Journal of Biology, Agriculture and Healthcare www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3208 (Paper) ISSN 2225-093X (Online) Vol.5, No.4, 2015 113 Local Chicken Management in Rural Borno State,Nigeria Dunya, A. M. 1 * Mamza, A. O. 2 Yusuf, S. Z. 3 1.Dept. of Animal Science, University of Maiduguri, Nigeria 2.Dept. of Agricultural Economics, University of Ibadan, Nigeria 3.Dept. of Animal Science, Modibbo Adama University of Tech. Yola, Nigeria magettome@gmail.com; asinamaimamza@gmail.com; dbanuzubair@gmail.com ABSTRACT The locally adapted chickens are more readily available to resource-poor farmers and they can be productive without high disease-control inputs. Therefore, the study examined the management practices and the prospects of local chicken production in rural Borno state. The survey was carried out in two agro-ecological zones (Sahel savannah and Sudan savannah) of Borno state in Nigeria. Data were collected from 180 poultry keeping households in two seasons (cold-dry and hot-dry seasons) through interview using structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics using means and percentage was used to analyze the data. The result showed that 82.8% of the farmers had less than 1ha of farm land and 17.2% had above 1ha of farm land. Distribution of ownership of chickens revealed that 51.3% kept 6-10 chickens, 23.8% kept 1-5 chickens, 19.5% kept 11-20 chickens and 5% kept above 20 chickens. Majority (65.8%) practice extensive system while 34.2% practice semi-intensive system. Only 2% of the farmers consult veterinary service. Chickens were mainly culled for home consumption (31.5%), trade (42.2%) and fear of disease (26.3%). 46.4% of farmers purchased their replacement stock, 24.1% of the farmers obtained theirs through inheritance or gifts, while 32.9% obtained theirs from hatched eggs. The major (55.8%) factor affecting market is the availability of substitute, 27.9% complained of unstable price while 16.3% identified sell of disease chicken as another factor affecting marketing. The study recommends proper training of the farmers on modern poultry management and they should be informed on the importance of veterinary services. Key words: Local chicken, Management system, Rural, Sahel savannah, Sudan savannah Introduction Poultry, particularly chickens are the most widely kept livestock species in the world and also the most numerous (Perry et al, 2002; Moreki et al, 2010). Therefore, there is a growing interest in using poultry as a tool in poverty alleviation in villages throughout the world. FAO (2000) estimated the total meat production to be 245 million tons and about 30% there off was poultry mainly from chickens produced in the developing countries. Quite often, local poultry stocks serve as major source of animal protein to the poor since they are accessible to rural households. More than 80% of the poultry production is found in the rural households (Sonaiya et al, 1992). Poultry contributes to a large extent in the form of meat and eggs for a majority of the population in developing countries (Raji et al, 2007). More so, unlike other farm animals such as cattle, poultry in particular chickens, play an important role in the small holder system in developing countries (Weigend et al, 2004). Poultry production is therefore an effective means of transferring wealth from the high income urban consumers to the poor rural and peri-urban members of the community. Comparative statistics by the Federal Department of Livestock in 2009 puts poultry production at over 400,000 metric tonnes in Nigeria. Fayeye and Oketoyin (2006) observed that the native chickens constitute about 80% of the poultry birds in Nigeria. Free range chicken production represents an important system for supplying the fast growing human population and providing additional income to resource-poor small farmers, especially women (Gueye, 2009). Its importance therefore cannot be over emphasized as it has become popular industry for the small scale holders that have great contribution to the economy of the country (Aboki et al, 2013). Indigenous chickens are the most commonly distributed across every corner of the tropical countries of Africa where they are kept by rural poor (Ajayi, 2010; Mengesha, 2012). Moreso, as a consequence of natural selection indigenous chickens have shown to be more disease resistant (Minga et al, 2004). Due to their development, they might be better adapted to survive under harsh conditions without proper management programs and under limited supply of resources. They are hardy, adaptive and preferred by consumers (Kitalyi, 1998). They are also known to posses’ qualities such as the ability to hatch on their own, brood and scavenge for major part of their food and possess appreciated immunity from endemic diseases (Ajayi, 2010). The survival of the local breeds is threatened by several factors of economic and social needs for example, cross breeding with exotic breeds in an uncontrolled way is in fact one of the major cause that erode genetic diversity in the developing world, although, it is considered a way of improving the productivity (Wiegend et al, 2004).