Americans consume more than 3.5 billion pounds of poultry a year!

Chicken is by far the most popular type of poultry consumed in the United States, accounting for more than 3.5 billion pounds a year. According to the National Chicken Council, that's about 8.6 pounds of chicken per person.

Deli turkey is a distant second, with just shy of 200 million pounds consumed in 2016. That's less than 5 pounds per person.

Duck and goose are also popular types of poultry, but they account for a small percentage of the total consumption. In 2016, Americans ate nearly 11 million ducks and 2.4 million geese, for a combined total of about 3.5 percent of all poultry consumption.

Get Your Daily Protein Intake With These 5 Poultry-Based Recipes

One easy way to make sure you're getting enough protein in your diet is to incorporate poultry into your meals. Poultry is a great source of protein, and there are plenty of recipes out there that allow you to get your daily dose. Here are 5 recipes that will help you reach your daily protein goals:

1. Quinoa Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash, Turkey, and Cranberries: This salad is packed with protein and flavor. The quinoa provides a good dose of plant-based protein, while the roasted butternut squash and turkey add some animal-based protein. And the cranberries give it a touch of sweetness.

2. Grilled Paprika Chicken Drumsticks: These drumsticks are smoky, spicy, and delicious. They're perfect for a summer barbecue or for any time you want something quick and easy. And they're also high in protein – each drumstick packs about 20 grams.

3. Crispy Baked Honey Thyme Chicken Tenders: These chicken tenders are crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside. They're coated in a delicious honey thyme sauce that gives them lots of flavor. Plus, they have 26 grams of protein per serving.

4. One-Pot Herbed Mushroom Chicken Pasta: This pasta dish is hearty and filling, but still healthy and light. It's made with chicken, mushrooms, whole wheat pasta, and a variety of herbs and spices. And it has 36 grams of protein per serving!

5. Slow Cooker Honey Sriracha Garlic Chicken: This chicken dish is both sweet and spicy – perfect for those who love flavorful food. It's made with garlic, honey, sriracha sauce, and other flavorful ingredients. Plus, it has 32 grams of protein per serving!

Raising Chickens: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started

If you are thinking of raising chickens, or if you are just curious about what is involved, this article is for you. I will cover everything from the basics of chicken care to the more advanced concepts. By the time you finish reading, you should have a good understanding of what is involved in keeping chickens and be ready to get started yourself.

Chickens are interesting creatures and make great additions to any backyard flock. They are relatively easy to care for and can provide you with fresh eggs daily. The best part is that they are relatively affordable to keep, even if you decide to buy a few chicks instead of waiting for them to hatch yourself.

So, let's get started! The first thing you need to know is what type of chickens will be the best fit for your backyard. There are many different breeds of chickens available, each with their own unique characteristics. For beginners, I would recommend starting with a standard breed such as Rhode Island Reds, Barred Rocks, or Plymouth Rocks. These birds are hardy and relatively easy to care for, making them a good choice for new chicken owners.

When choosing your chickens, be sure to select healthy looking birds with bright eyes and no sign of disease or injury. It is also important to consider the climate in which you live. If your winters are cold, be sure to choose a breed that is suited for cold weather conditions. Similarly, if you live in a hot climate, be sure to select a breed that can handle high temperatures.

Once you have chosen your chickens, it is time to set up their new home. This can be as simple as constructing a basic chicken coop or buying a pre-made one. The coop should be large enough for the number of birds you have and should include at least one nesting box per hen. It is also important to provide your chickens with plenty of space to roam outside the coop; otherwise they will become stressed and could start pecking at each other out of boredom.

The next step is setting up your chicken's diet. Chickens require a balanced diet that consists of both scratch grains and commercial feed pellets. Scratch grains are basically cracked corn or other cereals that can be bought at most pet stores or feed stores. Feed pellets can also be bought at these stores, or through online retailers like Amazon . Be sure not give your chickens too much scratch grain though, as it can lead to obesity and other health problems. A good rule of thumb is to provide only enough scratch grain so that it makes up about 10-15% of their total diet.

The final step in setting up your flock is ensuring they have access to clean water at all times. This can be done by either supplying them with a waterer or by providing them with access to running water like a creek or pond. Fresh water is essential for keeping your chickens healthy and happy and should always be made available no matter what time of year it is.

Now that we have covered the basics of setting up your chicken flock, let's move on to caring for them on a day-to-day basis . The first thing you need to do each morning (before letting the chickens out) is gather their eggs . Chickens will lay eggs anywhere from once per week up to once per day , so be sure to check under bushes, in trees , and anywhere else they might hide their eggs . Collecting eggs daily helps keep them from being broken or damaged .

