Essay About Commercial Egg Production And Cheap Food Of High Nutritional Quality

Chicken Hatching
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Experiment:
Chicken Hatching
Background Information
Some facts about chickens
A chicken is a bird. One of the features that differentiate it from most other birds is
that it has a comb and two wattles. The comb is the red appendage atop the head, and the
wattles are the two appendages under the chin. These are secondary sexual characteristics
and are much more prominent in the male. The comb is the basis of the Latin name or
classification of chickens. In Latin, gallus means comb, and the domestic chicken is Gallus
domesticus. The Red Jungle Fowl, ancestor of most domestic chickens, is Gallus bankiva.
There are eight recognized kinds of combs: single, rose, pea, cushion, buttercup,
strawberry, V-shaped, and silkie.
The chicken has two legs and two wings, a fact that influences housing and
management. Heavy breeds used for meat production cannot do more than flap their
wings and jump to a little higher level or move more rapidly along the ground. he chicken
has pneumatic bones, making its body lighter for flying, although most domestic chickens
have lost the ability to do so. The lighter-bodied birds can fly short distances, and some
can fly over relatively high fences.
The chickens temperature is about 107 degrees to 107.5 degrees F.
Chickens have comparatively short life spans. Some live to be 10 to 15 years old,
but they are an exception. In commercial egg production, birds are about 18 months old
when they are replaced by new, young stock. It takes close to six months for a female
chicken to mature sexually and start laying eggs. Then, they are kept for 12 to 14 months
of egg production. After that their economic value declines rapidly, so they are disposed
of when they are about 18 months old.
Chickens and Eggs in the Economy
Poultry and eggs are a comparatively cheap food of high nutritional quality.
Value of production (in billions of dollars)
Poultry and Egg
Broilers
Turkeys
Chickens
0.083
0.076
0.086
0.080
0.084
Consumption Per Person
Eggs (No.)
Chickens (lbs.)
Turkey (lbs.)
Total poultry (lbs.)
Beef (lbs.)
Pork (lbs.)
Lamb, mutton, veal (lbs.)
Total red meat (lbs.)
119.8
122.7
118.4
119.1
Total Consumption
No. layers (million)
No. eggs (billion)
Broilers (billion)
Turkeys (million)
Information on Eggs
Value of eggs
Food prices continue to climb, particularly for high-protein foods, and consumers are
constantly searching for ways to reduce their food bill. One way is to include more eggs in
the diet. Comparing protein foods on a pound-for-pound basis, eggs cost about 95 cents a
pound when large eggs are selling for 64 cents a dozen. It is difficult to purchase any other
high-protein food–meat or fish–for this low price.
Essential nutrients
Eggs are especially valuable as a source of protein. In fact, egg protein is used as the
standard against which the quality of other food proteins is measured. One egg contains
about 6 to 7 grams of protein. People of all ages need adequate protein for building and
repairing body tissues.
The fat in the yolk is so fine that can be digested easily, even by infants. The ratio of
unsaturated to saturated fats is about 2 to 1. This is considered very desirable. Oleic acid
is the main unsaturated fat. It has no effect on blood cholesterol. Eggs contain vitamin A,
the B vitamins (thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin), and vitamin D. All are necessary during
childhood and adolescence for growth. Eggs also contain an abundant supply of minerals,
such as iron and phosphorus, that are essential for building and maintaining strong, healthy
bodies. But eggs are low in calcium (it is in the shell), and contain little or no vitamin C.
Individuals