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.
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.
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.
Poultry researchers use ‘affective valence’ — a positive or negative emotional response — as a measure of animal welfare. Tom Smulders, PhD, an evolutionary neurobiology researcher from Newcastle University, has studied whether hippocampal neurogenesis can be a marker of affective valence in poultry.
Nearly 800 poultry health professionals from more than 25 countries will gather in Orlando, Florida, from July 28 to 30 for the 2026 conference of the American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP).
By Guillermo Zavala, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACPV
Avian Health International, LLC
Research on broilers is often applied to commercial turkeys, as is the case with many studies on photoperiod lengths. At the 2025 Poultry Science Association annual meeting, Karen Schwean-Lardner, PhD, University of Saskatchewan, presented results of her study that were specific to turkeys.
Research has uncovered much about how welfare impacts broilers’ physical and functional traits, but less is known about their mental state. A doctoral student at Virginia Tech studied fear and anxiety in fast- and slow-growing broilers, as well as the impact of environmental complexities.
Temperature and moisture levels influence the survivability of Campylobacter jejuni in used broiler litter, according to a study led by Matthew Bailey, PhD, postdoctoral fellow at Auburn University.
Breeding for increased appetites and fast growth has resulted in meatier birds. But these heavier birds experience health complications and decreased reproduction. Feed restrictions are used to maintain the lower bodyweight required for broiler breeders. University of Arkansas graduate student Allison Weaver is researching how feed restrictions affect bird welfare.
Research on the microbiota in chicken reproductive tracts revealed an abundance of live bacteria, including strains typically found in the gut, according to Nir Ben Porat, Hebrew University of Jerusalem student.
A “Viewpoints” article by
Ken Opengart, DVM, PhD, DACPV
3 Birds Consulting
Signal Mountain, Tennessee
