The Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association has confirmed complaints of stunted growth affecting young chickens primarily being raised by small farmers.
However, Stephen Layne, the association’s president, says there is no evidence to suggest that local hatcheries and/or producers of feed are responsible.
And, although there is no available scientific evidence to identify the source of the issues, Layne does not believe they are related to a “mystery ailment” as suggested in recent reports.
Instead of pointing fingers at other industry stakeholders, he echoes suggestions from Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir, that affected farmers re-examine their own farm management practices.
“Every country in the world has a problem where certain batches of chicken have stunted growth. It is not unique to Barbados,” Layne suggested in an interview with Barbados TODAY.
“I, as president of the egg and poultry association, am getting some good reviews and some negative ones from our membership. I’ve had some conversations with persons who have said that their birds are growing exceedingly well… and there are some others who are having some challenges,” he admitted.
Earlier this week, it was reported that some poultry farmers were blaming the quality of locally-produced feed for an “unknown ailment” resulting in chicks suffering from diarrhoea and stunted growth.
At the time, Minister Weir gave the assurance that there was no need for alarm, but added that the situation was being investigated by the ministry’s veterinary experts as well as overseas laboratories.
In a subsequent interview with Starcom Network News, Weir said he was investigating the source of the information carried in another section of the press as he denied the existence of a problem.
“…I have made it very clear that we do not have such a problem in Barbados and we do not have a problem with the poultry industry at all. I just came off a meeting with the poultry industry marketing committee to verify all of these things. We had Veterinary Services Laboratory on the call, we had the poultry producers, the BAS [Barbados Agricultural Society], the Barbados Egg and Poultry Association on the call, and all of them are on all fours about the safety of our poultry,” he said.
Following Wednesday’s stakeholder meeting, Layne explained that there were a lot of variables that must be examined to determine why the feed consumed by the affected local chickens is not promoting growth of the birds.
“The environment plays a role in that… If the environment within the poultry house is a challenge to the birds, they may not eat or they eat and it comes back out without converting into energy that converts into poultry meat. There are a lot of variables there. So I cannot say that the feed isn’t performing,” he explained.
Layne also pointed to Government’s strict regulation of the poultry industry and the “exceptional” standards of local hatcheries and feed companies.
In fact, he boasted that no antibiotics or other growth hormones are used in the production of local feed and suggested that any issues with the feed likely originated from U.S ingredients used in production.
“We don’t manufacture any of the grain, so if there is a quality challenge emanating from our sources, mainly the United States of America with the corn, if there are mycotoxins in there, the [manufacturing] plants are fast on dealing with that.
“We are sending tests on feed on a regular basis to check the performance of the feed and that is what we have to do. On the sidelines, people can speculate,” said the farmer’s representative.
“Every farmer that has a problem will likely blame the hatchery than the feed company, rather than the farm management. And if we are honest about the development of the industry, we have to look at all of that and we need to educate our small farmers especially how to deal with problems in a timely manner so that we are at the top of our game,” Layne added.
Efforts to reach Minister Weir for an update have been unsuccessful. (kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)
