Editing Poultry (section)

==Poultry farming==
{{main|Poultry farming}}
[[File:Duck farm in Hainan 02.jpg|thumb|Free-range ducks in Hainan Province, China|240x240px]]
[[File:Battery-farm.jpg|thumb|240x240px|Hens in battery cages can not move freely, with several birds living in a single cage.]]
Worldwide, more chickens are kept than any other type of poultry, with over 50 billion birds being raised each year as a source of meat and eggs.<ref name=Compassion>{{cite web |url=http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm_animals/poultry |title=Compassion in World Farming: Poultry |publisher=Ciwf.org.uk |access-date=February 12, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227233132/http://www.ciwf.org.uk/farm%5Fanimals/poultry/ |archive-date=February 27, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> Traditionally, such birds would have been kept extensively in small flocks, foraging during the day and housed at night. This is still the case in developing countries, where the women often make important contributions to family livelihoods through keeping poultry. However, rising world populations and urbanization have led to the bulk of production being in larger, more intensive specialist units. These are often situated close to where the feed is grown or near to where the meat is needed, and result in cheap, safe food being made available for urban communities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/themes/en/poultry/home.html |title=Animal production and health: Poultry |date=September 25, 2012 |publisher=FAO |access-date=February 27, 2014}}</ref> Profitability of production depends very much on the price of feed, which has been rising. High feed costs could limit further development of poultry production.<ref>{{cite web|last=Agritrade|title=Poultry Brief 2013|url=http://agritrade.cta.int/Agriculture/Commodities/Poultry/Executive-Brief-Update-2013-Poultry-sector|publisher=CTA|access-date=February 28, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709034856/http://agritrade.cta.int/Agriculture/Commodities/Poultry/Executive-Brief-Update-2013-Poultry-sector|archive-date=July 9, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In [[free-range]] husbandry, the birds can roam freely outdoors for at least part of the day. Often, this is in large enclosures, but the birds have access to natural conditions and can exhibit their normal behaviours. A more intensive system is [[yarding]], in which the birds have access to a fenced yard and [[Chicken coop|poultry house]] at a higher stocking rate. Poultry can also be kept in a barn system, with no access to the open air, <!-- (or predators and disease-carrying wild birds), --> but with the ability to move around freely inside the building. The most intensive system for egg-laying chickens is [[battery cage]]s, often set in multiple tiers. In these, several birds share a small cage which restricts their ability to move around and behave in a normal manner. The eggs are laid on the floor of the cage and roll into troughs outside for ease of collection. Battery cages for hens have been illegal in the [[European Union|EU]] since January 1, 2012.<ref name=Compassion/>

[[File:Yarding poultry farm 02.jpg|thumb|center|[[Yarding]] poultry farm in [[Vernon County, Wisconsin]] with a fenced in area and shadded areas for chickens to roam]]

Chickens raised intensively for their meat are known as "broilers". Breeds have been developed that can grow to an acceptable carcass size ({{convert|2|kg|lboz|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in six weeks or less.<ref name=Browne/> Broilers grow so fast, their legs cannot always support their weight and their hearts and respiratory systems may not be able to supply enough oxygen to their developing muscles. Mortality rates at 1% are much higher than for less-intensively reared laying birds which take 18 weeks to reach similar weights.<ref name=Browne>{{cite news |title=Ten weeks to live |author=Browne, Anthony |url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/mar/10/foodanddrink.features1 |newspaper=The Guardian |date=March 10, 2002 |access-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> Processing the birds is done automatically with conveyor-belt efficiency. They are hung by their feet, stunned, killed, bled, scalded, plucked, have their heads and feet removed, eviscerated, washed, chilled, drained, weighed, and packed,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.poultryhub.org/anatomy-and-physiology/meat-chicken-farm-sequence/ | title=Meat chicken farm sequence (processing) | publisher=Poultry Hub | date=August 20, 2010 | access-date=February 21, 2014}}</ref> all within the course of little over two hours.<ref name=Browne/>

Both intensive and free-range farming have animal welfare concerns. In intensive systems, [[Cannibalism (poultry)|cannibalism]], [[feather pecking]] and [[vent pecking]] can be common, with some farmers using [[debeaking|beak trimming]] as a preventative measure.<ref name=Sherwin>{{cite journal |author1=Sherwin, C. M. |author2=Richards, G. J |author3=Nicol, C. J. |year=2010 |title=A comparison of the welfare of layer hens in four housing systems in the UK |journal=British Poultry Science |volume=51 |issue=4 |pages=488–499 |doi=10.1080/00071668.2010.502518|pmid=20924842 |s2cid=8968010 }}</ref> Diseases can also be common and spread rapidly through the flock. In extensive systems, the birds are exposed to adverse weather conditions and are vulnerable to predators and disease-carrying wild birds. Barn systems have been found to have the worst bird welfare.<ref name=Sherwin/> In [[Southeast Asia]], a lack of disease control in free-range farming has been associated with outbreaks of [[avian influenza]].<ref name=WSPA>{{cite web | url=http://wspa-international.org/publicfiles/Free_range_farming_and_avian_flu__3_.pdf | title=Free-range farming and avian flu in Asia | publisher=WSPA International | access-date=February 12, 2014 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216083304/http://www.wspa-international.org/publicfiles/Free_range_farming_and_avian_flu__3_.pdf | archive-date=December 16, 2013 | df=mdy-all }}</ref>