2/21/08
2/13/08
My Research Paper - Chapter Two
Commercial Chicken Farming
In this chapter you will learn about the modern chicken industry and about how your chicken nuggets got on your plate. Did you know that the average American eats about 80 pounds of chicken per year and yes that does mean whoever is reading this probably will eat 80 pounds of chicken this year. In the 1950’s it took 84 days to raise a five pound chicken but today it only takes 45 days due to all the growth hormones, selective breeding and fatty food. Did you know that every hour one million chickens are slaughtered. Also when you eat your chicken that is sitting on the table it will make you fatter because the Broilers body fat has increased by 15% from 1960 therefore making the eater of that chicken fatter. After the baby chicks are first placed in the barn where they eventually grow to market weight and because they grow so fast their body can’t keep up with such rapid growth most of the time resulting in heart failure or organ failure. This next fact might sound crazy but it isn’t. Did you know that 26% of broilers raised have suffered from chronic pain because of bone disease. New York used to be the largest consumer of chicken a few years back. The average broiler gets slaughtered at six weeks of age and 90% of those six week old chicks have trouble walking because of their unnatural body weight. In 2004 an unbelievably 8.9 billion chickens were slaughtered. Because of such rough handling to get to the slaughterhouse some birds will arrive with broken hips and blood in their mouth. To loosen the feathers the chickens will be put into scalding tanks of water called scalders. Most companies claim that hey stun the birds by putting them into a bathtub that is electrically charged but sometimes it doesn’t work and the chickens enter the scalders alive.
In the modern egg industry eggs are a big priority. The food that the farmers automatically feed to the hens gets very dusty along the way to the cages. In the end the food that the chickens eat has collected a lot of dust and all those dust particles gets stuck in their throats attracting bacteria that causes mouth ulcers. The farmers buy very low protein feed because it costs less except the hens make their eggs out of protein so the eggshells crack because of such a thin shell. Also the because of the low protein feed the hens bones also get very weak sometimes resulting in bone breaks and death. Since the farmers have their farms all run by machines they barely go into the barns so any sick or dying bird is left to rot away. Some of the birds become “egg bound” which means that their egg gets stuck in their vent most of the time resulting in death. After one year in this horrible confinement the hens are considered “spent” and are later ground up and put in low grade food products like chicken pot pie or other foods where you can’t see all the bruises or cuts from the long confinement. The average modern industry laying hen will lay 250 eggs per year or in her lifetime. While these chickens are kept in their cages they are deprived of the normal activities of a normal chicken. One of the most common problems with the modern egg industry is how the hens are deprived from dustbathing and when a chicken lies on the wire floor of the cage and tries to dustbathe the other hens peck at it causing it great amounts of pain. The use of dustbathing is to get rid of mites and lice but since they have no access to dusbaths they get lice and mites. In the modern egg farming industry the farmers only want the hens for their eggs so when they are sexing the chicks which means to see if they are a boy or a girl they suffocate or grind the male chicks and for every hen in the modern egg industry there is one male dead. And one common question that comes up is what do they do with the ground up male chicks? And the answer to that question is feed them to their sisters. The farmers never have to go into the barns to collect eggs because the floors of the cages are tilted so when a hen lays an egg it rolls off onto a conveyer belt and is collected at the long line of cages. In 2003 a commercial egg farm named Ward Egg Ranch was caught throwing their “spent” hens into a wood chopper or mulch maker except when the police got there they had already thrown 15,000 of their hens into the grinder. Since the broiler industry has people eating their chickens because they are raised for meat the egg industry had to find a different way to dispose of their hens and make a little cash off of them so they usually put them into pet food to hide all the bruises and cuts. Now you know how chickens in the modern poultry world are treated so now you might want to re-consider if you want to eat the chicken nuggets on your plate.
