It's National Poultry Day!

A bird on display at the New York State Fair.

Today is the day to salute your birds.

It's National Poultry Day. The National Calendar Day website states:

"Eggs and turkey bacon for breakfast, an open faced turkey avocado sandwich for lunch and then perhaps a good, ol’ fashioned fried chicken dinner to finish off the day as March 19th celebrates National Poultry Day."


Poultry refers to domestic birds raised for meat and eggs. This includes chicken, turkey, ducks, geese, quail and pheasant. Poultry are farmed in great numbers with chickens being the most numerous.


It is believed chickens were introduced to American soil by the European explorers in the 16th century. Chicken consumption in the United States increased during World War II due to a shortage of beef and pork."

New USDA Poultry Inspection Procedures Based on Bad Data

More poultry news.

Check out http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/government-report-new-usda-poultry-inspection-procedures-are-based-on-bad-data/2013/09/03/ef158ece-14bd-11e3-b182-1b3bb2eb474c_story.html this story from the Washington Post on poultry inspections.

Chickens Rescued In California Heading to NYS

Here are a number of stories about this bizarre case, first from the Mercury Calif. News, second from The Today Show and the third from the Sacramento Bee:

http://www.mercurynews.com/animal-life/ci_23986418/morris-rescued-california-chickens-headed-new-york

http://www.today.com/pets/chickens-plane-1-000-take-red-eye-freedom-8C11033576

http://www.sacbee.com/2013/09/04/5705291/1200-chickens-catch-a-flight-to.html

New York State Fair 'One Thing' Series -- Today's Feature, Poultry

The photos to the left and below show just some of the poultry you will find in the Poultry Building at the New York State Fair. In addition to chickens, there are ducks, Cornish hens, turkeys, baby chicks and also rabbits.

Come to find out, you can even teach an old dog like me a few tricks when it comes to agriculture.

When I popped into the Poultry Building to ask my 'One Thing' question to a poultry owner, I learned a couple of things I never knew.

Here's what Karen Brouillette, of Knoxboro, Oneida County, said when I asked her what 'One Thing' she would tell the public about poultry:

"There are lots of different breeds," she said. "When looking at chickens, if they have a red earlobe, they will lay brown eggs. If they have a white earlobe, they will lay white eggs."

She said the only difference in these eggs is shell color. They taste the same and have the same nutrition.

I also learned that depending on whether the poultry is fed feed or is eats out in the field also will make a difference in the eggs.

Brouillette said free range poultry feeding outside in a field eat grasses along with some occasional bugs. This supplies them with more protein, so their eggs' yolks will be darker yellow, sometimes even an orange color. She said people will notice a difference in taste in these eggs.