The poultry industry in New Zealand

Abstract

Extract

The term “chicken feed” used to be a synonym for insignificance. The domestic fowl was not of major significance economically in the New Zealand way of life. Over the past 15 years, however, their status has changed remarkably. Today the production of poultry is no longer a trivial or small-scale business. A few figures will illustrate the dimensions of the change. In 1955, commercial egg production is estimated to have been less than 40 million dozens of eggs annually, while today the comparable figure is some 75 million dozen. During the same period, the meat chicken industry has been established and annual production and consumption has grown to a figure in excess of 5 kg per capita.