Page 16 - RealDirtENG2020

CHAPTER 3
Farm animals
Farmers across Canada raise a wide variety of livestock and poultry to produce meat, dairy, eggs, bre, and many other products. Here’s a look at some of the main types for farm animals raised in Canada.
Jodie Aldred
Career Pro le
Turkey Farmers
Lucas McCartney & Werda Saeed
Werda Saeed thought she knew what a farmer “looked like”, until she met her husband, Lucas McCartney, when they both attended McGill University. Growing up in Ottawa, Ontario, Saeed’s experience on farms was limited. “It never, ever, occurred to me that I could grow up and become a farmer,” admitted Saeed, but she now knows that farmers come in all shapes and sizes.
The newlyweds tackle every new challenge as a team, including taking over McCartney’s third generation
family turkey farm located outside of Quebec City. It has been a total collaboration since the rst ock that they raised together almost two years ago. They are open to trying new ideas, and treat each new ock as a carefully observed investigation, all with the objective of improving the health and comfort of the animals even further.
This approach to farming is the result of their research backgrounds in plant science and engineering. McCartney holds a M.Sc. and Ph.D., with a focus in greenhouse ventilation and cooling technologies, which can be “surprisingly applicable to the systems we use in poultry barns to keep the birds comfortable,” said McCartney.
Photo courtesy of Marie Michelle Trudeau
Turkeys and chickens raised for meat (those chickens are called “broilers”) live
in modern barns where temperature, humidity, light, and ventilation are carefully monitored to ensure that the birds stay healthy. They roam freely around the barn on a oor that is covered with a soft bedding material of straw or wood shavings, and can help themselves to feed and water any time they want. Their feed consists of mixed grains and oilseeds, including corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and canola, as well as minerals and nutrients.
Young chickens and turkeys arrive on the farm from a hatchery as chicks or poults, and grow to market weight with other birds as part of a ock. Once birds go to market, all the bedding and manure is taken out of the barn, and the building is thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before the next ock of birds arrives. This approach helps prevent disease, and keeps the ock healthy.
Turkeys and chickens
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The Real Dirt on Farming
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