Poultry and eggs farm cash receipts: 23\% of animals
Three major segments:
Broilers
Eggs
Turkeys
Broiler production has steadily increased since 1975.
Lower-cost product than other meat-producing industries.
The United States:
Produces 8\% of the world’s chicken eggs and 18\% of the chicken meat.
Largest poultry meat-producing country in the world.
Second to China in chicken egg production.
Produces 47\% of the world’s turkey meat.
Largest producer of turkeys in the world.
More than 90 billion eggs annually:
70\% are consumed as fresh-shell eggs.
Rest is used to make cakes, pies, pasta…
Duck: the largest of the remaining segments primarily for meat.
Geese are raised throughout the U.S. in hobbyist or farm flocks.
Game birds and other exotic fowl are usually kept either for exhibition or ornamental reasons or for meat production.
Purpose in U.S.
Inexpensive meat production.
Very efficient monogastric converting grain to meat.
Mainly economical by reducing labor and time to market:
Expensive confinement facilities.
Full feeding of high-energy rations.
Poultry meat and eggs account for nearly 1.6 times as much product as pork and nearly 2.9 times as much as beef.
Also used for:
Pharmaceuticals production.
Vaccine production.
Research.
Structure of the Poultry Industry
The U.S. Broiler Industry
Meat chickens are marketed primarily as broilers (6-8 weeks), roasters (8-12+ weeks), or game hens (4-6 weeks).
Modern broiler production is concentrated in a relatively few large farms with large investments in facilities.
Highly integrated corporate industry.
All segments are either owned or controlled by the parent company.
Well over 90\% of the commercial broilers in the United States are grown under contract to an integrated broiler firm.
Top ten largest vertically integrated chicken producers in America
The industry located and developed in these areas initially for three reasons:
Favorable climate that reduced housing costs
Low-cost labor, which was often the small farmer who worked off the farm as well as on the farm
Nearby population centers that provided a demand for the product.
Southern and Southeastern centered
The U.S. Egg Industry
Large units that require large capital investments.
Environmentally controlled housing and computer technology are common: never touched!
Most production is integrated from hatchery to marketing of the eggs.
The poultry egg industry is distributed in a pattern much like that of the human population.
The average number of laying hens and pullets in the United States is about 350 million birds.
Total U.S. egg production is about 97 billion eggs.
That’s an approximate increase of one egg per hen per year.
The U.S. Turkey Industry
Most production units grow from 50,000 to 75,000 birds and have approximately 3.5 grow-out cycles per year.
Large facilities often have a single brooding complex that serves multiple grow-out facilities.
Virtually all turkeys are produced on contract to an integrator.
Turkey hens are marketed between 14 and 16 weeks of age and from 14–18 lbs.
Toms are marketed between 17 and 20 weeks of age and from 26–32 lbs.
Mostly processed further.
Genetic & Breeding Programs
Breeding and selection of poultry differs from breeding of the larger animals in three major ways:
it is more flexible because of short generation intervals and large numbers of offspring;
it has been the industry most subjected to modern animal breeding and selection techniques and has made the most progress;
fewer people make all the decisions.
Favored traits are quantitative traits such as:
egg production potential,
egg size,
growth rate,
conformation.
Traits showing favorable heterosis (hybrid vigor) include egg production, egg weight, body weight, and age at reproductive maturity (days to first egg).
Breeding:
Inbreeding is frequently used.
Outcrossing is the term used in poultry for crossbreeding.
Poultry breeding is handled in an extremely controlled manner with fewer than 100 breeding programs.
Breeds, varieties, and strains:
Generally speaking, chickens are one of two types: meat type or egg type.
Chickens exist in many colors, sizes, and shapes and in more than 350 combinations of these traits.
To identify and classify the species, they are designated by class, breed, variety, and strain.
Group of breeds from the same area Specific set of physical features
Subdivisions of breeds Based on feather color, comb type, and presence of a beard and muffs.
