Veterinarian in Society

POULTRY

• The family Gallus comprises of four species of birds. Of these, domesticated hen’s (Gallus gallus murghi) ancestor was red jungle fowl (Gallus sonarati). These birds are found from Kashmir to Godavari, the southern corner of the country.
• It is believed that today’s poultry evolved from the red jungle fowl. People of the Indus Valley civilization were quite familiar with domesticated fowl. Domestic fowl was also found in Harrappa.
• From this place, two earthen birds (one male and the other female) were recovered.
• It is accepted that Indus Valley people kept birds for games and breeding for meat, possibly started afterwards.
• When Aryans invaded India around 2500 BC, they appreciated cocks. Earlier, India had trade with Western Asia, Arabia, and Egypt through sea and land route, which was instrumental in the dissemination of red jungle fowl throughout the world.
  • Chickens were being raised by the Chinese about 1400 B.C.
  • Although poultry and eggs were used for food early in history, poultry raising has only recently become a major commercial enterprise.
  • In the past, most poultry were raised for the family’s own use.
  • The turkey was probably tamed by the people originally living in America. Most of the American breeds were probable developed from the species found in the United States.
  • Ducks were tamed at an early date. The wild mallard duck is thought to be the ancestor of all domestic reeds of ducks.
  • The goose was probably tamed shortly after the chicken. It was regarded as a sacred bird in Egypt 4,000 years ago.
  • Poultry were brought to the New World by the early pioneers and colonists.
  • The American poultry industry grew out o f the small home flocks raised by early settlers. Poultry raising used to be mainly a small enterprise on the farm, however, as the population grew, the demand for poultry products increased.
  • Today most poultry is raised in large confinement flocks and few small farm flocks remain. Much of the poultry industry is concentrated in the southern part of the United States.