Nutrition
Poultry in the U.S. are fed diets which are primarily ground corn to supply
heat and energy and soybean meal to provide protein. Vitamins and minerals
are also added in their feed. It takes only 11.4 pounds of feed to rear
a broiler to a 6 pound market weight. This same broiler would drink about
3 gallons of water during this time (approximately 7 weeks). Part of the
poultry industry's increase in productiveness has largely been attributed
to the efficiency of conversion of feed to gain -or- egg production. This
increased efficiency can be largely attributed to improvements in genetics
and nutrition.