Families more alike than variety
Commercial poultry industry is based primarily on strains and strain crosses.
The American Standard of Perfection is a compilation of the breed standards.
Single Comb White Leghorn: most numerous
Single Comb Rhode Island Red
Barred Plymouth Rock
New Hampshire and White Plymouth Rock were and still are, used to develop many of the synthetic lines of meat-type chickens.
Cornish is an excellent meat-producing chicken – found in all broilers
Turkey Breeds
Descendant of the wild turkeys native to North and Central.
The ASP lists 8 varieties of turkeys, including 7 developed in the U.S.
Large White, Medium White, Small White, and Bronze varieties are generally offered; the Large Whites have come to dominate the industry.
Duck Breeds
Mallard: most popular duck in U.S.
White Pekin: major duck of commercial importance in U.S.
Geese Breeds
The domestic goose, which was bred in ancient Egypt, China, and India, is said to have been in the United States since early colonial days.
The White Emden and Toulouse are the two most popular goose breeds.
The African, Pilgrim, and White Chinese are also raised in significant numbers.
Reproductive Management
Breeder Flock Management
Selected to be healthy and free of defects that can interfere with proper mating and egg production.
Males should be aggressive and willing to breed.
Females should be selected for good egg-laying traits.
Mating Systems
Mass mating—several males are allowed to run with a flock of females.
Pen mating—one male is mated with a small flock of females.
Stud mating—one female is mated with one male.
Artificial insemination—commonly used in turkey production.
Selection and Care of Eggs
Frequent collection of eggs is important.
Eggs laid on the floor or that are dirty should not be used because they spread disease.
Hatching eggs cannot be washed because it removes the protective sealing substance from the shell, allowing bacteria to enter the egg.
Commercial operations fumigate eggs prior to setting to reduce the bacteria on the shells and increase hatchability.
Egg Storage
Stored near 60°F and 75\% humidity to prevent delayed embryo growth and prevent moisture loss.
Incubators
Proper care must be given to relative humidity, temperature fluctuations, ventilation, and other factors to ensure a good hatch.
Eggs must be regularly turned to prevent the embryos from sticking to the sides of the shells.
Testing for Fertility
Candling at 4–7 days of incubation.
Infertile refers to an unfertilized egg or an egg that started developing but died before growth could be detected.
Dead germs are embryos that died after growing large enough to be seen when candled.
Nutrition
Poultry nutrition is more critical, complicated, and thus a greater challenge to the producer because poultry have:
more rapid digestion,
higher metabolic rates,
faster respiration and circulation,
higher body temperature (107°F).
Monogastric omnivores and have a specialized avian tract.
Paired ceca that develop to digest fiber if fed forages.
Poultry and swine generally compete for the same feedstuffs: concentrated feeds such as grains, soybean meal, and by-product feeds.
Feed is the largest cost in production of the poultry species.
Commercial poultry rations are formulated with the use of least-cost ration formulation programs for fast growth.
Poultry species are fed almost exclusively on complete mixed diets that are offered in mash or pelleted (less waste) form.
Health
Concentrated and confined production outbreaks cost millions of lives and huge economic losses=
Biosecurity measures are routinely practiced
Rickets
Abnormal bone development due to dietary calcium or phosphorus deficiency or as a result of inadequate vitamin D intake.
When young birds are affected, they will have stiff gaits, enlarged joints, and stunted growth.
Laying hens with calcium deficiency will produce thin- shelled eggs with low hatchability, followed by decreased egg production.
Newcastle Disease
Contagious infection caused by virulent Newcastle disease virus
Signs of respiratory disease
Marek’s Disease
Viral infection
Highly contagious and easily transmitted
What Influences This Industry?
Low cost Fast Food
Fast-food chicken is available in virtually every fast-food restaurant and even in gas stations.
Nutrition and Health Consciousness
Poultry products are nutritious, are often leaner than alternative meats, and have gained the status of a health-conscious food.