Essential Poultry Birds for Homestead Sustainability

Poultry farming is the form of animal husbandry which breeds domesticated birds including chickens, ducks, turkeys and geese to produce meat or eggs for food. Poultry – mostly chickens – are farmed in great numbers. More than 60 billion chickens are killed for consumption annually. Chickens used for meat are known as broilers, while chickens used for eggs are called layers — though they are usually also killed for their meat. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

In the United States, the national organization overseeing poultry production is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the UK, the national organization is the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). (EPA Environmental Resources)

Intensive and alternative

According to the World Watch Institute, 74 percent of the world's poultry meat, and 68 percent of eggs are produced intensively. One alternative to intensive poultry farming is free-range farming using lower stocking densities. Poultry producers routinely use nationally approved medications, such as antibiotics, in feed or drinking water, to treat disease or to prevent disease outbreaks. Some FDA-approved medications are also approved for improved feed utilization. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Chicken coop

A chicken coop or hen house is a structure where chickens or other fowl are kept safe and secure. There may be nest boxes and perches in the house. There is a long-standing controversy over the basic need for a chicken coop. One philosophy, known as the "fresh air school", holds that chickens are mostly hardy but can be brought low by confinement, poor air quality and darkness, hence the need for a highly ventilated or open-sided coop with conditions more like the outdoors, even in winter. However, others who keep chickens believe they are prone to illness in outdoor weather and need a controlled-environment coop. This has led to two housing designs for chickens: fresh-air houses with wide openings and nothing more than wire mesh between chickens and the weather (even in Northern winters), or closed houses with doors, windows and hatches which can shut off most ventilation. (Penn State Extension)

Egg-laying chickens

Commercial hens usually begin laying eggs at 16–21 weeks of age, although production gradually declines soon after from approximately 25 weeks of age. This means that in many countries, by approximately 72 weeks of age, flocks are considered economically unviable and are slaughtered after approximately 12 months of egg production, although chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years. In some countries, hens are force moulted to re-invigorate egg-laying. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Environmental conditions are often automatically controlled in egg-laying systems. For example, the duration of the light phase is initially increased to prompt the beginning of egg-laying at 16–20 weeks of age and then mimics summer day length which stimulates the hens to continue laying eggs all year round; normally, egg production occurs only in the warmer months. Some commercial breeds of hen can produce over 300 eggs a year. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Free-range poultry farming allows chickens to roam freely for a period of the day, although they are usually confined in sheds at night to protect them from predators or kept indoors if the weather is particularly bad. In the UK, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) states that a free-range chicken must have day-time access to open-air runs during at least half of its life. Unlike in the United States, this definition also applies to free-range egg-laying hens, meaning they can still be confined in high stocking densities with limited outdoors access.[clarification needed] The European Union regulates marketing standards for egg farming which specifies a minimum condition for free-range eggs that "hens have continuous daytime access to open air runs, except in the case of temporary restrictions imposed by veterinary authorities". The RSPCA "Welfare standards for laying hens and pullets" indicates that the stocking rate must not exceed 1,000 birds per hectare (10 m2 per hen) of range available and a minimum area of overhead shade/shelter of 8 m2 per 1,000 hens must be provided. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Free-range farming of egg-laying hens is increasing its share of the market. DEFRA figures indicate that 45% of eggs produced in the UK throughout 2010 were free range, 5% were produced in barn systems and 50% from cages. This compares with 41% being free range in 2009. (Penn State Extension)

