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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.
I. INTRODUCTION Maintaining vegetation on free range farms with fixed ranges is a significant issue (Singh et al., 2017). Nonetheless, free range accreditation programs stipulate palatable vegetation to be available on the range at all times (RSPCA 2015). This is more problematic to achieve during dry seasonal conditions and drought, which are common features of the Australian climate. ...
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Free-range layer pullets are typically reared indoors within Australia, but adult layers go outdoors which might cause poorer adaptation due to the mismatch between rearing and laying environments. Indoor enrichments may optimise physical development of pullets and subsequent welfare as adult free-range hens (Campbell et al., 2019). In the outdoor environment, hens may have greater opportunities for exercise and natural behaviours which might contribute to improved physical health and...
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I. INTRODUCTION Heavily driven by public perception and large supermarket monopolies, welfare is of major concern for the poultry industry. The past few decades have seen development of poultry practices with a heavy focus on the welfare of poultry. There have been huge changes implemented to accommodate improvements in welfare, particularly in the layer industry. There are now a number of production systems...
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1. INTRODUCTION Consumer demands and the pressure of supermarket chains are changing rapidly the way eggs are produced. Enriched cages are not considered a sound alternative to improve animal welfare standards in the developed countries. Consequently, the industry is moving hens from battery cages towards alternative systems, such as deep litter and aviary barns, with or without access to an outdoor area. In addition, organic production with non-beak trimmed hens, under...
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Free-range layer systems are increasing globally but range use can be low, particularly when birds are first provided outdoor access. It is recommended to match the rearing system with the layer system for optimal bird welfare (Janczak and Riber, 2015). However, within Australia, pullets destined for free-range systems are typically reared indoors which may hinder their adaptability to the outdoor environment as adults. Rearing enrichments may optimise behavioural development and better...
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by Sam Shafer
For broiler chickens, how much space each bird gets around a feeder may be an important factor in weight gain and overall productivity.
According to a new Journal of Applied Poultry Research ® study led by scientists at Mississippi State University and the USDA-ARS Poultry Research Unit, increased feeder spacing can help growing broiler chickens get off to a good start—but these improvements don’t appear to translate to...
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Algorithms and poultry: an unlikely sounding but effective combination
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1. Introduction The food demand is projected to double over the next 50 years [1]. The increase in the demand of poultry meat over the past decade has been due to the low cost, the positive nutritional profiles, and the suitability in farming [2]. Intensive production is required to achieve the demand, and poultry health should be approached in a multidisciplinary way to ensure animal health [3]. According to OIE, an animal is in a good state of welfare if it is healthy,...
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Managing heat stress in poultry remains a major concern for both producers and scientists as it accounts for an annual loss of $128 to $165 million in the poultry industry alone. The impact of heat stress results in a drastic change in physiological activity linked with a decrease in feed consumption, growth rate, eggshell quality, and biochemical change like increase in the level of glucocorticoids leads to reduced immunity, and breakdown of muscle due to gluconeogenesis and the upward...
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Introduction The improvement of genetic selection and management practices are increased dramatically for the last decades (Kryeziu et al., 2018), stocking density of broilers is one of the major factors that can improve performance to face the improvement of genetic selection (Simsek et al., 2011). Stocking density has a significant impact on production cost, however, excessive density may affect broiler performance and thus slaughterer traits. Slaughter traits are...
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by Sam Shafer
Poultry producers maintain healthy, productive flocks by carrying out depopulation when hens reach 65 to 90 weeks old. Depopulation means hens need to be caught, carried and put in crates on their way to slaughter. The challenge is that hens in commercial systems are not used to being handled, and they often struggle to avoid being caught. As a result, each step of the depopulation process comes with a risk of injury and stress for the...
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By Claire Marie Coleman
As the No. 1 poultry producing state in the U.S., Georgia’s poultry industry generates more than $3.8 billion annually. Part of...
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The purpose of a minimum ventilation system is to bring in small amounts of cold fresh air into a house and to warm it as much as possible before it moves down to floor level so as not to chill the birds and to maximize the litter drying...
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Candidate Genes Associated with Survival Following Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Infection in Chickens
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One of the purposes of preheating a broiler house is to insure the litter is properly dried prior to chick placement. Research has shown that the higher the litter moisture level, the higher the level of ammonia production, potential for bacterial growth, paw damage,...
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Poor leg health in Australian fast growing meat chickens is a major welfare issue, resultant from long-term genetic selection for bird size and growth rate (Bessei 2006). Anecdotal evidence and preliminary data suggest perches may have the potential to improve leg health, decreasing the prevalence of associated leg disorders and lameness (Groves and Muir 2013). The following study sought to assess the potential role of perches in improving leg health in the context of Australia’s fast...
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France and Germany are now calling on other EU countries to follow their lead in banning the controversial practice of culling male chicks, which both countries have pledged to end from January 2022.
It is “a big step forward” that French citizens have been waiting for for a long time, tweeted French Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie, announcing the country’s ban on culling male chicks from 2022. Together with Germany, France will thus be “the first...
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PlusVet Animal Health present the negative effects heat stress layers and breeders on the fertility of layers and breeders....
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1. Introduction Contact dermatitis is an inflammation and irritation of the skin due to contact with an irritant or allergen. A common type of contact dermatitis in broiler chickens is footpad dermatitis (FPD), with necrotic lesions on the plantar surface of the central footpad [1]. When these lesions are left untreated, and environmental conditions remain the same or deteriorate, lesions will worsen, eventually encompassing the entire footpad, including the toes [2]. The...
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1. Introduction Poultry producers started to raise their commercial chickens indoors as of the 1950s for better disease control, protection from predators, and to integrate their management measures for the production of uniform products [1]. Modern breeding plans and conventional raising systems have enabled mankind to produce broiler chickens with more than 2kg body weight in 35 days [2]. Although the selection for higher growth rate and slaughter yield has dramatically...
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It is common observation that chicks are seen well distributed in the shed after arrival and with good start of feeding and drinking but since no adequate fresh air is brought in to the house with speed that cant lift Co2 from chick level and to expel it out. Poultry farmer thinks of saving heating cost and is avoiding even opening air inlets for first 24 hours results poor chick activity and drowsiness in the chicks which are found sleeping and resulting poor feed intake. What happens when Co2...
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