Poultry Flashcards
4 reasons why chicken so widely consumed.
Source of protein
Low in fat
Less environmental impacts than red meat
Cheap
Lifespan of laying hen?
At what age do they start laying?
Around 1 year lifespan.
From around 16 weeks old.
How does veterinary care work in the poultry industry?
Bigger production companies likely have their own in-house vets, whereas smaller production farms may use independent vets.
What are important factors for larger scale production to pay attention to?
Food security
Disease control
Environmental factors
What is the most common breed of duck? – describe it.
Peking – white with orange beak.
What colour is a broiler usually?
What do they usually look like?
White.
Chunky with large leg and breast muscles.
What colour is a laying hen usually?
Describe.
Brown.
Not as chunky with smaller breast and leg muscles.
What do grandparent and parent flocks produce?
What do laying hens produce?
What is a pullet?
Broilers and layers.
Produce eggs we eat.
A young hen of less
When did enriched cages come into effect?
When were battery cages banned?
2003.
2012.
What is the benefit of enrichment cages?
What direction is the poultry industry heading in?
More space per bird.
More access to other resources.
Poultry industry heading towards free range farming.
What do poultry farms require a high level of to get started?
Labour requirements?
What is the most important unit cost?
High level of financial capital.
Low labour.
Feed most important unit cost.
What animals come under poultry?
Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, quails, pheasants.
At what age are broiler chickens slaughtered?
How are broilers mostly kept?
5-6 weeks old.
Loose housed in indoor barns.
Who is the egg market controlled by?
What are the production types for egg production?
Who is the broiler market controlled by?
What is the main production type in broiler production?
Major egg packers.
Contract production and company owned farms.
Processors control broiler market.
Nearly all contract.
Who control the turkey market?
When is the turkey market most significant?
Who produce duck meat?
How many large integrated companies produce duck eggs?
2 large integrators control turkey market.
Christmas.
2 large integrated companies.
3.
What does it mean for the poultry industry to be integrated?
Major companies now own/contract hire farms to grow broilers or rear hens.
They specify type of chick to be grown, diet, vac programme.
Often own are are in association with feed mills.
Check weight and health before slaughter.
Told when crop will be harvested.
Main companies for laying hens?
Main companies for broilers?
Main companies for turkey?
Main companies for duck meat?
Main companies for duck eggs?
Stonegate, Noble Foods, The Lakes, Glenrath Farms, Oaklands, Fridays, Fairburns.
Two-Sisters, Vion, Faccenda, Cranberry, Sun Valley Foods, Moy Park.
Bernard Matthews, Faccenda.
Cherry Valley, Gressingham (do goose meat).
Watercress Lane, Noble Foods, Stonegate.
How many poultry genetics companies are there uk?
What breeds a layers dominate the UK market?
6.
Hyline, Lohmann, Novogen.
How many in the UK parent stock?
How many genetics companies for broilers?
What breeds of broilers domniate the UK market and what companies are associated with them?
200,000
4.
Cobbs (Cobb Breeding Company) and Rosses (Aviagen).
Breeder companies for turkeys?
Breeder company for ducks?
Breeder company for geese?
Turkeys = British United and Nicholas Turkeys (Aviagen).
Ducks = Cherry Valley.
Geese = Gressingham.
How much space per bird in conventional cages?
What other resources are included in enriched cages?
550cm squared.
Nest areas, perches and scratching areas.
Features of furnished cages?
Barns separated into many small cages.
Large, closed buildings where temp, lighting, ventilation, food and water are carefully controlled.
Describe barn housing?
Large barn that is closed where temp, lighting, ventilation, food and water are carefully controlled. Hens are loose.
Describe free range housing.
Barn, with access to outside via ‘popholes’. Always have access to outside with adequate vegetation and cover in day.
What percentage of broilers are housed indoor?
Describe standard indoor broiler housing.
How many birds would be housed in a standard indoor broiler house?
94%.
