Caracterización del sistema de producción de aves de traspatio del cantón Cevallos

Abstract

Backyard or family poultry farming, characterized by low supplementation and sanitary management facilities, is dispersed throughout the rural areas of the country. The objective of this study was to identify the main social, economic, zootechnical and environmental aspects that condition backyard poultry systems in the province of Tungurahua, Canton Cevallos, Ecuador. To characterize the production system, 164 surveys were applied to the producers of the backyard production units (UPT). The data obtained were analyzed with descriptive statistics showing that 62% of the UPT are administered by housewives, 37% parents and 1% adolescents; the average age of the producers was 52 years; 98% of producers know how to read and write, of which 74% have completed primary school, 18% secondary and 6% third level; 97% of families raise chickens; have an average of 23 birds / UPT (Gallus gallus domesticus) of which are 11 hens (48%), 9 chicks (39%) and 3 roosters (13%), 97% feed whole or broken corn, 21% balanced, 14% food waste, 7% alfalfa and 2% cabbage and carrot; 50% of the UPT use feeders of which 40% are commercial feeders of aluminum and 10% of wood; 65% of the UPTs used drinking troughs of which 42% are commercial troughs, 19% cooking containers and 4% tires; 55% of UPTs get their chickens from the same farm; 34% market in local (21%) and neighboring (20%) markets; 65% of the eggs produced in the UPT are fertile; of which 68% hatch. According to the results obtained, it is concluded that backyard production systems are for family sustenance, lack infrastructure and facilities and technical management. The UPT are administered by an adult population cared for by the mothers of families obtaining low economic resources and of greater importance protein of animal origin for the home, the flock of the UPT in most are Creole, being fed with corn in its majority. The hens are characterized for being resistant to diseases despite having a poor sanitary management such as cleaning, deworming, vaccines, feeding counteracting with traditional medicine in the UPT.