By Douglas L. Fulnechek, DVM
Public Health Veterinarian
GTS Health
By Douglas L. Fulnechek, DVM
Public Health Veterinarian
GTS Health
Today’s cage-free laying systems provide extra vertical space for birds to be physically active, which can lead to variability in feed intake and body composition. If feed was restricted, would chickens change their activity levels, or would a hypothalamic response be triggered to increase feed intake?
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Hatchery day-of-age vaccination has been a cornerstone of broiler health for decades, but new research is shedding light on the mechanisms that help it protect chicks despite the immaturity of their immune systems. The findings are significant because it is widely used throughout the poultry industry, yet relatively little is known about how newly hatched chicks develop protection following vaccination.
Poultry researchers use ‘affective valence’ — a positive or negative emotional response — as a measure of animal welfare. Tom Smulders, PhD, an evolutionary neurobiology researcher from Newcastle University, has studied whether hippocampal neurogenesis can be a marker of affective valence in poultry.
Research from the University of Arkansas suggests that giving turkey poults feed cues with green, moisture-rich feed attractants may help them find feed sooner, forage earlier and gain more weight during the first 10 days after placement.
Woody breast, sometimes called wooden breast, has become a familiar and costly problem for today’s broiler industry, according to Cirenio Hisasaga, doctoral student at the University of California– Davis.
Cases from an outbreak of aMPV among broiler flocks in Mississippi are mostly coming with secondary infections, which can exacerbate disease severity. A research team led by Autumn Gregg, DVM, a poultry resident at Mississippi State University, investigated the infections appearing in the outbreak.
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.
Research on broilers is often applied to commercial turkeys, as is the case with many studies on photoperiod lengths. At the 2025 Poultry Science Association annual meeting, Karen Schwean-Lardner, PhD, University of Saskatchewan, presented results of her study that were specific to turkeys.
A multi-species microbial feed product outperformed single-species products during a disease challenge, according to research presented at the 2024 International Poultry Scientific Forum by Kevin Bolek, PhD, microbials innovation director for Phibro Animal Health.
