CHAPTER 12POULTRY PRODUCTION

General Information: Poultry popular for

holidays Chicken most popular Average American eats

75 pounds of poultry per year.

Products from poultry: Meat Eggs Medicine and vaccines Feathers for clothes,

pillows, fish lures Ornamental uses/hobbies

Kinds of Poultry: Types :

Chicken Turkey Ducks Geese Quail Peafowl Swans Pigeons Ratites Pheasants

Common names – Fowl or Birds

Chickens:

Most important species

Raised for meat and eggs

Meat of a chicken is based on age and sex

Names of chickens: Broiler – Young chicken 6-7 weeks, weighs about 4

pounds. Either sex. 7 billion are raised each year in the US.

Roaster – Young chicken older and slightly larger than a broiler.

Capon – Male chicken that has been neutered (castrated). 5-7 months old. Weigh 6 pounds.

Spent Hen – Hen that no longer lays eggs. Used in soups, or processed foods.

Layer – Mature female. Can produce around 300 eggs per year.

Hen – Mature female, laying. Pullet – Young female not yet laying eggs Cock – Mature male, can be called a rooster. Cockerel – Young male that is less than one year

old.

Common breeds: White Leghorn –

used in egg production. Smallest

Barred Plymouth Rock – meat and eggs

New Hampshire – Meat and eggs

White Rock – meat and eggs. Largest.

Turkey:

Raised primarily for meat

Consumers want white meat

300 million turkeys are raised each year in the US

Turkey Names:

Poult – young turkey

Tom – mature male turkey or gobbler.

Hen - female turkey

Turkey Facts:

Raised in confinement

Marketed at 20 weeks

Most popular is the broad-breasted white

Ducks:

Raised for meat, eggs, down, and feathers.

Down – the soft feathery covering that grows under the feathers.

Duck Names:

Duckling – young duck – still has down

Drake – mature male duck

Hen – mature female duck

Duck Facts: 15 million

ducks are raised in the US each year.

Grow faster and heavier than chickens

Can swim Most raised

indoors on commercial farms.

Geese: Used for meat,

eggs, feathers and ornamental purposes. Some used to control weeds.

1 million raised in the US each year.

Resist a lot of diseases that other poultry get.

Geese Names:

Gosling – baby goose of either sex

Gander – Mature Male goose

Hen – Mature female goose

Gaggle – flock or group of geese that are not flying.

Peafowl Names & Use: Peacock –

mature male peafowl.

Peahen – mature female peafowl.

Train – male tail feathers.

Use - for their feathers.

Swans:

Love water Colors range

from white to black

Used for ornamental purposes

Ratites: Flightless birds which

include: Ostrich, emu, kiwi, cassowary, and rhea.

Largest is the Ostrich – weighs 350 pounds – stands 10 feet tall. Life span – 70 years.

Raised for – feathers, meat, skin and oil.

Guinea Fowl: Raised for food,

as novelty bird, and to stock game preserves.

Have thick shell and because of this are often used for ornamental purposes.

The Poultry Industry:

Early Poultry Production First poultry raised

was more than 5000 years ago in Asia and in Egypt about 3500 years ago.

Poultry was brought to North America in 1607

Turkeys were native to North America

Modern Poultry Industry: Raised in Confinement Leading states for meat production: Georgia,

Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, and North Carolina

Leading state for egg production: California Leading states for turkey production: North

Carolina, Minnesota, and California. Poultry Science – the study and use of areas

of science in raising poultry. Vertical integration – more than one step in

the poultry process (chick/feed/growers/broilers/buyers)

Poultry as Organisms: Classified as Aves Vertebrates Differ in digestion and reproduction Digestion – beak and gizzard Reproduction – eggs are hatched, 21 days

(chickens) 29-31 days (geese) Turkeys (27-28 days) and ducks (28-35 days). Incubation period is influenced by temperature and humidity.

Appearance – yellow pigmentation – egg production. Large red comb – good health. Ragged feathers – poor health.

Poultry Production Systems: 4 areas:

Broiler Production – 6 weeks to raise Egg Production – 24 weeks to raise

Egg Quality: 95% marketed are white Parts: Shell, Albumen, Yolk, Membrane Judging eggs – Candling Molting – Process of shedding and renewing feathers. Laying eggs stops during molting. Takes about 2 months to have a bird completely molt out.

Pullet for egg Production Pullets begin to lay eggs at 24 weeks.

Pullet and Cockerel for broiler egg production. One cockerel per 8-10 pullets

Housing and Equipment: Housing – Controlled environment.

Litter – wood shavingsLighting – control laying cycle (14 – 16

hours) and cannibalism (red light). Temperature – 85 – 95 degrees F for

babies, 70 for 6 week birdsHumidity – 50 -75 % in broiler houses.

Mist systems are used. Ventilation – using large fans. Helps

prevent cannibalism. Automated equipment is used

Sanitation: Use disinfectants Vaccinate Dispose of dead birds in

an incinerator Diseases – mostly caused

by a bacteria or virus Marek’s Disease – virus -

paralysis of legs and wings. Newcastle – Virus – soft

eggs, affects birds gasp, twist neck around.

Infectious Bronchitis – virus – nasal discharge, laying stops.

Fowl Cholera – bacteria – fever, colored heads, death.

Sanitation: Parasites –

Coccidiosis – parasite – droppings get into food or water. Birds are sleepy, pale and listless.

Large Roundworms – worms picked up in soil.

Mites – Pest that sucks blood, use insecticides to rid. Bird is pale, droopy and listless.

Tapeworm – Bird pale, looses weight. Found in soil.

The End