Farmers' attitude towards the use of earthworms as a protein feed source for village chickens

Village chicken production in South Africa is hampered by the cost of providing quality protein in their diets. The low-cost rearing of certain types of earthworms is a possible solution to this challenge; however, it is unclear whether farmers are amenable to such a solution. This study was conducted to evaluate the attitudes of village chicken farmers to the use of earthworms as a protein feed source for their chickens. The data were gathered by administering a total of 150 questionnaires through face-to-face interviews with the chicken farmers in Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. The results of the study revealed that the idea of rearing earthworms for chickens was favoured by farmers, male farmers more strongly than females, while youth farmers rejected it. Moreover, the use of earthworms as a feed ingredient in chicken feed was accepted by farmers and no significant difference was observed among the type of owners of chickens. The consumption of chickens fed earthworms was significantly influenced by chicken ownership. Nevertheless, rearing of earthworms instead of growing crops for chicken feed was rejected by the farmers. The results show a positive attitude towards possible benefits that can be caused by the use of earthworms in chicken feed. The strongest benefit perceived was that earthworms improve production performance of chickens while the weakest was the use of earthworms for lowering feed price and production. Farmers' perception of health risks caused by earthworms was high. Nevertheless, the overall conclusion is that earthworms can be used as chicken feed since farmers indicated a positive attitude toward the use of them for chickens.