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...
Resources and tools to write a good biosecurity plan
Poultry
industries in the United States (U.S.) have been in a unique situation after
the 2014-2015 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak. Analysis and
epidemiology of the...
Poultry house environmental control during cold weather
Most people think minimum ventilation in a poultry house is all about air quality but that is only partially correct. First one should define...
How to house happy birds by Vencomatic Group
Happy birds produce best. Aviary systems were invented to provide laying hens with maximum freedom, while using floor space efficiently. Aviaries consist of multiple...
Raising turkeys without antibiotics
Alternative management – paying attention to detail and supportive care strategies can be utilized to produce turkeys without antibiotics in this new era.
Dr. Steven...
Understanding and managing water for successful flocks
Water is the single greatest input into the production of poultry products such as eggs and meat. The fact water is a relatively inexpensive...
Researchers investigate how laying hens visually perceive the resources in cage-free housing
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at Purdue University in which researchers investigated how laying hens visually...
Hot weather management
Hot weather can have a detrimental effect on flock performance and in extreme cases cause heat loss. While you cannot control outside weather conditions,...
Welfare and cost benefits through automated grading and vaccination
Evaluation of working time requirements of different grading and vaccination processes.
One of the most important measures for the quality of poultry breeding stock is...
Factors that contribute to consistent quality poult starts
The process of egg production, hatching, processing and delivery of a quality poult are all important and stressful points that impact the lives of...
Impact of stress on feather cover of laying hens
Feather pecking is a behavior in which individual laying hens peck repetitively at the plumage of conspecifics, causing poor feather. Although FP can be...
Minimizing interventions for turkey beak treatment in Germany
Germany wants to play a leading role in Europe in poultry and turkey welfare issues. Fundamental changes have been made to husbandry systems during...
Farmers’ perceived importance of biosecurity practices and actual performance on farm
It is prudent in today’s age that farmers uphold high-level compliance of biosecurity practices on Australian commercial chicken farms. This is especially so with...
Management of slow growing broilers for profit
Chicken is consumed in larger quantities than either beef or pork largely due to its relatively low fat and high protein content when compared...
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...
Flip-overs: causes and solutions in brooding
The poult start is an extension of the hatching process. The whole process, including poult placement, is only as strong as its weakest link.
William...
In ovo injection of oregano essential oil at different pH affects hatchability and post-hatching...
The dynamic complexity of the developing embryo requires the maintenance of differentiated compartments with the capacity to maintain independent environments required to optimise their...
Spent hens: Can we improve their welfare?
The aim of this study was to observe the improvement in welfare indicators of spent hens kept in three different housing systems.
Sixteen Isa...
Considerations for a better quality of chicks
During the incubation period, embryonic growth and development are affected by different factors, as breeder age, the incubation temperature and the availability of egg...
Salmonella control in broiler breeders
Today, our goal is to control and eliminate all Salmonella species and pathogens from the breeding program. The ability of the primary breeder to...
Pre-Placement checklist
Pre-placement house preparation should be part of a proper management to ensure future performance of broilers and farm profitability.
The following checklist displays the...
Improved fly control on poultry facilities with microbial products
Parasitoid wasps and the entomopathogenic fungi Beauveria bassiana were both examined to see if augmentative releases of the pathogenic organisms can help lower house...
Using sensor technology against feather pecking in laying hens
In collaboration between Animal Breeding and Genomics (WUR), Breed4Food and the COST Action GroupHouseNet, a review paper was written on how sensor technologies can...
Ventilation and heating issues during cold weather
Many problems during cool and cold weather can be traced to inappropriate ventilation rates. Poor broiler health, respiratory problems, and breast blisters are common...
The Finnish Landrace Breed and a successful conservation program in Finland
Finnish landrace breed chicken is classified as a light egg layer. Meat is also consumed subsistence production and it is described as tasteful.
There is...
Challenges and opportunities in establishing a new turkey parent stock operation in a remote...
The Russian turkey market has shown substantial growth during the last decade with new and very large companies willing and able to invest considerable...
Impact of the lighting and feeding regimen during rearing on Hy-Line brown pullet growth...
