Three core competency expectations for the cage-free poultry workforce
By Alexander W. Strauch, DVM
Poultry Veterinarian
Four Star Veterinary Service, LLC
Minton Veterinary Service Office
Chickasaw, Ohio, USA
By Alexander W. Strauch, DVM
Poultry Veterinarian
Four Star Veterinary Service, LLC
Minton Veterinary Service Office
Chickasaw, Ohio, USA
Studying genetic material from the air in layer poultry-production facilities has shed new light on potential opportunistic pathogens with antibiotic-resistance genes.
A Purdue University research team led by Ji-Qin Ni, PhD, assistant professor in the agricultural and biological engineering department, sought to investigate artificial turf as a flooring option to address such pollutants.
For every laying hen that is hatched, approximately one male counterpart also hatches. However, as roosters do not produce eggs, they are typically culled, or euthanized, at hatch. However, the culling of these day-old male chicks raises ethical concerns.
Infectious coryza, a bacterial upper respiratory disease, is on the rise in the US. Avibacterium paragallinarum, which is a primary pathogen of chickens causing coryza, spread from southern states to Pennsylvania in 2018, followed by Ohio, Iowa and other northern states.
Feed additives, which facilitate nutrient transport in birds, can help producers counter the rising costs of energy sources in poultry diets and loss of resources resulting from the competition for these ingredients. Emulsifiers could be a promising option here.
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.
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.
Recently, Campylobacter hepaticus was identified as the causative agent for chicken spotty liver disease (SLD), an illness which manifests as acute infectious hepatitis and causes a significant drop in egg production and high mortality in layer chickens. Researchers from Iowa State University, led by Orhan Sahin, DVM, PhD, are studying Campylobacter bacterins in the control of SLD.
One of the many challenges affecting layers is APEC, an opportunistic challenge that impacts at least 30% of commercial flocks in the US, resulting in decreased egg production, increased bird mortality and significant economic losses. Cargill Animal Nutrition has introduced Biostrong™ C-Protect
In March, a bipartisan coalition of members from the House of Representatives introduced the “Lowering Egg Prices Act” to address current regulations that require farmers to discard hundreds of millions of eggs annually.
The move to cage-free egg production in the US and Europe created a seismic change in hen breeding programs.
Copyright ©Feeks Media LLC, 2025 | All rights reserved
info@modernpoultry.media
privacy policy | site map
