Article published the December 20, 2023
1-Monoglycerides of short and medium chain fatty acids (monobutyrin, monocaprin and monocaprylin) have shown positive effects on cell metabolism, intestinal integrity and immune system (Calder 2008). However, little is known about their effect on laying hen health, performance and egg quality. Therefore, this study was designed to add further insight into the applied benefits as well as optimal in ...
Article published the December 20, 2023
Minerals such as copper, manganese and zinc are essential nutrients for enzyme functionality, immune system responses, tissue and bone quality as well as eggshell formation (Richards et al., 2010). Organic trace minerals are used in animal feeds to provide increased mineral bioavailability. In this experiment we investigated the benefits of hydroxy analogues of chelated trace minerals on pullet qu ...
Article published the June 9, 2023
With the growing popularity of free range production systems, the incidence of helminth infections has increased in commercial poultry farms in Australia. Adequate control can only be maintained by regular application of commercial anthelmintics. Until very recently, levamisole (LEV) and piperazine (PIP) were the only registered chemicals to treat nematode infections in chickens with no published ...
Article published the June 9, 2023
The caecal microbiota composition of commercial broilers is essential to the poultry industry as it can affect the broiler’s health and performance (Pandit et al., 2018). Bioactive components of the Black Soldier Fly larvae (BSFL) include antimicrobial peptides, chitin, and lauric acid. They are known to modulate the immune system of broiler chickens (De Souza-Vilela et al., 2020). This stud ...
Article published the January 9, 2023
It has been proposed that the metabolic energy requirements of free-ranging hens are up to 15% higher compared to caged hens due to the increased metabolic activity required for locomotion and thermoregulation (GfE 1999; Tiller 2001; Aerni et al. 2005). The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of various feed strategies on laying performance and egg quality of free-range laying hens. A t ...
Article published the October 21, 2022
Excreta egg counting techniques can provide valuable information for assessing flock infection levels, selecting nematode resistant chicken breeds and for determining anthelmintic efficacy. Although the Modified McMaster (MDM) method has been used for a long time, it is generally considered to have low sensitivity and precision (Das et al., 2020). The Mini-FLOTAC (MF) is a more recently developed ...
Article published the August 11, 2022
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been used for animal behaviour and welfare research, to monitor animal location and resource utilization. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an in-house custom built ultra-high frequency (UHF) RFID system to be used on a commercial free-range egg farm with three-tier aviaries. The system was designed and constructed to detect hens ...
Article published the November 19, 2021
One of the reasons chicken meat is considered a healthy food is due to its relatively low-fat level. Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae are a promising alternative feed ingredient for monogastrics, including poultry. However, the impact of feeding BSF larvae in broiler diets on the fatty acid profile of the breast chicken meat remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the impact of up to 20% BS ...
Article published the June 28, 2021
Osteoporosis in laying hens is of health, welfare, and economic concern. During the onset of lay, hens rapidly build up the amount of medullary bone which has less structural integrity instead of structural bone formation (Whitehead, 2004). However, freedom of movement in cage free systems can stimulate structural bone formation to avoid mechanical failure which may improve bone health at the end ...
Article published the May 13, 2021
Tracking and understanding hen movement in commercial free-range flocks is challenging due to complex housing furniture as well as the sheer volume of individual data involved. The purpose of this study was to develop interactive visualisation software that allows users to display recorded data and individualise graphs on demand using existing data. A total of ~9,375 laying hens were housed in thr ...