Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of the Farmers towards Antibiotic Usage in Layer Birds in Haryana, India: A Cross-sectional Survey

The antibiotic usage practices of poultry farmers have drastically changed over decades in most of the developing countries like India. The present study carried out in 100 layer farms of Haryana, India from March, 2022 to November, 2022 to assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of farmers towards antibiotic usage in layer birds using structured questionnaire. The findings suggested that 39 (39%) farmers had correct knowledge, 67 (67%) farmers had positive attitudes and 64 (64%) farmers followed good practices towards antibiotic usage in layer farms. The statistical analysis revealed farmers owning small size farms had 0.12 times lower odds (p<0.01, OR=0.12, 95% CI=0.03-0.55) of positive attitudes than farmers owning large size farms. Further, the farmers who used self-made feeds at their farms had 5.08 times lower odds (p<0.01, OR=5.08, 95% CI=1.49-17.25) of positive attitudes towards antibiotic usage as compared to commercial feed users. An interesting finding of the survey was that farmers who had education level up to 12th grade showed 5.65 times higher odds (p<0.01, OR=5.65, 95% CI=1.52-20.93) of having better knowledge of antibiotic usage than graduate farmers. A high proportion of farmers even used antibiotics without proper consultation with the veterinarian. Thus, the study suggests that farmers owning small sized farms and using self-made feed had positive attitude towards antibiotic usage. Additionally, farmers who had education up to 12th grade showed better knowledge of antibiotic usage. There is a significant gap between farmer's knowledge and attitudes. Lack of strict legislation, restrictions on antibiotic use and farmer's self-prescription of antibiotics to the flock are highly accountable for the increasing antibiotic resistance and production of residues contaminated eggs which is a major threat to public health globally.