|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Pick up our monthly e-mail newsletter to stay informed of the importance of agriculture in Mississippi! |
||||||||||||||||||
Caring for Poultry
Poultry farming represents a vital portion of Mississippi’s agricultural economy, and a major part of America’s agricultural resource.
Birds are cared for carefully to ensure a safe food source, and producers are responsible for every aspect of poultry life, like administering immunizations.Layering operations, which receive birds at birth, begin with immunizations to prevent illness. As with all livestock, when a bird is ill or injured, veterinarians are called in to help treat the bird. Many farms have regular veterinary visits to monitor the health of their birds.
Environmental conditions play a crucial role in the health of poultry, and monitoring these conditions is a primary effort of poultru producers. Producers constantly track air, water and soil quality to prevent disease and to comply with stringent Environmental Protection Agency regulations. Indoor operations are thoroughly cleaned before a new flock of birds enters, and maintained throughout the year to prevent disease, pollution, and to keep the birds comfortable.
Recordkeeping also plays a vital role in poultry production. Numerous records are maintained, such as documentation of daily events like temperature, egg production, feed consumption, etc. Periodic samplings of conditions or performance like body weights, egg weights and flock summaries, are also recorded.
United Egg Producers Certification
The United Egg Producers Certified animal welfare program was launched nationwide in 2002 to assure retailers, foodservice professionals and consumers that their eggs originate from farms that follow responsible, science-based production methods.
Egg producers representing more than 200 million layers of the industry have already signed on to participate in the United Egg Producers Certified program. Participating producers are audited annually through an independent certification program to ensure the new standards are being met.
The guidelines place top priority on the comfort, health and safety of the birds, namely:
- Increased cage space per hen, which is being phased in to avoid market disruptions.
- Standards for non-feed withdrawal molting procedures based on the most current, verified scientific studies.
- Standards for trimming of chicks' beaks, when necessary, to avoid pecking and cannibalism.
- Maintaining constant supply of fresh feed, water and air ventilation throughout the chicken house including continual monitoring for ammonia.
- Standards for daily inspection of each bird as well proper handling and transportation.
- Required training videos to instruct producer staffs on the proper handling of chickens and to avoid injury to the animals.
 |