Specialty Breeds

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Specialty Breeds for Natural and Organic Poultry
Production
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Natural poultry producers raise poultry in
alternative production
Extensive, outdoor systems Pastured poultry
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Niche Market Sales Natural Free
range Organic Ethnic/live
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• Natural/Organic Producers Use Conventional
  Poultry Breeds
• Fast-growing Cornish Cross
• Developed for intensive, indoor production
• Market weight of 5.5 lbs.
• 7 weeks indoors
• 8 weeks on pasture

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What is Cornish Cross? Cornish x White
Rock Cornish male line provides breast weight,
conformation Rock female line provides good
reproduction
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• Breeding Companies
• Cobb-Vantress (acquired Avian)
• Aviagen (acquired Ross, Arbor Acres, Indian
  River)
• Hubbard-ISA (acquired Shaver)
• Perdue
• Peterson

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Selected pedigree Non-selected pedigree ? Great
Grandparents
Pedigree
Great Grandparents
Grandparents
Parents
Broilers
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Four-Way Cross
GGP
??
?
?
?
GP
A male
B female
C male
D female
?
?
CD female
PS
AB male
?
ABCD broiler
Source Emmert, Jason. University of Arkansas
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• Crossing
• Crossing produces hybrid vigor
• Breeding companies only sell products with
  crossed lines for security reasons
• When Grandparents breed, pure lines are crossed
  to produce Parents
• Pure lines cannot be reproduced from Parents
• Intellectual property protection

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• Using Fast-Growing Broilers
• Poultry companies buy parent stock, contract
  growers raise
• parents (broiler breeders), and hatch commercial
  chicks
• Breeding companies offer manuals on how to raise
  and feed
• parents
• Sell in large numbers
• Commercial chicks are readily available from
  small independent
• hatcheries
• Sold as fast-growing meat birds or roasters
• Used in pastured production
• Sample strains
• Hubbard White Mountain
• Hubbard Hi-Y
• Perdue roaster

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Fast-Growth Issues Pros High efficiency and
yield capacity to eat Carcass
conformation Cons Metabolic Ascites Body
grows faster than organs Mortality Leg
pathology Lameness, tibia dyscondroplasia Beha
vior Animal welfare issues
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Slowing Down Fast Broilers Restrict
feed Under-formulate feed Lighting programs Raise
on pasture Raise only females Raise slower
strains such as roaster lines
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Pastured Poultry Comment about Fast
Broilers My experience is the larger Cornish
Cross are poor pasture chickens. They barely
stand up, walk very little and mostly sit near
the feeder. They eat very little grass, don't dig
or scratch. They are not a pleasure to watch.
They do get BIG, however, but I have found they
do not have great taste, since they don't range
much. They also have health problems and die in
hot weather or when they reach about 12 weeks
old. I have had them several times, but always
wished I had not. They will reach up to 10
pounds dressed, if feed properly and kept alive
for 12 or more weeks. (Anon. 2003. Re
Broilers vs. cornish cross. E-mail posting to
PasturePoultry listserver. June 19).
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• Alternative Broilers
• Slow-growing broilers adapted for more
  traditional production
• Gourmet

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Slow-Growing Broilers 5 lbs. live weight in 12
weeks Used in Label Rouge and organic production
in Europe Label Rouge Organic
production Used internationally International
breeding companies SASSO Hubbard-ISA
Kabir Domestic
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Www.sasso.fr
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Typical SASSO Label Rouge
Black, naked neck
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Hubbard-ISA Females
Colored Gourmet Package
Shaver Redbro
JA 57
ISA P6 N
Isacolor
Www.hubbard-isa.com
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Hubbard-ISA Males
Fast-growing males I77, I99, I22, I89, Colorpac
Medium-growing males Redbro, Mastergris,
Gris Barre Slow-growing males I66
(red feathers, white underfeathers, white shank)
S77 (red feathers, yellow shank) S86 (black
feathers, white shank) Add N for naked neck
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Typical Hubbard-ISA Gourmet Parents
Male
Female
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S757N Offspring
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Specialty Broilers Geographically protected
genetics Poulet de Bresse Poultry of
kings AOC Specialty production Milk
finished Blue shanks
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Poulet de Bresse preparation
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U.S. slow-growing broiler Rainbow Breeder
Company
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Medium-Growing Broilers 9-10 weeks to reach 5
lbs liveweight International SASSO
Hubbard-ISA Domestic
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• Hubbard-ISA
• Redbro
• Master Gris

