General overview and installation of light traps in broiler breeder rearing
Designing a ventilation system for a dark out tunnel ventilated rearing house can be challenging. There are many different models and designs of light...
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...
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,...
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...
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...
Intestinal barrier function – A case to be studied in reduced protein diets
Maintaining intestinal health and growth remains a concern as demands increase to limit the use of antibiotics in poultry production. There is also an...
Volovskiy Broiler LLC equipped with a Meyn 6,000 bph Maestro based slaughtering and processing...
Volovskiy Broiler LLC (Volovskiy Broiler) is now equipped with a Meyn 6,000 bph Maestro based slaughtering and processing line, including an integrated 3,000 bph...
Blackhead disease: development of molecular tests and an in vitro assay to identify reservoirs...
This research project developed diagnostic assays needed for advancing the understanding of blackhead disease. The article shows clearly how the disease most likely spreads...
Phytase efficacy in young turkeys versus young broilers
Based on tibia-ash content, equivalency between phytase enzymes with young turkeys appeared to be similar with young broilers. An extensive review about “microbial phytase...
Effects of beta glucans in poultry health and nutrition
Immune modulators such as beta glucans have today a major role in poultry production.
The poultry production industry has seen astonishing improvements over the past...
Pathogenesis of egg infections by Salmonella – First Part
Salmonella is an invasive bacterial genus and colonizes the gut of chickens, and systemically spreads to internal organs, including the reproductive tract, potentially leading...
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...
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)....
The importance of broilers’ uniformity
The interaction between the live production department and the processing plant across the global poultry industry is governed by an internal supplier-client relationship. Hence,...
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...
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...
How an automatic flushing system can reduce the use of antibiotics
Consumers worldwide start to worry about the use of antibiotics in livestock production and their effect on human health. Antibiotic-free chicken is increasingly becoming...
Role of dietary calcium in Necrotic Enteritis development and pathogenesis
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, in which the...
Best practice in feed management
How innovative thinking and a proactive approach can ensure best practice with feed on broiler farms
In partnership with Cobb, this article examines best practice...
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...
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...
Using more bioavailable sources of trace minerals pays off
A study of broiler breeder performance was conducted using three separate minerals programmes. The objective was to determine if productivity could be maintained at...
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)...
Improving birds’ health by refining their intestinal microbiota health and stability
Intestinal systems of living organisms are inhabited by a dense community of microorganisms dominated by bacteria but also containing archea, fungi, protozoa and viruses....
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”...
Air cell up when setting eggs!
It is important to pay attention to the orientation of the eggs when placing them on setter trays as this has quite an impact...
Metabolisable energy of ingredients in peak layers
Layer nutritionists typically rely on apparent metabolisable energy data generated in broilers as layer AME data are less available.
The bioassays are typically conducted...
ProHealth, new solutions for animal health and production sustainability
The ProHealth project is focused on understanding the multi-factorial dimension of animal pathologies linked to production and use this to develop, evaluate and disseminate effective control strategies to reduce impact.
How to automate food safety in the poultry industry?
Where automation replaces human labor, food production is safer.
Food safety is rightly a key issue in today’s poultry industry. Everyone wants to eat food,...
Use of multiple strains of infectious bronchitis vaccines to induce protection against new IB...
USPOULTRY (www.uspoultry.org.) and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del., in which researchers found...
Histopathological evaluation of Histomonas meleagridis on ceca and the bursa of Fabricius in turkeys
Histomoniasis is caused by Histomonas meleagridis, a flagellated protozoan parasite. It causes systemic infection in turkeys and induces characteristic lesions in ceca and liver....
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,...
Meta-analysis of genetic parameters of feed conversion and related traits in chickens
The objective of this study was to estimate the impact of some factors on heritability estimates of
body weight (BW), feed conversion ratio (FCR),
feed
intake (FI),...
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...
Insights into hunger will aid poultry welfare
Brain processes controlling hunger in birds and poultry are to be examined, to better understand how stress experienced during development in the egg impacts...
In vivo digestion of GM proteins in laying hens
Despite all of the positive effects of modern technologies to improve corn and soybean yields, the consumer often has a different perception of the...
Development of Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) for Mycoplasma gallisepticum
Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) is the most pathogenic avian mycoplasma species. It affects commercial, non-commercial poultry and wild birds. Current MG sequence typing methods rely...
Reaching the genetic potential
Genetic improvements are seen across a wide array of traits that Hendrix Genetics’ geneticists select on, from egg production, egg quality to bird behavior....
Common global poultry welfare practices
A recent article by Hendrix Genetics detailed the creation and roll out of a structured poultry welfare program for all species offered by the breeding company.
The...
Hy-Line accelerates genetic progress across all lines
“We are achieving progress in all lines faster than has ever been seen before,” noted Dr. Danny Lubritz, research and development director for Hy-Line...
To feed or not to feed? That is the question. Is the early feeding...
