Poultry Industry

What are the 2 main products of the poultry industry?

meat and eggs

What are the main species of the poultry industry?

chickens and turkeys

Broiler slaughter age

31-60 days (avg. 42)

Feed:Gain ratio of broiler chickens

1.5-1.7 (pretty efficient)

Who is the largest poultry meat producer

The U.S.

• 18% of global chicken

• 47% of global turkey

• 9 bil. broilers slaughtered (57 mil. lbs)

Where are most broilers concentrated?

The Southeast

• VA ranks 11th

Where are most turkeys concentrated?

East coast, Corn belt

• VA ranks 6th

• production expected to increase

When do laying hens first start producing eggs?

At 20-22 weeks (21 avg)

How many eggs can a laying hen produce?

270 eggs/year

What are some egg products?

table eggs, liquid eggs, dry eggs, processed products

US egg industry

• 391 mil. laying hens

• 109 bil. eggs

• 11 bil. in revenue

• increase in last 20 years

Where are most layers located?

The corn belt

• Iowa is #1

  • VA is #26

genus

gallus

chick

young baby chicken

pullet

young female chicken

cockerel

young male chicken

hen

adult female chicken

rooster

intact male chicken

capon

castrated male chicken

genus (turkey)

meleagris

Poult

young baby turkey

jenny

young female turkey

jake

young male turkey

hen

adult female turkey

tom

intact male turkey

laying

act of making egg

hatching

chick emerging from egg

flock

group of animals

broiler

chicken bred for meat

layer

chicken bred for egg production

White Leghorn

• White body and white legs

• Italy

• Egg production

• small size

• most common US breed

Cornish

• White body and brown eggs

• England

• Wide breasts, muscular legs, fast growth

• lays few, small eggs

• Father of most commercial broilers

White Plymouth rock

• White body and brown eggs

• America

• High quality meat

• Mother of most commercial broilers

Broad Breasted White Turkey

• All white

• Best growth and muscle yield

• Can’t fly or reproduce on own

• Most widely used commercial turkey

Poultry housing

• confined indoors

• controlled lighting & temp

Hatchery

• An incubator-controlled environment

  • temp of 100 & rotates eggs

What is the incubation length for chickens and turkeys?

Chicken= 21 d

Turkey= 28 d

In Ovo Vaccination

vaccination that is injected into the egg

Grow Out

• use of contracted growers

• chicks are restricted to a small area of the barn at first

• paid on weight produced

Grow out Houses

• All-in/All-out

• longer than wide in size

• curtain sided

Hatchery/Grow out housing

• floor covered in litter

• use of heat lamps with younger chicks

• lights are typically always on (this helps with production)

broiler breeder housing

• similar to grow out

• nesting boxes

• 10 hens/rooster

Layer production

no rooster= eggs all unfertilized

Ad libitum access to feed and water

diet high in calcium

layer housing

cage system

colony cages

cage-free

Layer housing- cage systems

3-9 birds per cage

controlled environment

reduces natural behavior

Layer housing- colony cages

50-150 birds per cage

controlled environment

allows some natural behaviors

Layer housing- cage-free

all birds in a house row

open environment

allows for natural behaviors

dusty, more injuries

litter

brooding

the period immediately after hatch when special care and attention must be given to chicks to ensure their health and survival

in ovo

Latin for in the egg

molt

the natural process of shedding and renewing feathers

spent hen

when egg-laying hens reach the end of their laying cycles

When comparing feed efficiency using Feed:Gain, a _____________ number indicates a more feed efficient animal.

smaller

vertical integration

various segments of this industry are integrated into a single production house.

• ex: Perdue owns chickens but will use others to grow these chickens out and they will then come back to Perdue later and be slaughtered and sold.

the turkey industry uses what kind of feeding process?

split sex feeding

How many eggs do turkeys hatch?

90

zoonotic disease

infectious disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans or humans to animals

salmonella serovars

shed through feces, feather dust, and eye or nose secretions

E. coli

found in the intestines of birds. Harmless to birds if kept in check by other bacteria.

Avian influenza

respiratory pathogen that can infect a variety of poultry

• low or high pathogenic strains

• clinical signs- appetite loss, swelling, coughing, sneezing, nasal discharge, etc.

• spread through respiratory secretions and feces

Exotic Newcastle disease

fatal viral disease, one of the most highly infectious diseases

• signs: gasping for air, depression, tremors, paralysis

• vaccine available

antibiotic resistance

human and animal health concerns, caused by the overuse of antibiotics. results in a decrease in antibiotic effectiveness.

animal welfare

• genetic selection for efficiency

• animal housing- mandated space requirements

• beak trimming

• induction of molt

ammonia

bird, worker, and environmental concerns.

• High levels of ammonia may lead to observable changes, such as difficulty breathing, irritation of the trachea (the breathing tube), air sac inflammation, inflammation of the mucus membranes of the eye or a combination of these symptoms

hens are slaughtered when?

12-14 wks

• 14-17 lb carcass

• 35 lb of feed

when are toms slaughtered?

16-19 wks

• 26-32 lb carcass

• 90 lb of feed

broiler life cycle

Egg: 21 d incubation

Hatch: brooding

Lay: 24 wk, 40 wk (180 eggs)

Hatch: 0.1 lb

Slaughter: 42 d, 5 lb

Layer life cycle

Egg: 21 d

Hatch

21 wk growing

lay: 21 wk, 3.3 lb

lay for 60 wk

molt: 2 wk

(270 eggs/year)

Turkey life cycle

Egg: 28 d incubation

Hatch

Lay: 30 wk, 25 wk (90 eggs)

Hatch: 0.16 lb

slaughter