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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.
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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While the breeding programs of commercial meat chickens select birds with robust legs (Davis, 2015), poor leg strength and reduced locomotion are frequently observed in late stages of growth. We have previously reported that lower egg shell temperatures during early incubation, which delays chick hatch time, increases bone ash (BA) (Muir and Groves, 2017). Observations from our research and the literature (e.g. Ulmer-Franco et al., 2010) suggest that maternal breeder flock age may influence...
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Janjaap Van der Mark, Director of Global Environmental Solutions at Big Dutchman, shares key strategies for turning waste into value, reducing environmental impact, and driving sustainability in modern farming. ...
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Andrew Gomer, Senior Business Development Advisor at Nova-Tech Poultry, discusses the company’s advanced technologies that support sustainable egg production. ...
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1. Introduction It is well known that the major cost in poultry farming is feed, representing 70% of the total production costs [1]. In order to reduce this cost, the research has recently focused on exploring and evaluating new sources of raw materials from agricultural and industrial by-products for use as animal feed. Key benefits of this practice include lower dependence of animal production on human consumed seeds and reduced waste management costs [2]. Around 2.1 million tons...
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1. Introduction Aggressive behavior of roosters toward hens are rare in natural environments, where the two sexes form separate social hierarchies and male dominance is expressed in a passive manner [1–3]. However, it has been observed that males from broiler parental lines exhibit a high frequency of aggression toward females, especially during the display of sexual behavior [4–13]. This pattern of mating-related aggression has also been observed in slow-growing broiler...
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The ancestor of the modern-day chicken, the red jungle fowl, was exposed to different spectra of light in their natural habitat (Prescott et al., 2003). The surrounding environment, vegetation, season, and time of day all affect the color of light exposure to the wild bird (Endler, 1993), which may have lingering behavioral...
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Heat stress is a huge problem in farm animals, as their welfare and performance can be negatively affected by extreme environmental conditions. When animals are exposed to very high or low temperatures outside their comfort range, they might experience heat stress. This can bring about various unfavorable consequences, such as decreased food intake, reduced zootechnical performance, alterations in the immune system, and increased susceptibility to diseases. Mechanisms through which...
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Walking on eggshells - assessing anxiety in chickens Extension collaborative for the poultry industry -Attention bias...
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In poultry farming, worms and protozoa represent the two primary classes of internal parasites that impact bird health, welfare, and productivity. While indoor-reared poultry typically avoid infestation from worms that require intermediate hosts, free-range birds are more susceptible. Interestingly, broilers tend to...
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Enhancing Egg Production: Key Factors Influencing Chicken Health and Yield
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Introduction Animal welfare pertains to the quality of life of an animal, denoting the cumulative positive and negative experiences of an animal 1 . The welfare of farmed animals impacts their development and productivity, shaping both...
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Enrichment is the process of improving the environment of an animal, to meet their behavioral needs and ultimately improve their welfare. Enrichment helps to reduce stress and improve welfare by providing physical and mental stimulation, encouraging highly-motivated species specific behaviors, allowing the animal more control over their...
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Housing systems for laying hens in the United States (and more broadly across the world) are transitioning away from conventional cages to cage- free systems....
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This issue will cover: -What are behavioral needs? -What is dustbathing? -Dustbathing in commercial housing systems Substrate...
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In this issue: Introduction to the gut microbiome The function of prominent bacterial phyla Introduction to the gut-brain axis How microbial imbalance affects poultry welfare Practical strategies to improve the gut health of poultry What is the gut...
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I. INTRODUCTION Production improvements in commercial meat chickens via genetic selection and improved husbandry have resulted in rapid growing birds. These birds have endemically reduced locomotor ability; a conservative estimate is that 30% of birds in a flock are likely to have poor mobility (Knowles et al, 2008). Leg weakness has a direct impact on production due to lower bird quality, which may result in culls or condemnation of carcasses. While not well understood, early rapid...
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Innovative Directions in Aflatoxin Testing Point to Measureable Gains in Quality Of Lab Data
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I. INTRODUCTION In Australia, the National Animal Welfare Research Development and Extension (RD&E) Strategy is a cross-sectoral strategy under the National Agricultural RD&E Framework. Each of the livestock industries in Australia, including the egg industry, is represented by this National Strategy, which is active in identifying the key areas of importance for the welfare of livestock. Over the last four to five years, in particular, this National Strategy has consistently...
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Managing flies in poultry farms is crucial for maintaining flock health, ensuring optimal productivity, and protecting public health. Flies thrive in poultry environments due to the availability of manure, spilled feed, and warm, humid conditions. To address this issue, it is essential to adopt a multi-faceted approach that incorporates changes in nutrition, management, water use, environment, and pest control strategies. Understanding the Fly Problem in Poultry...
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I. INTRODUCTION Chicken meat and egg production has been on the increase in all continents with the highest increases in Asia and South America (Mandal, 2010). High temperatures coupled with high humidity impose severe stress on birds and can cause huge economic loss. Such loss is due to reduced performance, immune suppression, and an increase in respiratory disease and mortality (Mandal, 2010). Exposure of chickens to high temperature also increases the induction of heat shock...
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1. Introduction Chickens have a well-developed trichromatic vision system composed of diverse photoreceptors and cones [1], allowing them to perceive a broad range of the color spectrum [2]. Chickens can see in ultraviolet wavelengths and perceive colors that are not visible to most mammals [3], including humans [4]. The chickens’ sharp visual capabilities allow them to effectively survey their surroundings and localize feed [5,6]. In addition, broiler chickens have shown...
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