Manisha Kolakshyapati

Flock uniformity is crucial to increase the performance and profitability of commercial egg production (Corzo et.al, 2004). Obtaining flock uniformity in a free-range system may be challenging due to the variation in feeding and ranging behaviour of individual birds.The current study investigated the effect of body weight on initial range utilization and flock uniformity in two free-range laying f ...

The Australian Egg Industry has identified opportunities to optimise production performance, health, flock consistency and egg quality through best practice. Using a cross-sectional survey design for 3 stakeholder groups (farm staff, managers, and consultants), we assessed current knowledge, attitudes, practices, barriers and enablers of adoption of best practices in poultry welfare, health, biose ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

There is some evidence that commercial meat chickens prefer to access the range through ‘favoured’ pop-holes (Taylor et al., 2017); however what makes pop-holes attractive or aversive is unknown. Therefore, we aimed to i) determine the most aversive stimuli associated with pop-holes and ii) identify the most effective artificial structure to minimise aversion.We hypothesised that the s ...

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 ...