The impact of two lighting and three feeding programs during rearing on pullet body weight (BW), feed intake (FI), organ characteristics and start of...
Managing heat and minimum ventilation systems in the broiler house
When outside temperatures drop and gas prices rise, maintaining the desired inside broiler house air temperature and ventilating to meet air quality needs can...
Effective ventilation key to Cobb500™ development
Effective ventilation plays a key role in the health and performance of broiler flocks. Nigel Strain, Cobb senior regional technical manager for Europe, the...
Healthy water, healthy birds
Since birds consume as much water as feed providing a clean, safe and sanitized water supply is crucial for assuring modern poultry flocks perform...
Management best practices: small details can have the big-gest impact
Raising turkeys is equal parts science and art. It involves precise measurement of various factors throughout the life of the flock. It also requires...
Ammonia control during brooding begins when previous flock ends
The level of ammonia young chicks will be exposed to during the first week of their lives is determined to a large extent by...
Biosecurity practices and investments implemented by today’s poultry producers
One brick higher
The 2015 outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus devastated the United States poultry industry. A novel Eurasian-North American H5N2 was...
Minnesota Turkey launches 3rd “day in the life of a turkey farmer” video
Minnesota turkey grower Loren Brey of Brey Farms, New Ulm, Minn., was recently featured in “A Day in the Life of a Turkey Farmer”...
The use of antibiotics in the poultry industry
Antimicrobial resistance in human and animal isolates in the E.U. remains a significant problem despite the bans of antibiotic growth promoters and the reductions...
Efficacy and economics of oral fluralaner for the treatment of northern fowl mites in...
Once mites are observed in one area of the barn they tend to progressively spread to the whole barn and subsequently to the next...
A practical approach to broiler breeder management in the absence of beak treatment –...
In the absence of beak treatment adhering to proven and agreed best practice management practices is key. The roles of good stockmanship and promoting...
Researchers evaluate the effects of heat stress in poults
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at North Carolina State University in which researchers evaluated the effects...
Waterline cleaning between broiler batches: a key to better bird health and performance
Clean water is essential for poultry—not just as a source of hydration but as a vital part of nutrition, digestion, and temperature regulation. In...
Turning Poultry Manure into Power: How Biogas Can Benefit Your Farm and the Climate
As the poultry sector looks for ways to improve sustainability and energy independence, biogas production from chicken manure is proving to be a practical...
Broilers perform better with intermittent lighting programs
Roles of certain parts of the digestive tract of chickens seems to have been lost with the evolution of time and commercial practices. Gizzards...
Dietary xylanase improves growth performance and cost savings in broiler chickens fed a corn-soybean...
The increased demand to reduce production costs, as well as concerns about the environment, have resulted in pressure on poultry producers to increase dietary...
How does your turkey grow?
Predicting how a turkey flock might grow under different nutritional and environmental conditions is a question of interest to everyone involved in turkey production...
Methods for recovery and quantitation of viral nucleic acids from broiler litter
There is a well-recognised problem with both the supply of broiler litter material in some regions, and with the disposal of spent litter. This...
Protein nutrition of breeders to improve production, hatchability and offspring performance – First Part
The last decades, poultry meat is becoming the most important protein sources in human diet and production is worldwide growing. Global poultry meat production...
Enhancing turkey welfare one step at a time
Researchers of Wageningen Livestock Research have been able to define when a turkey takes a step. This is an important milestone to automating gait...
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...
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...
Minimizing antibiotic use in broiler production
Many countries are being asked to reduce or eliminate antibiotic use in poultry, due to growing concerns about the use of antibiotics in food-producing...
10 alerting signs of poor ventilation
Proper ventilation is basic in poultry farming as it reduces mortality, stimulates early feed intake, improves flock uniformity, and ensures an adequate temperature regulation.
Here...
A practical approach to broiler breeder management in the absence of beak treatment –...
In the absence of beak treatment management strategies, which ensure appropriate bird development and growth and the provision of adequate environment and stimuli, which...
Light intensity and led lights
Light intensity can be measured in three ways: luminous intensity, luminous flux and luminous power. Led Lights are here analyzed.
Luminous flux is the total...
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,...
