The Poultry Association of Zambia – PAZ has revealed that the cumulative number of day old chicks that the hatcheries have drowned because of the reduced demand for the birds on the market is now 1.1 million.
Drowning of chicks in the poultry industry means killing the chicks, by drowning or gassing them to avoid spending on feed and running out of space. The process is also applied to chicks with deformities and those deemed unfit for rearing.
PAZ Executive Director Dominic Chanda said the hatcheries cannot reduce production, as there is no guarantee that the demand will remain low therefore if demand goes up while production has gone down, there would be a shortage chicks on the market.
Speaking in an interview with the Zambian Business Times – ZBT, Chanda said from the total number of day old chicks produced by the hatcheries, only 30% is guaranteed to be sold because commercial and large-scale businesses give hatcheries a plan for the whole year.
He said 70% of what is produced is meant for customers who simply walk in to buy the chicks without long-term prior arrangements, which is a challenge especially in instances where the demand is low.
“How do you reduce production when you don’t know the demand, the whole problem is this, out of everything that is produced by the hatcheries, only 30% is guaranteed to be sold because commercial and large scale poultry farmers give them the plan for the whole year”, he said.
The Poultry Association has appealed to government to consider allowing the export of day old chicks to the region in order to address the issue of hatcheries drowning day old chicks due to reduced local demand on the market.
