Amino acid requirements for laying hens are not well understood, primarily because data are lacking for the pullet stage. This gap is increasingly important as the table-egg industry wants to extend the hen’s life cycle to 100 weeks or more. Jo Ann Chew, graduate research assistant, University of Alberta, investigated how amino acid levels during rearing might impact body fat and the onset of lay.
Amino acid requirements for laying hens are not well understood, primarily because data are lacking for the pullet stage. This gap is increasingly important as the table-egg industry wants to extend the hen’s life cycle to 100 weeks or more. Jo Ann Chew, graduate research assistant, University of Alberta, investigated how amino acid levels during rearing might impact body fat and the onset of lay.
The US-RSPE is a pre-competitive, multi-stakeholder organization focused on advancing sustainability across the entire US poultry and egg value chain. It designed the Sustainability Framework to provide the poultry and egg industry with a standardized approach to define and implement sustainability.
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Industry experts, Steven Clark, DVM, Huvepharma’s veterinary technical services manager and Elizabeth Beilke, DVM, West Liberty Foods’ corporate veterinarian, were featured on the Iowa Turkey Federation’s Turkey Talkshow podcast to discuss the role of vaccines in coccidiosis management.
A joint research study conducted by the USDA and North Carolina State University researchers demonstrated that the type of housing system used for laying hens can influence levels of human pathogenic Salmonella in their organs.
Feed efficiency is one of the most important factors influencing profitability in broiler production. Mickie Metz, PhD, Fortiva, explains how production managers and nutritionists balance nutrition, genetics and housing conditions to help birds convert feed into growth as efficiently as possible. According to Metz, there’s one other variable often overlooked: the bird’s immune system.
By researching the impact of ectoparasite infestations in laying hens through a behavioral lens, Purdue University doctoral student Haley Sutherland aims to identify characteristics or heritable traits that help hens resist mite infestations.
Gut inflammation is common throughout poultry production, but its effects are not always visible. Birds deal with stress every day through changes in environment, feed adjustments, handling and exposure to coccidiosis and other intestinal diseases. All of these changes trigger the immune system to send a response to manage the inflammation.
Ventilation shutdown with heat and humidity may be superior to other methods of broiler depopulation under controlled environmental conditions, but this method requires further study under industry-like conditions, according to researchers at North Carolina State University.
Research has uncovered much about how welfare impacts broilers’ physical and functional traits, but less is known about their mental state. A doctoral student at Virginia Tech studied fear and anxiety in fast- and slow-growing broilers, as well as the impact of environmental complexities.
Abstract: Sample to vaccine via an integrated cross-functional NGS network
