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Poultry welfare
Proper animal welfare involves providing the proper housing, management, nutrition, disease prevention and treatment, responsible care, humane handling and, when necessary, humane euthanasia. These factors allow for the most optimal and humane growing environment. The concept of animal welfare includes three elements: the bird’s normal biological functioning, its emotional state and its ability to express its natural behaviors. Improving animal welfare can be accomplished through offerings like poultry feed enrichment, which can reduce stress, thereby increasing performance, productivity and profitability. Animal welfare is currently a major requirement for intensive poultry production. Beak trimming, stocking density, free access to feed, heat stress, and air pollutants became important issues, which are regulated in several countries. Animal welfare is observed by watching how birds naturally behave and even by looking at mortality stemming from aggressive behaviors.
Drinking behavior in poultry develops within the first couple days of life. When an open water source is provided, birds stick their beak roughly 10 mm into the water, use a scooping motion to collect water in their beak, extend...
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I. INTRODUCTION The meat chicken industry is growing rapidly as a result of an increasing population, relatively low production costs and excellent marketability with regards to affordability, sustainability and minimal religious restrictions. Poultry diets with lower crude protein (CP) have generated global interest from the meat chicken industry due to the benefits concluded by published literature. Low protein (LP) diets have been identified to lower feed costs, improve feed...
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January 28, 2025
United States - Georgia - Atlanta
1. Introduction Infectious laryngotracheitis (ILT) is an economically concerning disease in the poultry industry. This highly contagious disease is caused by Gallidalphaherpes virus type1 (GaHV 1), commonly known as infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV) [1]. ILT is characterized by severe dyspnea, cough, and rales, while the sub-acute form is characterized by nasal and ocular discharge, tracheitis, conjunctivitis, and mild rales [2]. Chickens of all ages are prone to...
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Mike Persia (Virginia Tech) talks about the benefits of Direct-Fed Microbials (also Sulfur Amino Acid supplementation) to help manage the adverse effects of heat stress, in this interview during IPPE 2023 in Atlanta, USA....
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Please join us for our PEC fall symposium on Sustainable Agriculture & Poultry Welfare!
When: Nov 14, 9 AM US Eastern
Register for free here: ...
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Dr. Christiane Keppler, Landesbetrieb Landwirtschaft Hessen (LLH - Hesse State Framing Authority)
As in previous years, poultry farmers are currently facing a number of challenges. These include, in particular, a further...
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The Digital Evolution of the Poultry Industry: Imagine. Collaborate. Gain.
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Mobile slaughtering and direct farm sales –in Hall 26 – Lectures from science and industry – EuroTier 2024: 12 to 15 November in Hanover, Germany– World's leading trade fair for animal farming and livestock management – More than 2,100 registered exhibitors from 52...
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Importance of air quality control in poultry farms Air quality control in poultry production is key to maintain animal welfare , which is closely related to productivity and absence of diseases. When the air components are not in...
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Raising the Status of Animals to Improve Welfare Standards Globally: A World Animal Day-2024 Distinguished Guests, Animal Advocates, and Friends, Tomorrow, we gather to celebrate World Animal Day-2024, a day with each platform that unites people from all walks of life, across the globe, in a shared mission: improving the welfare and status of animals. On this occasion, it is important that we reflect on the status of animals in our society and what we can do to ensure they are...
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When building a new house or retrofitting an older one, tunnel fan selection is one of the most, if not the most important decision a producer has to make. A house’s fans are essentially the engine of the ventilation system and as a result have a significant effect on a producer’s ability to maintain the proper environmental conditions throughout the year. Furthermore, with rising electricity prices, selecting the right energy-efficient fan can save a producer thousands of...
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Innovative Directions in Aflatoxin Testing Point to Measureable Gains in Quality Of Lab Data
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Though it may not seem like it, each one-foot section of a five-foot-tall, six-inch pad has a tremendous surface area... well over 300 square feet. As a result, a house with two 70' X 5' evaporative pad systems has over 42,000 square feet of pad surface area from which water can evaporate and cool the incoming air. When we look at a 70' X 5' pad system, we can only see the 350 square feet of surface area, not the over 21,000 square feet of (60 times) interior pad surface...
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1. Introduction The laying hen industry in the United States consists of approximately 330–340 million laying hens [1] that must first go through the growing phase known as the pullet phase. The pullet phase accounts for approximately 25% of a laying hen’s lifetime [2] and encompasses approximately 0–16 weeks of age (WOA). During this time, the pullet reaches sexual maturity and grows to its full skeletal capacity. Early experiences during the pullet phase,...
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How to protect birds against stress? Safmannan® Predictable performance
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A poultry house controller's temperature sensors are, in a sense, its "eyes" enabling it to “observe” what is happening throughout a poultry house so it can accurately determine what equipment it needs to operate to maintain the proper environmental conditions throughout a house. As a result, a...
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When designing a tunnel-ventilated house, it is important to install the proper amount of evaporative cooling pad. Too little pad will result in excessive static pressure, which will reduce air speed, and therefore bird cooling. Too much pad will result in increased initial cost, more pads to maintain/replace, and a larger area of reduced air movement near the tunnel inlet end wall. Pad area is based not on the size of a house but rather on the air-moving capacity of a house's...
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Using evaporative cooling to keep birds cool during hot weather is relatively simple. Water is circulated over paper pads. Tunnel fans pull hot outside air through the pads and into the house. As the air moves through the wetted pads, its temperature decreases. Fairly straightforward. On the other hand, understanding how evaporative...
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1. Introduction Ensuring efficient chicken farming is crucial, including prioritizing their welfare and health in agricultural production [1]. Individual variability in behavior enhances our understanding of how housing can be utilized differently by chickens. This may be due to individual preferences for certain types of equipment or impediments to access caused by dominant individuals [2]. This variability underscores the importance of improving accurate identification systems for...
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Developing effective natural solutions for animals - Liptosa: 2020 Summary and 2021 Challenges
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Animal welfare audits are performed to evaluate whether a hatchery, farm, or processing plant is meeting the specific animal welfare standards of a certification program. These programs may be internal to a certain company, or they could be a requirement for animal welfare certification. These certification programs...
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Damaging behaviors in poultry include feather pecking, vent pecking, and toe pecking. While feather and vent pecking are well-known welfare problems in poultry that have received significant attention from researchers and farmers, toe pecking remains relatively unknown. Therefore, this article aims to shed...
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What is litter? Litter and its management are an essential part of bird management and ensuring bird welfare. This goes for broilers, turkeys, or laying hens kept on litter floors. Litter is a combination of the bedding used within a house combined with the excreta from the birds. Good quality litter provides...
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1 Introduction Brazil’s food production is among the largest in the world. Poultry production ranks first globally among all the animal species used for food production. Brazil is one of the world’s leading chicken producers and exporters, while the state of Parana is the largest chicken meat producer and exporter in Brazil, representing more than 40% of Brazilian exports. The Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA) reported that Brazilian chicken meat exports,...
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