Chickens are the most common birds on earth. They are kept for their eggs (laying-hen) and for their meat (broiler chickens) all over the world, from huge farms to people's yards. Hens (female chickens) often live in groups and each hen looks after her own brood (family of chicks), sometimes living in little houses called chicken coops.
Fast Facts:
Hormones and steroids use in poultry has been banned since the 1960s in Canada.
Chickens are not genetically modified.
There are no antibiotics in the chicken you buy. Farmers follow strict withdrawal periods to ensure no meat bought at the grocery store contains antibiotics.
Of the 2,800 registered farms in Canada, Alberta is home to 250 registered farms.
Alberta chicken production in 2018 was 166,472 tonnes of meat.
Economic contribution of the chicken industry is $220 million in farm cash receipts.
In 2016, per capita consumption of chicken in Canada was 32.5 kg. Chicken remains the number one consumed protein in Canada, followed by beef at 25 kg and pork at 20.9 kg. Chicken has been the highest per capita consumption of all the meats since it surpassed beef in 2004.
Alberta chicken farming contributes $623 million to GDP
Alberta is the fourth largest chicken-producing province in Canada after Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia.
Ever wondered what it looks like inside a chicken barn? Check out this video:
There are 19 billion chickens in the world!
So why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side of course!
Sources:
agricultureforlife.ca