One of the primary components of the livestock sub-sector in this country is poultry production. It provides income, employment, animal protein for both rural and urban dwellers, among other benefits. If you want to venture into this business or are already a poultry farmer, it’s crucial to know ways to promote your birds’ health and productivity. 

Major poultry diseases include Newcastle disease, fowl typhoid, Gumboro disease (also called infectious bursal disease), Marek’s disease, fowl cholera, coccidiosis, and mycoplasmosis. While there are vaccines to prevent some of these diseases, you can go the organic route by using herbs that ward off and control infectious poultry diseases.

Tagiri, also called Christmas Melon, is one of such herbs. You can use its extract as a natural defense against deadly poultry diseases.

The Tagiri Plant: Features and Botanical Name

Tagiri is a creepy plant that’s common in the tropical or subtropical areas in this country. Its botanical name is Laganaria breviflorus, and it’s referred to as “Tagiri” in Yoruba and “Christmas melon” in other parts of the country.

Importance of Tagiri in Poultry

It’s an essential herb for organic or conventional poultry farmers who are keen about reducing production costs and want to avoid making expenses on poultry vaccines and drugs.

Here are some benefits of Tagiri:

• It’s used for preventing the spread of viral diseases in poultry
• Tagiri can boost the immunity of chickens and ward off diseases such as Gumboro, Newcastle, Marek’s disease, and others
• The herb serves as an alternative to vaccines, making it extremely useful for local farmers
• Christmas melon helps cut down on production cost in poultry
• In almost all parts of Nigeria, especially in rural areas, you can harvest its plant for free
• You can preserve Tagiri without the need for a refrigerator

Through research and experience, Tagiri has been shown to combat and prevent Newcastle and other poultry diseases.

What Are the Ingredients Needed for Tagiri Extract Preparation?

Let’s show you how to get the best out of this bulb without any complications. Like other synthetic drugs, we must exercise caution in the use of organic fighting agents such as Tagiri. The procedure for creating the extract is easy to carry out. You’ll need these items:

• Tagiri bulbs (1 kilogram is required for 2 liters of water)
• Water
• A weighing balance for measuring the weight of your Tagiri bulbs
• Knife (you’ll need this tool to cut the Tagiri bulbs into pieces)
• A container or jar that has a cover
• A calibrated container for measuring the volume of water required

The process goes as follows:           

• Wash the Tagiri bulbs and peel off the green back using the knife
• Slice the peeled fruit into four or more pieces
• Weigh the sliced fruit
• Measure the required volume of water and ensure it’s twice the weight of the Tagiri pieces (ratio 1:2)
• Begin the fermentation process by pouring the water into your container or jar
• Pour the Tagiri pieces into the container
• Use a breathable mesh to cover it and get a rubber band to hold it tight
• Keep the container in a cool dark room
• Ferment the Tagiri fruit for seven days
• On the seventh day, strain the mixture using a sieve into a bigger container
• Keep the Tagiri liquid
• Blend the Tagiri fruits and the seeds
• Pour the Christmas melon you blended into the Tagiri liquid you strained earlier
• Don’t add water at this stage

Those are the required steps to make Tagiri extract. The next thing is to preserve it.

Preserving Tagiri Extract

There are two ways to do this: By covering the jar containing the Tagiri extract and refrigerating it or preserving the extract with molasses.

To carry out the second procedure, add one part molasses to three parts Tagiri extract (ratio 1:3)

If you choose to preserve the extract by refrigeration, you don’t need to use molasses again. But keep in mind that molasses keep it longer than the refrigeration method.

Unlike refrigerated Tagiri extract that has to be used up within one month, the molasses-preserved one stays up to four months. Other factors that also determine the type of preservation method to opt for are the quantity of extract you’ve produced and the period it will take to exhaust the extract.

To get the best results, use the Tagiri extract before it expires.

How to Determine the Dosage of the Extract

Add 30ml of Tagiri extract to 1 liter of water.

Keep these tips in mind about Christmas melon and the age of chicken:

• Avoid using the extract for layers in production or pullets and breeders above 14 weeks.
• It’s 100% safe for birds before 14 weeks
• You can give the extract to day-old chicks (DOCs) in the form of a vaccine to prevent Newcastle disease, Marek’s disease, and others.

With the information given in this guide, you can use Tagiri extract to control and prevent poultry diseases.