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Poultry

Related subjects: Birds

Background to the schools Wikipedia

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Ducks amongst other poultry
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 superorder Galloanserae (fowl), especially 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
Chicken Red Junglefowl India, c. 3000 BC meat, eggs
Duck Mallard various meat, feathers, eggs
Goose Greylag Goose/ Swan Goose various meat, feathers, eggs
Peacock various various meat, feathers, ornamental, landscaping
Swan Wild Swan various feathers, eggs, landscaping
Turkey Wild Turkey Mexico meat

Cuts of poultry

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 colour.

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