There are several breeds of chicken. Some have been developed for different purposes in commercial production. We can put them, simply, into three groups; layers, meat producers and the dual-purpose breeds.
A point of note. Every breed of chicken lays eggs and produces meat. But some lay more and better eggs as others are better at producing meat.
Now, let us look at the various types of poultry. In the end, you will know where your layers, broilers, cockerels, domestic birds, turkeys and all others lie.
Laying Breeds
These breeds are good at laying more eggs compared to others. Popular amongst them are the White Leghorn, Black Sex Link breeds and Red Sex Link. They can lay for several years. The hen starts laying at about the 16-20 weeks old. They can lay between 240–280 eggs the first year. At 14 months, laying hens begin to moult. That is, they drop their old feathers and grow new ones. They do not lay during this period. After moulting, hens lay larger but fewer eggs per year. About 200–220 eggs.
Meat Breeds
Meat-producing breeds are very good at converting feed to meat. They can produce nearly 0.5kg of bodyweight for every 1kg of feed they eat. A popular meat-producing breed is a Cornish breed. The Cornish game hen is a cross between the Cornish and the New Hampshire or Plymouth Rock breeds. Meat-producing chickens have broad-breast and are larger than the laying breeds. They grow and feather rapidly. They weigh about 2.5kg or more at eight weeks. Broilers and fryers are butchered at 1.5kg to 2.5kg, while a roaster is butchered at 3 to 4kg.
Question:
Can broilers lay eggs?
Why don’t they lay eggs?
Dual-Purpose Breeds:
The dual-purpose breed is the classic domestic or backyard chicken. We also raise them commercially. These breeds are hardy, self-reliant and fairly large-bodied. They mostly lay large brown-shelled eggs. Examples include Rhode Island Red and New Hampshire breeds. Some laying and dual-purpose hens can incubate and hatch their eggs. They do not lay eggs during this period. This affects egg production.
Other Types of Poultry
Turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowls and quails are often raised as pets or for their egg and meat. We often raise them on a small scale.
Which of them do you raise in your backyard?
Reference
Types of Poultry – (nutrenaworld.com)
