Evolution of an Industry

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Editor’s note: This comparison between early 20th century and modern poultry production is in addition to “A Museum Worth Crowing About,” Jerry Schleicher’s article on the National Poultry Museum, Bonner Springs, Kan.

1910: Remember egg money? Farm families sell excess eggs in town for grocery money.

Today: Several dozen commercial egg farms produce more than 90 billion eggs annually.

1910: If you could find them, each egg-laying hen produced about 100 eggs per year.

Today: Hens in commercial egg operations produce an average of more than 250 eggs annually (equal to average per capita egg consumption in the U.S.).

1910: The most popular varieties of chickens include Leghorns and Rock Islands.

Today: Most broiler chickens are hybrids developed for fast growth, while poultry fanciers raise dozens of exotic varieties for meat, eggs and show.

1910-40: Farm flocks peak, with most of America’s 6.36 million farm families raising flocks of chickens for meat, eggs and cash.

Today: Vertical integration rules, with nearly 99 percent of the 9 billion broilers produced in the U.S. grown under contract with 50 vertically integrated poultry companies.

1910: Free-range chickens before free-range was cool. Farm flocks are housed in small colony houses or open front poultry houses and often have the run of the farmyard.

Today: Climate-controlled broiler houses measuring 20,000 square feet or more provide a closed environment to reduce heat stress and disease, and improve feed conversion.

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