PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD, AND NATURAL RESOURCES 12 – TECHNICAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS RELATED TO ANIMAL SCIENCE C- BREEDS AND CLASSES OF LIVESTOCK An Overview of the Poultry Industry

Structure of the Poultry Industry Vertical integration: all aspects of the industry are owned by the same company For example: Tyson or Sanderson Farms own their own feed mill, hatchery, and processing plants, trucking fleet, employ their own veterinarians, etc. No middle man; reduces costs of paying a third party TEA Educational Excellence Project

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Broiler Industry Today, almost all market broilers are raised in large operations The term broiler refers to chickens which finish about 7-8 weeks of age and are raised for meat Broilers are being developed to finish more quickly TEA Educational Excellence Project

Broiler Houses raised in large houses where the birds spend most of their lives designed to provide the ultimate in environmental conditions for the comfort of the birds. generally lighted 24 hours a day helps cut down on cannibalism TEA Educational Excellence Project

Broiler Production Meat-type birds Breed cross- White Cornish x White Plymouth Rock Go to market at 6-7weeks of age Males weigh about 7 lbs Females weigh about 5 Birds are mostly white Americans consume about 88 lbs./year of broilers per capita TEA Educational Excellence Project

Egg Production White Leghorn breed Only used for egg production Sexually mature at 20 weeks of age Weigh about 3.5 lbs Lay 250 eggs a year Americans consume about 250 eggs per capita annually TEA Educational Excellence Project

Turkey Industry The sale of turkey is second to chicken in the overall sale of poultry meat. Turkey represents a high quality, low cost, nutritious source of food protein. One third of all turkey sales occur during the weeks around Thanksgiving and Christmas. TEA Educational Excellence Project

Turkey Industry The modern market turkey is a descendant of the wild turkey and is result of a mutation which left out the gene for feather and skin pigmentation. Heavy muscled, broad breasted birds have been developed. Most market turkeys are white-feathered TEA Educational Excellence Project

Turkey Production Broad-Breasted White breed or strain Meat production Market at weeks of age Males at 45 lbs Females at 30 lbs Americans consume approximately 20 lbs of turkey per capita annually Natural mating is difficult due to the weight of the birds Turkey breeder females are bred artificially – AI’ed TEA Educational Excellence Project

Where are the birds? TEA Educational Excellence Project

Ticket out of the Door 1. Mr. Jones just bought a White Leghorn for his chicken operation. What type of production is the White Leghorn used for? 2. Your dad just bought a White Cornish male x White Plymouth Rock cross. He’s not sure what he should use this chicken for. What do you think? 3. Mrs. Dillon owns a poultry operation. He produces meat type birds that reach about 5-7 lbs. at market weight. What type of operation is this? 4. Johnny lives in the top producing broiler state. He always drives around sees chicken houses and long metal buildings. He also smells them quite often. In what state does Johnny live? 5. Tiffany lives in the top turkey producing state. Turkeys are always a popular product at Tiffany’s Thanksgiving and Christmas celebrations. In what state does Tiffany live? TEA Educational Excellence Project

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