Research shows limited effectiveness for two darkling beetle control products
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga., in which researchers...
Low protein diets in broilers
Some recent research at the Arkansas Agriculture Experiment Station Poultry Research Farm has been focused on low protein diets in broilers. Many nutritionists rely...
Innovative methods for a multidisciplinary risk management in poultry slaughterhouses
The purpose of controls in slaughterhouses is to ensure food safety and quality as well as to monitor animal health and welfare.
Control efficiency can...
Feed physical quality
The effect of feed form is well established, however, feed physical quality is often seen as an issue in the field (see Figure 1)....
Biosecurity, before the beginning…
Almost all of us, the poultry people, know what biosecurity is about. For the investors, it means spending lots of money to prevent disasters,...
Management of ectoparasites in cage-free housing systems
As cage-free systems become more frequent in poultry production, we are forced to evaluate how pest control measures should adapt to ensure efficacy.
The...
Corn milling efficiency and particle size effects on pullet growth performance
Corn is usually ground locally at the feed mill, while soybean meal is pre-processed and feed mills have little control over its particle size...
What is good chick quality?
When asking the question “What is good chick quality?”, the responses can be very different based on the person and their role. For instance,...
Probiotics as an alternative to antibiotics for treating lameness in broilers
The pathogenesis leading to a form of lameness known as bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) appears to be initiated by mechanical microfracturing of susceptible...
Organic acids as feed additives: pros and cons
Organic acid salts are often included as feed additives in livestock nutrition as feed preservatives but also as growth promoters, intestinal microbiota enhancers, and...
Global phosphorus scarcity
Phosphorus scarcity is a serious threat to food security. Recent studies indicate that phosphorus demand could outstrip finite supplies of high quality phosphatesometime between 2025-2084 if no fundamental changes are made to the current trajectory.
Big data for poultry – first part
The term big data may at first appear incongruous to animal agriculture. However, by capturing, analysing, reporting and sharing of through-production chain data with...
Rapid in vitro antimicrobial screening assay against Campylobacter
Research was undertaken to adapt a multi-well antimicrobial assay as a fast and reliable method to screen large numbers of plant extract treatments against...
Is biosecurity a driver for improved poultry performance? Experiences from a field trial
Maintaining strict biosecurity is vital in poultry farming, with cleaning and disinfection (C&D) serving as a cornerstone for flock health and performance. On-field evidences...
Vencomatic Group and Orbem announce a strategic partnership for in ovo sexing of poultry...
Vencomatic Group (VMG), a family-owned supplier of innovative solutions for the international poultry industry, and Orbem, a leading deep-tech imaging and AI technology company,...
Egg bacteriological study
Eggs from 10 commercial brands were selected in different types of housing: cage and on the floor (free of cage) obtained from 4 supermarket...
Carcass picking: removing the feathers and protecting the quality
The poultry feathers are non-edible and need to be thoroughly removed during processing. The defeathering consists of moving the carcasses along the picking line...
Metabolic differences in the blood of chick embryos
A study was conducted in order to investigate metabolic differences in the blood of chick embryos and post-hatch chicks from two egg sizes and...
Seminars highlighting innovations in broiler farming
Two interesting specialist seminars for broiler farming were held on the 16th and 17th of November in Visbek and Hamm, Germany. The companies BEST3,...
Foodborne pathogens in poultry production
Foodborne pathogens continue as a considerable threat to public health. Intensification of livestock production, especially poultry, facilitates diseases transmission by increasing population size and...
Welfare of turkeys on farm
EFSA assesses the welfare of turkeys on farm
EFSA’s scientists have reviewed the latest evidence on the welfare of turkeys and provided a scientific opinion to...
Chicken study probes resistance to food bug
Receiving gut microbes from resistant chickens does not lessen chickens’ susceptibility to bacterium that causes food poisoning.
Susceptible chickens became even more susceptible to Campylobacter,...
A synergistic herbal alternative combination: curcumshield vs poultry infections – a broad-spectrum study
Introduction
In the case of bacterial infections, various categories of antibiotics – especially synthetic ones – are widely used as broad-spectrum bacteriostatic and bactericidal agents....
Egg weight loss during incubation of poults and chicks
Why is it important and how do we measure it?
Technology and the associated hatchery and equipment continues to advance incubation to levels previously unavailable,...
The importance of feeding time observation
Achieving proper bodyweight, flock uniformity, and sexual maturity at light stimulation are some of the biggest management challenges for broiler breeder farms.
Today’s breeder pullets...
Visual identification of potential feather pecking
Feather pecking behaviour is common in floor-housed laying hens a behavior, which is positively associated with developing feather pecking habits.
It has been suggested that...
Measurement of true ileal calcium digestibility of meat and bone meal for broiler chickens
Currently, there is a move towards the use of digestible phosphorus (P) in diet formulations for poultry due to P excretion into the environment...