The importance of minimum ventilation and how to calculate it
Providing birds with the correct house environment is key to unlocking the full genetic potential and performance of a flock. Poultry growers often focus...
The importance of monitoring chicks water usage
Getting chicks off to a good start is very important to overall flock performance. At no time does a bird grow faster than during...
Biosecurity, the basics
By biosecurity we mean those measures aimed at reducing the risk of introducing and spreading infectious agents on farms, i.e. bio-exclusion and bio-containment measures.
Luigi...
Brooding
Getting chicks off to a good start is very important to overall flock performance. At no time does a bird grow faster than during...
Some common issues of the first week in brooding turkey poults
Turkey poults are very sensitive to environmental conditions and any uncomfortable situation very quickly leads to a problem and even sometimes a disaster. Any...
How to improve indoor air quality in poultry housing
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in which researchers provided...
Intra Chickpaper: double grip prevents legs to slip in chicks
Splayed legs in chicks is a condition that occurs in newly hatched chicks. It is caused by a weakness or injury in the tendons...
The effect of on-range insect feeding on range usage of free range laying hens
In Australia, on-range feeding of free-range laying hens can be frequently observed and is especially common in mobile sheds. While the biosecurity risk of...
Effects of corticosterone injection at embryonic day eleven on broiler growth and tonic immobility
Elevated corticosterone in ovo can have significant lasting impacts in avian species, including poultry. Stress in broiler breeder hens can lead to elevated corticosterone...
Poultry house climate
Poultry climate is a key factor in faming. High temperatures and a high humidity: in Germany, short periods in the summer months where temperatures...
How much cold pressed canola meal can we use in layer diets?
Canola meal has been available for the layer feed industry in Australia for over 30 years. However, very little has been used due to...
Pulsed ultraviolet light processing of eggs
In recent years, pulsed ultraviolet light has been shown to reduce microbial pathogens on the surface of shell eggs, crucial for maintaining good chick...
The effect of monochromatic photo-stimulation on growth and reproduction of broiler birds
Broilers in-ovo or with post hatch photo-stimulation with green light (GL) were heavier from dark incubated birds. Furthermore, we defined the cellular and molecular...
Cost-effective biosecurity management practices
An effective flock health plan must integrate solid strategies for disease prevention, rapid diagnosis, and effective treatment to support poultry health. To attain this...
Identification of broiler poultry house dust components using chemical and physical analysis
Dust found in poultry housing is a complex substance most likely comprised of a mixture of excreta, feather, feed and bedding material.
M. Ahaduzzaman, L....
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...
Breeding for robustness in turkeys
Turkey breeders have invested in selection methodologies to ensure the commercial cross is capable of delivering outstanding performance with good welfare under a variety...
Eco-friendly heating for efficient poultry breeding
The new standards for commercial poultry breeding have been requiring more sustainable, efficient and cleaner technologies. Along with it, the organic poultry production is...
Artificial structures mitigate simulated adverse pop-hole conditions
There is some evidence that commercial meat chickens prefer to access the range through ‘favoured’ pop-holes; however what makes pop-holes attractive or aversive is...
Perches: environmental enrichment or mechanical challenge?
The study compared the impact of wire ramps and perches on meat chicken mobility and the incidence of detached femoral caps (DFC), which can...
Sentinel Birds: An old strategy that can enhance current diagnostic tools
The use of sentinel birds such as specific-pathogen-free (SPF) leghorns has been used extensively to learn about local presence of pathogens in farms, either...
Poultry lighting
With LED technologies, farmers can today vary the color, intensity and photoperiod of the poultry lighting in houses and barns to improve production.
While incandescent,...
Biosecurity and surveillance in times of Avian Influenza
Biosecurity is today a primary factor in farming. The poultry world has entered a new era driven by increasingly demanding consumer and regulatory expectations....
Biosecurity: cleaning and disinfection
The first step of any disease prevention program starts with a comprehensive plan for cleaning and disinfecting.
Cleaning poultry breeder houses
The first step of any...
Maternal stress, the potential impact on broiler breeders and subsequent chick development
Managing stress in broiler breeders has been a continual topic of discussion since the early 1980’s, but our understanding of stress and its influence...
