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TAKE STOCK 6 Poultry Your Way TAKE STOCK What is financially important to you? ❑ Year-round income/cash flow ❑ Equity growth ❑ Price stability ❑ Limited risk ❑ Limited debt How much income do you want to generate from the poultry enterprise? ❑ Enough to pay all family living expenses ❑ Some extra money to supplement off-farm income ❑ Estimated net income ($ value): _________ Of all the things you value and enjoy, which three are the most important? 1. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________
OVERVIEW Background Poultry nomenclature often sounds like a foreign language. Those new to poultry production may find themselves searching the dictionary to figure out, for example, just what industry terms like “capon,” “broiler,” and “squab” mean. Or they may find themselves wondering what the difference is between a pullet and a broiler. If you are interested in marketing to specialty buyers it will be important to familiarize yourself with different poultry species and classes to ensure that you and your buyers are talking about the same kind of bird or product. Bird species and class will affect your marketing, processing, and, ultimately, your production management decisions. Poultry Basics The term “poultry” refers to domesticated birds raised for meat, eggs, and other products. Poultry are omnivores and non-ruminants. They have no teeth and, instead, use a muscular gland called the gizzard to grind their food. Since 1946, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recognized six poultry species as defined in the Agricultural Marketing Act: chicken, duck, goose, Guinea fowl, pigeon, and turkey (USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 2002). We add to this list captive game birds. Captive game birds, though not technically considered poultry, are “birds of a normally wild type, such as pheasants, quail, wild turkeys, migratory fowl, and exotic birds that are produced in captivity for slaughter and consumption” (Wisconsin Administrative Code, 2002). Many of today’s poultry producers are exploring captive game production. All live poultry are further classified by weight, breed, and age. Traditional weight classes include bantam, lightweight, medium weight, heavyweight, and ornamental. Breeds reflect genetic origin and particular physical characteristics such as shape and size. And finally, live birds are classified by age as hatchlings, pullets (young female chickens), poults (young turkeys), layers, and broilers (young chickens raised for meat) to name a few. A detailed description of individual poultry and captive game species follows. For more information about poultry classes and breeds, check out the American Poultry Association’s American Standard of Perfection, the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy website, and Storey’s Guide to Raising Poultry (see Resources under Species/Class/Breed Information). Species Alternatives Every poultry species has unique adaptations or advantages. Some birds are known for rapid growth and pest control while others are known for their ability to survive on forage and in extreme weather. When choosing a species and breed, most poultry growers recommend that you look for high-quality breeding stock and birds that are known for disease resistance and production/feed efficiency. Figure 1, reproduced from Storey’s Guide to Raising Ducks, will give you a feel for the production advantages generally attributed to chicken, turkey, goose, duck, and captive game species. As an experienced producer, you may or may not have found these adaptations to be true for your flock. Remember, this is a general species comparison. Poultry Your Way 7 OVERVIEW
Page 1 and 2: A Guide to Management Alternatives
Page 3: In memory of Ron Desens and Tom Gut
Page 6 and 7: WHAT THIS GUIDE WILL HELP YOU DO
Page 8 and 9: 2 Day-range chickens on pasture. Po
Page 10 and 11: TAKE STOCK 4 People (describe skill
Page 14 and 15: OVERVIEW 8 Figure 1: Comparison of
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Page 18 and 19: OVERVIEW 12 Commercial performance
Page 20 and 21: OVERVIEW 14 FARM PROFILE • Altern
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MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES 58 Poultry
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MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES FARM PROFIL
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BEST ALTERNATIVES 100 PROCESSING Ra
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YOUR PLAN Processing Off-farm (cont
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REFERENCES 106 Hamilton, Neil D. 19
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RESOURCES 110 AGENCIES AND ORGANIZA
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RESOURCES Safe Handling of Raw Meat
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RESOURCES The Fourth National Organ
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RESOURCES Storey’s Guide to Raisi
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RESOURCES 118 Poultry Your Way RESO
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GLOSSARY 122 Keet. Young or immatur
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