

By Michelle Kromm, DVM, MPH, MAM, DACPV,
Food Forward, LLC,
Minneapolis, Minnesota

By Michelle Kromm, DVM, MPH, MAM, DACPV,
Food Forward, LLC,
Minneapolis, Minnesota

By Michelle Kromm, DVM, MPH, MAM, DACPV,
Food Forward, LLC,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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Most poultry companies invest significant resources in infectious bronchitis vaccination programs. But according to one of the poultry industry’s leading infectious bronchitis virus researchers, Mark Jackwood, PhD, Ceva Animal Health, one critical question often receives less attention than it should: How do you know the program worked?

A research team led by Sanjay Shah, PhD, North Carolina State University, developed a new Excel-based mass-depopulation calculator to help poultry producers and animal health officials rapidly estimate the resources needed during HPAI outbreaks.

Broiler flocks are facing more variable respiratory disease challenges that coincide with increasingly variable weather patterns. This new reality is leading poultry veterinarians and production managers to rethink their vaccination strategies. Brian Jordan, PhD, Zoetis, discusses options.

Raised to maximize meat production, commercial turkey toms are bred to grow quickly and gain weight in a short time. This begs the question whether the bird’s skeletal system meets that developmental challenge.

By David L. Wicker, PhD, industry consultant, Gainesville, Georgia and
W.A. Dozier, III, PhD, Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University and Alabama Cooperative Extension System

An innovation taking the broiler/breeder industry by storm is Comfort Nest™, a mechanical egg-laying system from VAL-CO that more than doubles the nest size to accommodate high-yield broiler-strain hens.

Broilers do not spread evenly across their environment. Some may cluster near a wall, equipment line, or other boundary, while other areas appear relatively unoccupied. Shawna Weimer, PhD, University of Arkansas, explores the behavior of wall hugging and what it means to broiler production.

Mycotoxins are poisonous metabolites produced by naturally occurring mold organisms that contaminate corn, soybean meal and other feedstuffs. Even in very low concentrations, they can hurt animal health and productivity. Research has revealed a host of emerging mycotoxins that are not yet regularly determined or regulated. What does this mean for producers?