Large, closed buildings with control over temp, ventilation, lighting, feed, water.
25,000-50,000 birds.
Describe improved indoor broiler housing.
Natural light through windows. Reduced stocking densities with environmental enrichment.
Describe free range broiler housing.
Access to outdoor range area for part of lives via ‘popholes’ in side of building.
Describe organic broiler housing.
Access to outdoor range for 2/3 of life. Use of enrichments like perches advised inside.
What is the maximum stocking density for all broilers?
33kg/m squared UNLESS certain extra stipulations are complied with eg greater requirements on record keeping and environment maintenance.
What are turkey producer allowed to do?
What are usually left on the turkey’s neck? and why?
Allowed to slaughter birds and ‘dress’ them, or even leave birds ‘uneviscerated’ until point of sale.
Black feathers left to show dark colour of them.
What percentage turkeys housed indoors?
Describe standard indoor turkey housing. How many housed?
95%.
Reared on floor of large purpose-built sheds or converted farm buildings.
Up to 25,000 birds housed.
Describe pole barn housing.
What percentage of turkeys free range?
Describe free range turkey housing.
Upper part of the house walls open to allow natural light and air.
5% free range.
Turkeys have access to outdoor range area.
What products come from ducks and geese?
What goose are the geese derived from?
What are the ducks used derived from?
Eggs, meat, feathers, fatty liver (Foie Gras).
Greylag goose.
Wild mallard and Muscovy ducks.
Differences between swans & geese and ducks?
Swans and geese moult once a year but ducks moult twice per year.
Swans and geese tend to feed on ground but ducks tend to feed on water.
Swans and geese males and females tend to be same colour but ducks are dimorphic.
Duck stocking densities:
1d-10d on slatted.
1d-10d on solid littered.
10d-3w on slatted.
10d-3w on solid littered.
3w-8w on slatted.
3w-8w on solid littered.
Stocking density of free range ducks?
1-10d sl – 50/m squared
1-10d sol – 36/m squared
10d-3w sl – 25/m squared
10d-3w sol – 14/m squared.
3w-8w – 8/m squared
3w-8w sol – 7/m squared.
2,500 ducklings per hectare.
How is lighting used to bring birds into lay?
How can use of lighting keep birds calm?
How much dark time allowed for broilers?
How much dark time for layers and turkeys?
How many hours of light usually for layers in 24 hour period?
What day length to bring layers into lay?
Used to increase day length.
Dusk and dawn dimming.
6 hours dark for broilers.
8 hours dark for layers.
10-12 hours of light.
16 hours day length to lay.
What light flicker frequencies can a chicken detect up to?
90-100Hz.
List factors affecting the performance of poultry.
Genetics
Nutrition
Sex
Age
Water quality and availability
Temperature
Environmental pollution eg ammonia
Stockmanship
Stocking density
Disease and welfare.
What should the house temperature for layers be?
What should the humidity of the layer house be?
What should the layer house light intensity be?
What should the ammonia concentration be in the layer house?
What should CO2 levels be in layer house?
17-25 C for adults depending on system of production.
40-60% (up to 70-75% for short periods)
At least 10 lux. Nest boxes should be <1 lux.
<20ppm ammonia.
<3000ppm CO2.
What should the broiler house temp be?
What should the broiler house humidity be?
What should the light intensity be in the broiler house?
What should the ammonia conc be in broiler housing?
Carbon dioxide level?
Must be >3C above outside temp when outside temp exceeds 30C.
Must not exceed 70C when the outside temp is <10C.
At least 20 lux.
<20ppm ammonia.
<3000ppm CO2.
What is the thermal comfort zone defined as?
Conditions in which a bird is likely to be able to maintain body temp and not work excessively hard to do so eg by shivering when too cold or panting when too hot.
How long is the process of egg laying?
Describe process.
22-26hrs.
1.Yolk released by the ovary.