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U.S. Medium-growing broilers Silver Cross
(Kosher king) Henry Noll Buff Silvers vs Barred
Silvers Reich Cebe Red or Cebe Black Joe
Cebe Hall Brothers Hatchery Redbro Canadian
hatchery www.freedomrangers.com

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Importation Quarantine for live birds (except
Canada) USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service (APHIS) import permit Certificate from
a government vet Quarantine is 30 days at USDA
centers in Los Angeles, New York, and Miami (or
private) Quarantine usually required on hatching
eggs Quarantine the hatched chicks for 30
days www.aphis.usda.gov
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Very Slow-Growing Broilers (Heritage
Breeds) See types on Internet
(www.feathersite.com) Heritage breeds not
selected for commercial meat production
anymore Conservation American Livestock
Breeds Conservancy
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Turkeys An American advantage Native to the
Americas Slow-growing Naturally mating AI not
required Heritage Geographical
ties NaragansettMA Bourbon RedKentucky Some
lines selected for meat production
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Slow-growing Turkeys Bourbon Red Royal
Palm Narrangansett Eastern Wild White
Holland Broad-breasted Black Spanish Blue
Slate
Walters Hatchery www.waltershatchery.com
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(No Transcript)
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Layers No commercial layers for floor production
or in large flocks Aggressive behavior (pecking,
cannibalism) Laying habits Duck Geese Guineafowl
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• Behavior of Slow-Growing Breeds
• Slow-growing breeds when fed a low spec ration
  are moderately
• active
• Fast-growing breeds are inactive
• Active breeds are needed to make good use of
  forage
• Lying 53
• Standing idle 11
• Sleeping 4
• Lie preening 5
• Eating 11
• Standing ground pecking 5
• Walking 5 (Gordon, 2002)

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Mortality In Europe, mortality of slow broilers
is low Welfare issues related to breed Fast
growth health problems Fast-growing broilers
can suffer in natural ventilation Restrict
feeding
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Meat Quality Selection for fast-growth and high
yield has likely affected sensory and functional
qualities (Le Bihan-Duval, 2003) More research
has been done with hogs (PSE)
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• Future Selection Programs
• Commercial traits
• (fast efficient growth and breast yield)
• Consumer concerns
• Welfare issues
• Reduce mortality, reduce skeletal and metabolic
  disorders
• minimize pecking behavior, improve disease
  resistance
• Environmental
• Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution
• Quality traits
• Meat quality and texture, taste and leanness

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Future natural/organic broiler can perform
with An all-vegetable diet (no animal
by-products) Diets that do not include synthetic
amino acids Non-optimized diets More open
housing, uncontrolled environment No
coccidiostats Slower growth Stronger immunity
Disease-resistant birds will not need drugs or
vaccines Antibiotic-free chickens Fast
feathering Good feathering provides
insulation, protection from nicks Feather
sexing Meat quality traits Genetics adapted to
particular regions
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Using Slow-Growing Broilers Feed less protein
and less energy No need to restrict
feed Maintain health status Different
vaccinations than fast broilers Boosters

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Fast vs. Slow Broilers Fast-grower Superior
efficiency and yield, body conformation Not
active forager, metabolic problems, welfare
issues Slow-grower Addresses consumer issues,
adapted for outdoor production Good forager, more
flavor and texture More expensive to raise Color
of pinfeathers
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Obtaining Stock Hatcheries Regional Using
the postal service is a disadvantage Air
shipping issues Product Known genetics Report
what the parents are Most hatcheries buy
hatching eggs on open market from brokers
A few hatcheries raise parent stock Very few
have own breeding program Specialty
breeds Pastured breeders www.shadylanepoultry.co
m
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Straight run or sexed birds Straight run May
be cheaper Variety of sizes to sell Sexual
dimorphism Differences in performance and meat
quality Males gain faster more problems with leg
disorders and mortality Females have higher
breast yield Males are more aggressive need
sufficient feeder space
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• Hatchery Health Status
• National Poultry Improvement Plan (NPIP)
• Program for hatcheries to be certified free of
  hatchery-
• disseminated diseases such as pullorum,
• or bacillary white diarrhea, and fowl typhoid
• Active control programs
• Salmonella pullorum
• Salmonella gallinarum
• Salmonella enteritidis (SE)
• Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG)
• Mycoplasma synoviae (MS)
• Mycoplasma meleagridis
• http//www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/npip/
• General sanitation

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Other Hatchery Issues Service (promptness in
shipping, refunds) Price Listing of hatcheries
in U.S. http//www.aphis.usda.gov/vs/npip/
http//www.poultryconnection.com/hatchery.html. L
isting of specialty hatcheries See Poultry
Genetics for Pastured Production ATTRA
1-800-346-9140