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...
Best practice in management
How management best practice can help support profitability on broiler farms
In partnership with Cobb, this new series of articles will examine best practice in...
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...
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...
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...
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....
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...
Developing and implementing Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOPs)
As part of the modernization programs at USDA, FSIS is amending the egg products inspection regulations and is now requiring plants that produce egg...
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...
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....
Effect of ammonia on the immune response to infectious bronchitis virus vaccination
Commercial broilers in the grow-out stage are commonly exposed to ammonia which can have an effect on infectious bronchitis virus vaccination.
Ammonia concentrations are...
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...
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...
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...
Windrowing properly done
Windrowing litter between flocks has been used commercially since the 1980’s and continues to evolve to meet numerous production challenges. The goal is to...
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...
Targeted approaches to achieving good litter quality
Turkeys spend their life in close contact with litter material. The aim is to establish and maintain good, dry litter conditions and an environment...
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...
Consequences of outdoor ranging on external and inter-nal health parameters of hens from different...
Free-range layer pullets are typically reared indoors within Australia, but adult layers go outdoors which might cause poorer adaptation due to the mismatch between...
Diagnostic strategies for the control of avian Mycoplasmas
Mycoplasmas are bacteria without the cell wall which cause infections in poultry especially at respiratory and articular level.
They are the smallest single-celled organisms found...
Backyard chickens
Are backyard chickens just a transient phenomenon? Current craze? Foodies’ desire for fresh eggs? Baby boomers or young families wanting to get closer to...
The impact of anthelmintic resistance in parasites of poultry
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, in which researchers...
Is no antibiotics ever (NAE) poultry production sustainable?
For many years, commercial poultry feeds in the United States contained sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics, commonly known as antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs), to maximize...
Cage free pullet management
The conditions in cage free systems differ from the traditional cage housing systems and require a different management approach. Alternative production systems can be...
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...
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...
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...
Exterior and interior strategies for rodent control
As the weather cools, rodents seek refuge indoors where there is easy access to food and water. Rodents are vectors for spreading disease, which...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Optimal fat utilisation by Intra Liposol at broilers
It is difficult - especially for young animals - to optimally digest the range of fats and oils in the diet. This leads to...
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...
Different light sources
The value of regulating the photoperiod of poultry and livestock to stimulate reproduction has been recognized for many years and is used regularly by...
Formulating layer diets beyond the least-cost model
Due to the high cost of feed for poultry, there is continuous pressure to formulate ‘least-cost’ diets that meet nutritional requirements. However, the main...
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...
Turkey farming – A brief review of welfare and husbandry issues
A literature review was undertaken to examine welfare issues in the turkey farming sector. The major issues are diseases, poor locomotion due to high...
Economics of broiler production systems in the Netherlands
In 2017, farmers of conventional, slower growing and biological broiler strains had similar incomes. The so-called ‘middle segment’ systems, the Dutch Retail Broiler (DRB)...
Cobb suggesting management tips to maximize male fertility
The role of males in poultry breeding is extremely important. Each male is responsible for fertilizing 10 or more females. Each hen produces at...
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...
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...
How preheating temperature can affect litter drying
One of the purposes of preheating a broiler house is to ensure the litter is properly dried prior to chick placement. Research has shown...
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...
Understanding egg quality
Egg quality is multi-faceted, with physical, functional, and microbial aspects contributing to egg quality. Research has shown that many factors impact egg quality including...
Current trends in litter management
As much of the broiler industry transitions to antibiotic free production based on consumer demand, broiler house management is changing more substantially than it...
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...
Poultry litter pasteurisation
Heaping of used poultry litter reliably induces significant elevations in temperature due to the actions of variety of aerobic bacteria and fungi. Temperatures typically...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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,...
Roxell pan feeder system: the ultimate alternative to beak treatments
Jan Hoving from Zeewolde (NL) tested this Roxell solution at his rearing farm. For him, the decision to use Natural Beak Smoothing was a...
Managing bird behaviour in organic production systems
This topic is presented on by John Brunnquell, the founder and current president of Egg Innovations, which is the largest exclusive producer of free...
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,...
Housing systems in laying hen husbandry – second 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...
The future of brooding
It is essential that newly hatched poults are provided with the best possible starting conditions in brooding. This is a fundamental first step to...
A correct lighting is essential in poultry houses
Many poultry producers appreciate the importance of light in maximising performance. Whether chickens or turkeys, laying hens, commercial growers or parent stock, all poultry...
Biosecurity: protecting animal health to sustain the supply chain
Safeguarding animal health is of paramount importance to any country’s economy and food supply. Livestock with a clean health status is an important requirement...
Cleaning and disinfection as strategic tools for avian production
Biosecurity, defined as all measures taken to prevent both the introduction and the spread of infectious agents on the farm, is of key importance...
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...
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”...
Best practice in egg production
How robust management and proactive measures can drive best practice for egg production on poultry farms.
In partnership with Cobb, this article examines best practice...
Best practice in biosecurity
How to effectively manage and reinforce best practice in biosecurity on broiler farms
This article examines best practice in broiler production, focusing specifically on biosecurity....
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...
Big data for poultry. What is possible? – second 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...
Hot weather management and nutrition
Thermoregulation is the ability of birds to maintain their body temperature across a range of environmental temperatures and in hot weather. Turkeys use a...
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...
Graded levels of stocking density for turkey toms raised to 16 weeks of age
Stocking density can be one of the most important drivers of economic return; however it can greatly influence bird performance, health, and welfare. In...
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...
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...
Biosecurity – practical tips to minimize the human risk of contamination
All poultry operations are under a constant threat from the ever-present enemy of disease and infection. It is imperative in all operations that we...
