Chicken Composition of Chicken Water ______ Protein ______ Fat ______

Receiving Chicken Smell- reject strong odors ______- if slimy do not accept Smell- reject strong odors Temperature- has to be under ______

Conformation Size, Shape, Yield Quality conditions ______- check for proper amount of skin Quality conditions No blood clots No bruises No broken bones No pin feathers, or missing parts

Federal Grades Shape of carcass Amount of fat and flesh ____________ Shape of carcass Amount of fat and flesh Pin feathers, tears, bruises Not stamped on like beef, ____________

Free Range Chickens are raised with freedom to move around and eat outdoors Some feel the quality is worth the extra cost No legal definition of “Free Range”

5 Classes of Chicken ___________ 1 lb 6 weeks Youngest Dry cooked

5 Classes of Chicken ___________ 2 ¼ to 2 ½ lbs 8 weeks old Dry cooking Frying

5 Classes of Chicken ___________ 3 ½ lbs 8-10 weeks old Dry cooking

5 Classes of Chicken ___________ 3 ½ to 4 lbs 3 to 8 months Capon is a roaster $$$ Expensive More white meat, higher yield

5 Classes of Chicken ___________ 4-6 lbs Older than 10 months Moist cook Rooster (male) Hen or Fowl (female)

Packaging ___________ Advantages Disadvantages Easy to open Easy to check quality Disadvantages Hard to check weight

MAP Advantages Disadvantages Easy to weigh Less space Dry Can not check quality Smell, touch

IQF Individual Quick Frozen Advantages Disadvantages Inventory $$$ Frozen quality

Light –vs- Dark Light meat (breast and wings) Dark meat (legs) Less ___________ Cooks ___________ Dark meat (legs) More ___________ Longer to ___________

FIRST COMES THE EGG Everything starts with a broiler hatching egg. Meat chickens are specially bred to be meaty birds and they're quite different from the chickens who lay the eggs we buy at the store.

Laying the Eggs Broiler breeding hens lay fertilized eggs (about 150-155 in a year) at breeder farms. Within 6-12 hours of hatching, the chicks are put into heated trucks and taken to the chicken farms.

Barns Meat chickens are raised in large, specially designed barns. These barns are heated and ventilated to provide the proper temperature, humidity and air circulation.

Free Range They roam freely around the entire barn floor which is covered with soft, dry straw.

Sanitation After each flock, the barn and equipment are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.

Feeding Chickens Chicken feed is specially made to meet all of the nutritional needs of a chicken. The main ingredient in chicken food is grain, usually a blend of wheat, corn and barley, so all chickens are "grain fed".

Drugs? No hormones are used in the raising of chickens.

Check-up Most chickens are ready to be marketed when they are 37 to 39 days old and weigh just under 3 lbs. They are shipped to the processing companies in trucks designed for carrying poultry. At the processing company, every chicken is checked by an inspector.

Useless Knowledge How fast can a chicken run? 9 miles per hour

Useless Knowledge What is the record for laying the most eggs 7 in one day

Useless Knowledge There are approximately ________ chickens in the United States. 450 million

Useless Knowledge The term 'Chicken Pox' didn't come from people believing that they came from chickens, it came from the Old English term 'gican pox' - which means the itching pox.

Useless knowledge The longest recorded flight of a chicken is how long? 13 seconds, 301 1/2 feet