What is Poultry?

What is Poultry?

• Poultry refers to domestic birds raised for their meat, eggs, or feathers.
• Common types of poultry include chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese.

Class, Breed or Variety

• A class is a group of breeds with common characteristics.
• A breed of poultry is a group of birds with distinctive characteristics.
• A variety is a subdivision of a breed, differing in features such as feather color, comb type, size, beards, muffs, and/or feathers on legs.

Life Cycle of a Chicken

• Chickens start as eggs laid by hens.
• Eggs are incubated for 21 days, either by a sitting hen or in an incubator.
• Chicks hatch from eggs after 21 days.
• Chicks grow into adult chickens, and hens lay more eggs to continue the cycle.
• A cock's fertilization of eggs creates embryos.

Poultry Digestion

• The crop is an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat.
• The proventriculus acts as the true stomach of a bird.
• The gizzard is an organ in the digestive tract of a chicken.

Health

• Ideal living conditions temperature: 50-75°F for adult birds.
• Normal bird temperature: 105 to 109°F.
• Normal heart rate: 220-360 beats per minute.
• Normal respiratory rate: 12-37 breaths per minute.

Signs of an Unhealthy Bird

• Missing feathers
• Cloudy, dull eyes
• Sneezing
• Panting
• Lethargy
• Reduced feed intake
• Decreased egg production
• Temperature control is crucial to prevent heat stress.

What is Poultry?

• Poultry refers to domestic birds raised for their meat, eggs, or feathers.
• Common types of poultry include chickens, ducks, turkeys, and geese.

Class, Breed or Variety

• A class is a group of breeds with common characteristics.
• A breed of poultry is a group of birds with distinctive characteristics.
• A variety is a subdivision of a breed, differing in features such as feather color, comb type, size, beards, muffs, and/or feathers on legs.

Life Cycle of a Chicken

• Chickens start as eggs laid by hens.
• Eggs are incubated for 21 days, either by a sitting hen or in an incubator.
• Chicks hatch from eggs after 21 days.
• Chicks grow into adult chickens, and hens lay more eggs to continue the cycle.
• A cock's fertilization of eggs creates embryos.

Poultry Digestion

• The crop is an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat.
• The proventriculus acts as the true stomach of a bird.
• The gizzard is an organ in the digestive tract of a chicken.

Health

• Ideal living conditions temperature: 50-75°F for adult birds.
• Normal bird temperature: 105 to 109°F.
• Normal heart rate: 220-360 beats per minute.
• Normal respiratory rate: 12-37 breaths per minute.

Signs of an Unhealthy Bird

• Missing feathers
• Cloudy, dull eyes
• Sneezing
• Panting
• Lethargy
• Reduced feed intake
• Decreased egg production
• Temperature control is crucial to prevent heat stress.

Learn about poultry, including types, breeds, and varieties of domestic birds raised for meat, eggs, or feathers.