A couple of old films about egg farming
Here are links to a couple of old films which can now be seen on YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22KP21aEhm0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRq2-kyxaB4
They present great views about how eggs were produced for the mass market back in the 1940's and 1950's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22KP21aEhm0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRq2-kyxaB4
They present great views about how eggs were produced for the mass market back in the 1940's and 1950's.
The history of chooks
It is generally agreed that domestic hens are descended from Jungle Fowl. Although modern laying hens have been domesticated for centuries, they still have the same basic, natural instincts of their wild forebears. High densities and beak trimming are not compatible with the natural activities of a chook.
This is taken from the Poultry CRC website:
Ancestry: the jungle fowl
Jungle Fowl are predominantly ground dwelling birds living in areas with dense overhead vegetation. Social groups typically consist of one male with up to four females and their chicks, although larger groups of up to 20 birds can form in more open environments. Other males are either solitary or form unisexual groups of two or three birds. Family groups have a well-defined home range and a regular roosting location.
Flocks spend the majority of the day on the ground and generally only roost at night or in response to perceived danger. Foraging for food comprises up to 75% of activity during the day. Maintaining plumage condition through preening and dust-bathing is also a consistent daily activity. The breeding season varies but is generally in the spring and summer in temperate zones, where breeding is stimulated by increasing day length and halted by decreasing day length in autumn. Breeding is all year round in tropical areas.
Jungle fowl are ground layers, hens select a nest site that is a well concealed hollow that may or may not be lined with grass or leaves. They lay a “clutch” (a set of eggs produced or incubated at one time) of five to eight eggs. They then become broody (physiologically ready to incubate eggs after having completed egg laying) and sit on the eggs to incubate them. Hens cease to be broody and drive the chicks away when they are six to eight weeks old.
Observations of the behavior of jungle fowl are useful in understanding the underlying behavioral drives of domestic chickens, however it has not been satisfactorily quantified how much domestication may have modified these drives.
By comparison, domestic chickens are less active, have fewer social interactions, are less aggressive to would-be predators, and are less likely to go looking for foreign food sources than their wild ancestors. As a result of global spread and domestication, a large number of breeds of domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) have been developed.
Since the red jungle fowl still exists in its wild state today, it is possible to compare the characteristics of the domesticated chicken with its wild ancestor. Physical changes that have resulted from domestication include increased growth rate and adult body weight, simplified plumage, earlier sexual maturity, more frequent egg laying and larger eggs. Originally found in parts of China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, the red jungle fowl has contributed the majority of the genes to the domesticated fowl. However, recent research suggests that the Grey Jungle fowl (Gallus sonneratii) also made a small contribution. Earliest domestication, some ten thousand years ago, was in India and Vietnam when the jungle fowl were kept for their meat and eggs. It is doubtful if there are any of this species remaining in its pure form. There are four sub-species of the red jungle fowl: the Javan, the Cochin Chinese, the Burman and the Tonkinese. The hen and the cock weigh only about 500g and 1100g respectively.
This is taken from the Poultry CRC website:
Ancestry: the jungle fowl
Jungle Fowl are predominantly ground dwelling birds living in areas with dense overhead vegetation. Social groups typically consist of one male with up to four females and their chicks, although larger groups of up to 20 birds can form in more open environments. Other males are either solitary or form unisexual groups of two or three birds. Family groups have a well-defined home range and a regular roosting location.
Flocks spend the majority of the day on the ground and generally only roost at night or in response to perceived danger. Foraging for food comprises up to 75% of activity during the day. Maintaining plumage condition through preening and dust-bathing is also a consistent daily activity. The breeding season varies but is generally in the spring and summer in temperate zones, where breeding is stimulated by increasing day length and halted by decreasing day length in autumn. Breeding is all year round in tropical areas.
Jungle fowl are ground layers, hens select a nest site that is a well concealed hollow that may or may not be lined with grass or leaves. They lay a “clutch” (a set of eggs produced or incubated at one time) of five to eight eggs. They then become broody (physiologically ready to incubate eggs after having completed egg laying) and sit on the eggs to incubate them. Hens cease to be broody and drive the chicks away when they are six to eight weeks old.
Observations of the behavior of jungle fowl are useful in understanding the underlying behavioral drives of domestic chickens, however it has not been satisfactorily quantified how much domestication may have modified these drives.
By comparison, domestic chickens are less active, have fewer social interactions, are less aggressive to would-be predators, and are less likely to go looking for foreign food sources than their wild ancestors. As a result of global spread and domestication, a large number of breeds of domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus) have been developed.
Since the red jungle fowl still exists in its wild state today, it is possible to compare the characteristics of the domesticated chicken with its wild ancestor. Physical changes that have resulted from domestication include increased growth rate and adult body weight, simplified plumage, earlier sexual maturity, more frequent egg laying and larger eggs. Originally found in parts of China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, the red jungle fowl has contributed the majority of the genes to the domesticated fowl. However, recent research suggests that the Grey Jungle fowl (Gallus sonneratii) also made a small contribution. Earliest domestication, some ten thousand years ago, was in India and Vietnam when the jungle fowl were kept for their meat and eggs. It is doubtful if there are any of this species remaining in its pure form. There are four sub-species of the red jungle fowl: the Javan, the Cochin Chinese, the Burman and the Tonkinese. The hen and the cock weigh only about 500g and 1100g respectively.
