The level of rodent problems in poultry farms of Rawalpindi-Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

AbstractWe surveyed 69 poultry farms to assess the level of rodent infestation and identify the factors associated with the infestation in the area of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Rodents were recorded in 63 farms, and the factors associated with their occurrence included broken window screens, defective doors, presence of cracks in floor and walls, the practice of dumping poultry manure and wastes within farm premises and unmanaged wild vegetation. The structural conditions of poultry sheds were relatively better than those of the food stores, reflecting the farmers’ interest to protect poultry. Farms older than 10 years had poor structural conditions and higher rodent infestation. Farms managed by owners had lower rodent populations compared with those operated by tenants, suggesting that farm owners exert more effort to ensure adequate maintenance of farm facilities. We quantified the amount of damage caused by rodents to poultry eggs (0.001%, an average of 31±3.4 eggs per day) and food bags (5.9%, an average of 5±0.3 feed bags daily). We also measured the level of contamination of poultry food by rodents. Analysis of the samples of poultry food collected from sheds and food stores revealed that about 37.5±4.5 and 40.3±6.4 per kg, respectively, were contaminated by rodents based on counts or about 10.5±2.9 g/kg and 6.3±0.8 g/kg by weight, respectively. We conducted rodent trapping at 23 poultry farms to assess their population. We captured six rodent species, namely,