Poultry farmers in a bind as chickens succumb to heatwave

Akram Hossain Ripon, a poultry farmer from the Kalma area in Savar, has incurred severe financial losses due to the heatwave that has engulfed the country since the start of April.

"It is unfortunate for me," he said in a sombre tone.

Recently, Ripon brought a total of 1,000 layer chickens for his farm as good market prices offered him the scope to make a healthy profit.

However, the heatwave has turned his joy into despair.

A total of 160 chickens at his farm have already died due to the heat, causing him losses of around Tk 40,000.

"The price of feed is very high. I also have to spend behind running the generator on the farm 24 hours a day. I also need medicine for the chickens. Given all those expenses, it is very difficult to see so many chickens die," he said.

"All in all, I am in a very uncomfortable situation," he added.

"Today (Thursday), a trader called to sell me chicks. I told him to first fix the weather and then I would raise the chicks."

Since the beginning of April, many poultry farmers in the country have faced a situation similar to Ripon's. Due to the heatwave and load-shedding, hundreds of chickens are dying across the country every day, leaving many farmers to ponder about closing their businesses.

Sumon Howlader, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA), claimed that marginal farmers have suffered losses totalling around Tk 200 crore in the past 10 days due to the effects of the heatwave.

Under these dire conditions, the production of both eggs and chickens has declined by around 4 to 10 percent.

According to BPA estimates, marginal farmers who have at least 1,000 chickens are seeing around 100 chickens perish due to the heat on average.

Farmers added that another reason for falling egg production was the fact that chickens cannot contend with the high heat. They also warned that the price of eggs and chicken is likely to increase further.

Main Uddin, a farmer from the Kapasia upazila in Gazipur, said 12 of his 1,000-plus chickens died on Tuesday and Wednesday.

"My farm was producing 900 eggs daily a week ago. Now, chickens are not eating properly due to high temperatures. Due to this, egg production has also decreased. As a result, 600 to 650 pieces of eggs are being produced daily," he lamented.

"I am the sole breadwinner in the family. I have worked hard to get into this business. I can't find any other way."

Nikhil Chandra Biswas, a farmer from Barishal, said 15 of his chickens died during power outages over the past two days, costing him Tk 5,200.

He said he had poured around Tk 7 lakh into his business, adding that the extreme heat and load-shedding have put his investment at great risk.

Mahabubur Rahman, president of the Breeders Association of Bangladesh, said the current weather is unbearable for chickens. On average, 20 to 25 percent of chickens are suffering from adverse effects, he said.

"Normally, the standard temperature for chickens is 22 to 25 degrees Celsius. When it crosses that, chickens may be infected by different viruses."

He added that the current heat causes chickens to eat less, so egg production is decreasing.

Reajul Huq, director general of the Department of Livestock Services, said all farmers are alerted ahead of a heatwave.

"Those who follow instructions are not facing any problems. Those who do not comply are the ones who are suffering," he said.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) warned that the heatwave is likely to persist until Saturday.

The highest temperature in Bangladesh this year was recorded at 42.6 degrees Celsius in Chuadanga on April 21. The average temperature in the district on that day stood at 37.5 degrees Celsius.

Experts say the heatwave is generated by El Nino, which is currently impacting the South and South Eastern regions.