Development of the avian embryo, or chick, can be categorized into one of two strategies designed to meet very different physiological and biological needs....
Checking and calibrating sensors: essential preventive hatchery maintenance
We expect incubators to function 24/7 without disruption - and with the highest levels of accuracy from the sensors in particular, on whose outputs...
Improvement of chilling efficiency and product quality of broiler carcasses using sub-zero saline solutions
Carcass chilling in subzero saline solutions has not been studied enough although it can transfer the carcasses temperature to the chilling media in an...
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...
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...
Nutritional implications of antibiotic free rearing of broilers
The gradual reduction in the use of AGP coincided with an increase in the therapeutic use of antibiotics on farm level. Especially in broiler...
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,...
Navigating an antibiotic-free and reduced antibiotic use poultry industry
Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobial medication used to treat infections caused by bacteria. In the 1930s, a sulfonamide was the first commercially available...
Effects of feed presentation on growth performance and gut health of turkeys
The combined effect of feed presentation parameters bears considerable implications for the digestive health and growth performance of turkeys. This topic is very relevant...
Gut health, intestinal innate immunity and performance
Gut health is a very important determinant for health and performance in particular in production animals. The intestinal innate immune system is pivotal in...
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...
Higher stocking densities decrease performance without altering turkey meat quality
Quality of turkey meat is important but consumers are also concerned for the well-being of animals raised for meat production. However, some in the...
Separating welfare facts from fiction
It has become a confusing market for customers to decipher which technologies offer the best welfare-friendly solutions for their animals. How do you separate...
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...
Infectious Laryngotracheitis (ILT) outbreaks in laying hens in Konya province
Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) epidemic cases characterized with respiratory symptoms, hemorrhagic tracheitis and laryngitis findings were identified in laying hen’s enterprises in Konya province.
Ten Lohman-breed...
Broiler management and feed formulation approaches in hot environments
High temperatures can be an obstacle in livestock production particularly in tropical regions. Broilers are more susceptible to high ambient temperatures because they lack...
The ability of meat chickens to extract energy from wheat
The apparent metabolisable energy (MJ/kg dry matter) values for wheats were determined in two conventional energy balance experiments on meat chickens. A blend of...
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...
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...
The effects of a multi-enzyme and Bacillus probiotic combinations on calcium and phosphorus digestibility...
450 day-old male Ross 308 chicks were randomly allocated to 3 dietary treatments with 6 replicate pens per treatment and 25 birds per pen....
Antioxidants in poultry nutrition and reproduction. An update
For the last three decades poultry production worldwide has made tremendous progress in terms of quantity and quality of meat and egg production, including...
Expanding feed milling capacity and quality at New Rosendale’s
At a time when the North American feed industry is undergoing a dramatic transformation driven by new rules, heightened market expectations and ground-breaking technology...
Turkeys – Making the most of genetic potential
Genetic Potential
Successful and profitable turkey production occurs across a wide range of production systems and farming environments. Breed choice, farming facilities, equipment, management, nutrition...
Key global health issues in cage-free and organic laying hens
In USA and Europe there has been a growth in cage-free, free range, and organic production over the last 10 years.
The percentage of all...
Update on Infectious Bronchitis in the United States
Infectious bronchitis infections continued to increase this year in the Ontario broiler, broiler breeder and layer sectors.
Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) can be spread by...
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...
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...
Practical views on global poultry nutrition – First part
The global supply of poultry products will need to double by 2050 if we are to meet the aspiration of all people to be...
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...
Poultry processing ergonomics
No matter the degree of automation of any given poultry processing plant! There will always be a need for laborers, yet just a few...
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,...
Avian reovirus, molecular characterization
Avian reovirus (ARV) is the main cause of viral arthritis and tenosynovitis in chickens and turkeys, triggering economic losses in the poultry industry due...
Pas Reform launches SmartCare™
As a future-focused business that serves the hatchery sector worldwide, Pas Reform has built its reputation as an innovator in single stage incubation technologies....
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...
Obtaining the most benefit from an anticoccidial sensitivity test
The poultry industry has been using the same anticoccidial drugs for the prevention of coccidiosis for several decades. The last approval of a new...
Comparing two ELISA kits
Here a comparison of two ELISA kits as been made to assess their efficicacy.
Recombinant turkey herpesvirus vaccines (rHVT) are being widely used for...
Isolation, bioactivity and applications of sulfated polysaccharides from poultry by-products
The broiler chicken meat processing industry produces a large amount of poultry byproducts rich in connective tissue (i.e. keel cartilage, skin, and bone residues),...
Dietary approaches to control Necrotic Enteritis in broilers
Necrotic Enteritis (NE) occurs in broilers due to an overabundance of C. perfringens and is usually associated with predisposing factors which include coccidial challenge,...
The future of probiotics
USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announce the completion of a funded research project at the Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, Calif., in...
Timing is everything in early feeding
Early feeding is now a critical point. When using nature as a reference to what are the optimum requirements of the day-old chick, we...
