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Small Animal Care and Management
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1. Read and translate the text:
Small Animal Care and Management
As our world population continues to expand and there is less and less room for humans and large animals to coexist, the importance of small animals continues to increase. They are more efficient than larger animals are in converting food eaten into usable feed and other products for humans. They are less intrusive on the lives of people and are therefore more readily accepted. This unit explores poultry, rabbits, pets, and honeybees, and their contributions to our daily lives.
POULTRY
History and Domestication
The domestication of chickens occurred about 4000 В. С. in Southeast Asia. То domesticate means to tame for the use of people. The association of jungle fowl, ancestors of our present-day chickens, with humans benefitted both. Humans made small clearings in the jungle that attracted insects and other food for the jungle fowl.
The jungle fowl provided some eggs and meat for humans. This association over centuries gradually led to the domesticated chicken of today. Chickens came to the New World with the earliest settlers, and the people of Jamestown settlement had their pens of chickens.
Turkeys are the only domesticated animal of agriscience importance to have originated and been domesticated in the New World. When early explorers arrived in the New World, they found that the Indians of Central America had highly domesticated turkeys that were being grown for food for animals and humans. While present-day turkeys are direct descendants of the wild turkey of the United States, they have been domesticated to the point where they are totally dependent on humans and cannot survive in the wild.
The various types and breeds of ducks and geese have originated from places all over the world. Ducks and geese are also known as waterfowl.
Economic Importance
The consumption of red meat has declined somewhat in recent years. This is believed to bе due to negative publicity regarding fat and cholesterol. Second, the cost of red meat such as beef and pork may have caused а decrease in its demand. As а result, consumption of poultry and poultry products, with the exception of eggs, has been increasing. Poultry is а group name given to all domesticated birds. Present consumption of poultry meat is more than 60 lbs. per person each year. Americans also eat about 225 eggs per person each year. As а result, the poultry industry is and will continue to bе an important part of the American agriscience industry. Currently, poultry production ranks third behind beef and swine production in dollar sales of meat. Three of the four largest farms in the United States are poultry operations.
Centers of production in the United States for the more than 4 billion broilers (young chickens grown for meat) produced each year are Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, and Mississippi. California is the leading producer of eggs bу а wide margin.
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The production of turkeys is spread over а wide area, with North Carolina, Minnesota, California, Arkansas, and Missouri as the five leading states. Nearly 60% of the more than 10 million ducks produced in the United States each year come from Long Island, New York. New York, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, and Minnesota are major producers of geese.
Types and Uses of Poultry
The types of domesticated poultry can bе divided into the following general groups: chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, and captive game birds.
Chickens are usually classified as either layers or broilers, depending on their intended use. Layers are chickens developed to produce large numbers of eggs. They may produce either white or brown eggs, depending on the breed. Laying chickens are also maintained to produce eggs to bе hatched for the production of broiler chicks. Chicks are newborn chickens.
Chickens produced for meat are usually classified according to age. Broilers are young meat chickens usually not more than eight weeks old. Roasters are mature chickens used for meat. Capons are castrated male chickens that are 14 to 17 weeks old when they are marketed. Castration is the removal of the male sex organs. This can bе accomplished either surgically or chemically. Game or Cornish chickens are also breeds of chickens raised for meat.
Young male chickens are called cockerols, whereas adult males are called cocks or roosters. These terms also apply to male pheasants. Young female chickens are called pullets, and adult female chickens are called hens. Adult female turkeys, ducks, and pheasants are also called hens.
Other classes of chickens include bantams, or miniature chickens, and ornamental chickens, which are of value strictly for show.
There are more than 200 recognized breeds of chickens in the United States: However, nearly all of the layer and broiler types used are the result of crossbreeding to maximize production. The foundation breed of most laying-type chickens is the White Leghorn. Most broilers can trace their ancestors back to Cornish or game chickens.
There is really only one type of turkey used commercially in the United States, the Broad Breasted White. This breed accounts for more than 90% of the more than 170 million turkeys produced in the United States each year. Other turkey breeds include Broad Breasted Bronze, Bourbon Red, Holland White, and Beltsville Small White. Male turkeys are called toтs and young turkeys are poults.
Ducks can bе classified as meat producers or egg producers. The primary meat breed is the Pekin. They reach а market weight of about 7 lbs. in 8 weeks. This makes them faster growing than broilers, which reach 3 
to 4 lbs. in the same period of time. Other breeds of ducks used for meat production are Aylesbury, Muscovy, Rouen, and Call.
Egg-laying ducks are generally either Khaki Campbell or Indian Runner. The Khaki Campbell is the champion egg layer of the bird world, often averaging more than 350 eggs per year. This compares to an average of about 200 eggs laid per year for laying chickens. Male ducks are called drakes and young ducks are ducklings.
Geese are primarily raised for meat. There is а limited market for geese used for weeding certain crops. The Chinese breed is popular for this use. Other breeds of geese are Toulouse, Emden, Pilgrim, and African. Male geese are called ganders, а female is а goose, and young geese are goslings.
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Captive game birds include pheasants, quail, chukor partridge, and pigeons. The uses of game birds include meat and eggs. Some game birds are also raised to release to the wild or on game preserves for hunting. Pigeons may bе raised for sport or for meat. The young pigeons, called squabs, are used for meat before they learn to fly.
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