BACKYARD

1
BACKYARD PASTURE POULTRY

• Dr. Jacquie Jacob
• Poultry Extension Associate
• Dept of Animal and Food Sciences, UK

2008 Fall ANR update October 20, Winchester
2
DEFINITIONS

• Backyard poultry
• Small flocks which may or may not be kept for
  profit
• Pure-bred breeders, 4-Hers, family flock(s) for
  meat and/or eggs, etc.
• Pasture poultry
• A management method, regardless of flock size

3
BACKYARD POULTRY

• Pure-bred breeders
• Hatcheries sell day-old chicks to poultry
  fanciers
• Poultry fancier that breed their own flock, not
  necessarily for sale

4
BACKYARD POULTRY

• 4-Hers/FFA
• Poultry projects Very from state-to-state and
  within a state
• Meat chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pigeon, guinea
  fowl
• Egg layers brown or white chicken eggs
• Purebred chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pigeon
  (rollers, homers), guinea fowl

5
NPIP CERTIFIED

• National Poultry Improvement Plan
• Probably the greatest single factor which limited
  the early expansion of the U.S. poultry industry
  was the disease known as Bacillary White Diarrhea
  (BWD), caused by Salmonella pullorum.
• This disease, later called pullorum disease, was
  rampant in poultry and could cause upwards of 80
  mortality in young poultry.
• The causative organism was discovered by Dr. Leo
  Rettger in 1899 and a diagnostic blood test was
  developed by Dr. F.S. Jones in 1913.
• Egg transmitted

6
NPIP CERTIFIED

• National Poultry Improvement Plan
• Kentucky program run through state veterinarian
  in the Department of Agriculture, Division of
  Animal Health
• Poultry program coordinator Sue Blair
• Phone [phone] ext. 248
• Email sue.blair_at_ky.gov

7
BACKYARD POULTRY

• Family flock(s) for meat and/or eggs
• Chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, pigeons, quail,
  guinea fowl, etc

8
WHITE EGG LAYERS
What do they have in common?
White ear lobes
9
BROWN EGG LAYERS
What do they have in common?
Red earlobes
10
Green eggs
11
AMERAUCANAS versus ARAUCANA
Ameraucanas Beard and muffs Tail
Araucanas No beard Tuffs, not muffs No tail
12
BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK versus DOMINIQUE
Barred Rock Single comb
Dominique Rose comb
13
FAQs

• How can I tell if an egg is going to hatch a male
  or female, so I only set eggs for laying hens?

14
Sexing eggs before incubating Is it possible?

• Old wives tale
• Shape of the egg Football shaped eggs house male
  chicks and more oval or round-shaped eggs house
  female chicks
• 50 accuracy which is slightly higher than for
  lucky guessers

15
FAQs

• I hatched out some chicks, but I am not allowed
  to keep roosters where I leave. How can I tell
  which is which?

16
Sexing young poultry

• Old wives tale
• Tying a needle or weight to the end of a piece of
  string and hold it over the young animal. If it
  the motion of the object is in a circular motion
  it is a female. If the motion is back and forth
  it is a male.
• 50 accuracy which is slightly higher than for
  lucky guessers

17
Sexing young poultry

• Sex-linked characteristics
• Requires a specific breeding program only
• With proper training, is 100 accurate

18
Avian Genetics

• Mammals
• Male XY
• Female XX
• Males determine sex of offspring

• Birds
• Male ZZ
• Female ZW
• Females determine sex of offspring

19
BLACK SEX-LINKS(also called Rock Reds)
X
Non-barred male
Barred male

• Offspring
• Both sexes hatch out red but males have a white
  dot on their heads
• Males feather out with Barred Rock pattern and
  females feather out black

20
RED SEX-LINKSGolden Comet
X
White rock with silver factor

• Offspring
• Males hatch out white
• Females hatch out buff and feather out buff with
  white or tinted undercolor

21
RED SEX-LINKSCinnamon Queen
X
Silver laced Wyandotte

• Offspring
• Males hatch out white
• Females hatch out red and feather out red with
  white or tinted undercolor

22
RED SEX-LINKS

• Other red sex-link crosses (just referred to as
  red sex-links
• Rhode Island White female x Rhode Island Red male
• Delaware female x Production Red male

23
OTHER SEX-LINK CROSSES

• California Gray rooster x White Leghorn hen
  California White
• California Gray is a dual purpose breed that has
  a heavier type than a leghorn
• Not flighty birds
• Are excellent winter layers in cold climates
• Popular in northern Midwest and Canada

24
SEXING YOUNG POULTRY

• Vent sexing
• Developed by a Japanese professor, Kiyoshi Masui
• Involves holding the day-old chick upside in one
  hand and while visually examining the vent area
  for the presence or absence of a rudimentary male
  sex organ.
• Trained, non-professionals typically 60-70
  accuracy
• Professionals typically have 95 accuracy

25
SEXING YOUNG POULTRY

• Best way to tell is to wait till they grow up

Tail feathers
Comb size
Wattle size
Spur size
26
FAQsWhy have my hens stopped laying?
27
FAQsWhy have my hens stopped laying?

