z

Poultry

z

Kinds of Poultry▪ Chickens

▪ Turkeys

▪ Ducks

▪ Geese

▪ Peafowl

▪ Swans

▪ Ratites

▪ Guinea Fowl

z Chicken Terminology

▪ Broiler: A young chicken six to seven

weeks of age that weighs about 4

pounds.

▪ Roaster: A young chicken that is older

and slightly larger than a broiler.

▪ Capon: A male chicken that has been

castrated

▪ Spent Hen: Hen that is no longer

laying

z Terminology Continued

▪ Layer: A mature female chicken

kept to produce eggs

▪ Pullet: A young female chicken

that is being raised for laying

▪ Rooster: A mature male chicken

▪ Cockerel: Male chicken less than

one year of age

z

Chicken▪ Chickens are raised for meat and eggs

▪ The type raised depends on the product wanted

▪ Most chicken is from broilers

▪ Layers can produce almost 300 eggs in a year

▪ In the US ~9 billion broilers are produced each

year

▪ ~99 billion eggs are produced each year

z

White Leghorn

▪ Egg production

▪ White egg shell

▪ Smallest

▪ Mature hens

weighing ~ 4lbs.

▪ Roosters weighing

~6lbs.

z

Barred Plymouth Rocks

▪ Meat and eggs

▪ Brown egg shell

z

New Hampshire

▪ Meat and eggs

▪ Brown egg

shell

z

White Rock

▪ Meat and eggs

▪ Brown egg shell

▪ Among the largest

▪ Hens weighing ~7lbs.

▪ Roosters weighing

~9lbs.

z

Turkey Terminology

▪ Poult: A young

turkey

▪ Tom: A mature

male turkey

▪ Hen: A female

turkey

z

Turkey

▪ Turkeys are raised primarily for meat

▪ Nearly 300 million turkeys are raised each year in the US

▪ Many commercial producers raise more than 100,000

birds on a single farm

▪ Younger and smaller turkeys are roasted whole

▪ Larger turkeys are often made into boneless breasts and

other further processed products

▪ Many turkeys are marketed after 20 weeks of age

z

Ducks

▪ Ducks are raised for

meat, eggs, down, and

feathers

▪ Around 25 million ducks

are raised in the US

▪ Most widely found duck is

the White Pekin

z

Geese Terms

▪ Gosling: A baby goose of

either gender

▪ Gander: Mature male

goose

▪ Hen/Goose: Female

▪ Gaggle: Group of geese

z

Geese

▪ About 1 million geese are

raised in the US each year

▪ Raised for meat, eggs,

feathers, and down

▪ Geese are hardy birds

and resist many poultry

diseases

z

Peafowl

▪ Peacock: Male

▪ Peahen: Female

▪ Raised for their

large beautiful

feathers

▪ Male feathers may

be up to 5 times

the length of the

body

z

Ratites

▪ Ostrich, emu,

rhea,

cassowary, and

kiwi

▪ Raised for

feathers, meat,

skin, and oil

products

z

Swans and Guinea Fowl

▪ Kept for ornamental and

novelty purposes

▪ Swans are often kept at

resort and similar locations

▪ Guinea fowl are kept to stock

game preserves