Bird welfare is improved in cage-free layer systems compared to cage systems, but indoor air quality suffers in a cage-free environment due to higher bird activity.

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Colibacillosis resulting from E. coli is arguably one of the major causes of morbidity, mortality and carcass loss to the poultry production industry worldwide, putting at risk one of the cheapest and most valuable sources of protein.

Traditional methods to detect Salmonella in poultry and trace outbreaks often fail to give the full picture of the threat in enough time for integrators to act. This lack of oversight limits the effectiveness of intervention strategies designed to mitigate Salmonella transmission.

Formaldehyde fumigation is a conventional method used to control total environmental microbial counts in the hatchery. However, according to Christine N. Vuong, PhD, University of Arkansas, this method does not differentiate between beneficial or pathogenic microbes.

The parasitic disease coccidiosis remains one of the most economically significant diseases for turkeys. In 2023, coccidiosis ranked 10th in a US turkey industry survey of 38 health issues. Unfortunately, it often goes unnoticed.

Cargill has introduced REVEAL™ Layers, a non-invasive near-infrared (NIR) technology that helps producers and nutritionists make real-time decisions regarding hens’ diets to support their flocks’ long-term production and performance.

Nutritionists know there is often an “ideal level” when dosing feed enzymes. The challenge is determining this level in the feed matrix for optimal response and measurable economic benefits.

Want to learn more about identifying and managing enteric health problems in poultry? A webinar hosted by Vasil Stanev, DVM, director of global technical services for Phibro Animal Health Corporation, is a good place to start.

Phibro Animal Health Corporation presented 24 posters at the 2023 World Veterinary Poultry Association congress in Verona, including eight on infectious bursal disease (Gumboro).

Using the commercial feed enzyme β-mannanase can improve energy digestibility of corn-soy feed for chickens, both alone and in combination with xylanase and glucanase, research by São Paulo State University scientists in collaboration with BASF suggests.

Newer systems for laying hens provide more space for them to express natural behaviors such as scratching, pecking and dustbathing, which could have some biological benefits.

Health challenges associated with antibiotic-free production and the growing issue of wooden breast syndrome in broilers are two emerging trends to appear in the latest edition of Diseases of Poultry.

Preventing disease transmission between flocks is a major goal of the poultry industry. One threat to bird health is the protozoan Histomonas meleagridis, which causes a disease called histomoniasis.

Utilizing postbiotic feed additives in poultry diets could help producers find customized solutions to challenges facing the poultry industry, according to an expert in poultry gut health.

In comments submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Chicken Council outlined numerous ways in which chicken producers reduce food waste, recycle byproducts and use products that would otherwise be destined for landfills.

The National Chicken Council recently developed a Q&A on vaccines to help veterinarians, producers and others involved in live production educate their families, friends and communities about their usage in poultry production.

When humans domesticate and breed an animal, they tend to select for a very specific trait. In laying hens, artificial selection for high egg production has led to hens that can produce 320 eggs a year. But could artificial selection have unintentionally altered hen brain morphology?

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?

Poultry scientists are working to better understand the impacts of particulate matter (PM) on bird health and production.

The National Chicken Council has developed the NCC Broiler Welfare Guidelines and Audit Checklist for consumers who want to be sure that all animals being raised for food are treated with respect and are properly cared for during their lives.

Stocking density is a key determinant of profits from a broiler operation as revenues per unit of space increase with increasing stocking density. However, overcrowding due to high stocking density can lead to negative behavior and welfare consequences.

Updated research supported by the US Poultry & Egg Association quantifying the US poultry industry’s on-farm antibiotic use shows further improvements in antibiotic stewardship and commitment to disease prevention within poultry production.

To help the industry improve control programs for infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), the AAAP hosted a webinar, “Recent Outbreaks of ILT: What Have We Learned?”

Researchers from Egypt and Saudi Arabia conducted a study to determine if adding eucalyptus (EL) powder as a dietary supplementation would have an effect on productive performance and immune response in two varieties of Japanese quail.

Feeding broilers a high dose of a bacterial 6-phytase alongside a xylanase-glucanase enzyme combination resulted in performance improvements and cost savings, in a field study.

The NCC released its inaugural sustainability report, which provides a comprehensive overview of U.S. broilers and the industry’s collective progress in its environmental, flock welfare and social-impact journey.

Various claims and labels on the products provide consumers with information about how the animals were raised and treated during production. However, the information on animal products can sometimes be confusing.

Posting sessions are critical to ensure that poultry health programs are on target and yielding good returns. 

Some 700 poultry health professionals from more than 25 countries will gather in St. Louis, Missouri, July 9-11, for the 2024 conference of the American Association of Avian Pathologists.

Avian influenza outbreaks in the US are rare but, when the virus strikes, the results are devastating. The disease spreads rapidly, forcing producers to rely on quarantine-and-cull to limit the damage. A 2015 outbreak in the US led to an estimated loss of more than 48 million birds.

A new study published in Poultry Science shows that body weight, residual feed intake and feeding behavior traits are all highly heritable traits in Pekin ducks.

