Meat chickens processed in New Zealand

Production: poultry that us ready to be packed and sent to wholesale. This includes product for both domestic consumption and export, which is not differentiated at this stage.
Meat chicken: The industry term for the older word 'broiler' - a chicken raised for its meat.
Layer hen: Chickens raised to produce eggs. Layer hens are non-fertile.
End of lay: The time at which a layer hen naturally stops producing eggs (about age 80 weeks).
Breeder: A fertile hen.

The population of poultry producers is derived from Stats NZ's Business Frame. Alternative sources, for example telephone books, NZ Poultry Association, newspapers, trade journals, etc, are used to identify new firms, which are then added to the population. The survey population is updated each year.

Target population: All poultry producing activity units in New Zealand. Producers are separated by their poultry output type.
Population covered: The survey is full coverage of the target population.

In 1997, the questionnaire changed at the sponsors request. Roasting Fowl (end of lay) was split into Meat Breeders (end of lay) and End of Lay (not meat breeders). This was done to give more information regarding end of lay breeds which are different in regard to breeds, size and end use. Meat breeders (2kg) are typically boned out producing good quality filleted meat, whilst the bony tough carcass of the end of lay hens (<1kg) are sold cheaply as roasting or boiling fowls. The first survey to incorporate this change was the June 1997 quarter.

At URL provided, select 'Industry sectors > Primary Production - PRP > Processed Food - Poultry - Number (Annual-Dec)'.
All variables were selected to create this dataset.

The Poultry production survey collects information on poultry processed in New Zealand. It has been published on a quarterly basis since September 1980. Its purpose is to obtain an indication of the level and trend in the volume of poultry produced in New Zealand.