The Chicken that Crossed the Arabian Sea

Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

To help a village of course!

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Why 16 did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

3 Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

ABOUT THE AUTHORS � Dr. Maria Correa is a Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine. � Dr. Isabel Gimeno is an Associate Professor of Poultry at the NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine. � Ms. Ginger Cunningham is an Extension Agent for 4-H Youth Development in Chatham County, North Carolina. She is a PhD student at NC State University.

STORY CHARACTERS: • John and Esau, and their families are fictitious.

• Dr. Jagdev Sharma is a Research Professor at the Biodesign Institute, Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at Arizona State University.

• Dr. Sylvia Lemus Sharma has taught university level courses in ethnic studies programs, leads women’s empowerment retreats in the US and has worked in Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Both have worked extensively in Uganda.

FUNDING: This book was funded by a grant from the Extension, Engagement, and Economic Development from NC State University (2015-2016 cycle).

EXEMPTION CLAUSE: This educational materials were developed using the best knowledge of the authors. The authors are not responsible for illness or damage resulting from the use of the educational materials in the book.

COPYRIGHT: The authors consent to the reproduction of these materials for educational use only. Do not change or alter the story without consent from Dr. Maria Correa. Please let her know if you are reproducing the materials by sending her an email at: correa@ncsu.edu.

All illustrations are © NC State University and may not be used without permission.

Contact Alice MacGregor Harvey for usage information: amharvey@ncsu.edu.

ARTIST AND ASSISTANT: Alice MacGregor Harvey, Medical Illustrator, MA, NC State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Clarisa Hernandez, assisted in the project, she is NC State University undergraduate student, class of 2016.

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

Children from all of the World arrive to North Carolina to participate in a summer agricultural camp. American families from Chatham County who have children in 4-H host one or two foreign students for a few days before the camp. The camp is two weeks long and children will stay at the University. They participate in many activities regarding animal production, food science, and veterinary medicine.

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

American kid: Hello, I am John, I am so happy to meet you.

Ugandan kid: Greetings, I am Esau from Uganda.

John: Let’s go, my parents are in the car waiting. My mom’s name is Consuelo and we call my dad Big John.

Esau: Great, where do you live?

John: I live in a farm in Chatham County, in a small town

named Goldston.

Esau: My family is from Masawka. My mom’s name is Gorreti and we call my dad Big Esau!

John and Esau laugh at the coincidence of their parents’ nicknames… Big John and Big Esau. They have a couple of days to rest before the camp starts and they are already laughing and talking like they knew each other all their lives.

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

John and Esau run to the fence to meet the goats and the donkey. The goats want to be petted and the donkey smell their hands searching for apples and carrots. Esau tells John he does not have a donkey. His family raises chickens in the backyard and keep a goats for milk.

John: Do you exhibit your chickens at the 4-H shows?

Esau: I haven’t joined 4-H yet, but after this trip, it will be the first thing I do!

John: I’m in a 4-H group for 7 to 9 year olds. You will come with me to our meeting tomorrow!

Esau: That will be great, thank you.

John’s mom calls the children to eat dinner. She cooked a traditional meal from Costa Rica, where she is from. Esau eats all the food in the plate, he sure was hungry after traveling for so long from Uganda.

He starts getting sleepy…

Consuelo tells Esau that she called his mom to let her know he was doing well. Esau pulls a picture book from his backpack and opens a page with a picture from his mom, and he whispers: “Good night mom, I will talk to you tomorrow.”

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

John and Esau are in the dining room finishing breakfast. Esau was so tired he slept 12 hours! John is looking at Esau’s picture album.

Esau explains to John who are in the pictures.

Esau: Here is my mom and some of my siblings, and friends from the village.

John: You are almost as tall as your mom!

Esau: Yes, I am. My mom says I am tall because I eat better than she did when she was a child. She says the new special chickens we have produce more eggs and that eating the eggs have made me stronger!

John: What else do you eat?

Esau: Casava and matooke. We used to have these small chickens that were not producing many eggs.

John: Did the chickens get medicines to grow that big? Here we do not give chickens hormones as many people think, and in our farm we let them out during the day and we don’t give them antibiotics.

Esau: Chickens never get hormones! These chickens in the pictures are called Kuroilers and they grow faster and produce more eggs than the local chickens we used to raise. A couple of professors from Arizona State brought the chickens from India to Uganda. We can sell them at three months now when before it used to take 10 months to have the same weight.

John: That is awesome! Look at the size of these chickens…

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

John and Esau get up early and excited about participating in a farm day with the 4-H Program in Chatham County, they will be visiting many farms.

John and Esau prepared a presentation on chicken production. Chickens have been so good for his family and other families in the village.

Chickens are a source of protein, produce eggs, and villages can sell or barter the excess production. Esau helps his mother tend the chickens and collects the eggs every morning like a lot of children do in his village.

Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

Before Drs. Jagdev Sharma and Sylvia Lemus Sharma arrived to his village, local chickens were small and produced only a few eggs. Dr. Sharma is originally from India and he thought that the Indian dual purpose Kurolier chickens would adapt well in Uganda, so he brought them to the country to try. The Kurolier chickens thrived in Ugandan villages and started to produce more eggs. Esau was so impressed with the project that he decided to become a poultry veterinarian and help other people like they have done in Uganda.

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

John prepared a poster about his backyard chickens in Goldston.

He also explained different ways chickens are raised: organic, free range, pasture fed, intensive, and other variations. But he pointed out that government organizations regulate feeding and processing of chickens. John explained that organic chickens do not get any form of medicines; free range chickens are raised in pasture; and intensive production is done in large farms with some chickens in cages and others in large rooms. He emphasized that chickens never get hormones and that their welfare is important.

Esau also prepared a poster and explained how the chickens crossed the Arabian Sea. He did a great job presenting the poster and children in audience asked a lot questions. John was very happy with Esau’s work.

After the presentation, John looked at Esau and told him: “We both are going to become veterinarians.” Esau smiled and told John: “We will, we will, I promise.”

Two days from now John and Esau will be at the University for the first day of camp. There will be other children from different countries to meet. They are looking at the camp schedule together and day dreaming about all the learning and fun they will have.

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Why did the chicken cross the Arabian Sea?

GLOSSARY This glossary includes all words underlined in the body of the book.

• Antibiotics – Types of medicine that are given for the treatment of infection caused by bacteria • Casava – A root vegetable • Dual purpose – A chicken that is used for both its meat and its eggs • Genetic combination – A mix of different aspects of the chicken makeup that makes the chicken unique • Hormones – Chemicals that are produced naturally in the body that control important body functions • Kuroiler chicken - A hybrid chicken that came from India.

• Matooke – A variety of starchy banana • Processing – Chicken prepared for human consumption • Welfare – How a farmer raises animals to make sure the animals are comfortable and given feed and water on time.

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Special thanks to the following for assistance with this project:

4-H Youth Development & Mentoring Organization

- http://www.4-h.org NC State University & the College of Veterinary Medicine

- https://cvm.ncsu.edu

Š 2017