Prafulla Regmi

The holiday season is once again here, which means many kitchens will be filling up with baked goods and savory dishes. It is also the time of year when the use of eggs increases for all of those delicious dishes! However, eggs can be a potential source of Salmonella bacteria that can cause illness or in rare cases even death. Here are some tips to help reduce that risk in your kitchen.Eggs 101The ...

Light and dark cycles within a 24-hour period play a crucial role in maintaining physiological and behavioral rhythms in animals.In birds, daily rhythms associated with feed intake, physical activity, sleep-wake cycles, and physiological rhythms are influenced by photoperiod. The ancestors of domestic chickens, the Red Junglefowl, are diurnal animals with activity during the light period and inact ...

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.This newsletter will focus on three important parts of giving chicks the best start:TemperatureFeedWater  &nbs ...

Spondylolisthesis, often called ‘kinky back’, is a deformity that affects broiler chickens’ spines. The deformity occurs in the fifth and/or sixth vertebrae (T6) and leads to spinal cord compression making it hard for birds to walk, and in severe cases it can cause paralysis. Chickens are lame and will sit with extended feet, show an imbalance, and fall on their side when attempt ...

Stocking density is a critical factor to consider for optimum welfare of commercial broilers    Stocking density is typically defined in terms of the number of birds per unit area or the amount of space provided on per bird basis. In commercial production, stocking density of a broiler flock is calculated based on target market weight by accounting for the number of chicks placed in ...

Tryptophan, Serotonin & MelatoninTryptophan (Trp) is an essential amino acid (AA), 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.Trp supplementation improves broiler performance through increased body weight gain, reduced feed intake and improved feed efficiency. As a ...

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. For more information on hatchery topics, see our previous newsletter.This newsletter will focus on the 4 most important incubation factors in t ...