In this chapter you will learn about the modern chicken industry and about how your chicken nuggets got on your plate. Did you know that the average American eats about 80 pounds of chicken per year and yes that does mean whoever is reading this probably will eat 80 pounds of chicken this year. In the 1950’s it took 84 days to raise a five pound chicken but today it only takes 45 days due to all the growth hormones, selective breeding and fatty food. Did you know that every hour one million chickens are slaughtered. Also when you eat your chicken that is sitting on the table it will make you fatter because the Broilers body fat has increased by 15% from 1960 therefore making the eater of that chicken fatter. After the baby chicks are first placed in the barn where they eventually grow to market weight and because they grow so fast their body can’t keep up with such rapid growth most of the time resulting in heart failure or organ failure. This next fact might sound crazy but it isn’t. Did you know that 26% of broilers raised have suffered from chronic pain because of bone disease. New York used to be the largest consumer of chicken a few years back. The average broiler gets slaughtered at six weeks of age and 90% of those six week old chicks have trouble walking because of their unnatural body weight. In 2004 an unbelievably 8.9 billion chickens were slaughtered. Because of such rough handling to get to the slaughterhouse some birds will arrive with broken hips and blood in their mouth. To loosen the feathers the chickens will be put into scalding tanks of water called scalders. Most companies claim that hey stun the birds by putting them into a bathtub that is electrically charged but sometimes it doesn’t work and the chickens enter the scalders alive.
In the modern egg industry eggs are a big priority. The food that the farmers automatically feed to the hens gets very dusty along the way to the cages. In the end the food that the chickens eat has collected a lot of dust and all those dust particles gets stuck in their throats attracting bacteria that causes mouth ulcers. The farmers buy very low protein feed because it costs less except the hens make their eggs out of protein so the eggshells crack because of such a thin shell. Also the because of the low protein feed the hens bones also get very weak sometimes resulting in bone breaks and death. Since the farmers have their farms all run by machines they barely go into the barns so any sick or dying bird is left to rot away. Some of the birds become “egg bound” which means that their egg gets stuck in their vent most of the time resulting in death. After one year in this horrible confinement the hens are considered “spent” and are later ground up and put in low grade food products like chicken pot pie or other foods where you can’t see all the bruises or cuts from the long confinement. The average modern industry laying hen will lay 250 eggs per year or in her lifetime. While these chickens are kept in their cages they are deprived of the normal activities of a normal chicken. One of the most common problems with the modern egg industry is how the hens are deprived from dustbathing and when a chicken lies on the wire floor of the cage and tries to dustbathe the other hens peck at it causing it great amounts of pain. The use of dustbathing is to get rid of mites and lice but since they have no access to dusbaths they get lice and mites. In the modern egg farming industry the farmers only want the hens for their eggs so when they are sexing the chicks which means to see if they are a boy or a girl they suffocate or grind the male chicks and for every hen in the modern egg industry there is one male dead. And one common question that comes up is what do they do with the ground up male chicks? And the answer to that question is feed them to their sisters. The farmers never have to go into the barns to collect eggs because the floors of the cages are tilted so when a hen lays an egg it rolls off onto a conveyer belt and is collected at the long line of cages. In 2003 a commercial egg farm named Ward Egg Ranch was caught throwing their “spent” hens into a wood chopper or mulch maker except when the police got there they had already thrown 15,000 of their hens into the grinder. Since the broiler industry has people eating their chickens because they are raised for meat the egg industry had to find a different way to dispose of their hens and make a little cash off of them so they usually put them into pet food to hide all the bruises and cuts. Now you know how chickens in the modern poultry world are treated so now you might want to re-consider if you want to eat the chicken nuggets on your plate.
My Research Paper - Chapter One
Chapter 1:
Breeds of Chicken and their History
Chickens have been used for many things in history. For example, Romans once used them as oracles because they thought that they could see into the future. Romans also believed that if you soaked a piece of bread in milk and then fed it to a chicken they thought that it would make the meat taste better. The first chickens originated from jungle fowl and then were first kept in Asia. Male chickens roosters or cockerels have spurs, which are like a fifth toe (except in five toe breeds) and are very short and pointy. Males also have a saddle or also called a hackle, which is used for tying flies for fly fishing.
Cornishes are an important breed to the meat industry because they are the ultimate meat bird. These birds are the most efficient meat producers because they can convert two pounds of feed into one pound of meat which makes them the ideal broiler or meat bird. I will discuss more about the broiler industry in chapter two. The Leghorn is the most prolific layer of eggs laying sometimes more than one a day for a whole year. These Leghorns are also a big part of the modern chicken industry.
The Phoenix is known for its 6-7 foot long tail, which originated from its ancestors the Onagadori, which have been known for their 40-foot long tail. The Phoenix is a popular breed for people seeing them for the first time but they are a lot of work and they need very high dry perches. One of my favorite chickens, is the Serema. A special fact about this breed is that it is the smallest breed in the world with the rooster averaging at 12 ounces and the hen at 11. The hens don’t usually tend to go broody which means that they try to hatch their eggs and if they do they aren’t very good mothers.
