A Perspective on Poultry
“I visited a poultry farm.”
When you read that sentence, what’s the first image that comes to mind? A picturesque red barn with chickens in a fenced in area roaming around and pecking in the grass for bugs? While that sort of farm does exist, that type of operation can’t be given credit for the BILLIONS of chickens as whole chickens and chicken parts that are sold in supermarkets, served at restaurants including “fast-food” or “quick serve”, or plated up as school meals. According to Purdue University,8 Billion (yes,that’s billion with a “b” ) chickens are consumed each year in the United States.
http://www.ansc.purdue.edu/faen/poultry%20facts.html
On the Farm/In the House
The family farm that I visited in North Carolina has been in the business of growing (raising) chickens for 40 years. They currently supply chickens to a multinational company that has a processing facility nearby. I met the farmers on their farm, outside their long chicken houses, and donned a hairnet and suited up in paper body suit and slipped plastic booties over my shoes. This is part of biosecurity measures at the farm to protect the chicks from diseases humans carry. The chicks I saw were only 8 days old, so think of it like going into a nursery of newborn infants that have a vulnerable immune system.
Before entering the area of the house with the chicks; I stepped into a sanitizing agent, another biosecurity procedure to avoid contamination. Immediately I was aware of the soft “cheeps” of thousands of chicks roaming around in different sections of the building. The temperature inside was 86 degrees and it was explained to me that as the chicks mature the temperature is reduced. Both the temperature and the humidity in the house is closely monitored to insure the chicks are comfortable. Extremes in temperature can create stress for the birds and affect their health and eating habits. That day, the chicks occupied half the house. As the chickens get larger, vertical panels are removed to give them more space until they eventually occupy the whole house. There were pans of food for the birds and a “nipple” that provided water. As I cautiously walked through, trying to make sure I didn’t inadvertently step on a chick, they scurried to the sides and their chirps became louder and more frantic. I got a chance to carefully hold one of the chicks and after a few moments, gently put it back on the floor and watched it race to rejoin the others. The floor of the chicken house is covered in sawdust which serves as bedding for the chicks. The chickens will be at this farm as they mature until they are 45–49 day old, at which time they sent to a nearby production facility and processed and sent on to their next destination. Throughout their time of the farm there is constant communication to monitor the health of the birds, their nutrition, feed and status. The farmers maintain close contact with a technical advisor with the chicken company, the technical advisor is in communication with a broiler manager, and that person communicates with a poultry veterinarian. This is all to insure best practices, the health of the birds and ultimately, food safety for the customer and consumer. Feed for chickens is carefully designed and calculated by a poultry nutritionist and at this farm consists of corn, soy, distiller dried grains (DDG), vitamins, minerals and probiotics. As a dietitian I was very interested to learn about their feed and especially the probiotics. I was told that research had found that the probiotics helped with the health of the birds. Feed mix for chickens will be changed as they mature. Since the chickens aren’t foraging for insects and worms, all their necessary nutrients must be provided.
Curious Consumers
I get many questions from consumers about poultry. Jennell Eck, who lives on the Delmarva peninsula, near Washington DC and Baltimore, helped answer some of these questions. Jennell’s father has been raising broiler chickens for 40 years and her family raises an average of close to 1.5 million birds each year.
Are chickens given hormones so they can grow faster or larger? No! Many consumers are not aware that in the U.S. it is illegal to administer hormones to poultry (and pigs). https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms/meat-and-poultry-labeling-terms
Jennell expanded on this, “In the 1950’s a law passed that banned the addition of hormones and use of steroids in poultry farming. …since then no commercial bird has been raised with steroids or hormones.”
Important note: Chickens, just like other animals and humans and even plants have hormones. http://mocomi.com/hormones-in-animals/ Saying chicken is “hormone-free” or having a “hormone-free” label on chicken is blatantly false and speaks more about misleading consumers.
Why are chickens larger today? Selective breeding of chickens by studying their genetics, better growing conditions for flocks and carefully designed nutritional feed are all responsible for chickens that grow faster and larger than what our grandmother may have known.
What are the different terms for chicken farming that consumers might want to know?
-Breeder — An egg laying chicken
-Chick — A male or female baby bird
-Pullet — An immature female bird, before they start laying eggs.
-Broiler (chicken) — A chicken bred specifically for its meat.
-Hen — A mature female, capable of laying eggs.
-Stewing Hen — A mature female no longer capable of laying eggs
-Rooster — A mature male bird.
When you see labeling on packages of poultry or egg containers claiming, “fed a vegetarian diet”, what does that mean?
It’s important to remember that chickens are not inherently vegetarian. If they were raised on a small farm and spent most of their lives out of doors they would be eating worms and bugs. On large farms when the chickens are raised in houses, their feed usually consists of corn, soy, other grains, vitamins, minerals and probiotics as well as methionine (an amino acid).
(Need information about what labels on chicken packaging mean? Here’s a helpful guide: https://www.chickencheck.in/infographics/chicken-labeling-terms/ )
How long does it take to raise a chicken before it is processed for food? It depends on the size requirements of the end customer (the supermarket, restaurant, etc.) but the amount of time from hatching to production is generally 45–49 days.
Is there a risk of these chickens getting avian influenza? The risk is from interaction between wild birds or backyard flocks and commercial growers. The example I was given was, “Say a local farmer who has some backyard chickens that are sick with avian flu goes into their local feed store wearing boots with dirt from the farm. If one of our growers goes into the same store and steps where that farmer stepped and tracks that back into a grower house and neglects to walk through the sanitizing powder he could transmit influenza to his flock.” As avian influenza can spread quickly it could kill thousands of birds in a house so efforts are made to protect the birds from any contact.
How do chickens live? One popular misunderstanding is that broiler chickens (the ones you eat) are raised in cages. This is not true. As Jennell explained, “Our birds and many birds (I cannot speak for everyone) …(have) large houses that these birds roam in. They are comfortable and happy in the environment. They have food and water available to them at all times…The only time you will see a broiler in a cage is when it is transported from the farm to the processing plant.”
What about antibiotic use in poultry and seeing “antibiotic-free” on some poultry packaging? In 2017 the Veterinary Feed Directive went into effect. All medically important antibiotics to be used in feed or water for food animal species require a Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) or a prescription. https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Pages/VFD123.aspx . There are also restrictions on the use of antibiotics. If an animal or poultry has to receive antibiotics the farmer/producer has to observe a “withdrawal period” so that the antibiotic has cleared the animal’s system before it can be processed for food.
How can I get more information about chickens and poultry farming?
A good starting place in Chicken Checkin https://www.chickencheck.in/ that has videos and information on chickens. You can also connect with chicken farmers like Jennell Eck (@JennellEck35) on Twitter.
Also check out this list of farmers (including poultry farmers) by Animal Ag Alliance: https://animalagengage.wordpress.com/2017/12/21/farmers-to-follow-on-social-media/
Chicken Conclusion/Bottom Line
A production chicken farm/house is certainly was very different than some of the local farm tours I’ve been on when I’ve seen a few dozen chickens pecking in the dirt. I’ve even had neighbors that kept a small flock of backyard chickens, so they could have their own eggs. But not everyone can raise chickens in their backyard or can have access to a small farmer who might supply a farmers market or CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture). Think about the sheer number of chickens that are raised for food in the U.S every year…production farming is a necessity to provide safe, affordable food that is nutritious and healthy. These farms employ technology and safety measures that protect both the health of the birds and the environment by controlling waste, run off and erosion. It’s important to understand that we need all types of farms to help feed consumers.