Poultry producers are well aware of the catastrophic losses associated with avian influenza, but even those close to live production could benefit from a refresh on the virus’ transmission and control. 

Boehringer Ingelheim has announced the launch of Vaxxilive® Cocci 3, a poultry coccidiosis vaccine previously known as Hatchpak® Cocci III.

Phytases traditionally have been used to increase available dietary phosphorus in poultry and other animal diets, but a growing body of evidence is showing that their effects can be much broader.

Coronavirus infections are nothing new to the poultry industry, but it’s important to understand that common IB viruses in poultry flocks are not associated with the COVID-19 virus at the root of the global pandemic.

From volatile ingredient costs to environmental regulations and disease challenges, poultry producers are facing multiple challenges that can impact their profitability.

Human-animal interaction is the mutual and dynamic relationship between a human and an animal where the animal perceives human interaction as degree of relatedness or distance and vice-versa. Human beings have domesticated poultry species for eggs and meat production. However, fearfulness as a trait still persists and domestic animals often perceive human encounters as fearful.

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.

As poultry companies continue to increase their oversight of products in response to tightening margins, suppliers are under greater pressure to provide third-party data demonstrating product efficacy.

Look around you: Companies of all scales and from different industries are reshaping at a rapid pace. Thanks to the wide variety of digital innovations, new tools are constantly being developed and released to the market. The same is happening in the poultry-production sector.

Feeding olive oil byproducts such as olive pulp and olive pomace to broilers can improve several growth performance parameters, including nutrient digestibility, feed efficiency and growth, according to a review article published recently in Poultry Science.

Hatchery sanitation is a continual issue in commercial poultry and has become a focus since the removal of antibiotics in production, according to Brian Jordan, PhD, associate professor at the University of Georgia.

Chongxiao (Sean) Chen, DVM, PhD, assistant professor/extension specialist with University of Georgia Department of Poultry Science, presented his research on blackhead disease in poultry during the 2023 IPPE.

Animal welfare audits are performed to evaluate whether a hatchery, farm, or processing plant is meeting the specific animal welfare standards of a certification program.

A new study led by poultry scientists at the University of Hohenheim suggests it is possible to reduce crude protein in broiler diets while still encouraging bird growth.

In June 2023, the USDA Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS), approved the sale of cell-cultured (sometimes called “lab-grown”) chicken by two California companies.

USDA’s Center for Veterinary Biologics has granted Huvepharma a conditional license for the manufacturing and sale of a new turkey coccidiosis vaccine.

Multi-stage egg-incubation systems are challenging to manage. And too often, attempts to keep late-stage embryos from overheating create situations where early-stage embryos are at sub-optimal temperatures during critical developmental periods.

There’s a new egg on the block in the US — the carbon-neutral egg from Kipster Farm. It’s the result of a different approach to egg farming that started in 2017, when Kipster, a Dutch egg producer, introduced the world’s first carbon-neutral egg to the Netherlands.

Campylobacter jejuni is a leading cause of bacterial-derived gastroenteritis in the US, due to its ability to asymptomatically reside within the intestinal tracts of poultry.

Since it was first isolated in broiler flocks on the Delmarva Peninsula, the latest mutation of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), DMV/1639, has spread through the eastern seaboard of the US and west toward Mississippi and Texas.

According to the National Chicken Council’s 2024 Wing Report, Americans will devour 1.45 billion wings while watching Kansas City and San Francisco battle for the championship trophy.

On-farm hatching of broilers may be a viable option to increase efficiency by increasing hatchability and reducing total mortality during rearing, according to scientists in Denmark.

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.

Currently, 34% of laying hens used for commercial egg production in the United States are housed in cage-free environments. This number will nearly double to 66% by 2026 by to meet retailer demands and state legislation requirements. How do we prepare for this increase?

Nikki Shariat, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Georgia, presented her research on profiling Salmonella serotypes through broiler processing at the 2023 IPPE.

A multistate salmonella outbreak in the US due to the consumption of contaminated turkey products spurred a joint effort between the Centers for Disease Control and the turkey industry to identify an untraditional serotype of Salmonella, S. enterica serotype Reading (S. Reading).

Heat stress isn't just for summer anymore. A 68-minute webinar with Vasil Stanev, DVM, discusses thermoregulation, heat-stress mechanisms and how to manage heat stress effectively in poultry flocks.

Researchers from Spain and the Netherlands performed a study to determine if adding a mineral and vitamin mix (AHS and Vitamin C) would have an effect on broiler performance in heat-stressed conditions.

Researchers investigating combinations of plant-derived ingredients observed a positive impact of a specific phytogenic feed additive when looking at production performance and meat quality in broilers — with particularly notable results for larger birds.

The consequences of cold stress can be severe, leading to death in extreme cases. A chicken's susceptibility to cold stress depends on various factors, including the chicken's breed, age, body size, amount of feather coverage and condition of the feathers and nutritional status.

Merck Animal Health has introduced Innovax®-ILT-IBD, a vaccine that provides combined protection and immunization against Marek’s disease (MD), infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) and infectious bursal disease (IBD) in a single injection.

