Gut health in layers
To some extent gut health has not been a focus of commercial pullet and layer flocks unless the problem contributed to a significant mortality...
Managing coccidiosis in birds raised without antibiotics
For poultry producers to make a profit they must have healthy, uniform sized birds, make sure there are no real or assumed human health...
Better for birds, the earth, and you: Kipster’s egg
In the United States, as of March 2024, 40% of eggs produced are cage-free. While the cage-free movement has gained momentum worldwide, one company...
Compatibility of a new multi-strain probiotic with a live-attenuated Salmonella vaccine in chickens
A pilot study was undertaken to assess the compatibility of a new multistrain probiotic with a live-attenuated Salmonella Typhimurium (ST) vaccine. Experimental units were...
The effects of diet and epigenetic alterations on the gut microbiome, inflammation and poultry...
The gut microbiota is a fundamental force influencing diverse aspects of avian physiology. Microbiome studies are at a critical juncture and facing a challenging...
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,...
Continuous monitoring and control of mycoplasma for sustainable poultry production
Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) and Mycoplasma synoviae (MS) remain persistent pathogens in poultry, causing respiratory disorders, synovitis, uneven growth, and reduced egg production. Determining the...
Enumeration of Ascaridia Galli eggs in chicken excreta
Excreta counting techniques in eggs can provide valuable information for assessing flock infection levels, selecting nematode resistant chicken breeds and for determining anthelmintic efficacy.
Although...
Pulmonary Nocardiosis in turkey poults
Nocardiosis is an opportunistic, noncontagious, pyogranulomatous or suppurative disease of domestic animals, wildlife and people. In domestic animals, it causes mastitis, pneumonia (granulomatous lesions...
First-Ever Report of antimicrobial ase across U.S. broiler chickens and turkeys
Dramatic antimicrobial usage changes and improved antimicrobial stewardship.
The new report shows dramatic reductions of turkey and broiler chicken antimicrobial use over a five-year timeframe....
Footpad dermatitis in market turkey hens. Bird density and bedding material relationships
Lameness
and poor footpad condition can be major issues for meat-type poultry resulting
in their decreased well-being and decreased productivity. A large body of
research exists for...
Understanding resistance to different Infectious Bronchitis virus genotypes
In previous experiments, we have challenged major histocompatibility complex (MHC) congenic chicken lines available at UC Davis with an infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) M41...
Maternal derived antibodies have a role on the impact of Original XPC
The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of maternally derived antibodies on the immune-modulatory capacity of XPC on antigen-specific humoral immune...
Poultry expertise at IDEXX
In a rapidly evolving poultry production environment with fewer treatment options, disease prevention and identification are more important than ever. Reliable lab diagnostics play...
Optimizing immunization through proper vaccination in turkeys
When we talk about optimizing immunization through proper vaccination in commercial turkeys, we are really talking about optimizing drinking water vaccination when we think...
New avian flu outbreak detected on a farm in the Urgell region (Catalonia)
The Government of Catalonia has confirmed the detection of a new case of avian influenza on a poultry farm located within the surveillance radius...
Coccidiosis control in broiler breeders with the use of vaccines by Aviagen®
Coccidiosis is a disease of the intestinal lining, produced by the invasion of the mucosal cells by a very prolific protozoan parasite of the...
Clostridial Dermatitis
Clostridial Dermatitis is a disease of economic concern in turkeys. Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium septicum have been isolated consistently from dermatitis lesions in turkeys....
Concurrent infection of Histomonas meleagridis and Eimeria meleagridis in a turkey flock
Blackhead disease (histomoniasis) in turkeys is one of the protozoan diseases sporadically documented in commercial turkey production facilities. Histomoniasis may induce mild, moderate, or...
Gut health
Gut health and the efficient conversion of feed into its basic components for optimal nutrient absorption is vital for both commercial and turkey breeder...
Vaccination of turkey breeders to control Salmonella
Salmonella continues to be a top food safety concern for the turkey industry, the USDA, and the consumer. Salmonella bacteria are the most frequently...
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,...
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...
Nutritional strategies against pathogens in poultry
Salmonella Enteritidis and Campylobacter jejuni are the two major foodborne pathogens transmitted through poultry products. Since chickens are the reservoir hosts of these pathogens,...
Investigation of nutritional diseases at the veterinary diagnostic lab
Here below the role the veterinary diagnostic laboratory can play in helping to confirm nutritional diseases in a flock has been described. Regardless issues...
A review of novel biological alternatives to antibiotic therapies in poultry
As poultry producers in Australia continue to limit antibiotic use, increasing numbers of alternative therapies and chemical biosecurity products are being used to overcome...