Meat-producing chickens – husbandry systems

Meat chickens, commonly called broilers, are floor-raised on litter such as wood shavings, peanut shells, and rice hulls, indoors in climate-controlled housing. Under modern farming methods, meat chickens reared indoors reach slaughter weight at 5 to 9 weeks of age, as they have been selectively bred to do so. In the first week of a broiler's life, it can grow up to 300 percent of its body size. A nine-week-old broiler averages over 9 pounds (4 kg) in body weight. At nine weeks, a hen will average around 7 pounds (3.2 kg) and a rooster will weigh around 12 pounds (5.5 kg), having a nine-pound (4 kg) average. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Broilers are not raised in cages. They are raised in large, open structures known as grow out houses. A farmer receives the birds from the hatchery at one day old. A grow out consists of 5 to 9 weeks according to how big the kill plant wants the chickens to be. These houses are equipped with mechanical systems to deliver feed and water to the birds. They have ventilation systems and heaters that function as needed. The floor of the house is covered with bedding material consisting of wood chips, rice hulls, or peanut shells. In some cases they can be grown over dry litter or compost. Because dry bedding helps maintain flock health, most growout houses have enclosed watering systems ("nipple drinkers") which reduce spillage. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Keeping birds inside a house protects them from predators such as hawks and foxes. Some houses are equipped with curtain walls, which can be rolled up in good weather to admit natural light and fresh air. Most growout houses built in recent years feature "tunnel ventilation," in which a bank of fans draws fresh air through the house. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Traditionally, a flock of broilers consist of about 20,000 birds in a growout house that measures 400/500 feet long and 40/50 feet wide, thus providing about eight-tenths of a square foot per bird. The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) states that the minimum space is one-half square foot per bird. More modern houses are often larger and contain more birds, but the floor space allotment still meets the needs of the birds. The larger the bird is grown the fewer chickens are put in each house, to give the bigger bird more space per square foot. (Penn State Extension)

Dual-purpose chicken

A dual-purpose chicken is a type of chicken that may be used in the production of both eggs and meat. In the past, many chicken breeds were selected for both functions. However, since the advent of laying and meat hybrids, industrial chicken breeding has made a sharp distinction between chickens with either function, so that certain characteristics have been promoted to an extreme degree. Partly due to the discussion about male offspring of laying hens that are not economically viable and are usually gassed or ground alive as day-old chicks, a discussion is currently underway as to whether dual-purpose chickens have a future role on a large or smaller scale. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Historically, the distinction between egg and meat production did not exist. It only appeared with the development of industrial farming and the breeder's specialization (including day-old chicks). Modern laying breeds have become unable to provide enough meat to satisfy consumers accustomed to breeds selected for fattening, which are poor layers and brooders. (EPA Environmental Resources)

In addition, the strategies for killing livestock affected by avian influenza or highly pathogenic diseases or with significant epidemiological or eco-epidemiological risks have led in a large number of family backyards to replace old mixed varieties with laying poultry or modern meat dishes. (University of Minnesota Extension)

Faced with the criticism leveled at industrial farming (in particular concerning the killing of millions of chicks by gassing (with CO2) or even in certain cases denounced by the media by grinding live chicks, asphyxiation in plastic bags (when the animals are not buried alive or simply thrown in a dumpster), the concept of dual use is one of the possible answers, and as such supported by the Demeter network in Germany. In Switzerland, where two million chicks of hybrid laying breed are put to death every year (according to Oswald Burch, director of GalloSuisse, on SRF1 radio), these animals killed almost at birth are sold as food for animals in zoos or animal stores, or are transformed into biogas. (Penn State Extension)

Issues

Animal welfare groups have frequently criticized the poultry industry for engaging in practices which they assert to be inhumane. Many animal rights advocates object to killing chickens for food, the "factory farm conditions" under which they are raised, methods of transport, and slaughter. Animal Outlook (formerly Compassion Over Killing) and other groups have repeatedly conducted undercover investigations at chicken farms and slaughterhouses which they allege confirm their claims of cruelty. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

A common practice among hatcheries for egg-laying hens is the culling of newly hatched male chicks since they do not lay eggs and do not grow fast enough to be profitable for meat. There are plans to more ethically destroy the eggs before the chicks are hatched, using "in-ovo" sex determination. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Chickens are often stunned before slaughter using carbon dioxide or electric shock in a water bath. Methods claimed to be more humane that could be used are low atmospheric pressure stunning and inert gas asphyxiation. (University of Minnesota Extension)

According to animal charities, carrying chickens by their legs is inhumane. The European Commission advocates for this practice and the UK government is intending to legalize it. (Penn State Extension)

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most important thing to know about Poultry farming?

The most important factor is starting with an honest assessment of your current situation and available resources. Effective implementation depends on matching the approach to your specific context — climate, scale, community, and goals all matter. (USDA National Agriculture Library)

Conclusion

Essential Poultry Birds for Homestead Sustainability represents an important dimension of the larger shift toward sustainable, ecologically grounded ways of living. Whether you are just beginning or deepening existing practice, the resources and knowledge are increasingly accessible. The steps taken today — however modest — contribute to a compounding body of change that matters both locally and globally. (EPA Environmental Resources)

Additional reference: Wikipedia — Poultry farming

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