When it comes to resisting bird flu, chickens on poultry farms are like sitting ducks. Last year, a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, H5N1, ripped through poultry farms across the US, prompting farmers to cull tens of millions of chickens to contain the outbreaks. But far-UVC light may offer a safe and practical way to inactivate any type of virus in the air, reducing the chance of transmission.
By Greg F. Mathis, PhD
and Brett Lumpkins, PhD
Southern Poultry Feed & Research, Inc,
Athens, Georgia
In the United States, the majority of laying hens are housed in conventional cages. However, there has been a shift towards cage-free systems. Cage-free systems can benefit laying hen welfare. Birds have opportunities to perform a full range of species-specific behaviors, including foraging, dustbathing, perching, and walking, which are restricted in conventional cages.
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.
According to Steven Clark, DVM, Huvepharma’s veterinary technical services manager, paying attention to changes in turkey barns is key to successfully using ionophores, which remain the industry’s most common option for controlling coccidiosis.
By Guillermo Zavala, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACPV
Avian Health International, LLC
Brazilian researchers conducted a two-part epidemiological study to determine the serological, molecular and pathological status of ILT in two regions. The team described their findings and what they mean for poultry producers.
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.
The International Poultry Welfare Alliance brings together expertise from across the value chain to develop Key Welfare Indicator Reference Guides for broilers, turkeys and layers, which align measurements and communications of welfare outcomes.
Feed efficiency is one of the most important factors influencing profitability in broiler production. Production managers and nutritionists balance nutrition, genetics and housing conditions to help birds convert feed into growth as efficiently as possible. There’s one other variable often overlooked: the bird’s immune system.
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.
Turkey producers should not avoid using chemical anticoccidial products for fear of resistance, but they do need to use them strategically. In an appearance on the Iowa Turkey Federation’s Turkey Talkshow podcast, Steven Clark, DVM, Huvepharma’s veterinary technical services manager, said new evidence suggests there is “minimal risk” with common products, providing farmers rotate when necessary.
