A survey of village poultry production in the Solomon Islands.

A total of 84 farmers in 31 villages of Guadalcanal, Western, Malaita and Central Provinces of the Solomon Islands were surveyed to obtain baseline information on the current feeding practices and farmer attitudes to village poultry production. Farming of village chickens in the Solomon Islands is conducted on a small scale. Most surveyed farmers thought chickens were easy to care for, provide food for the family and was a good cash income enterprise. Some farmers were interested in keeping local chickens, but found it difficult to obtain the birds. The main feed sources are fresh coconut, copra meal, fish meal, mill run, food scraps and forage sources from the range. Some villagers believe that chickens only need to eat household scraps and did not provide drinking water. Many villagers lacked the knowledge of managing a village poultry enterprise. Some chicken houses were built by using bush materials or by purchasing construction materials. Farmers indicated they would like the government to provide funds for establishing a smallholder poultry enterprise and to provide information on feeding and management of birds.