Abstract
The study was conducted to evaluate the current status and constraints of chicken production among poultry producers in the study area. A high percentage of poultry producers were male (69.2%) and married (53.8%). More than half had at least a tertiary education (53.8%) followed by those with secondary schooling and a primary education. The average age of poultry producers was 33.2 ± 11.0 years and this ranged from 16 up to 65 yr of age. Among all the producers' samples, 36.5% reared chicks while hens were the largest flock type followed by pullets, chicks, cockerels, and cocks. A large proportion of producers (94.2%) provided supplementary feed to their birds and most (82.7%) of them utilized commercial ration. Mostly, 38.5% of poultry producers provide supplementary feed any time depending upon the amount of feed left in the feeding trough. The 3 biggest challenges to producers were sudden outbreak of disease, the cost of commercial feed, and the lack of availability of day-old chicks.