1. Agriculture: Genetics and Quota

2. Broilers (Meat Birds)  White rocks are the most common breed  Convert feed into muscle  Most muscle is on the breast, wings and upper legs (drumstick)  the most expensive meat and easiest to prepare  Costco $3.39/lb for boneless chicken breasts 56 day old broiler

3. Broilers almost ready for processing

4. Production  Processed at approx. 45-55 days old (8 weeks)  Under right conditions, broilers will gain 1/10 th of a pound per day  99.99% of broilers in Ontario are housed indoors  22 ° C, all the water and feed they can drink. Lights always on. Lets put on the weight!  Lets take a tour of a modern broiler barn Lets take a tour of a modern broiler barn Day old chick

5. Quota  Defined – governing body sells or buys “chicken units” to regulate supply and demand  Ontario chicken quota began in 1965 as a way to maintain “fair” prices for farmers.  Quota was given to producers based on barn sq/ft per farm  Currently chicken quota is $160 / bird unit with the smallest needing to produce 91 000 chickens per year to qualify  Simply, you need $ 2.4 million just to think about commercial chicken farming  You may keep under 300 birds without quota Source: Sustain Ontario

6. Production within Ontario  All decisions are governed by the Chicken Farmers of Ontario (CFO)  1, 114 commercial chicken farmers  195 million chickens produced in 2012 or 175 000 chickens/farm  In 2012, 12 new farmers were welcomed into the chicken business. HORRAY!  10 farmers were either in the chicken business through family already or sold dairy quota Source: Chicken Farmers of Ontario

7. Laying Hens – the Egg Producers White Leghorns Black Sex Links ISA Reds

8. Laying Hen Production  Laying hen production begins at 20-25 weeks of age  She will lay 320-340 eggs/year in her first year  A grade A egg weighs 56 grams  Or 1/32 of her body weight  After she reaches 1 year of age she moults she is removed and make way for the next batch  Moulting is when chickens loose their old feathers and grow new ones.

9. Production Continued  All commercial eggs must be candled and graded like thisthis  430 egg producers in Ontario producing over 200 million dozen eggs annually (2.4 billion)  Layer quota is $250 per bird unit.  As long as your are under 100 birds, you are exempt from quota  Conventional Housing –vs Free range housing Conventional Housing Free range housing  This is not allowed in Canada but should be… Where the best eggs are made Where the best eggs are made

10. Raising Chickens Outdoors  Excellent way to keep grass cut and improve the quality of your grass  Chickens manure is 65% nitrogen = green grass  Chickens eat most kitchen scraps (meats, salads, rice)  Do not like citrus rinds, but love chicken

11. Salatin moving a bottomless broiler pen

12. Salatin’s chicken pasture from the air – notice the colour of the land

13. Predators - foxes

14. Hawks and Owls Northern Harriers/Great Horned Owls Typical hawk attack – head missing

15. Predators - mink

16. Bylaws – Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo  Currently chickens are not allowed in many Canadian cities reasons because city officials think they  Attract rats, are noisy, smell etc.  The real reason city officials do not allow this is because of misinformation.  Hens are allowed in all U.S major cities including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles along with Victoria and Vancouver in Canada.

17. Try it!  "Until a person's spent time with them, you just don’t know what you're missing. They’re hilarious. They’re awesome pets -- pets with benefits, because the eggs are tremendous." She also appreciates their appetite for insects. "Good luck to any mosquito that tries to lay an egg -- they will find it!" she says. "I look at having chickens as a way things ought to be. I look at them as an extension of my kitchen."  Kelly, who prefers not to give his last name due to hen security, is another urban chicken keeper who got started in "the search for a better egg," he says. Now, his four hens give him at least 20 eggs a week; his children (ages five and seven) collect them daily. "For us, it’s not a matter of saving money; it's an issue of sustainable food, and delicious food." Henonyomous, May 8 th, 2013 http://www.yongestreetmedia.ca/features/backyardchickens05082013.aspx