Poultry Lab Flashcards

1
Q

Egg Laying Breeds

A
  • tend to be small-bodied
  • focus on eggs produced, not growth
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2
Q

Meat Chickens

A
  • hybrid varieties bred to grow faster w/ more efficient feed conversion ratio
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3
Q

Egg Industry

A
  • 2017: 276 eggs per capita (US)
  • US egg production was 10% of world egg supply
  • 7.44 billion eggs in Aug 2016
  • 302 million laying hens and 76.7 eggs per 100 layers in 2016
  • today: 188 egg-producing companies
  • flocks above 75,000
  • 64 w/ flocks above 1M
  • 18 w/ flocks above 5M
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4
Q

Meat Industry

A
  • chicken is #1 protein consumed in US
  • US consumes more chicken than rest of world (90+ lbs per capita)
  • top 5 broiler producing states: Georgia, Arkansas, Alabama, NC, Mississippi
  • 25,000 family farmers have production contracts w/ meat chicken companies
  • 95% of broiler chickens are produced on family farms
  • 5% produced on company-owned farms
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5
Q

Leghorn

A
  • egg breed
  • Tuscany origins
  • white eggs; white ear lobes
  • avg of 280 eggs/yr (sometimes btwn 300-320)
  • most eggs weigh a minimum of 55 g
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6
Q

Rhode Island Red

A
  • egg breed
  • Rhode Island and Massachusetts origin
  • brown eggs; red ear lobes
  • distinct mahogany red colored feathers
  • heavy breed
  • dual-purpose
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7
Q

Silkie

A
  • egg breed
  • Asian origin
  • blue ear lobes, black skin and bones, five toes on each foot
  • very docile breed, calm and friendly
  • feathers lack functioning barbicels (so similar to down in other birds)
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8
Q

Araucana

A
  • egg breeds
  • Chile origins
  • “Easter Egger”
  • lays blue or green eggs
  • distinct ear-tufts and rump-less (no tail or tailbone)
  • Ameraucana is a derivative breed that is bearded, muffed, and tailed
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9
Q

Cornish x Plymouth Rock

A
  • meat breed
  • meat chickens are usually cross between Cornish males and Plymouth Rock females
  • hybrid vigor
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10
Q

Vertical Integration

A
  • common production style in meat industry
  • growers enter agreement with chicken processer to raise broilers and are guaranteed market (avoiding risk of being unable to sell product)
  • over 90% of all meat chickens in US are raised by independent farmers working under contract w/ integrated chicken production and processing companies
  • see lab manual pg. 91
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11
Q

Pullet

A
  • female chicken < 1 yr old
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12
Q

Hen

A
  • female chicken > 1 yr
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13
Q

Chick

A
  • young chicken
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14
Q

Cockerel

A
  • male chicken < 1 yr old
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15
Q

Cock

A
  • male chicken > 1 yr
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16
Q

Broody

A
  • hen wants to sit on eggs to hatch them
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17
Q

Haugh Unit

A
  • unit to measure egg quality based on height of thick albumen (thick egg white)
  • the higher the Haugh value, the better the egg’s quality
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18
Q

Candle

A
  • to examine inside contents of an egg w/ the use of a light
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19
Q

Molt

A
  • part of a hen’s reproductive cycle when she stops laying and loses body feathers
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20
Q

Sex-Linked

A
  • male chicks are different color than female chicks in certain breeds
21
Q

Straight Run

A
  • unsexed batch of chicks
22
Q

Capon

A
  • surgically castrated male chicken
  • < 4 mo old when castrated
23
Q

Cornish Game Hen

A
  • young, immature chicken of either sex
  • < 5 weeks old
  • ready-to-cook carcass weight of not more than 0.91 kg (2 lbs)
24
Q

Broiler/Fryer

A
  • young chicken of either sex
  • < 10 weeks old
  • tender-meated w/ soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin, and flexible breastbone cartilage
25
Q

Roaster

A
  • young chicken of either sex
  • 8-12 weeks
  • tender-meated, soft, pliable, smooth-textured skin
  • breastbone cartilage a bit less flexible than broiler/fryer
26
Q

Stewing Chicken

A
  • adult > 10 mo old
  • female chicken w/ meat less tender than that of a roaster and a nonflexible breastbone tip
27
Q

