Ahmedabad: The president of the Broiler Farmer Coordination Committee (BFCC) Anu Patel met top officials of the animal husbandry department and urged the government to declare the poultry industry safe to save the industry from a crisis.

Patel said they had urged the government to salvage the situation, especially the positive tests for H5N1 came from turkey and guineafowl alone. Not a single case has been reported in poultry but the scare has adversely impacted the sale of chicken, which plunged by 50% in two days.

The Odisha government on Monday said there was no need to panic over bird flu as the bird mortality was reported from a small locality in Rourkela.

The Fisheries and Animal Resource Development (FARD) Department has sent 60 samples for testing at the National Institute of High Security Animal Diseases (NIHSAD), Bhopal.

Death of some birds in aviary enclosure of the Indira Gandhi Park Zoo, Rourkela, had raised the fear over H5N1virus infection. Samples were sent to NIHSAD, which confirmed the infection. Subsequently, avian enclosures were disinfected.

Poultry farmers were asked to increase the metabolizable energy content and Vitamin D3 content of the feed to restrict the feed intake just above the standard level, the sky will be slightly cloudy with less chance of rainfall over the next four days. Maximum and minimum temperature will be 33 degree Celsius and 18 degree Celsius respectively. Wind speed will be around three km per hour, mostly from southeast. The release said that the week ahead will be the period of lowered day and night temperatures. Cloudless and chill weather will cause enhanced feed intake in birds. Restriction will not help to reduce the egg weight, but may cause egg production to drop. Hence, farmers were advised to increase the energy content of feed to 2,600 kcal/kg.

Saudi joins other West Asian countries such as Kuwait in banning the imports of poultry from India, which reported about seven instances of bird flu outbreak during 2016 with the latest being in Khordha district of Odisha. Saudi was the second largest buyer of Indian poultry products in 2015-16. As per DGCIS, India’s poultry exports to Saudi Arabia stood at ₹95.64 crore, accounting for over 12 per cent of the country’s total poultry shipments of ₹766.71 crore in 2015-16.

The Odisha government on Tuesday initiated the process for culling of poultry in Khurdha district after four dead crows and three dead poultry tested positive for the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus.

The government began culling of poultry in Keranga village and within a one-kilometre radius in the district. The bird flu virus was confirmed in this village, about 35 kilometres from Bhubaneswar.

Assam and other North Eastern states are one of the most meat consuming states of India. Apart from livestock, poultry constitutes a major portion of the meat intake by the people of these states. However, due to growing population and declining local reeds of chickens, the majority of the poultry for this region is in the form of broiler chickens and they are supplied from Andhra Pradesh. Day-old chicks are transported by air daily to Guwahati and are further sent to various places by road. The broiler farms, spread across every corner of this entire region grows the day-old chicks to full grown chickens measuring up to 3-4 kgs in weight. Among the other poultry feeds, the farm keepers use antibiotics widely among the broilers.

With drop in the mercury level and change in weather from warm to cold, poultry farmers may have to face some challenges of low environmental temperature, poor ventilation and decreased photoperiod. 

These seasonal fluctuations might directly or indirectly influence the egg and meat production. Therefore, farmers must be ready to take on these challenges by adopting some winter stress-alleviating practices to overcome economic losses.

Nizamabad: The demonetisation of the Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes has taken a toll on the poultry farming in the district. Farmers are reluctant to take up poultry as they started incurring losses. The price of eggs and chicken has fallen drastically and it has become difficult to find labourers for growing poultry farms. 

New Delhi: More than 8.74 lakh birds have been culled in four states and one union territory so far this year in order to control the spread of bird flu disease in the country, the Parliament was informed today.

There has been no loss of human life so far. The control and containment operations are still going on in Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.As per the data placed before the Upper House, more than 8.74 lakh birds were culled so far this year.

Bhutan for the first time exported eggs to India last week.The agriculture ministry sent about 105 cartons or 800 trays of eggs worth more than Nu 0.17 million in its first consignment to Kolkata, India.

The minister said that there were too many eggs in the market, which is why the ministry decided to try exporting it to India.

BJP MP Poonam Mahajan has urged McDonald’s India to end the procurement of eggs from battery cage facilities and start sourcing only cage-free eggs in its supply chain.

India is the third largest egg-producing country in the world, with approximately 120 million egg -laying hens that are bred in cruel, commercial battery cages that are typically as long as an A4 size paper. Battery cages are named so as they are stacked one on top of the other like batteries. While McDonald’s has promised to phase out battery cages in many countries, there has been no commitment from them in India despite repeated efforts from animal welfare advocates.

INDORE: Poultry prices have dropped over 35 per cent in one month in the middle of the peak consumption period. The demand for poultry products has dropped due to the cash crunch.

The peak demand season for poultry products is between November and January when consumption of non-vegetarian food increases to keep the body warm.

With 26 crore eggs and 1 crore chicks a day, India is among the top-5 poultry players in the world. For the domestic poultry industry, which engages about 60 lakh farmers and labourers, the November-January winter period, when more eggs and chicken are consumed, is normally a very lucrative season.

Upcountry markets consume more eggs and chicken in the winter. In an average year, the Northern markets consume 60 per cent more eggs and chicken. But this year, chicken retail outlets wear a deserted look with consumers spending their money sparingly.

The sudden cash crunch and change crisis left many roadside enterprises wringing their hands. With buyers on the decline, poultry farmers put up their own retail stalls on highways and offered the meat at almost 50 percent of the market cost. "Just like the tomato glut scene in Andhra Pradesh, it was tragic that poultry farmers of Medak, Ranga Reddy and Nalgonda, along with their families, lined up on highways to dispose of their stocks daily.

HYDERABAD: At a time when demonetisation is threatening to deal a death blow to the poultry industry and framers across the state, finance minister Etela Rajender assured that government will come to the rescue of poultry farmers.

“November to January is a very crucial period for poultry farmers and industry. But demonetisation has affected the industry harshly. We have been keeping track of the losses incurred by the sector and are exploring various ways to mitigate the losses and protect them,” he said speaking at the Poultry India Expo in Hyderabad on Wednesday, which was attended by poultry farmers and industry stakeholders from across India and abroad.

Hyderabad: Surreptitious drug-evading bacteria with heightened virulence and ability to infect humans have turned up in chickens in India, scientists said, indicating an “alarming” consequence of the nation’s fast-growing poultry industry and the misuse of antibiotics.

INDORE: Post  demonetisation, sale of poultry products has dropped steeply due to lack of cash flow in the market. Subdued purchase by consumers in the peak demand season weighed on the prices of poultry products.

Industry experts said discontinuation of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 note from the market has dried funds and created severe shortage of lower denomination notes.

The sharp fall in the demand for poultry consumption has led to a drop in the prices of poultry products.

About 200 Indian and 50 international exhibitors from over 30 countries are expected to attend the 10th edition of Poultry India's Expo to be held here from tomorrow to November 25. 

Nearly 800 industry delegates from India and South Asian nations are likely to attend the 'Knowledge Day 2016', a seminar to be held on the first day. Prominent speakers will talk at the event on issues concerning the poultry industry.

The average meat consumers are deprived and the traders, hassled. The severe shortage of legal currency has almost crippled the poultry, meat and fisheries industries.

The demonetization of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes has impacted these business significantly, so much so that some of the traders have started shutting shops.