Poultry farming is raising chickens, turkeys, ducks and other fowl for meat or eggs.  Poultry farms can be:  1.  Breeding farms where they raise poultry for meat, or 2.  Layer farms where they produce eggs. 
    The ‘best’ breeds depend on what you want from them.  Good egg layers are Rhode Island Reds [brown eggs] and Leghorns [white eggs].  Great meat comes from Arbor Acres, Ross, and Peterson chickens which were named after the breeders who raised them.  Some hens are raised for egg production and meatiness.  New Hampshires, Plymouth Rocks, and Wyandottes are good ones.
    In the old times, poultry farming was the farmer’s wife throwing some feed out to the chickens who were wandering, loose, around the yard.  She would find the eggs—wherever they might be laid, before they got rotten.
    Today, poultry raising is big business.  Each step is done by someone who knows what they are doing.  Just like the dairy farmer we visited, the breeder wants to get the best chicken he can.  'Best’ might mean a meatier chicken, one with less or more fat, or one that lays more eggs or eggs more often.  The breeder might hire veterinarians or scientists to help him choose the characteristics he wants in his chickens.  Breeders are known for their special kinds of chickens and no one is allowed to copy them.
    Food costs are important to poultry farmers.  Feed is about 60% of the cost of raising poultry.  Fowl are usually fed a combination of maize, soy, rice bran and cereals.
    Poultry is mostly used for meat and eggs but other products come from these animals.  Duck and goose feathers are used for pillows and insulated clothing.  That “down-filled” jacket:  GOOSE FEATHERS!  Manure is used as fertilizer.  Eggs are used in paint and medical vaccines.
    California , Indiana , Iowa , Ohio , and Pennsylvania produce the most eggs in the U.S.   Alabama , Arkansas , and Georgia produce the most chickens in the U.S.   The highest turkey producers are  Minnesota and North Carolina.