Explore all the information onPoultry genetics and reproduction
Poultry breeding has been one of the most impactful advances in the last 100 years. The role that improved global production of eggs and poultry meat have in reducing global hunger and food insecurity is difficult to overstate. The vast majority of these improvements have come from genetic selection for improved feed efficiency, along with streamlining of the overall production system, and better understanding of poultry nutrition. While the industrial approach to poultry production has created a highly consistent and dependable food source the world over, several problems threaten the long term sustainability of this model - including musculoskeletal and metabolic disorders, welfare concerns, and the need to adapt to a changing climate. Researchers in poultry breeding and genetics utilize quantitative, population, and molecular genetic techniques to help understand the effects of selection for economically important traits and enhance genetic performance through changes in environment and management strategies.
The latest addition to the Aviagen product range is the Ross Rowan, a brown-feathered male that is attracting considerable interest throughout the UK and Western Europe. The Ross Rowan has been developed for the speciality markets, such as free range and organic, and is a product like no other on the market, providing customers with a coloured broiler, which is slower growing yet still offers excellent meat yield. Add to this the strengths of all Ross products, such as excellent...
Two new chicken breeds for the ‘welfare friendly’ sector of the market were launched by Cobb Europe at the British Pig and Poultry Fair. The Cobb 700, developed initially for heavy bird markets seeking high breast meat yield, has the slower growing attributes and robust health that make it suited to the higher welfare version of the standard chicken. “Our farm trails show that the Cobb 700 is the perfect fit for this increasingly significant market,” says Euan...
Proper Brooder Management is doing everything possible to promote a comfort zone in the broiler pen which will maximize feed and water intake during the first week of life. Low first week mortality is only possible if we start with quality chicks. The manager must evaluate the environment by being present in the barn at least three to four times per day. I like to refer to it as working on your M.B.A.: Masters of Business Administration or Management by Being...
With pride Hubbard announces that they have become the 2nd largest broiler breeder supplier into the UK market. This success follows Hubbard’s strategy set out many years ago. The UK is the largest broiler breeder market in Europe, and for a long time it has been dominated by 2 UK-based primary breeders. But this has all been changed now through Hubbard’s clear focus on product needs, product development and the investments made by starting up their own production facilities in the...
There are several important instances in the management of broiler breeders where "more" is not "better". In simple terms, "more feed" allotted to hens to the extreme degree of ad libitum feeding reduces settable egg production by as much as 40 eggs per hen. Breeder hens use dietary energy differently than egg-type hens. Young broiler breeder hen respond to extra dietary energy by develping extra ovarian follicles. Several research projects have been carried out at the University of...
Scientists in Germany are reporting development of test that can answer one of the most frustrating questions in the animal kingdom: "Is that bird a boy or a girl". Their study, a potential boon to poultry farmers and bird breeders, is scheduled for the Feb. 15 issue of ACS’ Analytical Chemistry, a semi-monthly journal. Juergen Popp and colleagues point out that the boy-girl question can be difficult to answer in birds that lack distinctive, gender-related...
GENETIC IMPROVEMENT IN POULTRY A major objective of the primary breeding sector of the poultry industry is to genetically improve the efficiency of production, the quality of eggs and meat and the health and welfare of poultry. Efforts are focused on economic traits required by the consumer and producer as well as traits related to environmental issues in poultry production. The impact of biotechnology on poultry genetics and breeding will...
Cobb-Vantress and Hendrix Genetics are forming an alliance that will strengthen Cobb’s leading position in the broiler breeding industry and Hendrix’s leading positions in egglayer, turkey and swine genetics, and enable the two companies to explore other joint venture opportunities. Cobb-Vantress Inc and Hendrix Genetics B.V. have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to do the following: (a) Form a Broiler Joint Venture in which Cobb-Vantress acquires Hybro, the broiler breeding...
On 6-8th November 2007 Al Jazeera Poultry Grandparents, distributor of the Hubbard Classic for Jordan, Iraq and Palestine invited technicians of their customers to the first Hubbard Poultry School held at the Le MERIDIEN hotel in Amman. The international speakers from Egypt addressed many topics; Dr. Sayed Shalash (professor of Nutrition) spoke about feed formulations for breeders using the raw materials available in the area and broiler nutrition. Dr. Alaa Abdou (Professor of genetics)...
The Animal Sciences Group believes it may be possible for laying hens to produce mostly – or even exclusively – female embryos. This can help reduce the number of day-old roosters that are killed every year in the Netherlands, which now amounts to tens of millions. The process of sexing and killing day-old chicks has lead to much societal protest; therefore the ASG has been asked by Minister of Agriculture Verburg to look for other solutions. "The most elegant solution is, of course,...
Russian meat market capacity have been assumed as 7 469 thousands tones in year 2005. Market structure is 35% - poultry meat, 29% - pork meat, 33% - beef, 3% - others. From which poultry meat of local production – 28%, beef- 36%, pork-...
Although plants and animals began to be acquired as domesticants nearly 10,000 years ago, it has only been the last 50 years in which animals have been intensively raised for food. In 1892 Wehman wrote “Poultry, to be successful on a large scale must be kept in small colonies of about 50 birds, for many more than that number in a single house is apt to cause sickness or disease ere long among”. Given the scale and concentration of the modern poultry industry, one must ponder whence we have...
The United States Department of Agriculture has estimated that total production of processed broiler meat in 2006 will reach 57.8 million metric tons. Given a population of 6.5 billion, world average consumption will attain 8.9 kg per capita during the present year. A considerable range in consumption exists depending on the availability and cost of broiler meat and the proportion of the population that is qualified to purchase either domestic or imported product. Within nations,...
Performance vs productivity The principal objective of any enterprise is to optimize profitability (return on investment) over the long term. Poultry production is highly competitive, dictating high efficiency of conversion of resources into salable products that are acceptable to consumers. The production of poultry meat and eggs is achieved in the context of either vertical or horizontal integration with the chain extending from primary breeding to point-of-sale (Laughlin,...
As is well known, poultry production in the United States has increased in an almost linear fashion since the end of World War II. This development can be attributed to a number of factors, including intensive production of grain and oil seeds in the central part of the country, dramatic improvements in both genetics and...
Introduction • After 25 years of experience in Latin America, the poultry field has a new point of view to give solutions…From the technical support to conventional management. • More, facing the new world order… The global Market and new tendencies. Competition, Smuggling and Dumping (import black...