Passive protection key to successful IBD (Gumboro) control in breeders, broilers
By Don Ritter, DVM
Poultry Business Solutions LLC
Norfolk, Virginia
By Don Ritter, DVM
Poultry Business Solutions LLC
Norfolk, Virginia
The importance of maintaining good gut health is well-known in the poultry industry, but the gut’s microbiome and its role in health and performance remain a mystery.
Newer systems for laying hens provide more space for them to express natural behaviors such as scratching, pecking and dustbathing, which could have some biological benefits.
The National Chicken Council recently developed a Q&A on vaccines to help veterinarians, producers and others involved in live production educate their families, friends and communities about their usage in poultry production.
There’s a new egg on the block in the US — the carbon-neutral egg from Kipster Farm. It’s the result of a different approach to egg farming that started in 2017, when Kipster, a Dutch egg producer, introduced the world’s first carbon-neutral egg to the Netherlands.
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service estimates that two-thirds of laying hens in the US will need to be in cage-free production by 2026 to meet the projected demand, but the practice requires considerable planning by producers.
Vaccination is key to managing fowl cholera in poultry. For a program to be successful, however, it’s critical to train vaccination crews to monitor vaccine “takes” or major cutaneous reactions within a flock — no easy task with today’s employee shortages and rotating vaccination crews.
Tightened-up feed-processing practices along with new hygienic feed options can help reduce salmonellosis outbreaks linked to poultry products, according to Tim Boltz, PhD, assistant professor of poultry nutrition and feed hygienics, Mississippi State University.
In June 2023, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), approved the sale of cell-cultured (sometimes called “lab-grown”) chicken by two California companies.
Increased activity in broilers can reduce kinky back — a spinal deformity that can affect mobility in fast-growing chicks between 3 and 6 weeks of age.
Heat stress isn’t just for summer anymore. A 68-minute webinar with Vasil Stanev, DVM, discusses thermoregulation, heat-stress mechanisms and how to manage heat stress effectively in poultry flocks.
Updated research supported by the US Poultry & Egg Association quantifying the US poultry industry’s on-farm antibiotic use shows further improvements in antibiotic stewardship and commitment to disease prevention within poultry production.