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Chicken eaters like big breasts, grower comments |
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By LYNN MONTGOMERY | East Texas Edition |
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October 10, 2002 -- Dolly Parton chickens in East Texas? "Today's consumer wants a big chicken breast," said Jack Kemp, a contract chicken grower for Pilgrim's Pride. "Crossing a Hubbard hen with a Ross rooster gives us this bird. Hence, the Dolly Parton chicken." The statement received laughs from the group touring Kemp Farms during the Wood County Ag Tour in September. Kemp, along with wife Neta, manage and own 13 breeder houses for Pilgrim's Pride. Chickens in a breeder house are used for egg production. Eggs are either marketed to the consumer or taken to a hatchery for incubation. "We love working with Pilgrim's and enjoy our job," Jack stated. "It sure beats Jack's previous job (as a police officer). The chickens don't call my house at four in the morning wanting to know why their son is in jail," Neta said with a laugh. But the couple is getting up at four to begin the day; it is just for a different reason. "At four this morning, we were fixing the feeders because they didn't work," Jack said. The tour gave the opportunity to see how times are changing for the breeder industry. It use to take several people to gather eggs, now the eggs are conveyed on a conveyor belt to one person who grades the eggs. "Only one person is needed for egg gathering. That person will grade the eggs and put them in a plastic tray. They will discard any eggs that are broken," Jack explained. On the Kemp farm, the growers receive the birds at 20 weeks of age. The birds will start laying around the 24th week. Birds are caught at 66 weeks and shipped to Mississippi, according to Jack. One individual on the tour asked Jack about dead birds. "We have a TNRCC permit that allows us to freeze our birds. Pilgrim's will come and pick them up. I am not sure what they do with them. Once they leave here, they are not my responsibility," Jack said. "We use to feed the dead birds to hogs, but the hogs got loose." The breeder industry has been very profitable, according to the Kemps. "We are paid by the egg. When we first get the hen, we are paid by the hen. You want to get to the egg price real quick," Jack said. "We get 34-and-one-third cents per dozen." When yearly egg production is approximately four million eggs on the Kemp farm alone, cents add up quickly. The farm does receive deductions for eggs that are broken, cracked or double-yolked. "We eat a lot of double-yolked eggs around here," Jack laughed. For those who would like to become a contact grower for Pilgrim's, remember there is still a waiting list, according to company officials. |
