1. Poultry Production

2. Poultry Production Objectives: A. Define common poultry terms B
Poultry Production Objectives: A. Define common poultry terms B. Identify common breeds of chickens C. Compare and contrast broiler and layer chickens D. Describe the poultry reproductive system E. Describe environmental requirements to hatch chicken eggs F. Candle eggs to determine their interior and exterior quality grade.

3. Chick: newly hatched chicken Pullet: Female chicken < 1 year
A. Define common poultry terms
Chick: newly hatched chicken
Pullet: Female chicken < 1 year
Cockerel: Male chicken < 1 year
Capon: Castrated male chicken
Hen: Mature female chicken
Rooster: Mature male chicken

4. White Leghorn Rhode Island Red Barred Rock Araucana
B. Identify common breeds of chickens
White Leghorn
Rhode Island Red
Barred Rock
Araucana

5. Polish Crested Varieties
Some fun breeds…
Silkies
Polish Crested Varieties
Cochins

6. -Hens begin laying eggs around 4 months of age
C. Compare and contrast broiler and layer chickens
Broilers: For Meat
-Broiler chickens are raised primarily for their meat.
-Chickens can be ready to harvest around 6 weeks of age
Layers: For eggs
-Hens begin laying eggs around 4 months of age
-A good hen lays 1 egg a day
-Lay eggs year round
-Production slows in winter

7. Rooster D. Describe the poultry reproductive system Testicles
Vas deferens
Cloaca

8. Testicles: Produce sperm
Vas Deferens: Carries seminal fluid and sperm from testicles to cloaca
Papilla: The organ in the wall of the cloaca that places the sperm inside the female’s reproductive tract 8

9. Hen
Ovary
Magnum
Vagina
Infundibulum
Cloaca
Isthmus
Uterus 9

10. Ovary: Produces the ovum
Infundibulum: Receives yolk from ovary, where sperm is stored, and fertilization takes place
Magnum: Secretes the thick white of the egg
3 Hours
Isthmus: 2 shell membranes are placed around the yolk and thick white
1 ¼ Hours
Uterus: Thin white and outer shell are added to the egg
20 Hours
Vagina: Completed egg is stored for a short time til laid
Total: Hours

11. 2 Magnum 5 Vagina (with egg inside) 3 Isthmus
1 Infundibulum 4 Uterus
2 Magnum 5 Vagina (with egg inside)
3 Isthmus 11

12. Yolk Membrane Germinal Disc Yolk Air Cell Thick White Outer Shell
Egg Processing Video
Yolk Membrane
Germinal Disc
Yolk
Air
Cell
Thick White
Outer Shell
Thick White Membrane
Outer Shell Membrane
Thin White 12

13. Compare Mammalian and Poultry Reproduction
2 functioning ovaries
2 ovaries, but only LEFT ovary functions
Sperm cells are only viable for a short time after depositing into the female
Sperm cells live for atleast 6 days…and as long as days!
Testicles are inside the scrotum on the OUTSIDE of body
Testicles are INSIDE the body cavity
Separate exits for the urinary, digestive, and reproductive tracts
ONE exit from the body (vent) 13

14. E. Describe environmental requirements to hatch chicken eggs
Natural:
Hen lays eggs (1 per day) over period of several days
When she has an adequate nest, she begins to lay on them to keep them warm
After 21 days, the eggs hatch
A hen who is laying on her eggs is referred to as “broody” 14

15. E. Describe environmental requirements to hatch chicken eggs
Artificial Incubation:
Hen lays eggs and they are placed in an incubator
Incubator keeps eggs at proper temperature and humidity
-Temperature: degrees
-Humidity: 60%
Eggs are turned 2 times daily to prevent embryo from sticking to the inside of the shell 15

16. Taste Taste acuity poorer than for mammals
Taste receptors
Humans: 9,000
Rabbits: 17,000
Chicken:
Pigeon: 37-75
Japanese quail: 62
Ducks: 375
Parrots:
Birds can taste the same four primary flavors (sour, sweet, bitter, salty) but with less acuity

17. Smell Sense of smell not well developed in birds
Exceptions: Kiwi, some vultures and seabirds
Flowers and fruits that rely on birds for pollination and seed dispersal - would it be beneficial to the plants to be scented?

