POULTRY

1
POULTRY

• Julie Weaver
• AnS 101
• Spring, 2006

2
The Poultry Industry

• The most explosive meat industry
• The first 6 months ALONE of 2005 broiler exports
  were up 25 and turkey exports were up 56 than
  the whole of 2004 even though a stiff rise in
  prices.
• In 2003 the U. S. Consumed poultry about once a
  day and beef a little more than once every other
  day.
• What do these numbers mean?

3
THIS IS THE RED MEAT WAKE UP CALL
4
(No Transcript)
5
WHAT?!

• What caused this turn of events?
• Lower Fat and Cholesterol
• Media
• The change in Fried Chicken to Chicken Nuggets
• Industry
• Quick turn over (birds harvest in months not
  years)
• Strong Industry to influence change in producers
  (not like the sheep world)

6
Where do you find poultry

• Broilers
• Georgia
• Arkansas
• Alabama
• Eggs
• Iowa
• Ohio
• Indiana

• Turkey
• North Carolina
• Minnesota
• Arkansas
• Other
• Geese
• Ducks
• Fowl
• Ethnic foods

7
Types of Breeds

• Broilers
• Hybridized from
• Plymouth Rock
• Cornish
• Layers
• Hybridized from
• Leghorn
• Rhode Island

• Recreational
• Mediterranean
• Asiatic
• Continental
• American
• Bantams
• English

8
More

• The breeds are distinguished by size, color, comb
  type, egg color, and use
• How can you tell what color the egg shell will
  be?
• From the Ear Lobes, of course!
• White earlobes will produce white eggs, red
  earlobes will produce brown eggs

9
BROILER LIFE CYCLE

• It takes 21 days for a fertile egg to hatch a
  chick -- Incubation
• After hatching, baby birds are processed by
  vaccinating, debeaking, comb clipping, and wing
  banding

10
Broilers cont.

• Broilers are harvested at 7-9 weeks
• Females take a little longer than Males to finish
• Market Weight is 3-5 pounds
• Specialty meats
• Harvesting at 5 weeks makes a Cornish Game Hen
• Harvesting at 12 weeks makes a large Roaster
• Males can be caponized at 3-4 weeks and finishing
  to 18 weeks to Capon.

11
Broilers cont.

• Broilers are housed in confinement houses to
  protect from predation and disease
• Most are lighted 24 hrs a day to cut down on
  cannibalism
• Thousands of birds can live in the same
  confinement
• Broilers are fed a corn and soybean ration that
  increases in protein percent as they finish

12
LAYER LIFE CYCLE

• Layer chicks are processed similarly to broilers
  only the comb remains
• They are grown in cages until they are 17-18
  weeks old when they are transferred to cages in
  the laying barn
• Layers start laying at 18 weeks of age

13
Layers cont.

• Over 90 of the hens will be laying eggs at least
  once a day at 30-32 weeks- peak production
• The production slows to once every 26 hours for
  example
• When the flock is only at 50 production many
  producers induce a molt by manipulating the
  photoperiod
• Layers are feed corn and soybean with calcium and
  other minerals supplemented

14
How to Molt

• Molting is a natural processes in birds
• In nature, when the days shorten, the hen will
  lose her feathers and stop laying
• Producers limit feed and increase water and start
  limiting light to induce the molt.
• This process restarts the egg laying cycle

15
Physical Signs of the Layer

• When the bird is in production several things
  happen to her because most of her nutrient
  requirements are going to producing eggs, not
  maintaining her feminine figure.
• Her pubic bones begin to separate to facilitate
  the eggs exiting
• The space can be two fingers width or more at
  peak
• She begins to lose color pigment in her body
• When she goes out of her production cycle she
  begins to regain color to her body in this order
• 1) vent, 2) eye ring, 3) earlobe, 4) beak and 5)
  feet and shanks.
• Her comb becomes small, shriveled, and scaly.

16
Eggs

• Quality From USDA
• Quality of eggs has to do with freshness
• U.S. Grade AA eggs have whites that are thick and
  firm yolks that are high, round, and practically
  free from defects and clean, unbroken shells.
• U.S. Grade A eggs have whites that are reasonably
  firm yolks that are high, round, and practically
  free from defects and clean, unbroken shells.
  This is the quality most often sold in stores.
• U.S. Grade B eggs have whites that may be thinner
  and yolks that may be wider and flatter than eggs
  of the higher grades the shells must be
  unbroken, but may show slight stains. This
  quality is seldom found in retail stores.

17
Quality

• Grade AA

• Grade A

18
Size
Size Class Minimum wt./ dozen
Jumbo 30 oz.
Extra Large 27 oz.
Large 24 oz.
Medium 21 oz.
Small 18 oz.
Peewee 15 oz.
19

• Egg colors
• No biological/chemical difference in composition

• Candling
• Used to look for imperfections on eggs
• Will look in greater detail out on the farm

20
Breeders

• All broilers are genetically similar and all
  layers are genetically similar.
• No stud books
• Bred by Artificial Insemination
• Care is similar to laying hens

21
TURKEY

• Turkeys are the only meat animal to be
  domesticated in America (N or Central)
• Turkeys are grown in confinements or on ranges
• They are fed high protein ration until hens are
  14-16 weeks old (up to about 20 pounds) and toms
  are 19-20 weeks old (up to around 30 pounds).

22
TURKEY Breeds

• White is derived from native wild turkey species.
  Most common for meat production
• Bronze is also from the native species. Becoming
  less common

23
Manure Handling

• Manure is called litter and is relatively solid.
  It can be collected and spread directly onto a
  field or garden
• Egg wash water and the liquid forms of manure can
  be lagooned and spread onto a field as a liquid

24
Biosecurity

• Bird Flu has been on the news recently
• Zoonotic disease that may create a pandemic for
  humans
• Has mutated to migratory birds already
• Keep facilities clean and separate
• Dont let the outside world inside

25
Vocab

• Value Added the extra labor or processing to
  increase the value or price of the item
• Vertically Integrated- a person or company that
  owns the whole life cycle of the industry (e.g.
  Tyson owns the birds that breed boiler, the
  boiler houses, and the harvest facilities)
• Hen- mature female chicken
• Cock- mature intact male chicken
• Cockerel- immature intact male
• Pullet- immature female
• Capon- castrated male
• Bantam- miniature breed
• Molt- the process of losing feathers

26
(No Transcript)