Resetting the field challenge with a strategic IBD vaccination approach
Eric Shepherd, DVM, Zoetis, takes a look at potential IBD vaccination programs that may disrupt field virus pressure, restore disease control and support overall flock health.
Eric Shepherd, DVM, Zoetis, takes a look at potential IBD vaccination programs that may disrupt field virus pressure, restore disease control and support overall flock health.
By Iqra Nazir, PhD candidate
Department of Animal Sciences
Purdue University, USA
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.
In the opening session of Phibro Academy’s three-part webinar series, “Coccidiosis Tools and Strategies,” Greg Mathis, PhD, president of Southern Poultry Research, Inc., focused squarely on anticoccidials and the importance of long-term planning with rotation and shuttle programs.
Amino acid requirements for laying hens are not well understood, primarily because data are lacking for the pullet stage. This gap is increasingly important as the table-egg industry wants to extend the hen’s life cycle to 100 weeks or more. Jo Ann Chew, graduate research assistant, University of Alberta, investigated how amino acid levels during rearing might impact body fat and the onset of lay.
Gut inflammation is common throughout poultry production, but its effects are not always visible. Birds deal with stress every day through changes in environment, feed adjustments, handling and exposure to coccidiosis and other intestinal diseases. All of these changes trigger the immune system to send a response to manage the inflammation.
By Greg F. Mathis, PhD
and Brett Lumpkins, PhD
Southern Poultry Feed & Research, Inc,
Athens, Georgia
At the 2025 Poultry Science Association annual meeting, Michael Carroll, graduate assistant at Iowa State University, presented his research investigating whether dietary changes can produce a useful immune response to combat necrotic enteritis.
Industry experts, Steven Clark, DVM, Huvepharma’s veterinary technical services manager and Elizabeth Beilke, DVM, West Liberty Foods’ corporate veterinarian, were featured on the Iowa Turkey Federation’s Turkey Talkshow podcast to discuss the role of vaccines in coccidiosis management.
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.
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
