Page 133 - Calculating Agriculture Cover 20191124 STUDENT - A

CH 12] Calculating Agriculture 12-3

• Kosher chicken: Kosher chicken is just as nutritious as are other prepared birds listed.
Kosher birds are slaughtered according to Jewish dietary law, which have been
observed in excess of 3000 years. Most of the basic laws of kashrut are derived from
the Torah's books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy which are the same in the Holy Bible.
Kosher prepared birds are plucked without using hot water, eviscerated, and their
organs examined. Once approved, cleaned birds are salted (a process called kashering)
to draw out the blood. Salting kills some Salmonella and other types of bacteria, and is
long standing purifying agent. Obviously the salting used in koshering may also
increase the sodium content—500 milligrams of sodium in 8 ounces of kosher chicken
meat versus 150 milligrams in non-kosher, according to one study. This increase may be
significant if you’re on a low-sodium diet. However, the bird carcass is washed to
remove excess sodium.

Turkeys raised for meat are typically a hybrid Broad Breasted White, but there also exists
heritage turkey breeds. It takes 12-30 weeks rearing depending on breed line and desired average
weight for the Broad Breasted White to reach the desired slaughter weight. The Broad Breasted
White can reach a live slaughter weight of 36 pounds for toms and 24 pounds for hens in 20 weeks.
Conventional broad breasted turkeys are often processed after 14 to 18 weeks, but the heritage breeds 12
will need from 25 to 30 weeks to reach a marketable weight range of up to 28#. The Heritage birds
normally dress out at around 12 to 14 pounds.
For rearing, the Broad Breasted carries about 70% of its weight in its breast. This weight
displacement causes the bird to not be a flyer like its Heritage cousin.

A heritage turkey is
Table 12.1 Examples of Heritage Breeds
one of a variety of
strains of domestic
• Black • Bourbon Red turkey which retains
• Bronze • Beltsville Small White historic
• Narragansett • Royal Palm characteristics that
• White Holland • Jersey Buff are no longer
• Slate • Midget White present in the
majority of turkeys
raised for

All are recognized breeds under the American Poultry Association’s “Standard consumption since
of Perfection.” the mid-20th
century.

Housing and Equipment for Poultry

The organizational purpose will predict the land use for housing and growing poultry. Broilers
are often grown in brooder houses. Turkeys utilize both brooder houses and penned areas. Egg
producers utilize cage houses for their flock unless they are ranged. Commercial egg ranches and
farms utilize cages. Each of these may require space heaters, watering units and feed dispensers with
appropriate conveyances.
The number of farm flocks have declined, though the total numbers of birds raised and put into
production flocks have increased. There are fewer general-purpose type of poultry houses and
equipment in use, favoring the large growers with highly specialized poultry enterprises along with
buildings and equipment adapted to their specialized demands. There is any number of different
styles, sizes, and colors of poultry buildings and equipment, within specialty types of operations
though the principles poultry husbandry remain constant. The facilities and equipment for layers, for
brooding of chicks, for replacement pullets, for broilers, for turkey poults, for market turkeys, and
for breeding turkeys provide the same functions designed for the specific flock needs.

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