Pathogenic Enterococcus cecorum continues to plague the broiler industry, causing mortality from pericarditis and sepsis early in the growing period and lameness and paralysis late in the growing period.
Selecting broilers for water-conversion ratio has no effect on other economically important traits, potentially paving the way for a route to greater sustainability in production.
Help may be on the way for broiler flocks suffering from lameness caused by bacterial disease, with a new vaccine being developed and tested at the University of Arkansas as part of a project led by Adnan Alrubaye, PhD.
Abrupt rises in mortality from highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) can set off alarms at any poultry farm. Such was the case last year with an outbreak in a layer flock in Iowa.
There are many pests and pathogens to monitor on poultry farms, but bed bugs typically aren’t top of mind. Nevertheless, bed bug infestations have been resurfacing in US poultry farms. Does that present a health, performance or welfare problem for flocks?
By Marcelo Lang, DVM
Farsight Consulting & Marketing Services, LLC
Fowl cholera is a bacterial disease of poultry that commonly affects chickens around 15 weeks of age and older, but it can impact birds as young as 6 weeks, cautions Charlie Broussard, DVM, Merck Animal Health.
Even with the best flock-management and vaccination protocols, fowl cholera can occasionally find a crack in the system. Chronic, low-grade cholera problems can materialize, or occasional breaks in breeder flocks can suddenly appear.
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.
A drop in USDA’s broiler chicken hatchability rates from 85% to less than 80% in the past decade runs counter to the poultry industry’s improvements in production efficiency, but making just a small improvement in hatchability can create significant economic benefits.
By Jeff Winton
Founder and Chairman, Rural Minds
Owner, Wall Street Dairy, LLC
Chautauqua County, New York
As consumer demand for eggs from free-range chickens grows, a big question lingers: what is the best stocking density for chickens in free-range conditions?
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