LOCAL POULTRY (CHICKEN) PRODUCTS AND PRODUCTION



Poultry production is one of the major area of animal production with significant contribution to human food production. Poultry products provide protein of high biological value (Eshiethe and okere, 1990). Nigeria is endowed with many poultry species which are indigenous to the country. These have lived, adapted and reproduced for several years in the Nigeria environment. Momoh, (2005) estimated poultry population in Nigeria to be about 33 million. With the ever growing population and improvement in the living standard of Nigerians, the demand for egg and other poultry products will continue to grow.

            The Nigerian local chicken exhibits of diversity in morphological characteristic and consist of various unimproved sub-population of heterogeneous characteristics, not yet classified into breeds and varieties since they do not share common ancestry, breed through to type and have no clear plumage colours (obioha, 1992,ibe,2001). They generally exotic counterparts (Nwosu  and omeje, 1985). They are haedly and generally reported to adapt favorably to the local environment (ikeobi and Godwin, 1990). The chickens are flighty in nature, resistant to some diseases and parasites and lay eggs within relatively thick eggshell (peters et al., 2007). The village poultry production is mostly based on the scavenging indigenous domestic chicken (Gallus domesticus). The genetically unimproved local chicken remains predominant in African villages despite the introduction of exotic and cross-react type. This is due to the fact that local farmers have not been able to afford the high input requirement of the introduced breed (Kaiser, 1990).
            Despite their non-resistant and mongrel nature, there exist strains or inbred lines (ibe,1998) within the native chicken populations which have definite genetic constitutions. Based on this the Nigerian local chickens can be group into various genotype or genetic groups having identifiable genes of direct and in directed effect on production and quantitative trait loci (Fayeye et al., 2006). These genes, according to Ibe and Nwosu (1999) called malor genes; advantageous gene complexes or plumage reducing genes which include the naked-nek (Na) and Frizzle (F). These genes are associated with heat tolerance and possess productive adaptability (Horst, 1988). A study by Ojo (2003) reveals that the indigenous poultry industry falls short of its aim of self-sufficiency in animal protein consumption in the country that is put at 5gm/caput per day which is far cry from F 40 recommended level of 35gm/caput. These statistics indicates that there exists an inalienable inequality between the Nigerian human population which grows astronomically and that of poultry.
            The native chicken constitutes about 50 percent of the 120 million poultry birds found in Nigeria (FOS, 1996). Aryee and Kutame, (1991) reported that the indigenous village chicken is the most prominent class of livestock in the country and constitutes about 60 – 80% of the total poultry population but their productivity level are low because of poor nutrition and low genetic potential in local chickens, high-yield exotic breeds have been introduced through cockerel exchange programme by the government (Hagan and Adjei)
            This intervention is bedeviled with many challenges: prominent among them is the birds’ inability to adapt to the hot and humid environment, resulting in reduced feed intake and retarded growth (Cowan and Michie, 1988).
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