-100,000 chickens are dying every day
-Milk, egg and broiler production decreased
-1M broiler, layer &chickens died in last 10-12 days
"If quick action is not taken, there may be instability in the market"
-Md Suman Howladar, President, BPA
In addition to heatwave, country’s farmers are struggling to protect chickens and cattle in load-shedding. A large number of chickens are dying every day in poultry farms across the country due to intense heat. Egg production also decreased. In addition, milk production has decreased in cow farms, and diseases and deaths have also increased.
Analyzing the last 24-hour reports of national dailies and satellite televisions, it is known that an average of one lakh chickens are dying across the country due to heatstroke as a result of the ongoing heat wave. The estimated value of this dead chicken is Tk 20 crore. Not only this, the production of eggs and chickens decreased by 4 to 10 percent during intense heat. The farmers are disoriented. Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA), an organization of marginal farmers, also said this.
Shah Alam, the owner of a poultry farm in Dinajpur's Birgao Upazila, said, I invested Tk five lakh and raised new chickens. But it's all over in summer. 1500 died among 2000 broiler chickens. Alauddin Sarkar, the founder of Alauddin Poultry in Rupganj's Hankur village of Narayanganj, has 7000 layers of chickens in three sheds. He said that with the increase in the intensity of heat, chickens are dying in his shed every day.
Alauddin said that although there was no problem in the beginning, more than 200 chickens died in the last few days. The rest are also getting sick in the heat. Egg production in my farm has also decreased by about 20 percent. I am very worried. Another farmer of the same village, Ibrahim Mia of Ibrahim Poultry, also said that 320 chickens died in the last few days due to the heat wave. He said that more than 200 died in a single day last Sunday. 9 chickens died also yesterday at noon. With fan, the water sprinkler is not working. Medicines and saline are doing everything. Still, they are dying every day.
Abu Taher, the entrepreneur of Tamanna Poultry Complex in Cumilla Sadar Corridor, said that he was forced to sell half of the 14,000 chickens in his 9 sheds when the chickens started dying in summer. Of the remaining 7,000, 250 chickens died. Now he is very worried about the remaining chickens.
Md Moniruzzaman, owner of MMJ Agro Farm in Birnarayanpur village of Jessore Sadar Upazila, said that there are 200 chickens on his farm. Fans have to be kept running all the time on the farm. During load shedding, some of them are trying to save the chickens by pulling the fan with their hands.
Meanwhile, the cow farms have also been affected by the heatwave. Agro Farming entrepreneur Tauhid Parvez Biplab of Kahalu police station in Bogra said, I have 160 cows on my farm. 40 of them are milk cows. I am struggling to keep the cows healthy this summer. Instead of 2 times a day, 4-5 times bath has to be done. On the other hand, cows are eating less due to heat. Milk production has also decreased a lot. I used to get 200 liters of milk daily, but now it is not even 160 liters.
BPA President Md Suman Howladar said that we are getting information about the death of chickens from farmers across the country. This is a matter of great concern. If not acted upon quickly, this will have an impact on the poultry market and the price of chicken and eggs may rise drastically. We believe that more than 1 million broiler, layer, and golden chickens have died in the last 10 to 12 days across the country. 80 percent of these are broiler chickens. Farmers are already struggling to survive amid ongoing chaos in food prices and chick markets. In the meantime, costs on every farm to sustain chickens in the summer have risen unbridled. Many marginal farmers do not know what to do in extreme heat. We are trying to raise awareness.
Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association (BDFA) President Imran Hossain said that due to the ongoing heat wave, the production of milk in the farms has decreased up to 25 percent. We don't get reports of cows dying due to heatstroke. But in the summer, various diseases including blight have increased. Cows are dying because of this. I have received information about the death of thousands of cows due to the ongoing heatwave. It is increasing. Although modern farmers prepare in advance, most of the marginal farmers do not know what to do in the event of an emergency. On the other hand, the expenditure on farms to keep cows healthy has increased by at least 20 percent. He also said that although the livestock directorate has informed all the districts, the farmers are not benefiting that way. Although there is 24-hour service for humans, in the case of livestock, service is not available outside office working hours. Farms will suffer if farmers do not cooperate during heat waves. This may also affect the sacrificial animal market.
Livestock expert Dr. Hemayet Uddin also thinks that the health risks of chickens and cattle may increase due to the ongoing heat wave. He said the normal tolerable temperature for chickens is 25 to 30 degrees Celsius. And in the case of cows, it is 38 to 40 degrees Celsius. But now the day temperature is more than this across the country. As the temperature is high, several diseases including heat stroke, avian influenza and cow lumpy, vector-borne diseases, and calf disease can increase in chickens. Farmers should ensure that farm temperatures are kept at a tolerable level. Instead of feeding during hot weather, feed during the lower temperature of the day. Livestock should not be confined. Fresh food should be given more than dry food and enough water should be given to avoid dehydration.
Director of Livestock Directorate (Extension) Dr. Md Shahinur Alam said information about chickens and cattle getting sick and dying on the farm is also coming to us. Heatstroke in chickens especially in broilers and 'Vector Born Diseases', 'Ephemeral Fever', and 'Lumpi' in cattle may increase during this period. We have opened control rooms and alert field offices across the country to deal with heat waves with utmost importance. They are helping farmers. Indeed, 24-hour service is not yet available. However, there are a phone number of our officials on the website; farmers can call us for help anytime.
ZH