In addition to gathering eggs each morning , it is also important rotate your hens' food and water supplies . This means moving their feeders and waterers around so that they do not become accustomed to having everything in one spot . Doing this helps keep them healthy by preventing them from becoming bloated or developing other digestive problems . At night , it is important put the chickens back into their coop so they can roost undisturbed . This usually means closing off any entrances besides the door so that predators cannot get into the coop . One way To ensure that all animals are accounted for before locking up at night Is To tie a small bell around One leg Of One Of The Hens And listening For It Throughout The Night

Throughout The Day , keep an eye on your chickens And watch For signs Of Illness Or Injury Some common symptoms Of Illness Include sluggishness , ruffled feathers , diarrhea , And sneezing If You notice any Of These Symptoms , take Your Chicken To A veterinarian as soon as possible For Treatment

Finally , muck out The coop regularly To Keep It clean And dry A buildup Of manure Can Lead To respiratory Problems In Chickens As Well As Other Infections All these tasks may seem like a lot but They Are essential In keeping Your Chickens healthy And happy

The Truth About Commercial Poultry Production

The modern commercial poultry industry is a marvel of efficiency. Poultry producers have created a system where flock size is optimized, mortality is minimized, and feed conversion is maximized. The result is an incredibly productive process that can turn a small amount of feed into a large number of chickens or eggs.

However, this process does not come without cost. In order to create the most productive flocks possible, poultry producers must rely on a variety of management techniques and technologies that can be harsh on the animals. This can include practices such as controlled-atmosphere stunning (CAS) and shackling and hanging birds by their legs to be slaughtered.

These procedures have come under fire from animal welfare advocates in recent years. Critics contend that they are inhumane and cause undue stress and suffering to the animals. However, poultry producers contend that these practices are necessary to produce a safe and healthy product.

So who is right? Is commercial poultry production inherently inhumane, or are the critics overstating their case? This article will explore the truth about commercial poultry production and help you decide for yourself what you think about this controversial topic.

Commercial poultry production has been around for centuries. The modern industry began to take shape in the early twentieth century with the development of mechanized slaughterhouses and refrigeration systems. These advances allowed producers to efficiently process large numbers of chickens and eggs for sale to consumers.

Today, commercial poultry production is a highly industrialized process. Chickens are raised in large flocks on factory farms where they are fed a specialized diet designed to optimize their growth rate and egg production. They are also routinely given antibiotics and other medications to keep them healthy.

In order to minimize losses due to predation or disease, chicken producers use a variety of management techniques including controlled-atmosphere stunning (CAS). CAS involves placing chickens into an atmosphere that contains less than 21% oxygen. This causes them to lose consciousness within seconds and prevents them from experiencing pain or distress during slaughter.

Shackling and hanging chickens by their legs is another common slaughtering method used by commercial poultry producers. This procedure is used because it is considered to be the most humane way to kill the animals. It causes quick death with little or no pain or distress.

Critics of commercial poultry production argue that these methods are inhumane and cause undue stress and suffering to the animals. They claim that chickens subjected to CAS experience anxiety and panic before losing consciousness, while those who are shackled and hung often struggle unsuccessfully for up to two minutes before eventually dying.

Poultry producers maintain that these practices are necessary in order to produce a safe and healthy product. They argue that steps must be taken in order to ensure food safety, protect human health, and reduce bird mortality rates. They also point out that alternative slaughtering methods such as gas chambers or electrocution can be even more cruel than shackling and hanging birds by their legs.

So who is right? Is commercial poultry production inherently inhumane, or are the critics overstating their case? The answer likely lies somewhere in between. There is no doubt that some degree of suffering occurs during modern chicken slaughtering procedures, but it is important to remember that these practices are essential for keeping our food supply safe and producible at scale

25 Surprising Facts About Poultry

Poultry is a broad term used to describe domesticated birds that are kept by humans for their eggs, meat or feathers. In the United States, poultry is the second most popular type of meat, after beef. The following are 25 surprising facts about poultry:

1. More than 95% of American households eat poultry products.

2. Chickens are the most common type of poultry, followed by ducks and turkeys.

3. Chickens can lay more than 300 eggs per year.

4. Ducks can lay more than 200 eggs per year.

5. Turkeys can lay more than 100 eggs per year.

6. A chicken's lifespan is about seven years.

7. Ducks can live for up to 20 years.

8. Turkeys can live for up to 10 years.

9. Poultry accounts for more than $40 billion of agricultural income each year in the United States alone.

10. More than 9 billion broiler chickens are slaughtered each year in the United States alone – that's about 25 million chickens every day!