Molting

A
  • natural seasonal event in which birds reduce feed intake, cease egg production, and replace plumage
28
Q

Induced Molting

A
  • used in layer hens
  • simulates natural molting events
  • when birds return to full feed, a new plumage develops and birds resume egg production at higher rate w/ better egg quality
  • extends production life of commercial chicken flocks and results in substantial reduction in number of chickens needed to produce nation’s egg supply
29
Q

Acceptable Practices to Induce Molting

A
  • reduction of photoperiod (day length)
  • specific nutrient restrictions that result in cessation of egg production
30
Q

Chicken and Egg Anatomies

A
  • see lab manual pg. 93
31
Q

Avian Genetics

A
  • male = ZZ
  • female = ZW
  • females determine sex of offspring
32
Q

Breeding

A
  • in both egg and meat industries, mating of chickens is generally done naturally
  • AI is possible
33
Q

Nutrition

A
  • combination of concentrates (grains like corn and wheat) and high protein supplements (soybean oil meal)
  • carotenoid pigments are added to feeds to add to yellow/orange color of skin and eggs
  • sources of these pigments include corn, corn gluten meal, and ground marigold flowers
  • you can see marigold fields grown for this purpose in CA
34
Q

BAR or QAR

A
  • healthy birds are either bright, alert, and responsive (BAR) or quiet, alert, and responsive (QAR)
  • if bird remains laying down or doesn’t respond to entrance into room, may be something wrong
35
Q

Healthy Birds

A
  • nice round eyes
  • feces should be well-formed with visible urates
36
Q

Sick Birds

A
  • animals away from others or in a corner
  • oval-looking or slightly sunken eyes
  • diarrhea
37
Q

Spraddle Leg (Splay Leg)

A
  • one of the biggest husbandry concerns for chicks
  • one or both legs will grow incorrectly and stick out to the side
  • legs will not develop properly and can prevent chick from walking
  • most common cause is caging floors that are too slippery for chicks to stand on
  • need to think about what substrate an animal is being raised on
38
Q

Free Range

A
  • federal gov’t has no definition for “free range”
  • USDA approves label claims on case-by-case basis
  • producer must demonstrate that poultry is allowed outdoor access for at least some part of the day, whether chickens choose to go outside or not
39
Q

Natural

A
  • under USDA regulations, a product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed
40
Q

Fresh

A
  • designates whole poultry and cuts that have never been below 26 degrees Fahrenheit (poultry freezing temperature)
41
Q

Organic

A
  • USDA has specific rules to define “organic” production
  • use of the term “organic” on food not in accordance with these rules is prohibited
42
Q

Antibiotic-Free

A
  • flock was raised without products classified as antibiotics for animal health maintenance, disease prevention, or treatment of disease
  • all chicken is “antibiotic-free” when processed, as required by government
  • withdrawal periods are instated so that no antibiotic residues are present in the meat
  • while things like coccidiostats were more commonly used to prevent coccidiosis, these are not fed routinely anymore
43
Q

“No Hormones Added”

A
  • hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry anyway
  • claim “no hormones added” can’t be used on pork or poultry labels unless followed by statement that says “Fed regulations prohibit hormone use”
44
Q

Egg Quality

A
  • candling as a means of judging quality is fairly reliable for very low or very high quality eggs, but not very accurate for in-between grades
  • method of periodic sampling and breaking out eggs is sometimes used for eggs that are produced under conditions that will assure high quality (age of flock, breed, refrigeration)
45
Q

Haugh Unit

A
  • method of egg grading which consists of weighing the egg, breaking it out and measuring height of thick albumen
  • Haugh Units (grade) = 100 log (H - 1.7W0.37 + 7.6)
  • H = height of thick albumen, W = weight of egg
  • Haugh units may be converted into grades
46
Q

Grade AA

A
  • egg content covers small area
  • white is firm, has much thick white surrounding yolk and small amount of thin white
  • yolk is round and upstanding
47
Q

Grade A

A
  • egg content convers moderate area
  • white is reasonably firm and has considerable amount of thick white and medium amount of thin white
  • yolk is round and upstanding
48
Q

Grade B

A
  • egg content covers very wide area
  • white is weak and watery, no thick white and large amount of thin white is thinly spread
  • yolk is enlarged and flattened