poultry functional anatomy and commercial production Flashcards
broiler breeds
- new hampshire (red)
- brahma (white)
- plymouth rock (brindle)
- cornish game (brown)
- croad langshan (black)
modern broiler lines
mixed breeds selected to be all white (recessive gene) because people don’t like to see dark feathers in super market
layer breeds
- leghorn; white
- rhode; red
60% of turkeys produced in
US and Canada
in the wild male turkeys are much ____ than females
bigger
males; 8-14 kg
females 3.5-7.5 kg
birds have a very high
metabolic rate
- high oxygen demand
- high efficiency to growth and eggs
purpose of feathers
- flight
- insulation from cold and rain
- sensory receptors
- protection
do birds have teeth
no
how is bird waste excretion different from mammals
excreted from only one orifice
what is a chickens crop
muscular bag at bottom of neck, stores feed that the slowly digest throughout the day
birds stomach
two parts:
- proventriculus where digestive enzymes excreted to begin digestion
- gizzard, very muscular and hard
waste orifice name
cloaca
how long does digestion take in a chicken
3 hours, highly efficient
do chickens have a diaphragm
no, they are abdominal breathers
where does the yolk sack attach
meckel’s diverticulum
intestinal feces
firm, white on top (white urate acid crystals) excreted from kidneys
caecal feces
every 8-10 droppings, expulsion from caeca, liquidy, not diarrhea
how much soft (caecal) feces in normal
10%
what may bloody, mucousy, or green feces indicate
coccidia
what may diarrhea look like
more than 10% of poop is soft may indicate diarrhea, may also be foamy
super watery feces may indicate
high water intake or too much salt in diet
common poultry parasites
coccidia, tapeworm, roundworm
describe respiratory system of poultry
one way system, highly efficient but air sacs v susceptible to bacterial and fungal infection
feather barb and barbules
each branch off the “stem” is a barb and the hair like structures of the barb are barbules
stress or fault bars
- light strips on feathers, turns up after stressful events, feather may break, could also be nutritional problem
- easy to see on dark birds
layer production vs broiler production vs breeder farm
eggs, meat, fertile eggs
most chicken meat is produced in
intensive commercial production
backyard layers are what percent of australian flock
2%
most eggs produced. by
intensive commercial production, large movement towards free range due to the consumer
vertical integration
company controls different stages along the supply chain
controls two or more steps of production, processing and marketing, controls management decisions in the production system
australian poultry farming is highly vertically integrated what does this mean
six large integrated companies supply up to 95% of total aus chicken meat
minimizes use of inputs
what are the levels of vertical integration for broilers and turkeys
- breeder parent stock –>
- breeding and multiplication (feed mill, company owned and contract farms go into this level) –>
- hatchery –>
- commercial rearing (feed mill, company owned and contract farms go into this level) –>
- slaughter and processing –>
- distribution
what are the levels of vertical integration for layers
- breeder parent stock –>
- breeding and multiplication (feed mill, company owned and contract farms go into this level) –>
- hatchery
- pullet rearing (feed mill, company owned and contract farms go into this level) –>
- egg laying and production –>
- grading and distribution
on which vertical integrated level is biosecurity the highest
breeder parent stock
how are females bred
AI
broiler intensive system
grown inside purpose- built, environmentally controlled shed
commercially prepared nutrient-specific rations
broiler free range
similar to intensive w access to outdoor range areas
broiler organic
similar to free range but with organically certified rations, no antibiotics used
RSPCA approved farming scheme, how many farms accredited
70-80% of aus meat chickens
how many farms free range
18-20% accredited by free range egg and poultry australia
how many farms are certified organic
less than 1%
how many farms not accredited under any of mentioned schemes (RSPCA, free range or organic)
less than 20%
free range
access to an outdoor area during daylight hours for minimum of 8 hrs per day (exception of bad weather or serious disease outbreak)