2. Yolk enters oviduct where fertilisation would take place.
3. Albumen forms around yolk in the oviduct.
4. Yolk and albumen held together by a thin membrane.
5. Shell added by the shell gland in the uterus.
6. Egg laid via the cloaca.
How long is the egg an ‘incubator’ for a chick?
What do the pores in the egg shell allow for?
What percentage lipid and protein is the yolk of an egg?
What percentage protein in the albumen?
21 days.
Pores allow movement of water vapour and gas exchange of O2 and CO2.
~33% lipid, 17% protein in yolk.
~ 10% protein in albumen.
What is the weight of a small egg?
What is the weight of a medium egg?
What is the weight of a large egg?
What is the weight of a very large egg?
<53g small.
53-63g medium
63-73g large.
>73g very large.
How many eggs might a red jungle fowl lay per year?
~20 eggs.
What are the negative effects of cage housing?
Cage layer fatigue.
Lack of performance of normal behaviour such as foraging and dust bathing.
Loss of freedom of movement, exercise, undisturbed rest ad escape.
Frustration, injurious pecking and mislaying of eggs.
What are welfare concerns of laying hens in free range housing?
Keel damage
Injurious pecking
Mortality
What seems to be the main cause of keel damage?
What can keel damage cause?
How can keel damage be avoided?
collisions with furnishings around the laying house eg perches that are fixed and raised.
Can cause pain and reduced mobility and reduced productivity.
By understanding how the birds move around the house, making sure common flight paths are not obstructed, provide ramps so chickens can move between levels more easily, consider perch design.
What is gently feather pecking?
What is severe feather pecking?
What is cannibalism?
What is vent pecking?
What are the productive negatives of pecking?
What is the root cause of feather pecking?
Pecking at tips of feather of flock mate.
Pecking and pulling at feather of flock mates, sometime with feather removal.
Pecking at the skin and underlying tissue of flock mates.
Cannibalism localised at the vent.
Increased feed consumption, increased mortality, decreased production.
Feather pecking is redirected foraging behaviour due to poor litter, lack of foraging opportunity, inappropriate diet, underuse of range, exacerbated stress, breed variation.
What is the aim of beak trimming?
What percentage of the beak should be removed?
At what age should this take place?
What are the different methods used?
What are welfare implication of beak trimming?
to blunt the tip of the beak to make it less damaging.
<33% removed.
Before chick is 10d old.
Hot or cold blade, robotic, chemical, laser.
Acute/chronic pain, behavioural change.
What are short term effects of beak trimming?
What are log term effects of beak trimming?
Acute pain, tight restraint, suspension by head, distress.
Sensory deprivation, neuroanatomical effects, less active, less pecking behaviour, eating less, slower growth.
Issues with hot blade trimming?
Advantages of infrared trimming.
-Possible formation of neuromas
-Shorter beaks
-Scar tissue
-No open wound
-Reduced operator error
-Gradual change in beak shape
-Reduced stress
-Reduced feather pecking
-Improved feather conditions
-Improved feeding behaviour
When was there a plan for beak trimming to be banned?
2010.
What legislates beak trimming across the EU?
EU Council Directive.
How feather pecking be avoided?
Keep movement between housing as stress free as possible – match lighting, feed type and height, feed times and perching types and system, flooring, avoid mixing diff groups.
Carefully plan onset to lay – onset at <19w old increases feather pecking.
Allow access to range earlier to increase use, access to shelter.
Access to good litter, foraging opportunities – hay, straw, alfalfa blocks
Encourage routine with lighting, staggered lighting.
Dust baths.
Adequate feed.
Parasite and disease control.
Consider the effects of the mix of individuals.
Enrichment.
Verandas.
What are the main causes of mortality in free range systems?
Disease
Predation
Smothering
Injurious pecking
What parts of the chicken are used for meat?
Breast, leg and wing muscles.
What are the production and welfare concerns for broilers?
- Their rapid growth weight can cause heart defects and lameness.
- The performance of their normal behaviour relies on their space allowance and facilities they are provided with.
