Chapter 12
Poultry Production
General Information:
 Poultry popular for holidays
 Chicken most popular
 Average American eats 75 pounds of poultry per
year.
 Products from poultry:
o Meat
o Eggs
o Medicine and vaccines
o Feathers for clothes, pillows, fish lures
o Ornamental uses/hobbies
Kinds of Poultry:
 Poultry – domesticated birds
 Use – for consumption/Pet food/Vaccines
 Types – Chicken, Turkey, Ducks, Geese, Quail,
Peafowl, Swans, Pigeons, Ratites, and 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
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Names of chickens:
o Broiler – young chicken 6-7 weeks, weighs
about 4 pounds. Either sex. 7 billion are raised
each year in the US.
o Roaster – young chicken older and slightly
larger than a broiler.
o Capon – male chicken that has been neutered
(castrated). 5-7 months old. Weigh 6 pounds.
o Spent Hen – hen that no longer lays eggs.
Used in soups, or processed foods.
o Layer – mature female. Can produce around
300 eggs per year.
o Hen – Mature female, laying.
o Pullet – young female not yet laying eggs
o Cock – Mature male, can be called a rooster.
o Cockerel – 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
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Turkey Names:
 Poult – young turkey
 Tom – mature male turkey or gobbler.
 Hen - female 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
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.
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 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:
 Used for their feathers.
Peafowl names:
 Peacock – mature male peafowl.
 Peahen – mature female peafowl.
 Train – male tail 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.
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 Have thick shell and because of this are often used
for ornamental purposes.
The Poultry Industry:
 Early Poultry Production
o First poultry raised was more than 5000 years
ago in Asia and in Egypt about 3500 years ago.
o Poultry was brought to North America in 1607
o Turkeys were native to North America
Modern Poultry Industry:
 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 and
feed/growers/broilers/buyers)
Poultry as Organisms:
 Classified as Aves
 Vertebrates
 Differ in digestion and reproduction
 Digestion – beak and gizzard
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 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.
o Litter – wood shavings
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o Lighting – control laying cycle (14 – 16 hours)
and cannibalism (red light).
o Temperature – 85 – 95 degrees F for babies, 70
for 6 week birds
o Humidity – 50 -75 % in broiler houses. Mist
systems are used.
o Ventilation – using large fans. Helps prevent
cannibalism.
Feeding and Watering Equipment:
 Automated equipment is used
Sanitation:
 Use disinfectants
 Vaccinate
 Dispose of dead birds in an incinerator
 Diseases – mostly caused by a bacteria or virus
o Marek’s Disease – virus - paralysis of legs and
wings.
o Newcastle – Virus – soft eggs, affects birds
gasp, twist neck around.
o Infectious Bronchitis – virus – nasal discharge,
laying stops.
o Fowl Cholera – bacteria – fever, colored heads,
death.
 Parasites –
o Coccidiosis – parasite – droppings get into food
or water. Birds are sleepy, pale and listless.
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o Large Roundworms – worm – 3 inch worms,
picked up in soil. Deworm.
o Mites – mite – use insecticides. Bird is pale,
droopy and listless.
o Tapeworm – Worm – Bird pale, looses weight.
Found in soil. Deworm
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