Could a dietary supplement mitigate the negative impact of common mycotoxins in broilers? Matthew Jones, DVM, PhD, director of nutrition and veterinarian at the Southern Poultry Research Group, decided to find out.
Ammonia and odor emissions from poultry production facilities continue to pose operational, environmental and regulatory challenges. Mohammadamin Ezazi, PhD, Georgia Southern University, and colleagues developed a visible-light-responsive photocatalytic reactor to mitigate ammonia production and odor in broiler housing.
By Michelle Kromm, DVM, MPH, MAM, DACPV,
Food Forward, LLC,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
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.
The microbiota community in the ceca changes rapidly as broiler chickens grow. Additionally, these microbes play a major role in digestion, nutrient use and bird health. A longitudinal study conducted by an Auburn University research team examined the role that age plays in cecal microbiome development in broilers.
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?
Poultry welfare has become an increasingly important priority within the industry over recent years, but meaningful progress requires clear and measurable goals. Manoella Alves, Zinpro, discusses what the US Roundtable for Sustainable Poultry & Eggs and the International Poultry Welfare Alliance are doing to drive this effort.
In an interview, Vasil Stanev, DVM, MBA, global director of technical services poultry nutrition and health at Phibro Animal Health, explains how the company’s divalent anticoccidial feed additive helps producers manage coccidiosis, which reducing the risk of resistance from the Eimeria parasites, which cause the condition.
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.
HPAI continues to disrupt poultry production worldwide. But according to Taoufik Rawi, DVM, a poultry veterinarian at Boehringer Ingelheim focused on global respiratory disease challenges, the industry is no longer dealing with the same virus it faced a decade ago.
The poultry industry is increasingly focused on extending the productive lifespan of laying hens beyond 100 weeks to enhance welfare, sustainability and profitability. A major challenge in achieving this goal is the age-related decline in eggshell quality. Supplementation with phytase and dacitic tuff breccia could be the answer, according to a study from North Carolina State University.
By Douglas L. Fulnechek, DVM,
Senior Public Health Veterinarian,
GTS Health
