CHAPTER ONE
1.0     INTRODUCTION
Commercial poultry production is practiced by most rural households through out developing world, despite the fact that its contribution to livelihoods appears to be of little nominal value when observed by researchers and other outsiders. This project utilizes sustainable livelihood frame work to review how commercial poultry contributes to households and livelihoods.
          It would be recalled that the rate of unemployment in Nigeria is very high as reflect by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) with the statistics that 700,000 jobs were available in the country compared with 7,000,000 graduates being turned out by Nigeria Universities. This is as a result of imbalance in labour supply, rapid population growth rate and faulty educational system among others.
          This project   write up will focus attention on commercial poultry farming production. A prospective commercial poultry farmer should consider the following factors for the establishment of poultry farming:
These include broiler production, egg production, and marketing.
Broiler: is a North American term used to describe young male or female chicken less than 12 weeks old based on fast growing breeds, reared and sold specifically for poultry meat. For broiler production, the rapidity of turnover is very high and the current projected profit per broiler is 300.
Egg production: the expansion of the business of egg production can partly be attributed to quick turn over. The current estimated gross or net daily profit from the sale of eggs ranges from #2,000 layers is #5000 depending of course on the use of birds of superior genotype, provision of favourable environment and managerial skill.
LOCATION OF THE POULTRY FARMING
Legal clearance must be obtained from appropriate authority before establishing poultry enterprise to prevent the demolition of structures, culminating in the termination of the enterprise. The enterprise must not be a source of nuisance in the nature of fowl odor and noise to neighbor .  Ensure access to water, electricity and proper damage.
Capital Outlay: This will depend on the size and type of operation   and the management system. For the take off, personal savings of up to #250,000 can be utilized particularly for small scale broiler production. Alternatively Agricultural Bank Loans on liberal terns can be considered. Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme (ACGSF) and the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) poultry farming scheme can as well provide loans to prospective farmer.
Manpower Required: For a small scale operation, one poultry attendant should be able to manage a minimum of 2,000 birds either on the deep litter system or in cage. Occasional operations such as manual removal of drops and vaccination require additional labor which could be provided by the members of the family.
Feed Supply: In Nigeria, feed cost accounts for about 70% of the cost of poultry production. This is due to the high cost of some critical feed ingredients (e:g  maize and soya beans ) which are needed in poultry ration. From the standpoint of a profitable enterprise, the genetic potential of the birds is the beginning of employment. This research is determined to critically examine poultry farming as a veritable tool economic empowerment in Nigeria.