Handbook of Poultry Production: A Practical Guide

Poultry farming is the practice of raising poultry, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and geese, as a subcategory of animal husbandry, for the purpose of farming meat or eggs for food. More than 50 billion chickens are reared annualy as a source of food, for both their meat and their eggs. Chickens farmed for meat are called broilers, whilst those farmed for eggs are called egg-laying hens. In total, for eggs are called egg-laying hens. In total, the UK alone consumers over 29 million eggs per day. Some lens can produce over 300 eggs a year. Chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years. After 12 month, the hen’s productivity will start to decline. This is when most commercial laying hens are slaughtered.