Tags: I see it this way! Heritage Shores Bridgville De E.W. Faircloth photography photographer delmarva food chicken farming Delaware farms chicks

Living in Bridgeville De gives me the opportunity to understand part of the poultry industry.  Someone told me that Delaware was the chicken producing capital of the world.  Some nights, I can attest to this as the smell of a nearby chicken farms reminds me where I live. The chickens above are stacked on the back of a 18-wheeler sized trailer.  I've been told that baby chicks are delivered to chicken farmers to feed and grow.  Once the chickens are the right size they are picked up by the large processors such as Perdue, Allan, and other. ---- ---------------- --------------------- The commercial broiler industry in the United States began in Delaware over 80 years ago. A “broiler” is a chicken raised for meat rather than eggs. Before the development of the broiler industry, chicken meat was mostly a by-product of egg production. Chicken was reserved for special occasions and not consumed on a regular basis. 1 Large-scale, year-round broiler production became possible in the mid 1920’s. Scientists developed ways to meet the nutritional needs of chickens in protected environments. -- Agrability Quarterly