Region Ten poultry farmers have, for several months now, been facing the debilitating problem that has restricted the growth of broilers - in some cases to less than one pound over a 5-7 week period. At the end of six weeks of rearing a broiler is expected to weigh a minimum of five pounds. According to a report reaching Stabroek Business one of the farmers who have suffered heavily as a result of the stunted growth problem has simply released hundreds of chickens since they have now become a huge economic liability.

Stabroek Business understands that the poultry industry at Linden is also facing another disease known as hydropericardium that causes chickens to die from heart attack.

Apart from the losses resulting from underweight birds and high mortality some Linden poultry farmers are also contemplating how they will repay loans secured to invest in their ruined ventures. Most of the loans have been provided by the Linden Economic Advance-ment Fund (LEAF) and according to Fund Manager Valerie Sharp the poultry industry crisis is a severe setback for farmers in the region. Sharp told Stabroek Business that around 27 persons had secured loans totalling around G$17m and that the Fund had already commenced discussions with borrowers about rescheduling their repayments.

A source in the Linden business community told Stabroek Business that the chicken crisis could spell economic ruin for many of the scores of commercial chicken farmers whose investments have been severely affected by the health problems in the poultry industry.

Earlier this week University of the West Indies poultry expert Dr Gabriel Brown who has been recruited as a consultant by the Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP) to investigate the poultry industry's problems and make corrective recommendations visited the mining community. Brown is reportedly working along with local veterinarians from the Ministry of Agriculture who have also been studying the problem.

Earlier this week Stabroek Business spoke with Ministry of Agriculture veterinarian Michael Welch who has been appointed Head of a special Task Force set up to address the current problems in the poultry industry. Welch conceded that the poultry industry had been seriously affected by the current health problems but said that he believed that the authorities were now "on top of the problem."

Nutritional deficiencies in feed supply have been identified as a possible reason for the problem of stunted growth in chickens. Recently, Stabroek Business spoke with Robert Badal, General Manager of Guyana Stockfeeds Ltd, the country's main poultry feed supplier who said that his company had had no recent reports of stunted growth in chickens that had consumed feed supplied by his company. Speculation has arisen that the problem of stunted growth may also be linked to the contamination of eggs transported to Guyana by sea freight. Although the problem of stunted growth in chickens has been in evidence for several months the authorities here have been unable so far either to definitively identify the cause of the problem or, it appears, to provide a cure.