18. SKELETAL SYSTEMS
Keel

20. POULTRY VS MAMMALIAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Skeletal system
Differences ?

21. SKELETAL SYSTEMS
Keel

22. SKELETAL SYSTEM
KEEL

23. Birds that have a keel, whether they can fly or not,
are called carinate birds.
KEEL BONE

24. Ratite – No keel bone

25. POULTRY VS MAMMALIAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Respiratory system
Avian lungs are rigid and do not move during respiration (do not inflate and deflate)
Have air sacs
Act as bellows
Some penetrate the interior of bones (pneumatic bones)
Provide buoyancy for aquatic birds

26. HUMANS
Tidal respiration

27. CHICKENS

29. Inspiration
Expiration

30. Avian Genetics Mammals Birds Male XY Female XX
Males determine sex of offspring
Birds
Male ZZ
Female ZW
Females determine sex of offspring

31. POULTRY VS MAMMALIAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
Reproductive system
Consists of duodenum, jejunum, ileum
Duodenum forms a loop around the pancreas
Receives bile and pancreatic secretions
Duodenum ends where the small intestine leaves its association with the pancreas
Jejunum extends from the end of the duodenum to the vitelline diverticulum (Meckel’s diverticulum = the remnant of the yolk sac)
Ileum extends from the Meckel’s diverticulum to the cecal junction
Cecum / ceca
Considerable variation in size
Ranges from voluminous pairs, to a single cecum to complete absence
Highly developed in herbivores and omnivores
Site for microbial fermentation of complex carbohydrates
Large intestine
More accurately referred to as the rectum or colon
Typically very short and small in diameter
Exception is the ostrich where it is >50% of total intestinal length and is sacculated

33. Avian reproductive tract
Ovary
Ruptured follicle
Stigma
Mature ovum
Infundibulum
Oviduct
Magnum
Isthmus
When the yolk comes to full size, it is released from the ovary by the rupture of the follicle along the stigma.
The discharged yolk and its germinal disc are engulfed by the infundibulum, and within ten minutes the journey down the oviduct commences.
It is in the infundibulum that fertilization will occur if the particular ovum is to become a fertile egg. Once the egg has passed through the infundibulum and the layers of albumen have started to be placed on the yolk, fertilization is impossible.
The yolk spends approximately 3 hours in the magnum were the thick albumen is added. This is about half of the total egg white. The remainder of the egg white is added after the shell membranes have been formed and the egg has entered the uterus.
The two shell membranes are formed in the isthmus during a period of 1.25 hours. The shell membranes influence the shape of the egg. However, the yolk and the thick albumen do not have the appearance of an egg until water secreted in the uterus, passes through the shell membranes and the egg assumes its characteristic shape. After the thin albumen has been formed inside the shell membranes and the egg assumes its normal size and shape, two spiral cords of thick albumen can be seen extending from the yolk toward the two poles of the egg. These spirals are known as chalazae.
The egg spends over 20 hours in the uterus, where calcium carbonate is deposited on the outer shell membrane.
When the shell structure is complete, the egg passes into the vagina where it may be retained for a few minutes while a very thin coat of albumen-like material is deposited over the shell. This material is referred to as the bloom or cuticle and functions to fill the pores of the shell.
The egg passes through the oviduct small end first, but just prior to laying the egg turns horizontally 180° so that the large end of the egg comes out first. This allows for more shell surface area on which uterine muscles may apply pressure prior to the egg-laying process.
Uterus/ Shell gland
Part of large intestine
Vagina
Cloaca

34. When the yolk comes to full size, it is released from the ovary by the rupture of the follicle along the stigma.

35. The discharged yolk and its germinal disc are engulfed by the infundibulum, and within ten minutes the journey down the oviduct commences.

36. It is in the infundibulum that fertilization will occur if the particular ovum is to become a fertile egg. Once the egg has passed through the infundibulum and the layers of albumen have started to be placed on the yolk, fertilization is impossible.

37. The yolk spends approximately 3 hours in the magnum where the thick albumen is added. This is about half of the total egg white. The remainder of the egg white is added after the shell membranes have been formed and the egg has entered the uterus.

38. The two shell membranes are formed in the isthmus during a period of 1
The two shell membranes are formed in the isthmus during a period of 1.25 hours. However, the yolk and the thick albumen do not have the appearance of an egg until water secreted in the uterus, passes through the shell membranes and the egg assumes its characteristic shape.