EFSA’s scientific opinion on welfare of turkeys on farm
Turkeys are raised for meat production in large flocks across the EU, mainly in indoor housing. Systems with covered veranda and outdoor range are...
Replacing soy in broiler diets. Effect on performance, carcass yield and cost of production
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of replacing soybean meal (SBM) in broiler diets on performance, carcass quality and...
Science unveils new pathway to broiler chicken growth performance
A new tool has emerged for broiler chicken operations seeking new ways to optimize results while keeping aligned with a full range of the...
Turkey breeder health, new welfare challenges and demands
The health of turkey breeders is critical to ensure the economic production of high quality fertile hatching eggs to produce poults which can be raised without antibiotics.
Biosecurity in poultry farming: an effective tool to fight infectious diseases
This is the first of a series of technical articles on biosecurity in poultry farming produced within the European project “NetPoulSafe - Networking European...
In-ovo vaccination requires good hatchery management
In-ovo vaccination is gaining popularity and is being used in an increasing number of hatcheries. A driving force behind this is the increasing number...
Innovation is the key for sustainability
Today it is important innovation, and it is the main way to sustainability. Here, we introduce René and Jolanda van Doren who have together...
The specific requirements and sensitivities of turkey egg incubation
Turkey eggs have a high incubation success rate when all the species-specific areas of incubation are managed correctly. Hence, a suite of incubation equipment...
Low protein diets down regulate hepatic enzymes
Low protein (LP) diets have clear benefits for the poultry industry with regards to health, welfare and production. Dean et al., (2006) found that...
Mycoplasma Synoviae, a technical update
Mycoplasma are the smallest free-living organisms both in size and number of genes, and unlike many other bacteria, they do not have a cell...
Spirulina platensis Algae, a novel poultry feed additive
Identifying alternative replacements for soybean meal in a high quality and reasonable price is of importance in poultry production and physiological parameters. Spirulina platensis...
Solar energy ensures cost-efficiency
Solar energy radiation means revenues – at least for farmers who have successfully harnessed renewable energies. However, with the latest amendment to the Renewable...
Effect of the type of diet and the addition of humic substances as growth...
In recent years, humic substances have been tested as growth promoters in animal production and are one of the promising options to face the...
Transgenerational impact of broiler breeder nutrition
Continuous genetic selection in meat-type chicken for rapid growth resulted in increased meat production and decreased the time required for achieving the market weight....
Collaborative regulatory approach can reduce antibiotic use in animal production
As global concern about the human health threat posed by antimicrobial resistance continues rises, governments continue to introduce legislation to curb antibiotic use in...
The importance of fresh air
Vostermans Ventilation is addressing the need for even distribution of fair and heat in the poultry house, to obtain an optimal uniform microclimate on...
Changing role of poultry nutritionist in a changing industry
Reflecting back on 30 years of working in the poultry industry as nutritionists we realize that the biggest changes that have occurred have mostly...
Effect of multi-xylanase system on growth performance and gut health in broilers
Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP), particularly arabinoxylans (AX), with complex biochemical structures are one of the main causative factors for impaired growth performance and poor gut...
NSP enzymes, gut microbiota and fermentation products
Arabinoxylans account for 50-70% of the NSP feed enzymes present in cereal grains and make up the majority of cell wall NSP in corn,...
VALLI housing systems
VALLI’s products not only live up to everything they promise but, above all, the solutions provided by the Italian company take into account all the issues involved in order to meet the requirements of an increasingly conscious and demanding customers.
On-farm control of campylobacter
Campylobacteriosis, primarily caused by the consumption of contaminated chicken products, accounts for the majority of food poisoning cases in Europe and many other developed...
Pirbright research to boost vaccine production
Scientists at the Pirbright Institute have received money, which will enable research into boosting vaccine yields by up to ten fold. The funding was...
The trifecta for a sustainable production
To meet the needs of an additional three billion people over the next 35 years and to prevent further escalation of global poverty, agricultural production must double during this time. In meeting the increased demand for food, the interdependence between water, food and energy will become more evident and highlight resource insecurities.
A novel microbiome metabolic modulator improved growth performance and intestinal morphology during a coccidiosis...
The present study was designed to investigate the effects of a precision glycan Microbiome Metabolic Modulator (MMM) on growth performance and gut health parameters...
Housing systems in laying hen husbandry- First part
A status report
This analysis is an abridged version of a report which the author prepared for the International Egg Commission (IEC) in London, UK.
In...
Pathological manifestations of highly pathogenic and predominant Eimeria species in turkeys
Coccidiosis is caused by intra-cellular enteric protozoan parasites of the genus Eimeria. Eimeria is a gastrointestinal parasite with a complex life cycle involving an...
