Examine the advanced agricultural practice of chicken farming from the hatchery to the processing plant
Farming and processing of chickens in North Carolina
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Transcript
NARRATOR: The raising of chickens for broiler and egg production in the United States is one of the most advanced agricultural industries in the world.
This is a chicken farm in Siler City, North Carolina. These 16,000 broilers are five weeks old.
The chickens come to the poultry farm from a hatchery. Here the eggs are hatched not by mother hens but in an incubator that keeps them warm. The eggs are turned mechanically about once an hour, just as the hens would turn them in their nests.
After 21 days in the warmth and darkness of the incubators, the baby chicks hatch. The chicks must be vaccinated so disease will not spread through the closely packed population. They are then placed in containers and transported to the poultry farm.
The chicks stay on this farm for six weeks. Feeding on grain or high-protein meals that've been enriched with minerals and vitamins, they grow in plump adult chickens.
From the poultry farm the chickens go to processing plants, where they are prepared and packaged for delivery to supermarkets all across the United States.
This is a chicken farm in Siler City, North Carolina. These 16,000 broilers are five weeks old.
The chickens come to the poultry farm from a hatchery. Here the eggs are hatched not by mother hens but in an incubator that keeps them warm. The eggs are turned mechanically about once an hour, just as the hens would turn them in their nests.
After 21 days in the warmth and darkness of the incubators, the baby chicks hatch. The chicks must be vaccinated so disease will not spread through the closely packed population. They are then placed in containers and transported to the poultry farm.
The chicks stay on this farm for six weeks. Feeding on grain or high-protein meals that've been enriched with minerals and vitamins, they grow in plump adult chickens.
From the poultry farm the chickens go to processing plants, where they are prepared and packaged for delivery to supermarkets all across the United States.