Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.
The records of the North Carolina State University Department of Poultry Science contain scientific and publicity research, informational and promotional materials, administrative files, materials relating to 4-H poultry projects, reports and data from the North Carolina Egg Layer Performance and Management Tests, archived web content, and other publications. Materials range in date from 1914 to 2015.
The first course in poultry at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (later, North Carolina State University) was taught in 1900-1901. In 1912, Poultry work became part of the Department of Animal Industry. The Poultry Science Extension Program began in 1907 and originally consisted of demonstration projects. In 1924, the Poultry Department became one of six departments in the new School of Agriculture. In 1962, the name of the department was officially changed to the Department of Poultry Science. In 2012, the department was renamed the Prestage Family Department of Poultry Science.
Poultry research at what later became North Carolina State University began with the North Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station in 1881. In 1895, the Poultry Division was added, after the Board of Trustees recommended "that a poultry yard be established and several varieties of the best breeds of chickens, etc., be bred and a few bees kept for the instruction of the students." Buildings and yards were established on ten acres adjoining the Fair Grounds. Frank E. Hege, a commercial poultryman from near New Bern, was the first department head.
Although the Agricultural Experiment Station was officially transferred to the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts when students first registered in 1889, it did not move to the college until 1897. The first course in poultry at the College was taught in 1900-1901. In 1912, Poultry work became part of the Department of Animal Industry.
The Poultry Science Extension Program began in 1907 and originally consisted of demonstration projects. Still in existence, its mission has been the dissemination of important information to the public of North Carolina. The first Extension Poultry Specialist, C.B. Ross, was hired in 1913 and initiated the first instructional Extension short course in 1915. In 1938, C. F. "Chick" Parrish, a Poultry Extension Specialist from 1925 to 1963, began producing "Poultry Pointers," a monthly newsletter for poultry producers.
In 1924, the Poultry Department was established. Research, teaching, and extension work were under one department head, Benjamin F. Kaupp, for the first time. In 1962, the name of the department was officially changed to the Department of Poultry Science.
In 1945, "Chick" Parrish started the 4-H Pullet Chain in 14 counties. While technically named the "Grow Better Pullets Program," it was generally referred to as the "Sears Pullet Chain." Sears, Roebuck & Company gave $300 for the purchase of baby chicks for ten boys and girls. Each 4-H'er in the Chain received 100 baby chicks. At the end of six months club members brought twelve pullets to a show and sale. Sears gave $100 in prize money to each county in the program. The 4-H Pullet Chain Program was so successful that it spread to nearly every county in North Carolina and to most of the other southern states. There were fifty-four shows and sales in North Carolina in 1950, 107 shows in 1958. This program helped North Carolina become a commercial egg producing state.
The Department of Poultry Science has faculty members working in a number of different research and extension areas, including nutrition, physiology, immunology, poultry management, toxicology, microbiology, food science, waste management, food safety, and poultry health. A large amount of work is also being done in the area of poultry by-product management to reduce the potential environmental effects of the poultry industry. Informal educational programs are also offered by the North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service.
In 2012, the department was renamed the Prestage Family Department of Poultry Science in honor of Bill and Marsha Prestage and their family, longtime supporters of NC State and owners of Prestage Farms. The department has been one of only six poultry science departments in the United States.
The records of the North Carolina State University Department of Poultry Science contain scientific and publicity research, informational and promotional materials, administrative files, materials relating to 4-H poultry projects, reports of the North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Tests, archived web content, and other publications. Materials range in date from 1914 to 2015.
The records of the North Carolina State University Department of Poultry Science are arranged in eight series: Scientific Research, Marketing and Publicity, Administrative File, 4-H Sears Poultry Project, Publications, North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Tests, Web Content, and Unprocessed Materials.
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.
[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Poultry Science Records, UA 100.026, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
Transferred from North Carolina State University, Department of Poultry Science.
Web content harvested using the Internet Archive's Archive-It services.
Processed by: Katie Brightman; Laura Abraham, 2009 July; machine-readable finding aid created by: Katie Brightman; Finding aid updated by Karen Paar; Laura Abraham, 2009 July; Cate Putirskis, 2009 July; Finding aid updated by Taylor Wolford, 2019 March; finding aid updated by Gevorg Vardanyan, 2023 June; web content processed by Kate Phillips, 2025 November.
The collection is organized into eight principal series:
This series contains a variety of publications on research outside and within the University and the Experiment Station. Univerisity publications include poultry surveys, poultry autopsies, and annual reports on investigations and pathology. In addition, there are publications resulting from student and faculty research on poultry science and the poultry industry.
The Scientific Research series is divided into sub-sub-series: Loose Reports, Collected Works, and Bound Volumes. The first is arranged alphabetically by title and the last two are organized chronologically. Bound Volumes contains an additional sub-series, North Carolina Experiment Station Poultry Investigations and Pathology Annual Reports.