Research examines different dietary treatments for woody breast
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, in which researchers examined different...
Reducing undigested protein available at the intestinal wall on broilers
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplementing an inherently thermo stable protease in broilers fed diets based on single raw materials,...
Pre-harvest interventions and implications of safety for turkey processing
Increasing consumer attention toward low fat, high protein diets, and demand for healthy foods has led to a significant increase in the production and...
Antibiotic-resistance: the contribution of the viruses in GIT microbiome
The GIT, or rather the gastro intestinal tract, is the organ of the all organism mostly colonized by the microbial population: it hosts more...
A diagnostic laboratory perspective for pathogen detection
Detection of infectious diseases can generally be broken down into laboratory detection of the pathogen or detection of the immune response to the pathogen....
Managing turkeys coming into lay
The first few weeks between transfer of turkeys to the laying farm and the peak of production can have a big influence on flock...
How to reduce antibiotics in broiler production?
There is an increased awareness recently in relation to the sensible use of antibiotics within poultry and livestock production. When looking at broiler production,...
LED lights in turkey farms
With the rise of the energy efficient light emitting diode – LED – bulbs in today’s market, there is an opportunity to refine...
Reducing stress during broiler catching: a practical welfare package with real benefits
The catching phase in broiler production is one of the most critical—and stressful—moments for birds. How this process is managed can make a major...
Laying hen nutrition for optimizing egg production and quality
Hen nutrition is important; during the initial period of pullet rearing (<45 days of age), small particle size obtained by grinding of main cereals...
New technologies in housing, equipment and computer controls
The poultry housing and equipment industry continues to develop, introducing new technologies in line with trends in modern communications and ventilation systems. As expected...
Controlling water temperature during brooding
Though there is a wide range of opinions on the optimal drinking water temperature for young chicks, the fact is farm managers actually have...
Antibiotic-Free turkey production
The production of turkeys without the use of antibiotics is an increasingly common goal across the globe due to the focus on antimicrobial resistance....
The fertilization process and embryo mortality during incubation. What is the Relationship?
The goal of a successful incubation operation is to produce the maximum number of quality chicks from the fewest breeders housed in order to...
Probiotic Bacillus licheniformis significantly improves layer performance
Adding probiotic Bacillus licheniformis DSM 28710 to layer diets was shown to improve layer performance, both in commercial as well as in research conditions....
Balancing beetles with the bottom line
Darkling beetles, commonly referred to as litter beetles, are a widely encountered pest for those in the broiler production industry. Litter beetles are holometabolous...
Genetic selection in layers
Close to 10 years ago, Hendrix Genetics Layers started remodeling their breeding program. A range of restructuring activities, directly affecting the breeding operations made...
Overcoming challenges of antibiotic-free production
Antibiotic use once became a conventional, on-farm practice to prevent health issues and boost growth in poultry. Yet, public health concerns about rising bacteria...
TrayTrack, a unique inline overhead concept for optimum tray logistics
The traceability of trays
Once trays have been filled with product, poultry processors will often be faced with how to transport them to packaging equipment...
Incubation temperature and how it influences chick hatch time and bone ash
With commercial broilers spending up to 30% of their lifespan in the egg, incubation temperature has been linked to some leg weakness issues.
The recommended...
Raising Pullets in Alternative Systems
Productive and profitable layers begin with good quality pullets. Having the correct body weight and body type at the start of egg production will...
Rendering: an important aspect of sustainability
At the International Rendering Symposium, held in conjunction with the 2017 International Production & Processing Expo in Atlanta, Ga, it was stressed how rendering is an important aspect of sustainability. Animal agriculture in general is more sustainable with rendering processes.
Energy-efficiency in pre-conditioning inlet air for setters and hatchers
Hatcheries are found in a variety of climates, from the hot, humid tropics of South East Asia to hot, arid zones in the Middle...
Towards practical methods for assessing ILTV vaccine take
In response to ILTV outbreaks, live vaccines are typically administered at 7-14 days of age in drinking water via nipple drinkers which may not...
Latest innovations and future advances in genetics at Lohmann Tierzucht
The 53rd Lohmann Tierzucht Franchise Distributor provided an opportunity to review the latest innovations in genetics and genomics. Prof. Dr. Rudolf outlined the main points of the company strategy in breeding.
Assessment of the use of perches to improve leg health in meat chickens
Poor leg health in Australian fast growing meat chickens is a major welfare issue, resultant from long-term genetic selection for bird size and growth rate...
Requirement of digestible calcium at different dietary concentrations of digestible phosphorus for broiler growers
An experiment was conducted to determine the digestible calcium (Ca) and digestible phosphorus (P) requirements of 11-24 days old broiler chickens.
L.S. David1, M.R. Abdollahi1,...
