Abstract:
Poultry production has experienced tremendous change in Egypt in the last three
decades. Small-scale family poultry production, otherwise termed household
poultry, was part of this transformation but to date no concise description has
been made of Egyptian household poultry. In this report, this is described using
surveys and reviews. Inputs and outputs of this production system were evaluated
and the profitability of the household poultry was estimated. Household poultry
contribute immensely to food security in Egypt; providing income for individual
families. A mean flock size of 73 (mixed breeds) was determined and this yielded a
net annual profit of 2287.67LE (US$397.34) per annum. The important household
poultry diseases are principally viral and bacterial. While Egyptian household
poultry are similar to others in Africa in terms of multi-species flocks, womendriven
projects, labour and marketing structures, it differs in input systems,
hatchery method, disease management, and other indices. Suggestions for
improvement of this sector of the poultry industry are offered.
