Poultry Beginner study guide.docx

**What is Poultry?** - **Poultry refers to the 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 used to describe the way in which a group of breeds is...

**What is Poultry?** - **Poultry refers to the 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 used to describe the way in which a group of breeds is lumped together.** - **A breed of poultry is a group of birds that have common distinctive characteristics.** - **A variety is a subdivision of a breed. Varieties may have different feather colors, comb types, sizes, beards, muffs and/or feathers on legs.** **Life Cycle of a Chicken** - **Chickens start as eggs laid by hens** - **The eggs are kept warm in a nest, either by a hen sitting on them or in an incubator.** - **After the 21 days, chicks hatch from the eggs.** - **Chicks grow into adult chickens, and the hens lay more eggs to continue the cycle, a cock fertilize eggs to create embryos** **Poultry digestion** - Crop -- an expanded, muscular pouch near the gullet or throat. - Proventriculus -- acts as the true stomach of a bird. - Gizzard -- an organ found in the digestive tract of a chicken. **Health** - Temperature of the living conditions: 50-75°F for adult birds - Temperature of the bird: 105 to 109°F - Heart rate: 220-360 beats per minute - 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 is a very important to prevent heat stress **[\ ]** **Anatomy of a Chicken**