Tests have shown that it wasn’t disease or any other foul play involved in the deaths of hundreds of chickens at one farm in Guyana back in June.
Authorities say samples, taken from the farm where about 800 birds died, and sent for testing at the University of Georgia in the United States ruled out a possible outbreak in Region Six, Corentyne-Berbice. The samples were tested for a wide array of diseases.
“All the tests were negative. That confirms our suspicion that it wasn’t an outbreak of any particular disease, but it was a management issue,” Dr. Dwight Walrond, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) said.
Additionally, he said the livestock authority has since taken steps to educate farmers in Region Six and surrounding areas about farm management practices to prevent a recurrence of wide scale poultry deaths.
The deputy CEO told the Government Information Agency that given the loss which can take place in the absence of proper farm management practices, the GLDA has completed training of farmers in the do’s and don’ts of farm management.
“We have since conducted a focused training exercise for those farmers on the East Bank of Berbice a few weeks ago…and it was well attended by farmers in that part of the Region and from other parts of Region Five. What we are trying to do is to let farmers understand that the little things matter because it would take the little things to cause that level of mortality. When you are suffering over 70 or 80 percent mortality it is not good for any business,” Dr Walrond said.
The GLDA is the agency responsible for monitoring and providing support services to the local livestock industry. It currently has extension officers in all regions of Guyana and continues to provide several support services to farmers and other stakeholders.
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