- Foot pad dermatitis/ pododermatitis/ hock burn.
- Breeding flocks: Mating injury and hunger.
What EU legislation applies to broiler, when did it come into effect and what flock types does it apply to?
Broiler Directive.
30th June 2010.
Applies to flocks of >500 birds (non organic, free range, parent flocks, chick brooding, and hatching)
What are the requirements for the max 33kg/m squared SD?
Minimise drinker spillage; feed ad lib, provide dry friable litter; minimise noise levels; max light intensity 20 lux; at least 6hrs darkness (4 continuous); 2 daily flock inspections; thorough cleaning; comprehensive records of numbers, mortality rates; and usable area per bird.
What is the higher max stocking density allowance for systems that meet more stringent requirements?
What are these more stringent requirements?
What could an even higher SD be with even more stringent conditions.
39kg/m squared.
Must inform competent authority (APHA); record detailed technical house info, ammonia not exceeding 20ppm, CO2 not exceeding 3000ppm, house temp never exceeding 3C more than outside temp (when 30C or more); relative humidity <70% when <10C outside.
42kg/m squared.
Who checks the chicken in the abattoir and what do they check for?
Where is the data returned to?
What data is collected?
What will an exceeded score trigger?
What could be the result of this in future?
- Vet checks fir health and welfare problems.
- FSA (Food Standards Agency).
- PM inspection to check for contact dermatitis, parasitism, systemic illnesses.
-Triggers an alert to the productions company/farm.
-Reduced stocking densities in future.
What is used to assess lameness?
What effect may lameness have on production? why?
What is the result of rapid broiler growth rate? – What is the solution?
What is foot pad dermatitis/hock burn?
–Cause? – solution?
-Bristol gait score.
-Reduced production – may not be able to reach food, so reduced growth and increased mortality.
-Causes broken limbs and rickets. – Keep birds active with enrichments and perches and select for breeds with lower lameness incidence.
-Lesions on the feet and legs.
-Caused by wet litter and inappropriate litter materials. – Solve by use of wood shavings, good drainage and management and appropriate ventilation to control humidity.
What does ventilation control?
What does high humidity cause?
When is dust hazardous to health?
-humidity and air quality.
-causes wet litter and heat stress due to difficulty to thermoregulate.
-When it is present in the air at conc >10mg/m cubed of inhalable dust.
What causes high ammonia levels?
What does the combo of dust and ammonia cause?
Wet litter.
Resp disease, infectious bronchitis, mycoplasma, infectious Coryza.
Requirements for minimum ventilation?
What is the minimum ventilation for all classes of poultry?
Supply fresh air for O2, remove sufficient CO2, moisture and air pollutants.
2m cubed of air per second per tonne of feed consumed daily.
In breeding, what is red jungle fowl courtship behaviour?
Feather ruffling, waltzing, crowing, tidbitting, high step advance, wing-flapping.
What issue can occur to hen in mating?
Damage to feather condition due to aggressive mating.
How is obesity overcome in broiler breeders?
What is the feed intake of broiler breeder in rear?
What is the feed intake of broiler breeder in laying period?
Feed restriction
25-33% ad lib intake.
50-90% ad lib intake.
What are indicators of hunger and stress in feed restricted broiler breeders?
Hyperactivity
Pacing
Stereotypic pecking
Over drinking
High feeding motivation
Increased plasma corticosterone
Increased heterophil/lymphocyte ratio in blood.
Solution to hunger in broiler breeders?
Environmental enrichment
Scatter feeding – foraging
Diluted feed eg with oat hulls.
What are welfare concerns for turkeys with lack of space? – solutions?
Foot pad lesions, heat stress
– Solve with litter management, good ventilation, and thinning (remove Fs at 18w to give more room for bigger males.
What are welfare concerns for turkeys that cannot perform normal behaviour?
–solution?
Injurious pecking, frustration and stress.
–Solve with enrichments, beak trimming, low light levels.
