1.0 Introduction
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The poultry industry is very important to the Nigerian economy because it provides a good source of animal protein in eggs and meat. Protein plays important roles in the formation of a balanced human diet which is essential for the good health, vigor and productivity capacity of the people (Abdullahi, Maqbool & Bukhsh, 2007). Protein is also important in the building and repair of body tissues; a low intake of protein hinders the development of the brain, reduces the skillfulness of the young and retards the growth rate and resistance to infections (Ogidan, 2002). Animal protein sources include fish, eggs, poultry meat, beef, milk, bacon, pork and mutton. In Nigeria, the three most popular are frozen fish, beef, poultry egg and meat (Apantaku, 2006).
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The usefulness of any food for body building depends on the amount of protein it contains. The poultry egg industry, apart from providing employment and livelihood to thousands of people in Nigeria, also provides high quality, nutritious food. The poultry egg is a complete protein with excellent quality; one egg will give 6g of protein and egg-white protein has a biological value of 100, the highest biological value of any single protein (FAO, 2005).
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Tijani, Alimi and Adesiyan, (2006) reported that eggs have a number of uses apart from domestic consumption in households; they are used in confectionary bakery products, ice creams and cosmetics. Egg shell is a good source of calcium, the nutritional status of many Nigerians is characterized by low calorie and protein intakes and Nigerians’ greatest problem is that of inadequate animal protein in their diets (Iyangbe & Orewa, 2009).
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However, Adepoju (2008) reported that the average per capital protein intake in Nigeria was 51.7g of which only 6.8g came from animal sources but in developed countries, the average per capita protein intake was over 90g with more than 65g of animal protein. Thus, widespread malnutrition will become more evident in the country if there is no substantial improvement in poultry production as a major source of protein. Egg production in Nigeria has been troubled by unstable trends in the economy. The problems of the industry make it very difficult for expansion and new producers find it hard to start a business. Such problems include the high cost of feed, outbreaks of diseases, and marketing problems. This situation has forced many small scale poultry farms to close down and those still managing to survive are producing at very high cost with serious input limitations (Adebiyi 2000). In Nigeria despite growth in the egg production industry since 2000, local demand has not been matched by local supply with reported egg imports of 730 million in 2000, which was down slightly from 732 million eggs imported in 1999 (United States Department of Agriculture, 2001).
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As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Limitation of the study and Definition of technical terms.
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