8 records storage boxes
This series documents research on egg marketing and the publicity activities of the NC State University Poultry Department. It includes press releases, calendars, flyers, and pamphlets designed to be distributed to poultry farmers and the general public.
The Marketing and Publicity Series contains two sub-series organized chronologically, Informational and Promotional Materials and Research.
2 record storage boxes
The Administrative Files series contains registration materials and reports of proceedings from courses and conferences on poultry, information on the Department of Poultry Science (including memorandum, curriculum, and research programs), materials from the Extension Service (including budgets, correspondence, and progress reports), photographs, newsletters, and materials relating to professional organizations (reports and correspondence). Folders are arranged alphabetically by topic, and folder contents are arranged chronologically.
Less than 1 record storage box, 1 oversize flat box
This series includes correspondence between Sears, North Carolina State College, and 4-H representatives. Included is information on egg shows, programs from 4-H events, field reports from Extension agents, general information on the project, lists of participating counties, and state and county summaries of 4-H poultry sales.
The 4-H Sears Poultry Project series contains two sub-series: "Correspondence and Other Records" and "Pullet Shows and Sales." As with the Administrative Files, series folders are arranged alphabetically by topic, with folder contents arranged chronologically.
1 records storage box
This series contains publications produced by the North Carolina State University Department of Poultry Science.
This series contains reports and data related to the North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Tests (NCLP&MT), which have been ongoing from 1958 to 2011. The tests address egg industry problems, while providing valuable information on commercial chicken laying strain performance under varying management systems.
This series is comprised of web sites of North Carolina State University’s Department of Poultry Science, captured by the NC State University Libraries since July 2016 using the Internet Archive’s Archive-It web archiving service, with prior captures by the Internet Archive dating back to March 2015, which may be less complete and was performed at undetermined intervals.
This is the official website of the Prestage Department of Poultry Science at NC State University. The NC State University Libraries has scheduled this website to be captured quarterly from 2016 till 2025. Also included here are prior captures by the Internet Archive dating back to March 2015. The site began redirecting to https://cals.ncsu.edu/prestage-department-of-poultry-science/ in October 2018, and is now being captured using that URL.
Online access is provided through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
This is the official website for the Prestage Department of Poultry Science in the College of Agricultural and Life Science at NC State University. The NC State University Libraries has captured this site quarterly since 2025. Also included are prior captures by the Internet Archive, beginning in 2016. The site was previously captured using the URL http://harvest.cals.ncsu.edu/prestage-poultry-science/, and began redirecting in October 2018.
Online access is provided through the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
Series contains digital media. Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Pending staff review and approval, access will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access may be restricted.
We perform virus scans upon ingest and upon request for access. However, not all virus software profiles will catch all threats, especially newer, not yet recognized ones. The researcher assumes all risk when opening files.
While electronic files are made available to researchers, some files may not open with current software or at all. Researchers may be required to find and use legacy software packages to read files.
Additional conditions may apply.
Included are DOC, PDF, PLIST, and additional text and image files of various formats.
Files are arranged as received.
Access will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
File count of digital media may exclude system files; hidden, deleted, or excluded files; and duplicate files.
Included are PLIST, DOC, DB, JPG, DAT, and additional text and image files of various formats.
Files are arranged as received.
Access will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request.
File count of digital media may exclude system files; hidden, deleted, or excluded files; and duplicate files.
Collection is open for research; access requires at least 48 hours advance notice. Because of the nature of certain archival formats, including digital and audio-visual materials, access will require additional advanced notice. Unless noted, digital media are not available online. Copies of unrestricted digital files will be provided for use in the SCRC Reading Room upon request. Access will be provided to use copies of unrestricted digital files rather than carrier media, such as CDs, DVDs, and floppy disks. Some or all electronic files may be unavailable or restricted due to privacy reasons, agreement with the donor, or because files cannot be retrieved from original media.
For more information contact us via mail, phone, or our web form.
Mailing address:
Special Collections Research Center
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC, 27695-7111
Phone: (919) 515-2273
[Identification of item], North Carolina State University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Department of Poultry Science Records, UA 100.026, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, NC
The NC State University Libraries generally claims only physical ownership of most Special Collections materials. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright law. Libraries staff are unable to advise on copyright and other legal matters; the user assumes full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Helpful resources for assessing copyright include Cornell Libraries' "Copyright Services: Copyright Term and the Public Domain" and copyright.gov. This collection may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information about identifiable living individuals, which may be protected under federal or state laws and regulations. Researchers are advised that there may be legal ramifications for disclosing this information.
The University Archives operates in accordance with the State Public Records Act, with unrestricted access to records not covered by state and federal statutes and regulations.