Postbiotics might be a relatively new term in the field of animal feed and microbiology, but they could play a significant role in improving the gut health, immune systems and overall well-being of commercial poultry flocks.

Geneticists have been trying, with little success, to determine and select egg layer strains that will perform well in cage-free production systems because there are numerous unknown factors which influence a hens' performance.

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.

Prolonged exposure to heat stress can lead to respiratory injury in broiler chickens, according to a recent study in China.

Damaging behaviors in poultry include feather pecking, vent pecking, and toe pecking. While feather and vent pecking are well-known welfare problems in poultry that have received significant attention from researchers and farmers, toe pecking remains relatively unknown.

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?

Supporting the mental health and well-being of people working in poultry science and research has become a focus of the AAAP, according to one of the organization’s leaders.

The first few days of life are some of the most important in chicks' lives. During this time, chicks start developing and set themselves up for the rest of their lifetime. The husbandry decisions made at this point can impact the birds' growth, development, health and welfare.

Light intensity has been shown to affect the activity of birds, but most studies have focused on constant light intensities to determine their effect on welfare.

The incubation environment is important for embryonic development and programs chick welfare. The focus of this newsletter is on the effects of the incubator environment on chicken egg incubation, but the same principles can apply to other poultry species.

Merck Animal Health has introduced FLOCKSECURE™ poultry health portal, an innovative web-based platform solution designed to capture, maintain, distribute and analyze data from post-mortem sessions.

Broiler chicks can be provided between 1 to 4 hours of darkness a day without negative consequences, according to a recent study.

Looking to make decades of poultry research more accessible to the industry, the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP) has a new online feature in place for members and non-members to purchase print copies of its popular journal, Avian Diseases.

Having been linked to everything from yield gains, feed-conversion ratio and immunity to disease tolerance, mortality and animal welfare, intestinal health is foundational to the success of poultry operations today.

Merck Animal Health has entered into an agreement with Cambridge Technologies, an independent custom vaccine company based in Worthington, Minnesota, to sell and market its innovative autogenous poultry vaccines in the US.

From supporting poultry health to improving bird growth and production efficiencies, phytogenic feed additives can offer a range of benefits to poultry production systems. Megan Koppen, US poultry technical manager with Cargill, explains what phytogenics are and why they can be a valuable addition to broiler, layer and turkey diets.

Biosecurity is the cheapest, most effective means of disease prevention and control available. Proper biosecurity will help to ensure the overall health and welfare of your flock.

Many turkey poults may experience poor starting performance for reasons that are not well understood. Turkey flocks may even suffer mortalities up to 3% within the first three weeks of life.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) wants to use updated computerized models to guide regulation of air pollution by animal feeding operations, including broiler chicken farms.

Commercial egg-laying operations can benefit from more effective and economical ways to depopulate flocks at the end-of-lay while improving worker performance and maintaining or improving animal welfare.

Innovation, welfare and sustainability were on full display at the 2023 conference of the American Association of Avian Pathologists.

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.

Necrotic enteritis (NE) is a devastating disease characterized by severe gut inflammation and sudden death, which can lead to significant economic losses. A new instrument from Ancera can help identify Clostridium perfringens, the causative agent of NE, early enough to help producers treat or prevent NE.

Litter and its management are an essential part of bird management and ensuring bird welfare. Dr. Bethany Baker-Cook discusses the importance of managing litter properly throughout the production cycle.

Steam or steam plus forced air heat may become an approved method to supplement ventilation shutdown during emergency depopulation of cage-free aviary laying operations, according to researchers at Michigan State University and the University of Arkansas.

Veterinary data play a critical role in not only analyzing poultry health but also implementing long- and short-term strategies to improve health and prevent disease. However, several challenges present roadblocks to capturing and interpreting these data.

Developing a thorough vaccination strategy for fowl cholera — one that includes selecting the right vaccine strain for the field challenge that the birds are facing and proper vaccine administration — is critical when managing this bacterial disease.

Chicken makes quite the journey to the consumer’s table and NCC's 360° Virtual Experience offers a behind-the-scenes look at every step of a broiler chicken’s life.

In this age of “no antibiotics ever” farming, the re-emerging necrotic enteritis (NE) disease caused by Clostridium perfringens poses a major economically important health concern in poultry, particularly in broiler flocks, says Ravi Kulkarni, BVSc, assistant professor at North Carolina State University.

Poultry scientists are taking a close look at moldy corn in an effort to better protect animal and human health.

Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which is the building block of protein, therefore it cannot be synthesized by the body itself and must be obtained through food; it is important for many metabolic functions. A tryptophan deficiency could affect behavioral responses to stress in poultry.

Without other stressors to skew results, altering stocking density (SD) within common ranges does not affect the well-being of layer chicks being transported from hatcheries to pullet-rearing operations.

Samples tested from recent infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) outbreaks on US poultry farms raised alarms that the current circulating virus is rapidly spreading.

Poultry farms seeking protection against infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) outbreaks may find the best defense for layers and broiler-breeder replacement birds is a dual ILT vaccination program.