From the Field

The US-based World Poultry Foundation (WPF) has released a series of training videos to help Africa’s poultry farmers raise healthier birds and so enhance both their profitability and their communities’ nutritional status.

WPF CEO Randall Ennis says the video series was developed to support WPF’s key goals of supporting improved poultry production and productivity, increasing rural household income, improving household nutrition and the empowerment of women.

WPF’s training series, with three videos dedicated to poultry housing, outlines how to design and build a poultry house for maximum poultry health, and how to effectively sanitize a poultry house before introducing a new flock. The videos on housing and biosecurity also elaborate on how to ensure the right temperatures, drainage, and ventilation, how to calculate the right amount of floor space, the best height for the walls and roof, the ideal materials to use, and why it is necessary to develop a zone of comfort for new chicks. WPF experts also give advice on water supplies to ensure optimal bird health, and how to protect flocks from predators.

The training videos, as well as free checklists and worksheets, are available here.