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Information about Poultry

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Ducks amongst other poultry
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The Poultry-dealer, after Cesare Vecellio
Poultry is the category of domesticated birds kept for meat, eggs, and feathers. These most typically are members of the order Galliformes (which includes chickens and turkeys) and the family Anatidae (in order Anseriformes), commonly known as "waterfowl" (e.g. domestic ducks and domestic geese). Poultry also include other meat birds such as pigeons or doves or game birds like pheasants. The term also refers to the flesh of such birds.

Examples of Types of poultry

Bird Wild ancestor Domestication Uses
chickenred junglefowlIndia, c. 3000 BCmeat, eggs
duckmallardvariousmeat, feathers, eggs
gooseGreylag goose/Swan Goosevariousmeat, feathers, eggs
Peacockvariousvariousmeat, feathers, decoration
turkeyWild TurkeyMexicomeat

Cuts of poultry

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Cuts from a skinned chicken.
The meatiest parts of a bird are the flight muscles on its chest, called breast meat, and the walking muscles on the first and second segments of its legs, called the thigh and drumstick respectively.

White meat has less oxygen-carrying myoglobin than the walking muscles, or Dark meat, and is thus lighter in color.

External links

Domestication refers to the process whereby a population of animals or plants becomes accustomed to human provision and control. Humans have brought these populations under their care for a wide range of reasons: to produce food or valuable commodities (such as wool, cotton, or
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Aves
Linnaeus, 1758

Orders

About two dozen - see section below

Birds (class Aves) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals.
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Meat, in its broadest definition, is animal tissue used as food. Most often it refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to non-muscle organs, including lungs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow and kidneys.
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An egg(jamie rolands) is a body consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing of some type, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo.
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Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are the outstanding characteristic that distinguishes the Class Aves from all other living groups. Other Theropoda also had feathers (see Feathered dinosaurs).
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Galliformes
Temminck, 1820

Families

Megapodiidae
Numididae
Odontophoridae
Phasianidae
Meleagrididae
Tetraonidae
Cracidae
(?)Mesitornithidae
Galliformes
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chicken (Gallus gallus) is a type of domesticated fowl, believed to be descended from the wild Indian and south-east Asian Red Junglefowl.

The chicken is one of the most common and wide-spread domestic animals.
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Meleagris

Species

Meleagris gallopavo (modern)
Meleagris ocellata (historical)
The domesticated turkey is a large poultry bird raised for food.
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Waterbird redirects here. See also shorebirds and seabirds.

Ducks, geese and swans

Black-bellied Whistling Duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis)


Scientific classification
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Anseriformes
Wagler, 1831

Families
  • Anhimidae
  • Anseranatidae
  • Anatidae
  • †Dromornithidae
  • †Presbyornithidae
  • †Gastornidae(?)


The order Anseriformes
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Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans.

They are strong swimmers with medium to large bodies.
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Domesticated ducks are ducks that are raised for meat, eggs and down. Many ducks are also kept for show, as pets or for their ornamental value. Almost all of the varieties of domesticated ducks are descended from the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos
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Domestic geese are domesticated Grey geese (either Greylag geese or Swan geese) kept as poultry for their meat, eggs, and down feathers since ancient times.

Origins and characteristics


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Columbidae

Subfamilies

see article text

Pigeons and doves constitute the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerine birds.
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Columbidae

Subfamilies

see article text

Pigeons and doves constitute the family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerine birds.
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Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated (such as venison). Game animals are also hunted for sport.

The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world.
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Pheasants are a group of large birds in the order Galliformes.

Pheasant are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, with males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails.
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chicken (Gallus gallus) is a type of domesticated fowl, believed to be descended from the wild Indian and south-east Asian Red Junglefowl.

The chicken is one of the most common and wide-spread domestic animals.
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G. gallus

Binomial name
Gallus gallus
Linnaeus, 1758

Red Junglefowl range


The Red Junglefowl, Gallus gallus
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and
30th century
←← ↔ →→


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Meat, in its broadest definition, is animal tissue used as food. Most often it refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to non-muscle organs, including lungs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow and kidneys.
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An egg(jamie rolands) is a body consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing of some type, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo.
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Domesticated ducks are ducks that are raised for meat, eggs and down. Many ducks are also kept for show, as pets or for their ornamental value. Almost all of the varieties of domesticated ducks are descended from the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos
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A. platyrhynchos

Binomial name
Anas platyrhynchos
Linnaeus, 1758

Subspecies

See Mexican Duck, Anas and below

The Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos[1]
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Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are the outstanding characteristic that distinguishes the Class Aves from all other living groups. Other Theropoda also had feathers (see Feathered dinosaurs).
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Goose (plural geese, male gander(s)) is the English name for a considerable number of birds, belonging to the family Anatidae. This family also includes swans, most of which are larger than geese, and ducks, which are smaller.
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A. anser

Binomial name
Anser anser
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Subspecies
  • A. a. anser
    Western Greylag Goose
  • A. a. rubrirostris
    Eastern Greylag Goose
  • A. a.

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A. cygnoides

Binomial name
Anser cygnoides
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms

Cycnopsis cygnoides

The Swan Goose Anser cygnoides
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Pavo
Linnaeus, 1758

Species

Pavo cristatus
Pavo muticus

The term peafowl can refer to the two species of bird in the genus Pavo of the pheasant family, Phasianidae.
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