EXPLORING POULTRY AND POULTRY PRODUCTS

OBJECTIVE 1: Understand the types of animals that are considered to be poultry. A. Poultry is fowl, or birds, that have been domesticated or kept by humans. Examples: chickens, turkeys, ducks, ostriches, emus, quail, pigeons, pheasants, and geese.

OBJECTIVE 1 continued B. Poultry animals produce meat, feathers, and eggs. C. Most common poultry in U.S. = Chickens and turkeys

OBJECTIVE 2: Discuss the chicken industry. The chicken industry primarily produces meat and eggs from chickens. A. Most birds in the chicken industry are purchased as chicks (baby chickens) and kept in long, low buildings.

B. There are two types of chickens—layers and broilers. OBJECTIVE 2 continued B. There are two types of chickens—layers and broilers. Layers -raised to lay eggs. Layers need at least 4 pounds of feed to produce a dozen eggs. 2. Broilers - fed to produce meat.

C. Chickens must be fed properly to produce. Chicken feed- is a mixture of corn, sorghum, wheat, and other grains. Chickens swallow their food whole and use a strong, muscular organ, called a gizzard, to grind the food into smaller pieces. Layers need grit in their diets to be able to form the shell of the egg. Grit - small pieces of granite added to the chicken feed.

D. Egg production is an important part of the chicken industry. 1. The average American family eats about 250 eggs per year. 2. It takes hens just over one day to produce an egg. 3. After eggs are laid they are quickly moved to a plant that washes, measures, grades, and packages the eggs for sale. 4. Most eggs are in the grocery store about 72 hours after they are laid.

OBJECTIVE 3: Discuss the turkey industry. The turkey industry produces over 275 million turkeys in this country each year. Turkeys are raised mostly for meat.

OBJECTIVE 3 continued Producers who raise turkeys to lay eggs sell the poults (baby turkeys) as soon as they hatch to the producers who will feed them for meat production. Turkey eggs are light brown with dark speckles.

OBJECTIVE 3 continued While wild turkeys are mostly brown and have colorful feathers, domesticated turkeys, those that are raised by humans, are white with a red head and neck. Turkey feed is a mixture of corn and soybeans with extra vitamins and minerals mixed in. Toms (male turkeys) will eat about 80 pounds of feed before they reach market weight.