Heat stress causes inhibition of Eimeria replication in broilers
Eimeria infection is one of the most important diseases affecting poultry production, and is characterized by bloody or watery diarrhea, weight loss, poor feed...
Infectious bursal disease viruses may swap genetic material during infection
Live cell imaging has been used by researchers at The Pirbright Institute to reveal new information about how different strains of infectious bursal disease virus...
Holistic view of intestinal health in poultry
Intestinal health is necessary to maintain efficient and sustainable gastrointestinal tract (GIT) physiology. The GIT has digestive, absorptive, metabolic, immunological and endocrinological functions.
This means...
Comparison of four injection sites for Se bacterin vaccine in commercial pullets
As commercial pullets farming transitions from rearing a bird on a single level in conventional-style housing to rearing a bird in a multi-level aviary,...
Female persistency post-peak. Managing fertility and production
INTRODUCTION
Managing breeding stock fertility and egg production is critical to achieving good breeder production and welfare. However, maintaining persistent egg output and hatchability remains...
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...
Use of comparative genomics to identify vaccine candidates for Campylobacter Jejuni
Interventions to control and reduce the incidence of Campylobacter jejuni colonization in poultry is important in order to reduce the burden of foodborne illness in humans....
Pathogenesis of egg infections by salmonella – Second Part
Early protection has been demonstrated after primary live vaccine administration early post-hatch but this effect is serotype-specific, while cross-protection between some serotypes has been...
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...
Biological control of Salmonella in the poultry industry: a European perspective
Salmonella remains one of the most important foodborne bacterial pathogens worldwide, and is frequently linked with the consumption of contaminated poultry meat and eggs....
Wooden Breast Disease
The emergence of Wooden Breast Disease in commercial broiler chickens has been associated with significant economic loss in the poultry industry resulting from severe...
When the gut rebels: the challenge of chronic inflammation in laying hens
In the poultry industry, intestinal health is a cornerstone for achieving high production yields, feed efficiency, and disease resistance. One of the issues that...
Get the most from your diagnostic laboratory.
A field perspective.
You notice the
mortality is up this morning in one of your brooder houses. Your first thought
might be “better take some birds to...
DNA region in chickens identified for disease resistance
One region in the DNA explains a large difference in possible disease resistance betweenchickens. This was discovered by researchers of Wageningen University & Research...
Sample management and handling for diagnostic testing
Diagnostic testing is an important and widely used tool in commercial poultry husbandry. A key to best use of diagnostic testing, is to begin...
Macroscopic lesion scoring correlates with gut morphology changes in a newly developed dysbacteriosis model
Conventional broilers often experience intestinal problems between 20 and 30 days of age, caused by a microbial imbalance in the gut, which is referred...
An alternative method to fight Avian Influenza Virus
A recent project was completed at the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, in which researchers developed a mobile system that can inactivate Avian...
A new poultry research center at the University of Bristol
A state-of-the art poultry research centre offering specialist, industry-focused research into both laying hen and broiler health, welfare, behavior and productivity has recently been...
Pirbright’s livestock coronavirus research
The Pirbright Institute is aware that misinformation regarding the Institute and its research is circulating on social media following an outbreak of a new...
Bioavailable silicium as feed additive and its beneficial effects throughout poultry production
Silicium is a naturally occurring trace element that supports bone formation, collagen synthesis, and structural integrity in tissues and eggshell membranes. In poultry, dietary...
Cecal coccidiosis in turkeys
Cecal coccidiosis is an important disease that affects the cecal integrity of turkeys and may result in watery feces with flecks of blood. In...
Increasing standardization in real-time PCR diagnostics
How to use it with a modular system and its benefit to laboratory throughput.
The IDEXX RealPCR™ real-time PCR reagents aim to provide a new...
Integrated Microfluidic Device for rapid Avian Influenza virus capture
Rapid detection of avian influenza virus (AIV) is highly desirable during outbreaks or routine AIV surveillance.
In this project, the preliminary results in developing a...
Managing CO2 and fresh air to optimise hatchability
Last year I was invited to a layer hatchery that was reporting slightly lower hatchability than its sister hatcheries, despite using eggs from the...
Transcriptomic modifications caused by subclinical necrotic enteritis in broiler chickens
Phasing out of in-feed antibiotics in the poultry industry has caused necrotic enteritis (NE) to become a primary concern in commercial poultry production in...
Ability to detect Salmonella vs. Salmonella-Free in poultry processing
Poultry are sampled often for Salmonella during growout on the farm and throughout the processing plant. While on farm sampling is not currently a...
How can we get bird flu under control?
