Diseases and management of backyard chicken flocks in Chitungwiza, Zimbabwe

To gather information on backyard chicken flocks in Chitungwiza, an urban center in Zimbabwe, 85 flock owners were interviewed. The mean flock size was 53 birds (range 1-650), and most birds were kept for meat, for either domestic consumption or local sale. Mean age at slaughter was 12.4 weeks (range 8-24). None of the owners vaccinated their birds, and reported mortality rates were high (mean 25%), most commonly being associated with diseases causing eye and respiratory problems. Most owners complained of a lack of technical and veterinary advice. Commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays on sera from 460 birds in 52 flocks showed that the birds had been exposed to avian reovirus (3%), avian leukosis virus (9%), avian encephalomyelitis virus (11%), Newcastle disease virus (27%), Mycoplasma gallisepticum and M. synoviae (33%), Pasteurella multocida (52%), infectious bursal disease virus (55%), reticuloendotheliosis virus (65%), and infectious bronchitis virus (86%). Parasite infections were detected only rarely.