• Nutrition
• Disease
• Age
• Management

28
Why have my hens stopped laying?
Management Light For most of the year require
supplemental light to maintain egg production
29
FAQs related to eggs

• Where does the chick develop in an egg?
• There are these red spots in my eggs. Are these
  embryos?

30
(No Transcript)
31
No Fertilization
Fertilization has occurred
32
Candled appearance of a blood spot
33
FAQs related to eggs

• Is there any chance that the eggs from the store
  will hatch in my fridge?
• If I put fertile eggs in the fridge and then
  decided to incubate them later, will they still
  hatch?
• Is it okay to eat fertile eggs?
• How can I tell if an egg is fertile without
  breaking it open?

34
KIDS AND CHICKS

• Will my kids get sick from handling baby chicks
  at the petting zoo?
• Can my kids catch chicken pox from our chicken
  flock?

35
KIDS AND CHICKS

• My kid was holding a chick and it just seemed to
  die in his/her hands. Is this normal? Were they
  stressed out? Were they sick?
• The avian and mammalian respiratory systems are
  very different It is possible to suffocate a
  bird by holding it too tight?

36
HUMANS
Tidal respiration
37
Unique feature of birds Air sacs
38
Air flow in avian lungs is in one direction
39
Birds dont have a diaphragm
Inspiration
Expiration
40
FAQs Housing

• Are there any blue-prints I can use for building
  a house for my small poultry flock?

41
(No Transcript)
42
DEFINITIONS

• Backyard poultry
• Small flocks which may or may not be kept for
  profit
• Pure-bred breeders, 4-Hers, family flock(s) for
  meat and/or eggs, etc.
• Pasture poultry
• A management method, regardless of flock size

43
Pasture poultry
44
Pasture poultry
Portable, bottomless pens
45
Pasture poultry
Automatic waterer
Feed trough
46
Pasture poultry
47
Pasture poultry
Remote monitoring
48
Day-range Moveable, bottomless hoop barns
Pasture area surrounded by fence, mainly to keep
predators out
49
Day-range Moveable, bottomless hoop barns
To close the broilers in at night
Uses up the pasture
50
Day-range Turkeys
Heritage turkeys are becoming popular
51
Day-range Fixed housing for locking the birds up
at night, free to roam around during the day
52
Day range Geese
53
Free-range poultry
Multiple-age laying flock A different breed
introduced each year so that the age of the hens
can be tracked
Barred Plymouth Rock
Rhode Island Red
Barred Plymouth Rock
54
Free-range poultry
55
Day range Eggmobile
56
FAQs Housing

• I want to have a small flock for meat and egg
  production. What kind of housing should I build?
  Can I renovate existing buildings?

57
(No Transcript)
58
(No Transcript)
59
FAQs Housing

• Is it okay to house different species of poultry
  together?

60
(No Transcript)
61
FAQs Processing

• Where can I get my birds processed?

62
POULTRY PROCESSING

• Very few independent/custom processors
• Mobile slaughter facility
• Home slaughter

63
SLAUGHTER/BLEED OUT
64
SCALDING
65
DEFEATHERING/PLUCKING
66
(No Transcript)
67
REMOVE FEET
68
FREE CROP
69
OPEN ABDOMEN
70
EVISCERATE
Drop area allows for easy disposal of waste
material
71
REMOVE LUNGS
72
FAQs Processing

• I processed my chickens and they looked fine, but
  when I cooked them and went to carve the chicken
  for dinner, there was green disgusting meat in
  the breast. What is this?

73
Green Muscle Disease
74
BROILER QUALITY Green muscle disease

• Also called Deep Pectoral Myopathy
• A non-infectious, focal bi- or uni-lateral
  necrosis of the deep pectoral muscle (breast
  tenderloin)
• Initially noticed in fast growing turkeys
• Recently observed sporadically in heavy broilers
  destined for deboned breast meat production
• Lesions observed during processing indicate that
  birds are either genetically predisposed to this
  condition or some "stressor" acts as a trigger
  this condition during the pre-slaughter phase

75
ANY QUESTIONS?
76
(No Transcript)