Evolution of the Poultry Industry on Delmarva: Georgie Cartanza

Coming from a farming background with my family that raised chickens in the outskirts of Frankford. I thought I knew everything there was to know when It came to chickens. Then when the lecture began with Georgie. we learned about how the industry started off with a mishap with instead of a lady getting  50 chickens she received 500. Then how the industry grew from taking 9 weeks for a chicken in the 50’s to weigh only 905 g then in 2005 it was up to 4,202 g in weight over 9 weeks. From that people began to think farmers were pumping them with steroids and hormones. which is not the case the farmers and hatchery’s began to look into the genetics that’s were they began to breed the chickens to the best rooster and hen.

I began explaining  some of the topics we learned in the lecture with Georgie Cartanza  to my father that took care of the chickens on the farm he was very surprised and so was I that how much the industry has changed. Like how much less you have to do to keep the chickens comfortable and not being to stressed. You could control your heating and or cooling of the house by smart phone instead of having to go in and change it all by hand. One major thing I learned was that in organic poultry farming that the chickens can’t get any antibiotics if they are sick. So they may take a big cut since they can’t sell there chickens. Also that they can have the chickens go outside of the chicken house which is cool. In a way it is kind of scary because they are more likely to get Avian influenza. which can spread and your farm has to be In quarantine.  There is so many new things that I learned from her can’t wait to she her farm soon.

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