
Purdue scientist: ‘Putting the pieces together’ on hen welfare
Increased attention on animal welfare is driving the US poultry industry to innovate and work collaboratively to meet rising expectations of caring for laying hens.

Increased attention on animal welfare is driving the US poultry industry to innovate and work collaboratively to meet rising expectations of caring for laying hens.

How can producers control the spread of inclusion body hepatitis (IBH), a disease with no treatment? According to Brandon Armwood, DVM, DACPV, Pilgrim’s poultry veterinarian, decreasing stress and paying close attention to management details can control the spread of IBH.

Americans are expected to consume 1.47 billion chicken wings this Sunday while watching the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battle in the Super Bowl, according to the National Chicken Council’s (NCC) most recent annual Chicken Wing Report.

Although poultry production has steadily evolved with improved knowledge and technological advances, coccidiosis remains arguably the most important disease concern to keep in mind and address year after year.

To combat the spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is updating its policy for pre-slaughter surveillance to enhance testing of turkey flocks in affected states.

The Poultry Science Association announced the purchase of European Poultry Science from Eugen Ulmer Publishing House of Stuttgart, Germany. The journal joins PSA’s family of leading international research properties, including its flagship title, Poultry Science, and the applied journal, The Journal of Applied Poultry Research.

With no new anticoccidials coming onto the market and major poultry companies shifting from “raised without antibiotics” to “no antibiotics important to human medicine” programs, the pressure is on to preserve the efficacy of current feed medications and seek alternatives for managing coccidiosis.

Incubation lighting has a limited impact on fear and stress responses in broilers, according to research presented by Angela Perretti, University of Arkansas poultry science graduate student, at the 2024 Poultry Science Association annual meeting.

A deep dive into Eimeria research reveals a strong inter-relationship between coccidiosis and secondary infections, such as necrotic enteritis, that poses formidable disease control challenges in poultry.

Meeting tougher demands by the USDA’s FSIS to control Salmonella doesn’t warrant reinventing the wheel, according to Chuck Hofacre, DVM, PhD, president of the Southern Poultry Research Group, Inc.

Sponsored by the Southern Poultry Science Society, the Southern Conference on Avian Diseases and the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association (USPOULTRY), IPSF will present information on industry topics such as environmental management, nutrition, physiology and pathology.

By Michael Czarick
Extension Engineer – Poultry
University of Georgia
Department of Poultry Science