Assessing the local situation

If you are living in your work area, you probably already know quite a bit about the local poultry situation. You most likely have bought eggs and perhaps chickens in the market and know something about the quality and quantity available there. Do people present you with a chicken as a token of their esteem? Does a neighbor's rooster awaken you? Or have you found yourself downwind from a poorly run chicken coop? We tend to notice first the things that affect us personally.

If you want to see whether you can be useful in poultry production, you must know much more about how the supply or lack of chickens affects the lives of the people around you. Do people eat eggs and chickens often or save them for festive occasions? Do local restaurants serve them daily? If so, where do they and the market sellers get their supplies? Is the neighbor's rooster or the upwind chicken coop unique, or are there many around? Do you think prices are high or low compared to other local foods? How do local prices compare with those in other areas of your country?

If you are in one of those rare places without chickens, what are the reasons? It may be a temporary condition caused by a severe outbreak of disease, a drastic increase in the predator population or a long drought. In such cases, you may be able to help reintroduce chickens to the area. In other cases, where people won't eat eggs and chickens and don't want to have them around, you may want to find another activity entirely.