A new in ovo sexing technique with a modified genetic trait to hatch only female chicks may someday help eliminate the culling of day-old male chicks. According to developer and embryologist Yuval Cinnamon, PhD, the genetically based solution offers many benefits over the other technologies currently on the market.
Beak trimming is common in the management of laying hens, involving the removal of a portion of a bird’s beak to minimize harmful behaviors. While beak trimming helps reduce injuries among birds, the technique has also raised animal welfare concerns. Thus, farmers and researchers are continuing to explore ways to manage hens without the need to trim their beaks.
By Matthew J. Hardy, MSc
AgriNerds – Co-owner, Waterfowl Biologist and Co-director of Ecological Modeling
Chester County, Pennsylvania
Coccidiosis doesn’t just lurk in poultry houses — it thrives there. For decades, producers have relied on synthetic anticoccidials and ionophores to keep it in check. But with growing resistance and increasing pressure to reduce antibiotic use, more operations are turning to vaccination as a sustainable, effective alternative.
Campylobacter hepaticus has been identified as the causative agent in spotty liver disease, so when Roel Becerra, DVM, received a phone call from a producer that had free-range, antibiotic-free, brown layer hens with SLD, he and fellow investigators decided to study chlorine as a possible treatment.
Providing the proper stocking density to maximize broiler productivity, welfare and profitability is a balancing act. Because the birds grow dramatically in just a few weeks, space and environmental demands continuously evolve.
Reducing dietary calcium concentrations in broiler diets can increase calcium and phosphorus digestibility, but deviating from recommended levels can come with costs, according to the results of an Auburn University study.
In the “Let’s Talk Turkey” episode of the Unplucked podcast produced by the Poultry Science Association, Carrie Cremers, DVM, manager of technical service and animal welfare at Jennie-O, discussed how the weight of ever-present HPAI has led to biosecurity burnout among workers.
US broiler operations commonly reuse litter for environmental and economic reasons. Research and real-world results have shown that the first broiler flock raised on brand-new litter underperforms flocks raised on used litter, but the reasons remain unclear.
By Michael Czarick
Extension Engineer – Poultry
University of Georgia
Department of Poultry Science
Plant polyphenols demonstrated effectiveness against multi-drug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar DT104, suggesting their potential in the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and foodborne illness, according to Auburn University researcher Hunter Sheffield, PhD student.
When enteritis strikes, the challenge is identifying the exact cause. In February 2023, Huvepharma’s research and development personnel received a call about enteritis symptoms in two commercial antibiotic-free turkey houses. A team went out to conduct a thorough field investigation to determine precisely what was going on with the flocks.
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