Any farmer whose production capacity is more than what he can eat with his family and relatives must find a market for the surplus otherwise it becomes a burden on him.
The need for poultry meat or egg varies from Country to country and from locality to locality. The marketing of poultry meat is different from the marketing of poultry eggs.
In developing countries like Nigeria, where there is a shortage of animal protein, the marketing of broilers depends on their market price.
For farmers near a town or a city, setting the market price at a level which the consumer will be prepared to pay, will be met with people eager to buy and disposal of products will not be a problem.
For farmers from rural areas that are away from the main market, the cost of transporting their product to the market may make their product more expensive with no profit.
Poultry Products and Marketing
It is of no value to produce poultry commodities (egg and Meat) without serious effort to secure a market for them.
Egg Marketing
The egg is a highly perishable product and if not given proper care between the time it is laid and the time it is consumed, it may deteriorate markedly in several respects for example
Gross changes in weight as a result of evaporation of moisture through the shell mostly from the albumen.
Flavour and odor changes also occur in storage either due to internal chemical changes or to the absorption of extraneous odor by the egg.
Relative changes in size and form of egg components such as yolk and albumen can indicate age in storage.
Other changes are the inter-conversion of minerals and organic contents, specific gravity, permeability, viscosity, gaseous concentration, and microbial changes.
Read Also: Production Practices for Poultry Operations
Egg Grading
The most important point considered in eggs for consumption is quality. In general, the interior and exterior factors are considered.
Exterior qualities used for grading eggs;
- Soundness of shell
- Cleanliness
- Size
- color
- shape and texture
Interior qualities used for grading eggs;
- Condition of the yolk
- Condition of the shell
- Condition of the air cell.
Egg Processing and Preservation
Eggs are processed to prolong their keeping or storage life. Methods of prolonging the edible life of an egg include:
Prevent contamination with faeces and other dirts
Chilling at temperatures between -0.5oC and -2oC and relative humidity of 88% (can store for 2-3 months)
Chemical treatments aimed at sealing the shell pores and thus preserving the egg contents from environmental changes and gaseous diffusion using examples. Vegetable oils, Vaseline, lard, gelatin, agar-agar, and alum as coating agents.
Heat treatment: egg can be momentarily (5 seconds) dipped in boiling water to coagulate the thin film of albumen enclosing the egg membrane.
Dehydration: usually applied to the shelled eggs to produce powdered products or flakes.
Read Also: Chicken Eggs Handling Best Practices