Saturday, May 14, 2011

Holsteins and Chickens







Willis Miller and Jesse Mast have Holstein cows, Holsteins are considered by many to be the best producers. Holstein cows produce the most milk per day on a weight basis - a healthy 3-year old Holstein at the peak of lactation can produce up to 170 pounds of milk a day (about 21 gallons).
Jesse and his wife take care of the cows, while Paul takes care of the chickens. I thought Paul must have it pretty easy until I saw the satellite view of the Mast farm. The chicken barns appear to be very long and there are two of them. I should have asked how many but I'm thinking thousands. Note the long buildings on the right of the Google Earth shot. (top photo) I measured these in Google earth and they scale out to be 36 x 300 feet conservatively.
Also on the left in the dark triangle near the barn you can see the cows gathered for milking. Tells me this is around 5 or 6 in the afternoon if the cows have been brought in for milking and Jesse is below this shot harrowing in the field to the south.
Did you know-
More than 50 billion chickens are reared annually as a source of food, for both their meat and their eggs. Chickens farmed for meat are called broilers, whilst those farmed for eggs are called egg-laying hens. Some hens can produce over 300 eggs a year. Chickens will naturally live for 6 or more years. After 12 months, the hen’s productivity will start to decline. This is when most commercial laying hens are terminated for food.

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