![]() Chicken is the most efficient of the meat proteins in feed conversion. Today a chicken more than twice that size can be grown in less than half the time with only 11 pounds of feed. In 1925, it took 16 weeks and almost 12 pounds of feed to grow a 2.5 pound chicken. In addition to diet, advances in selective breeding, improved production technologies and better management practices have enabled the industry to grow broilers faster and with less feed. Corn and soybean meal are major production costs in the poultry industry, representing 47% of the cost of growing a chicken in 2008. Vertically integrated poultry companies operate feed mills to produce scientifically formulated feeds. The finished chicken products are sent to distribution centers then transported to customers who sell the chicken to consumers. When the broilers reach the desired processing weight, they are caught and taken to processing plants. There, contract farmers care for and raise the chicks according to company standards. Shortly after the eggs hatch, the chicks are sent to broiler farms. The pullets produce fertile eggs, which are sent to hatcheries. Pullets hatch from the fertile eggs, and they are sent to breeder houses. The breeder flocks are raised to maturity in grandparent growing and laying farms where fertile eggs are produced. The broiler chicken production process begins with the grandparent breeder flocks. Tyson Foods’ chicken operations are fully vertically integrated. ![]() There are seven stages involved in getting chicken to the consumer:Įach of these stages was once a separate enterprise, but today, much of the chicken industry is vertically integrated, resulting in greater efficiencies and higher product quality. ![]()
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