One breed that is very handsome is the Sumatra. The breed did originate in the Indonesian island of Sumatra just like the nearby island of Java, which is also famous for the same reason as a Sumatra, for flying great distances. People who keep Sumatras have to keep them in a coop with a roof or else they could and probably would fly away. The Sumatra breed has been known to fly from the Indonesian island Sumatra to the Indonesian island Java for over six miles on prevailing winds and have been known to jump six feet with clipped wings.
Another interesting breed, is the Egyptian Fayoumi. Fayoumi’s are well known for their resistance to many diseases such as the bird flu otherwise known as Avian Influenza. This bird has almost became extinct, but a healthy new flock has been kept alive at Iowa State University. One breed that is very popular is the Orpington, which was created by William Cook in England. These birds are excellent layers all through the year. These birds are also excellent meat birds with a full-grown rooster averaging a weight of 10 pounds. People in the northern climates or the colder ones will keep Orpingtons because they can keep warm very well.
One of my all-time favorites is the Modern Game, which is basically an evolved version of the Old English Game. These birds stand extremely upright and are bigger than the Old English Game and taller than most other breeds. People who get Modern Game or Old English Game have to have them dubbed if they are going to enter them in a show. Dubbed means that when they are baby chicks the roosters have to get their earlobes, wattle and comb surgically removed when they are only a couple of minutes old. These two breeds have to be dubbed because a long time ago these breeds would be used for cockfighting so they removed these parts to make it less bloody and now it has become a part of the breed.
One of my real favorites is the Polish, which is famous for its crest, which is basically like a chicken top hat. These crests interfere with their vision so they can be spooked easily. An interesting breeds is the Japanese Bantam, which is a special breed because of its amazing tail, which soars right up past its head at farther than a 90-degree angle. It is the one exception to a normal disqualification that is called squirrel tail when the tail of a rooster or a cockerel goes past 90 degrees. This breed is also famous for its genetic condition that kills 25% of chicks die before hatching.
Another interesting breed, which I like a lot is the Penedesenca which is famous for its ability to lay the darkest eggs of any chicken appearing almost black. This breed also almost became extinct except breeders kept the breed alive because of the dark brown almost black eggs. My last breed is the Aseel which originated in 1000 B.C. in India. These birds were bred for cockfighting. The most interesting fact I think is that the hens will only lay only 2-3 eggs a year. There are so many breeds of chickens and this truly shows how unique this animal is.
Breeds of Chicken and their History
Chickens have been used for many things in history. For example, Romans once used them as oracles because they thought that they could see into the future. Romans also believed that if you soaked a piece of bread in milk and then fed it to a chicken they thought that it would make the meat taste better. The first chickens originated from jungle fowl and then were first kept in Asia. Male chickens roosters or cockerels have spurs, which are like a fifth toe (except in five toe breeds) and are very short and pointy. Males also have a saddle or also called a hackle, which is used for tying flies for fly fishing.
Cornishes are an important breed to the meat industry because they are the ultimate meat bird. These birds are the most efficient meat producers because they can convert two pounds of feed into one pound of meat which makes them the ideal broiler or meat bird. I will discuss more about the broiler industry in chapter two. The Leghorn is the most prolific layer of eggs laying sometimes more than one a day for a whole year. These Leghorns are also a big part of the modern chicken industry.
The Phoenix is known for its 6-7 foot long tail, which originated from its ancestors the Onagadori, which have been known for their 40-foot long tail. The Phoenix is a popular breed for people seeing them for the first time but they are a lot of work and they need very high dry perches. One of my favorite chickens, is the Serema. A special fact about this breed is that it is the smallest breed in the world with the rooster averaging at 12 ounces and the hen at 11. The hens don’t usually tend to go broody which means that they try to hatch their eggs and if they do they aren’t very good mothers.
One breed that is very handsome is the Sumatra. The breed did originate in the Indonesian island of Sumatra just like the nearby island of Java, which is also famous for the same reason as a Sumatra, for flying great distances. People who keep Sumatras have to keep them in a coop with a roof or else they could and probably would fly away. The Sumatra breed has been known to fly from the Indonesian island Sumatra to the Indonesian island Java for over six miles on prevailing winds and have been known to jump six feet with clipped wings.
