Alternative poultry farming in Las Tunas

These days, when it is difficult to acquire the "main course" to complete the diet of the people of Las Tunas, the effort that food production units must make becomes more evident, especially to guarantee the five kilograms of animal protein established in the municipal self-sufficiency program.

Las Tunas, Cuba: For this purpose, two kilograms of pork, two kilograms of small livestock species, and one kilogram of poultry or eggs are contemplated, and to achieve this, several actions are undertaken in the province of Las Tunas, ranging from livestock modules to initiatives in the different entities.

The Poultry Enterprise assumed this responsibility and a little more than a year ago focused its hopes on alternative poultry farming, a way to increase production without depending directly on industrial feed that the country would have to import at high costs.

Walsires Corrales ÁvilaWalsires Corrales Ávila, technical director of the entity, explained that in the territory of Las Tunas, there is a strategy and that, in it, the company has worked systematically, without stopping the work of growth and management to fulfill the commitments.

"We have an uprising with six positions to dedicate them to the intensive breeding of quails and semi-rustic hens, in the grazing modality. That is, during the day, they graze in areas prepared for this purpose, with perimeter fences, and there they consume most of their diet."

"The first experience is in the community of El Ross, in the municipality of Manatí, where there are about six thousand animals of the two species and the idea is to extend this practice to other places, so the productions in the hatchery are intensified."

"We also respect the maxim that the food must come first and then the birds. Their nutrition is supplemented with a creole feed, prepared with products harvested in the module itself. For example, corn, sorghum, cassava, and sugar cane."

The main idea of the project is to obtain eggs to be sold in the different People's Councils, but meat is also produced with the birds that finish their reproductive phase or those that have accidents.

Alternative poultry farming in Las Tunas

INSIDE DOORS AT THE ROSS DE MANATI

The facility, which at other times was a school and a prison, has been gradually transforming and by dint of machete and a lot of perseverance, the marabou has given way to extensive crops and the 10 sheds that have already been recovered.

Of these, three have been incorporated into the breeding of semi-rustic hens and quails and the others will be populated soon, taking into account their resistance to different diseases, production, and adaptability. The best thing is that the company already has these animals, which are fed with industrial feed for 84 days, before being incorporated into the pasture.

Ebismel Pérez HernándezEbismel Pérez Hernández is in charge of the brigade and will soon be the head of a work group made up of 25 workers, in which each one has assigned duties, although they will be able to join the most urgent tasks at any given time.

"There is a team that is responsible for the agricultural part and every day they are informed what they must do the next day because sometimes it is necessary to move a worker - for example - for the preparation of alternative food for the poultry."

"The responsibility for the vessels work directly with the animals. When they arrive at the unit and put on their work clothes, they enter, make a good observation to detect any anomaly and from there they begin their tasks in cleaning the area and feeding the dough."

"The idea is to alleviate the food situation that the country has; on the one hand, producing protein for the population and on the other hand, avoiding having to make large imports of food for poultry. Here, in addition to grains, cassava, and sugarcane, we have other initiatives.

"We prepare an area for vermiculture and twice a week each hen receives its share. With the humus we obtain, we fertilize the crops. We also intend to plant fry in a small pond and with what we catch, make fishmeal for the animals."

GOOD POULTRY MANAGEMENT EQUALS MORE PRODUCTION

Pedro Enrique Pérez RodríguezManuals are indispensable guides for veterinarians, although the best school is in what is learned day by day, with the handling of the different species, and with that premise works the young technician Pedro Enrique Pérez Rodríguez.

"Here it is essential to comply with hygiene standards, not only by cleaning every day, but also by washing the canoes so that they do not have a bad smell, guaranteeing clean water, and especially by monitoring the birds, to act quickly if any situation should occur.

"In the case of quails, the actions are more specific because they are animals that are easily stressed and therefore, they are no longer productive. For example, the responsibility for the vessels always have to be dressed in green and no other person can enter the premises."

"They do not tolerate loud noises and require a lot of water. This species is highly productive and right now, we are collecting between 1,500 and 2,000 eggs every day, a figure that will increase with the arrival of other specimens since the idea is to exceed 10,000."

The projections of the collective of the "El Ross" unit coincide with those of the Poultry Company of Las Tunas, an entity that intends to register a different panorama in the guarantee of animal protein, during the second semester of 2023.

Corrales Ávila concludes, "We poultry farmers do not stop at future growth, and this is the best example of what we can achieve in other rural communities of the province, for the benefit of the population. And the goal, which is still far off, is to supply the territories with these eggs".

Worm farming contributes to poultry farming

Alternative poultry farming in Las Tunas

Alternative poultry farming in Las Tunas