A section of EAST African poultry farmers are now using crushed pawpaw seeds to cure intestinal worms and the fatal Coccidiosis chicken disease responsible for over 50 percent of poultry deaths after a visit from a Togolese farmer where the practice has been perfected.
To cure worms, scientists gave chickens three grams of powdered papaya seeds for every kilogram of live weight. This dose was repeated for two days. Treating coccidioides requires a higher dose over a longer period of time. Chickens were cured with 3.5 grams of powdered papaya seeds for every kilogram of live weight, given for six consecutive days.
“It was a disaster no one would want to relive. I personally lost close to three quarters of my 300 chicken that I relied on for my income and that of my household. It is a tragedy that I have never recovered from even financially because I had invested a lot on it. But the pawpaw seeds discovery has not only assisted us with the medicine but inspired sale of pawpaws which is picking up well,”said Herve Komi a Togolese farmer.
Avian coccidiosis is the most costly and wide-spread parasitic disease in the poultry industry, and has been mainly controlled by the use of chemotherapeutic agents. But the disease is particularly hard to contain once there is an outbreak, because of the emergence of drug-resistant strains.
The farmers crush the seeds and either mix them with the poultry feed or water. “I give my chicken a dose twice a day, in the morning when am feeding them, and also mix it with water late afternoon.
Source: FarmbizAfrica.com®