Another interesting breed, is the Egyptian Fayoumi. Fayoumi’s are well known for their resistance to many diseases such as the bird flu otherwise known as Avian Influenza. This bird has almost became extinct, but a healthy new flock has been kept alive at Iowa State University. One breed that is very popular is the Orpington, which was created by William Cook in England. These birds are excellent layers all through the year. These birds are also excellent meat birds with a full-grown rooster averaging a weight of 10 pounds. People in the northern climates or the colder ones will keep Orpingtons because they can keep warm very well.
One of my all-time favorites is the Modern Game, which is basically an evolved version of the Old English Game. These birds stand extremely upright and are bigger than the Old English Game and taller than most other breeds. People who get Modern Game or Old English Game have to have them dubbed if they are going to enter them in a show. Dubbed means that when they are baby chicks the roosters have to get their earlobes, wattle and comb surgically removed when they are only a couple of minutes old. These two breeds have to be dubbed because a long time ago these breeds would be used for cockfighting so they removed these parts to make it less bloody and now it has become a part of the breed.
One of my real favorites is the Polish, which is famous for its crest, which is basically like a chicken top hat. These crests interfere with their vision so they can be spooked easily. An interesting breeds is the Japanese Bantam, which is a special breed because of its amazing tail, which soars right up past its head at farther than a 90-degree angle. It is the one exception to a normal disqualification that is called squirrel tail when the tail of a rooster or a cockerel goes past 90 degrees. This breed is also famous for its genetic condition that kills 25% of chicks die before hatching.
Another interesting breed, which I like a lot is the Penedesenca which is famous for its ability to lay the darkest eggs of any chicken appearing almost black. This breed also almost became extinct except breeders kept the breed alive because of the dark brown almost black eggs. My last breed is the Aseel which originated in 1000 B.C. in India. These birds were bred for cockfighting. The most interesting fact I think is that the hens will only lay only 2-3 eggs a year. There are so many breeds of chickens and this truly shows how unique this animal is.
Introduction of my Chicken Research Paper
Introduction
INTRODUCTION
Bgaawk! That’s what you hear when you walk into a barn full of chickens. If you look into the coops you will see hens laying eggs or roosters crowing. Do you have chickens? If you do, you should read this report and I guarantee that you will know twice as much about the fun feathered friends eating bugs in your backyard. I became interested in this topic last year when I got twelve chickens. I first got interested in chickens a long time ago when I first saw chickens and I thought they were awesome! In this report you will learn about breeds of chicken and some information about them in my first chapter. In my second chapter you will learn about how the chicken on your table got there and how industrialized chickens are treated. My third chapter will explain how to take care of a small backyard flock. I hope after reading this report you will know a lot more about the life of a modern chicken.
INTRODUCTION
Bgaawk! That’s what you hear when you walk into a barn full of chickens. If you look into the coops you will see hens laying eggs or roosters crowing. Do you have chickens? If you do, you should read this report and I guarantee that you will know twice as much about the fun feathered friends eating bugs in your backyard. I became interested in this topic last year when I got twelve chickens. I first got interested in chickens a long time ago when I first saw chickens and I thought they were awesome! In this report you will learn about breeds of chicken and some information about them in my first chapter. In my second chapter you will learn about how the chicken on your table got there and how industrialized chickens are treated. My third chapter will explain how to take care of a small backyard flock. I hope after reading this report you will know a lot more about the life of a modern chicken.
2/5/08
Poultry Pest Management - My chickens have lice.
Lice
The chicken body louse, Menacanthus stramineus (Nitzsch), can decrease egg production in caged layer hens. The skin of infested birds becomes irritated and red with formation of localized scabs and blood clots. In addition to feeding on skin fragments, feathers and debris, lice can attack young quill feathers feeding on blood. Although found naturally infected with the virus of eastern encephalomyelitis, it is not considered an important vector. Adult chicken lice are flat-bodied, yellowish colored, 1/16 inch long with chewing mouthparts.
The chicken body louse, Menacanthus stramineus (Nitzsch), can decrease egg production in caged layer hens. The skin of infested birds becomes irritated and red with formation of localized scabs and blood clots. In addition to feeding on skin fragments, feathers and debris, lice can attack young quill feathers feeding on blood. Although found naturally infected with the virus of eastern encephalomyelitis, it is not considered an important vector. Adult chicken lice are flat-bodied, yellowish colored, 1/16 inch long with chewing mouthparts.
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