Whilst we’re big fans of poultry all year round, today in particular is a day where we celebrate all our feathered friends who are raised for their meat and eggs because it’s Poultry Day!
The most popular domestic birds found on the dinner plates in British and Irish homes include chicken, turkey, duck, goose, pheasant and quail. We’ve collated some fun and somewhat educational facts about a few of these domestic birds that we love to consume for our breakfast, lunch or dinner – chicken, turkey and duck!
Chicken
Of all of the poultry, chicken is at the top of the pecking order! Consumption in the UK and Ireland is much greater than any other type of poultry. How many times each week do you eat chicken?
There are almost 7.6 billion people in the world and approximately 19 billion chickens! There are also more chickens than any other bird species.
Some people are afraid of them, and this is known as Alektorophobia!
Apparently chickens are big fans of classical music. If they listen to it they can lay bigger and heavier eggs! They’re not slow either. They can run up to 9 miles per hour.
If you’re a big fan of fried chicken, go to South Korea – there are more fried chicken restaurants there than McDonalds restaurants worldwide!
If you enjoyed reading these, visit The Fact Site for more of their Top 50 Chicken Facts!
Turkey
Turkey is a popular dinner in the UK and Ireland at Christmas, or at Thanksgiving in late November if you’re in America. But how much do you know about this popular seasonal bird?
Turkeys have been around for 10 million years and originated in Mexico, not Turkey! But more turkey is consumed in Israel than any other country in the world.
Domestic turkeys can’t fly but wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 miles per hour and can run 20 miles per hour.
It’s believed that turkeys were first brought to Britain in 1526 by Yorkshireman, William Strickland. They were a feast for Kings. Henry VIII was the first English King to enjoy a turkey dinner but it was Edward VII who started the trend of eating turkey at Christmas, which replaced peacock in Royal Courts.
There are 43 different breeds of turkey today. The most common in the UK are the white, the bronze and Norfolk Black breeds.
If you want to know more turkey facts and their history, visit British Turkey!
Duck
Duck meat from the legs and breast of the bird is darker in colour than the meat from chickens or turkeys and the leg meat is somewhat fattier than the breast meat.
All ducks, including swans and geese are part of the duck family, Anitidae, which contains between 140-175 different birds. The Mallard is one of the more common duck species found throughout the world, and all domestic ducks descend from the Mallard or Muscovy duck. More than 40 breeds of domestic duck exist.
Duck is a popular dish in Chinese cuisine. Peking duck is made from the meat of a Pekin duck, an American breed. The all-white Pekin duck, which is also referred to as the Long Island duck is the most common variety raised for eggs and meat.
A duck is not just a duck! An adult male duck is called a drake, an adult female is called a hen or a duck, and a baby duck is a duckling. A group of ducks can be called a team, raft or paddling.
Most ducks are silent and very few actually quack!
These interesting duck facts came from The Spruce if you’d like to read some more!
Whatever poultry is going on your plate on National Poultry Day, we hope you enjoy it!
