Commercial Poultry

Deciding on your goal for raising chickens is the first step in determining which breed is best for your farm. The most common reasons as to why people raise chickens include: egg production, meat production, raising birds for show, controlling insects around their property, and breed preservation. Authors: Jonathan Moyle, and Jessica Flores; Title: Choosing the Best Poultry Breed for Your Small Farm (FS-987)

Broiler production is the largest agricultural revenue generator in Maryland. A broiler is a chicken produced specifically for meat production. Broiler production includes small fryer- to large roaster-type chickens. Approximately 35 percent of cash farm income in Maryland was from broilers in 2016. Maryland ranked eighth nationally in the number of meat chickens produced, and tenth in the number of pounds of meat chickens.

The greenhouse gas emissions from manure storage and emissions reductions that could be realized through implementation of three animal waste technologies (anaerobic digestion, composting, and thermochemical processing) are presented. This Factsheet is part of the “Animal Waste Technology” series. Authors: Amro Hassanein, Stephanie Lansing, and Danielle Delp; Title: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions through Improved Manure Management (FS-2023-0689).