hens then 8 hens can come into brooding at the same time.If each of the 8 hens are given 12 eggs each then that is 96 eggs. Hatchability can be between 80 to 90%.If 90% of the eggs hatch then we get 77 day old chicks.
In a year one bird can hatch 3 or 4 times under normal circumstances (if it has to raise the chicks) or 7 times in a year if you take away the chicks after hatching.
Therefore with 10 hens and four hatchings in a year a farmer can get 308 chicks in a year (if mother hen raises chicks)or 539 chicks per year if mother hen doesn't raise the chicks.

539 chicks multiply by E15-E18 of each chick or 539 multiply by E55 to E75 of mature chicken.

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(Article written by : Wabofelo Ndoma Farms) Edited

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