The main difference between poultry and livestock is that poultry deals with different types of birds raised on the farms to get commodities like meat and feathers, whereas livestock deals with various domestic animals like cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.
Poultry and livestock are two types of animal farming. Poultry involves the raising of birds, while livestock involves the raising of mammals like cows, sheep, and goats. Both poultry and livestock produce food and non-food products.
Key Areas Covered
1. What is Poultry
– Definition, Animals, Uses
2. What is Livestock
– Definition, Animals, Uses
3. Similarities Between Poultry and Livestock
– Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Poultry and Livestock
– Comparison of Key Differences
Key Terms
Poultry, Livestock, Animals, Farming
What is Poultry
Poultry refers to the raising of a variety of birds on farms for food, fiber, feathers, and entertainment. In poultry, birds like chickens, quails, geese, ducks, and turkeys are raised on farms. In most countries around the world, poultry has become a business. We use both eggs and meat of these as food, and they are popular in many cuisines. Along with pork, globally, one of the two most widely consumed types of meat is poultry.
Poultry meat is rich in nutritious values, especially with a high volume of protein. Poultry meat contains a low proportion of fat. In order to avoid food poisoning, all poultry meat should be carefully handled and should be cooked properly. North America has achieved the highest place in raising turkeys as poultry meat. Chickens, ducks, guinea fowl, geese, and turkeys are raised in both large- and small-scale poultry systems. However, pheasants, quail, and ostriches are raised only in large-scale poultry systems.
What is Livestock
Livestock refers to the raising of domestic animals in an agricultural setting to obtain commodities such as meat, egg, fur, leather, and wool. Most of the time, we consider animals like cattle, sheep, goats, and pigs as livestock. But, in the United States, horses are also considered livestock. Moreover, it’s important to note that poultry and fish are not included in the category of livestock.
In animal husbandry, animals are killed not only for meat. Animals have many uses; for example, we can obtain clothing, fertilizers, and fuel from them. Killing the animal for food is secondary; when animals are alive, farmers harvest wool, egg, and milk from them. Therefore, livestock products give both food and non-food items. Non-food items include leather, wool, pharmaceuticals, and bone products.
It is important to maintain the proper health of animals in livestock. Good husbandry, proper feeding, and hygiene are the main contributors to health on a farm. Livestock animals are difficult to save from natural predatory animals like wolves, foxes, tigers, and leopards. Livestock productions provide an additional economic income for rural families. Furthermore, many studies have found that livestock may help the people in the non-western regions economically.
Similarities Between Poultry and Livestock
- Both poultry and livestock involve animals.
- Moreover, poultry and livestock provide meat for consumption.
- Both poultry and livestock produce food and non-food products.
Difference Between Poultry and Livestock
Definition
Poultry refers to the raising of birds like ducks, geese, chickens, and turkeys on farms for meat, feathers, and entertainment, while livestock refers to the raising of domestic animals in agricultural settings to get meat, eggs, fur, leather, and wool.
Type
Although poultry involves different types of birds, livestock involves animals like goats, cattle, and sheep. Poultry and fisheries do not come under livestock.
Productions
Livestock produces dairy products like milk and cheese, but poultry does not produce milk.
Conclusion
The main difference between poultry and livestock is that poultry deals with different types of birds raised on the farms to get commodities like meat and feathers, whereas livestock deals with various domestic animals like cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.
Reference:
1. “Poultry.” Wikipedia, Wikipedia.org
2. “Livestock” Wikipedia, Wikipedia.org
Image Courtesy:
1. “Poultry Farm in Namakkal, Tamil Nadu” By Matthew T Rader (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Livestock-animals-sheep-mammals” (CC0) via Pixabay
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