Is Poultry Livestock?
In animal husbandry, some animals fall into the category of livestock, and others are of poultry. The two often get mixed, while the two nouns are applied in a much different way. The former term is used to describe mammals that are reared intentionally to derive a variety of products from such as meat or dairy products. “Poultry”, on the other hand, refers to farmed birds. These two animal groups often are seen reared within the same area of farmland, so it’s easy to understand why some people think that they belong to the same variety in an agricultural setting.
What’s the Difference?
The difference between livestock and poultry in the United States is made clear by the Department of the Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service. The former is defined as mammals such as cattle, goats, hogs, sheep, horses, donkeys, and mules, as well as other mammals that bear fur.
The institution further determines that the term doesn’t apply to poultry, other birds, reptiles, frogs, fish, and others. And no, pets don’t count as well; so, dogs and cats aren’t mammals that are used to derive any products from, for commercial purposes or otherwise.
But let’s not get all too by-the-book here, shall we? We often view rules and regulations as something that’s well established to make clear distinctions. In reality and practice, however, others refer to the chicken you have in pen as livestock as well. After all, we all consume the products of birds all the time, are we not? So let’s not get technical here for a second, and instead, let’s see what your options of birds to keep along with all the cattle you have in the barn are.
The 6 Poultry Birds to Add to Your Farm
Below are some winged animals, well-known for their inclusion as part of livestock animals:
- Turkey
The modern turkeys are domesticated from the wild variety named Meleagris gallopavo. This large, big bird was first domesticated after World War II in Mexico before spreading and being more commonly found in the US, Canada, and North America in general. Turkeys are kept for their meat. It’s uncommon to use their eggs, although some parts of the world do. With a lifespan of 10 years on average, male turkeys are bigger than their female counterparts.
Turkeys are classified into:
- Roasters, turkeys of under 16 weeks-4 months,
- Hens, female turkeys of 21 weeks-5 months,
- Tom, of 52 weeks, and
- Mature, of 65 weeks-15 months.
- Ducks
These water birds are smaller than swan or geese. Ducks are often found raised in the US, the Netherlands, and England, and they have a lifespan of 5 years on average.
The types of ducks are dabbling ducks, domestic ducks, diving ducks, whistling duck, eider, teal, goldeneye, stifftail, merganser, sea duck, perching duck, and scoter.
- Geese
Grey geese are the most common variety raised as poultry. The two main groups of geese are Anser and Branta. They were first domesticated in Northern and Western Africa, and Europe while the Chinese geese were first domesticated in Eastern Asia from the swan geese. The average lifespan of a goose is 31 years.
- Guinea Fowl
This bird is native to the African continent and was domesticated as Pintados. The fowl is raised for its meat. With an average lifespan of up to 15 years, guinea fowl is great at controlling ticks. The three varieties of this fowl are white, lavender, and pearl.
- Quail
With at least 130 species, quails are raised for their meat and eggs. They can live up to 5 years.
- Chicken
Chickens are the most commonly found poultry bird raised across the globe. It’s perhaps due to this ubiquity that chickens are also considered livestock by many. With a lifespan of up to 10 years, chickens are raised for both their meat and eggs. Some people even raise them as pets.
- Pigeon
Pigeons can live up to 6 years and are commonly raised for sports and meat.
So, you now have six options of birds to rear as livestock. Any one of them can make for a great addition to diversify what your farm can produce.
To support you in rearing your livestock, you can choose products that we provide for you at Silopak. Feel free to browse our collection.