Emergency and laboratory monitoring
Bird flu is affecting an increasing number of birds in the Netherlands, leading to the culling of tens of thousands of...
Engineering vaccines for multiple strains of IBV
In new work funded by a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) researchers at The Pirbright Institute and The Roslin Institute have published...
NWO OTP grant awarded to WUR project aimed at head start for day-old chicks
The immune system of a chicken starts in the egg. Validated tools to assess how incubation conditions influence immune development are lacking. A new...
Research provides new understanding of ILT vaccines
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at the University of Delaware in Newark, Delaware, in which researchers...
Research examines novel next generation sequencing techniques
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at the University of Georgia in Athens, Georgia, in which researchers...
Antimicrobial drug resistance in poultry. What do we know about risk factors?
There is an increasing amount of published surveillance and diagnostic submissions data, providing information on prevalence and trends of antimicrobial drug use and antimicrobial...
Field vaccination against ILT in broiler chickens: lack of consistency
When vaccination against infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is necessary in broiler flocks, mass administration techniques are required due to the sheer numbers of birds involved....
Decoding cecal cores in chickens: from necropsy to diagnosis
Cecal cores are a classical pathological gross lesion seen in field necropsies. Even though a presumptive diagnosis is made based on the visualization of...
Monitoring of IBV circulation and prevalence
Infectious bronchitis (IB) is one of the most common viral diseases in chicken production worldwide and IB virus (IBV) is considered the most contagious...
Turkey arthritis reovirus. Diagnostic strategies
Avian reoviruses (ARVs). They are non-enveloped viruses of 70-80 nm size having an icosahedral symmetry. The viral genome has 10 segments of double stranded...
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...
Linear Epitope Mapping of B-cell responses following immunization with Avian Reovirus S1133
Avian reovirus is a causative agents of tenosynovitis and viral arthritis. Commercially available reovirus vaccines do not protect against challenge with emerging variants associated...
Adaptability of bird flu poses threat to poultry
New insights from a study of the 2016/17 bird flu outbreak show how highly pathogenic bird flu viruses – which are likely to cause...
Microbiota studies in poultry
The microbial populations that inhabit the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of birds play an important role in the establishment and maintenance of a healthy gut....
Should the US rethink its avian influenza policy?
➤ Tom Tabler, Professor and Extension Poultry Specialist, Department of Animal Science, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture
➤ Tanner Thornton, Graduate Research Assistant, Department...
Researchers investigate the characteristics of Turkey Hepatitis Reovirus
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at the University of Minnesota in which researchers investigated the characteristics of Turkey...
Infectious Coryza in vaccinated layers: are vaccines failing to protect?
During 2017 and 2018 Infectious Coryza was detected in several commercial vaccinated egg layer flocks in California. The Avibacterium paragallinarum strains isolated from infected...
Garlic allicin as a promising alternative to antibiotics in broilers
Introduction
The poultry industry is under increasing pressure to reduce antibiotic use due to antimicrobial resistance and consumer demand for safer products. Garlic (Allium sativum)...
Reducing antibiotic use without harming profitability is an actual possibility
Ten million people are at risk due to antibiotic resistance, ensures the “Antimicrobial Resistance Review” published by the United Kingdom government in 2014. Of...
Protozoal management in turkeys
The two turkey protozoa that cause significant animal welfare and economic distress include various Eimeria species of coccidia and Histomonas meleagridis. For coccidia, oral...
How a single Avian Influenza protein can increase period of infection
New research led by scientists at The Pirbright Institute has shown how an Avian Infuenza a virus protein, called PB1-F2, is able to shut...
The declining trend of salmonellosis cases in the EU has levelled off
Cases of Salmonella Enteritidis acquired in the EU have increased in humans by 3% since 2014 says the report, which is compiled by the...
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...
Host and microbial biomarkers for intestinal health and disease in broilers
New tools can be used to determine the gut health status of animals and to predict animal performance or to make a decision whether...
Immune system and nutrition: the balance between immunity and growth in modern broiler crosses
Immune activation is the first stage of the immune response necessary to protect the body. It is accompanied by significant metabolic costs and inflammation....
How Marek’s disease may directly affect the chicken immune system
Marek’s disease virus (MDV) causes disease in chickens and is estimated to cost the global poultry industry up to US $2 billion each year.
In...
Better than alternatives to antibiotics
Many poultry flocks require antibiotic treatment, if not every cycle, regularly. Antibiotic alternatives are in great demand, especially in the context of dysbiosis and...
The ABCs of CDT (Clostridial Dermatitis of Turkeys)
Clostridial Dermatitis of Turkeys (CDT), also referred to as Cellulitis, remains a major disease issue across all geographic regions of the US; the annual...