Fried Birdie

More fun with Ann Margret's opening to the film, Bye, Bye, Birdie.


Approximately 300,000 people are employed in chicken processing plants nationwide and another 60,000 in feed mills, hatcheries, distribution centers, corporate headquarters and other locations. Wages offered by poultry plants are similar to those paid by competitive jobs in the surrounding community. In 2002, the average hourly wage for production workers in poultry slaughter and processing plants nationwide was estimated at $9.76 by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Processing companies also offer benefits packages that typically include medical and dental benefits, paid vacation, an opportunity to participate in a 401(K) or similar retirement plan and job-related educational improvement opportunities.
Poultry Production and Value 2010 Summary

U.S. Value of Production and Sales Up 10 Percent
The combined value of production from broilers, eggs, turkeys, and the value of sales from chickens in 2010 was $34.7 billion, up 10 percent from $31.6 billion in 2009. Of the combined total, 68 percent was from broilers, 19 percent from eggs, 13 percent from turkeys, and less than 1 percent from chickens.

U.S. Value of Broiler Production Up 9 Percent
The value of broilers produced during 2010 was $23.7 billion, up 9 percent from 2009. The total number of broilers produced in 2010 was 8.63 billion, up 1 percent from 2009. The total amount of live weight broilers produced in 2010 was 49.2 billion pounds, up 3 percent from 2009.

U.S. Value of Egg Production Up 6 Percent
Value of all egg production in 2010 was $6.52 billion, up 6 percent from $6.17 billion in 2009. Egg production totaled 91.4 billion eggs, up 1 percent from 90.5 billion eggs produced in 2009.

U.S. Value of Turkey Production Up 22 Percent
The value of turkeys produced during 2010 was $4.37 billion, up 22 percent from the $3.57 billion the previous year. Turkey production in 2010 totaled 7.11 billion pounds, down 1 percent from the 7.15 billion pounds produced in 2009.

U.S. Value of Sales from Chickens Up 11 Percent
The value of sales from chickens (excluding broilers) in 2010 was $72.0 million, up 11 percent from $65.1 million a year ago. The number of chickens sold in 2010 totaled 172 million, down 2 percent from the total sold during the previous year.

Source: USDA/NASS