39. The egg spends over 20 hours in the uterus, where calcium carbonate is deposited on the outer shell membrane.

40. When the shell structure is complete, the egg passes into the vagina where it may be retained for a few minutes while a very thin coat of albumen-like material is deposited over the shell. This material is referred to as the bloom or cuticle and functions to fill the pores of the shell.

41. The egg passes through the oviduct small end first, but just prior to laying the egg turns horizontally 180° so that the large end of the egg comes out first. This allows for more shell surface area on which uterine muscles may apply pressure prior to the egg-laying process.

42. Ovary

43. Ovulation
Video

44. Avian reproductive tract
Ovary
Ruptured follicle
Stigma
Mature ovum
Infundibulum
Oviduct
Magnum
Isthmus
When the yolk comes to full size, it is released from the ovary by the rupture of the follicle along the stigma.
The discharged yolk and its germinal disc are engulfed by the infundibulum, and within ten minutes the journey down the oviduct commences.
It is in the infundibulum that fertilization will occur if the particular ovum is to become a fertile egg. Once the egg has passed through the infundibulum and the layers of albumen have started to be placed on the yolk, fertilization is impossible.
The yolk spends approximately 3 hours in the magnum were the thick albumen is added. This is about half of the total egg white. The remainder of the egg white is added after the shell membranes have been formed and the egg has entered the uterus.
The two shell membranes are formed in the isthmus during a period of 1.25 hours. The shell membranes influence the shape of the egg. However, the yolk and the thick albumen do not have the appearance of an egg until water secreted in the uterus, passes through the shell membranes and the egg assumes its characteristic shape. After the thin albumen has been formed inside the shell membranes and the egg assumes its normal size and shape, two spiral cords of thick albumen can be seen extending from the yolk toward the two poles of the egg. These spirals are known as chalazae.
The egg spends over 20 hours in the uterus, where calcium carbonate is deposited on the outer shell membrane.
When the shell structure is complete, the egg passes into the vagina where it may be retained for a few minutes while a very thin coat of albumen-like material is deposited over the shell. This material is referred to as the bloom or cuticle and functions to fill the pores of the shell.
The egg passes through the oviduct small end first, but just prior to laying the egg turns horizontally 180° so that the large end of the egg comes out first. This allows for more shell surface area on which uterine muscles may apply pressure prior to the egg-laying process.
Uterus/ Shell gland
Part of large intestine
Vagina
Cloaca

45. Infundibulum
Video

46. Avian reproductive tract
Ovary
Ruptured follicle
Stigma
Mature ovum
Infundibulum
(Fertilization)
Oviduct
Magnum
(Albumen)
Isthmus
When the yolk comes to full size, it is released from the ovary by the rupture of the follicle along the stigma.
The discharged yolk and its germinal disc are engulfed by the infundibulum, and within ten minutes the journey down the oviduct commences.
It is in the infundibulum that fertilization will occur if the particular ovum is to become a fertile egg. Once the egg has passed through the infundibulum and the layers of albumen have started to be placed on the yolk, fertilization is impossible.
The yolk spends approximately 3 hours in the magnum were the thick albumen is added. This is about half of the total egg white. The remainder of the egg white is added after the shell membranes have been formed and the egg has entered the uterus.
The two shell membranes are formed in the isthmus during a period of 1.25 hours. The shell membranes influence the shape of the egg. However, the yolk and the thick albumen do not have the appearance of an egg until water secreted in the uterus, passes through the shell membranes and the egg assumes its characteristic shape. After the thin albumen has been formed inside the shell membranes and the egg assumes its normal size and shape, two spiral cords of thick albumen can be seen extending from the yolk toward the two poles of the egg. These spirals are known as chalazae.
The egg spends over 20 hours in the uterus, where calcium carbonate is deposited on the outer shell membrane.
When the shell structure is complete, the egg passes into the vagina where it may be retained for a few minutes while a very thin coat of albumen-like material is deposited over the shell. This material is referred to as the bloom or cuticle and functions to fill the pores of the shell.
The egg passes through the oviduct small end first, but just prior to laying the egg turns horizontally 180° so that the large end of the egg comes out first. This allows for more shell surface area on which uterine muscles may apply pressure prior to the egg-laying process.
(Shell membranes)
Uterus/ Shell gland
Part of large intestine
(Water & Shell)
Vagina
(Bloom/cuticle)
Cloaca

48. Avian male reproductive tract
Avian system similar to mammalian system, but testes are located inside the abdominal cavity

49. Questions?