Poultry (ANISCI FINAL)

gross income

73 million

cash receipts

14% poultry and eggs

• inexpensive source of protein

segments of the poultry industry

66% chickens

19.1% chicken eggs

11.4% turkeys

3.15 other: ducks, geese, pigeons

United States production

2nd largest producer of chicken eggs (1st is China)

• 110 bil eggs in 2023

70% consumed as fresh shell eggs

30% used in manufacturing/processing products

largest producer of poultry meat in the world → 20% of the world’s chicken meat

largest producer of turkeys in the world →> 50% of the world’s turkey

World Meat Supply

• combined poultry meat production is the greatest of the world’s meat supply

  • 38.5% poultry

• before it was pigs

industrial uses for eggs, feathers, and chicks

pharmaceutical and vaccine production

research (especially chicks)

products: paints, varnishes, adhesives, and printer’s ink

cushions, pillows, mattresses, dusters, insulation materials

photography, book binding, wine clarification, leather tanning

young chicken of either sex (1 day - 5/6 weeks)

chick

immature female chick (not started to lay eggs)

pullet

mature female chicken/turkey

hen

turkey hens

> 7 days of age

• raised for meat production

chicken hens

> 20 weeks old

• raised for egg production

mature male chicken

rooster

mature male turkey

tom

mature male goose

gander

mature male duck

drake

intact male chicken < 1 year of age

cockerol

neutered male chicken produced for specialty meat markets

capon

young turkey (male/female) from 1 day - 2 weeks

poult

brooder

device with controlled light and heat which is used to warm chicks from hatching to 5 weeks

broilers: raised to 5 -9 weeks → slaughtered

layers: raised to 18-20 weeks → layer houses (pullets → hens)

hand candling (1909)

holding a shell egg directly in front of a light where interior defects and shell cracks become visible and defective eggs are segregated

forced/induced molting

removing food and water from the chickens in order for them to rest/repair their reproductive tract

in turn, it allows for them to produce more, and better quality eggs later on

• extends their reproductive life to 110 weeks

scientific, market and policy changes lower production costs (1940s-1960s)

• improved genetics

• improved knowledge of nutritional requirements

• stable interior environments

• improved disease control

• birth of vertical integration

economy of scale

spreading fixed costs over more output

vertical integration

all stages of production are owned by ONE entity, corporation or individual

present day — number of farms and flock sizes

number of farms decreasing and increasing flock sizes

how many total egg layer hens in the U.S?

312 million

• 66% caged egg production

• 34% certified organic or cage free production

  • 6% USDA organic certified

  • 34% non organic, cage free

vertical integration of broilers

99% of broilers are grown under some type of vertical integration

top broiler states: Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, Mississippi, North Carolina, Texas, Kentucky, Maryland

egg production

LAYERS

• egg production per hen in the U.S has generally increased

meat production

BROILERS

increased demand for poultry

• health perception

• convenience

  • ex. processed/value added: chicken tenders, rotisserie chicken, ready to eat frozen food

• fast food

• low cost → 67-78% of live weight is edible meat

• exports: 18% of U.S poultry production is exported

nutrition in poultry

FEED - largest cost in raising poultry

• CONCENTRATES (grains, corn, soybean meal)

  • compete with pigs for the same feed

feeding strategy meant to optimize the growth birds in order to get them to market weight faster

• before: marketed at 16 weeks

• now: marketed at 5-9 weeks

omnivores

eat insects, rodents, plants

have paired ceca → are able to develop and digest fiber if fed forage

production poultry

fed exclusively complete diet in mash or pelleted form

HENS egg production

300 EGGS/YEAR

when do commercial laying hens get replaced?

75-80 weeks (1.5 years)

• hens produce 20-25% less eggs in their second year

• egg quality decreases with age

how long does it take for a hen to produce an egg?

24.5-25.5 hours

ovaries of hens

2 ovaries → ONLY LEFT continues to develop and is functional

reproductive tract of chicken

ovary, infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, uterus/shell gland, vagina, cloaca

parts of oviducts

infundibulum, magnum, isthmus

ovary

• cluster of ova (yolks)

• each yolk is contained within a thin membrane follicle

• ovum develops as yolk is added color comes from fat soluble pigments (xanthophylls) contained in hen’s diet

OVULATION OCCURS 30 MINS AFTER PREVIOUS EGG WAS LAID

infundibulum

15 MINS

3-4 inches

engulfs yolk post ovulation

SPERM RESERVOIR

SITE OF FERTILIZATION

Magnum

3 HOURS

15 inches

3 layers of albumen (egg white) are formed: chalazae, inner thin white, thick layer

isthmus

1.25 HOURS

4 inches

water and mineral salts added

2 shell membranes formed

Uterus

21 HOURS

4 inches

shell & shell pigments added

Vagina

4 inches

cuticle added

muscles to move egg out of the body

sperm host glands

stores sperm for 10-14 days

incubation period for chicken eggs

21 days

incubation period for turkey eggs

28 days

incubation period for duck eggs

28 days

incubation period for goose eggs

28-32 days

flock health management

concentrated problem → disease can cause millions of dead animals and devastating economic losses

biosecurity

measures are practiced to minimize transmission of disease from outside sources and between groups of birds on the same farm

diseases

have been eradicated or vaccines have been developed

• administered to 1 day old chicks or in ovo (through shells to embryo)

Avian influenza

cause: virus that occurs naturally in the intestinal tract of many wild + domestic birds

• low pathogenicity (low level of gastrointestinal/respiratory illness)

• high pathogenicity (high contagious systemic infection)

transmitted:

direct: fecal matter, aerosols from respiratory tract

indirect: ingestion of contaminated feed/water and contact with fomite (contaminated equipment, clothing, footwear)

clinical signs: depression, coughing, sneezing, misshaped eggs, diarrhea

treatment: euthanasia - recovery is RARE

2014-2015 HPAI outbreak

7.4 mil turkeys affected

43 mil chickens affected

costs: $3.3 BIL

2022-2024 HPAI outbreak

1,208 confirmed affected flocks

48 affected states

107.73 MILLION BIRDS AFFECTED

influenza type A glycoproteins

hemagglutinin (HA)

neuraminidase (NA)

• antibodies of one virus subtype do not with another

zoonotic - avian influenza

outbreak of HPAI (H5N1) bird flu in DAIRY COWS

CDC reported 1 case of H5N1 from dairy cow TO HUMAN

control of avian influenza

• inclusion and exclusion of biosecurity practices

• vaccination (will not provide absolute protection)

  • labor needed to inject individual birds

  • vaccinemust match HA subtype to confer protection

• diagnostics and surveillance