The use of an organic alternative to synthetic drugs especially antibiotics in poultry farming has shown to be effective for the past few years. Tagiri is one of those organic medicinal plants that is widely used in Nigeria to cure and prevent viral diseases in poultry.  

Tagiri fruits

 

As a child of the 90s, who grew up in the southern part of Nigeria, we were used to kicking and playing anything that looks like football while on errands. One of that improvised football was tagiri,  Adenopus breviflorus ( Christmas melon). We grew up to know it as ‘snake fruit’ even though we have not seen one feeding on it. 

Also read: 8 Natural growth boosters/ promoters for broiler that actually worked

However, little did we know that we were playing with a medicinal plant  Know Tagiri (Christmas melon), which has a health benefit for both man and livestock, especially poultry, although without any scientific support.

But this does not weaken the fact of its medicinal potency. This can be attested by the wide range of people who embraces its use in organic poultry farming for preventing and curing various viral poultry diseases such as Newcastle Disease, Marek’s Disease, and Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD)

In Fact, the result obtained from its demographical information among poultry farmers (mainly women who own backyard farm) in various communities in Kwara  and Ekiti states in Nigeria considered 'wild melon' (as it was referred to...) as herbal remedies for some diseases of man and livestock especially poultry (Ogunleye and Atteh, 2019)

Nevertheless, it is important to know how this wonderful melon can be used effectively without any complications. As with synthetic drugs, caution must be taken in the use of organic fighting agents like Tagiri, as this is the only way to maximize the benefits of organic poultry farming without regrets. But do not worry; everything will be highlighted in this post.

What is Tagiri Used for?

One of the uses of Tagiri (Christmas Melon) is a remedy for viral diseases in poultry. For instance, diseases like Newcastle Diseases, Marek's  Diseases, and Infectious Bursal Disease (IBD) can be combated and prevented completely.

 

Tagiri Health Benefit To Chicken

• Man uses tagiri to prevent further spread of viral diseases
• It Boosts chickens' immune system and prevents diseases like Newcastle Disease, Gumboro . etc
• Apart from refrigeration, it has alternative means of preservation
• It reduces production cost in poultry
• A local farmer can use it as an alternative to vaccine
• Tagiri plant is harvested for free in most parts of the country, especially in rural areas.

 

 Also read: How to hatch chicks naturally at your backyard farm

How to Prepare Tagiri Extract for Poultry Diseases

 

Let take a look at the ingredients requirements

 

Ingredients required to prepare Tagiri extract

 

1. Tagiri bulbs ( 1kg Tagiri for 2 liters of water)
2. Water
3. Other materials required
4. A jar or container with a cover
5. Knife
6. A calibrated container to measure the volume of water to be used
7. A weighing balance to measure the weight of the Tagiri bulbs

 

Steps on How to make Tagiri Extract

 

• Get some Tagiri bulbs
• Peel off the greenback
• 

• Peeled Tagiri

• Cut the Tagiri into pieces
• Measure water that is twice the weight of the Tagiri cuts in liters (i.e ratio 1:2)
• Pour the water into your jar or container
• Add the Tagiri cuts
• Cover the jar/container with a breathable mesh and use a rubber-band to hold it tight
•  

• Breathable mesh

        

 Cuts of Tagiri

• Keep in a cool dark room and allow the Tagiri cuts to ferment inside the water for 7 days
• Do not tamper with the process
• On day 7, strain the Tagiri water into a bigger container, and then blend the Tagiri cut and the seeds
• 

• Covered with Breathable mesh

• Add the blended Tagiri into the Tagiri liquid that was strained earlier
• At this stage, you cannot add fresh water
• The Tagiri extract is ready at this stage but we are left with one concern- preservation. You can either choose to cover the jar containing the extract and refrigerate it or preserve it with molasses.

 

 Fermented tagiri cuts

Tagiri extract 

Diner served

Also read: 8 mistakes you must avoid if you want to succeed in poultry farming

How to Preserve Tagiri with Molasses

 

Add 2-part molasses to 3 part Tagiri extract. That is 1-3. If you have 3 liters of Tagiri extract, you will need to add 1 liter of molasses to preserve it. Note that you do not need to refrigerate it after adding molasses to the extract

 

Tagiri Preservation ( Refrigerator Vs Molasses)

 

While you can skip the use of molasses and preserve your Tagiri Extract by refrigeration, it is important to mention that molasses keep the Tagiri extract longer than refrigeration. While it is advisable to use up refrigerated tagiri extract within 1 month, molasses-preserved extract can stay up to 4 months.

The choice of preservation method also depends on the quantity of Tagiri extract you have produced and how long it will take to use it up. In any case, the fresher the Tagiri extract is, the better. So, make sure to produce the quantity you will be able to use up before the extract expires.

 

Dosage of Tagiri Extract

•  For Prevention: Add 10ml of the Tagiri extract to one liter of water weekly

•  For Treatment: Add 30ml of the tagiri extract to one liter of water; serve your chickens daily for 5 days consecutively.

 Also read: How to Stop watery whitish, greenish, brownish-yellow and bloodstain in your Chickens poops for full Recovery

 

Uses of Tagiri and Age of Chicken

 

• Never use Tagiri extract for pullets and breeders above 14 weeks or layers in production
• Tagiri extract is completely safe for birds before 14 weeks
• Tagiri extract can be given to day-old chicks in the form of a vaccine to ward off Newcastle disease, Marek’s Disease, etc

 

With the recent move against synthetic drugs, especially antibiotics, and the subsequent use of organic treatment in poultry farming, we believe more research will be done on the potency Tagiri extract for better understanding and usage.

 

If you have used Tagiri extract before, feel free to share your experience with us. It will be of great help to us. Thanks.

 

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• Tags:
• Tagiri,
• Christmas melon,
• Wild melon,
• Newcastle Disease

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