By Tom Tabler, PhD
Professor, Extension Poultry Specialist
University of Tennessee Extension Service/Animal Science Department
Middle Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center
Spring Hill, Tennessee
Broiler activities like locomotion and movement can be quantified using the broiler activity index (BAI), which has been associated with broiler leg health, productivity and physical conditions. However, current calculation procedures are not user-friendly, requiring extensive training. A new user-friendly web-based AI system could be the answer.
HPAI virus continues to take a heavy toll on US poultry while raising concerns about transmission to other species, including humans. How serious are these concerns and what are the transmission routes?
To address the strain on the nation’s egg supply and resultant record egg prices due to the current HPAI outbreak, the National Chicken Council petitioned the FDA to reverse or modify current regulations that compel the broiler industry to discard nutritious and safe eggs.
Once the market weight is achieved in turkeys, they are herded, loaded and transported to slaughter plants for stunning and processing, but these events of known as “live haul” can pose risks to animal welfare throughout the process.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a major concern for human and food-animal health. The key to better understanding AMR selection and spread is the resistome, the collection of all antimicrobial resistance genes and their precursors in the gut microbiome.
Clostridial dermatitis is an economically important disease of turkeys characterized by necrotic dermatitis and sudden death. Disease control strategies such as improved management and feeding probiotics have been only variably successful.
Antimicrobial use in poultry has become a proxy for antimicrobial stewardship, but these terms are not interchangeable, according to Michelle Kromm, DVM, MAM, Food Forward, LLC.
Enrichment improves the environment of an animal, to meet their behavioral needs and ultimately improve their welfare. Although the research related to enrichments for broiler breeders is sparse, there are several different types of enrichments that have been shown to be beneficial. In this article, Marcela Quino and Bethany Baker-Cook, PhD, describe a few that are particularly effective for broiler breeders.
Genome sequencing is key to controlling coccidiosis and the associated infections of necrotic enteritis in broilers, according to Mark Jenkins, PhD, USDA’s Animal Research Service.
In the face of threats such as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), one of the most pressing challenges for the poultry industry is to continually evaluate and improve depopulation strategies.
Europeans have battled avian metapneumovirus (aMPV) since the 1980s. Today, live and inactivated vaccines keep aMPV under control in Europe and most of the world except in the US, according to Aris Malo, DVM, Royal Dutch Veterinary Association.
