Importance of poultry and poultry products

Poultry plays very important role for mankind through food supply, income and employment generation, providing raw materials to some industries, facilitating research works etc. The direct or indirect contribution of poultry industry is summarized below: 

a)    As a source of food:

1)   Poultry meat and eggs are good source of vitamins and minerals.

2)   Poor people can get meat and eggs easily from their reared poultry than from other sources.

3)   Poultry meat and eggs supply rich protein and easily cooked dishes to human.

4)   Human directly consumes poultry meat and eggs. e.g., Meat as curry, meatball, roast, toast etc. or with other food products like chicken chips, chicken rolls etc. Egg is consumed directly as eggs omelet, poased eggs etc. or with products like egg salad, beverages etc.

b)   Industrial use:

1)   Eggs: In vaccine preparation, inedible eggs used as animal feed and fertilizers.

2)   Egg white: Used in pharmaceuticals, paints, varnishes, adhesives, printer’s ink, photography, bookbinding, leather tanning, semen preservation, wine clarification and textile dyeing.

3)   Egg yolk: Used in making cake mixed, soap, paints, shampoos, leather finishing and bookbinding.

4)   Feathers: Used in animal feed, fertilizers, millinery goods, pillows, cushions, mattresses, dusters and as insulating materials.

5)   Endocrine glands: Used in many biological products.

6)   Egg shell: Used in mineral mixed, fertilizers, decoration, mosaic works and animal feed.

c)    Ornamental and exhibition.

d)   For mosaic by the shell of egg.

e)    In research purpose:  Cheap, readily available and large number of chicks hatched, at a time is advantageous favoring successful research carried out upon them. 

f)     For making vaccines

g)    By products

h)   Fertilizer: Eggshells, feathers and inedible parts of the carcass are used as fertilizer.

i)      Feathers are used to make broom and others playing implements.

j)      Source of income:

1)   Poultry rearing and poultry farming is a good source of income.

2)   Contribution of livestock sub sector (including poultry) to GDP is about 3.1%.

3)   Village women can earn extra cash by selling poultry and poultry products.

4)   Return from poultry industry is quick and relatively low investment is required. 

k)   Source of employment:

1)   Rural women can save there usually wastes time through family poultry farming.

2)   Poultry farming can create additional employment opportunity at night and holidays for service holder to increase family income.

3)   Marketing of poultry and poultry products also create source for employment for many people (hawker, aratder, faria etc. in different marketing channel).

4)   Poultry farming helps in alleviating poverty through creating employment opportunity for literate and illiterate unemployed youth and old. At present 5 million of people are engaged in poultry sector in Bangladesh.

l)      Environmental and ecological balance:

1)   Poultry manure helps in maintaining the soil fertility.

2)   Poultry helps in keeping ecological balance through eating different insects, worms, and household wastes.

m) As messenger: Pigeon act as message carries.

n)   Source of recreation:

1)   Cock fighting (Aseel breed)

2)   Poultry exhibition

o)   Religious use: Turkey is must in Christian religious festival (On Christmas day).

However, poultry is undoubtedly a bless for human to live in a better socioeconomic world.