HONEY BEE ATTACKS ON A POULTRY BREEDING FARM LOCATED IN GIWA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF KADUNA STATE

Résumé

The frequency of bee attacks on poultry farms have been on the increase in the past decade. Sixteen (eight month old) broiler cocks were attacked by a swarm of honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) around 10.00 am. One of the cocks died while the remaining fifteen cocks were in severe distress with swollen cyanotic comb and wattles with multiple stings on them (≥20/ bird). Similar occurrence occurred on the poultry farm the following year with heavy mortalities in forty (40) broilers. In both incidences, birds were treated with hydrocortisone (5 mg/kg, im), Keproceryl® (1gm/1L of water х 5/7) and vitamin E + selenium supplement (1gm/30L of water х5/7) in drinking water. Mortality rates of bee stings in poultry are due to number of stings inflicted on the birds and this could be seen in the two cases reported. Most of the birds in the first and second incidences had bee stings above 20.
However, early medical intervention seemed to play a role in the survival rate of the birds in which case those birds that were stung in the morning 93,6% survival rate compared to the those that were stung the evening (11.1%) of the previous day. Causes of bee attack could be attributed to the changing ecosystem due to man‟s activities. This report was presented to educate the veterinarian and the poultry farmer on the emerging threat to livestock in the form of bee attacks and the need to put preventive machineries in place to forestall their repeated occurrences.