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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.
Nath Morris (USPOULTRY President) talks about strategies against Avian Influenza and other challenges in the industry, as well as a new USPOULTRY podcast and expectations for the upcoming IPPE 2025, in this Engormix interview....
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Paul Bredwell (Vice President of Environmental Programs at USPOULTRY) comments on the framework progress, great reception in the industry, and how to involve more people from the value chain, in this Engormix interview....
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Introduction Broiler chickens require favourable rearing conditions to maximise their genetic potential for growth. Significant deviations from optimum rearing conditions can compromise feed utilization, growth performance, and bird welfare [1]. Stocking density is one critical rearing factor that has serious implications on the economic and social sustainability of the poultry industry. Globally, the accepted industry standard is to achieve between 30 and 38 kg bodyweight per...
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In many regions, animal production under hot conditions is a major challenge and is expected to become more common in the future. During heat stress, several strategies are used to dissipate excess heat. When high temperatures, water consumption increases, and feed intake decreases (thus reducing nutrient absorption).In order to dissipate heat, livestock will increase the heart and breathing rate. Metabolism is severely affected and usually leads to oxidative stress. Poultry is a...
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Low Protein Diets Downregulate Hepatic Enzymes Responsible for Nonessential Amino Acid Synthesis in Broilers
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Introduction Locomotory activity is strongly associated with broiler chicken welfare; many behavioral patterns that depend on locomotion, such as exploration, seeking food, water, shelter, and escaping predators, are negatively affected by the poor walking ability in fast-growing broiler chickens [1]. Rapid muscle growth and exacerbated development of the Pectoralis major muscle in fast-growing broiler chickens change the chickens’ center of gravity, altering the...
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Introduction Heat stress (HS) is one of the most challenging environmental stressors despite the modern climate control equipment in broiler chickens’ houses. Broiler flocks may be seasonally exposed to HS that varies in intensity according to the relative humidity of the region [1]. Multiple studies have identified the various adverse effects of acute or chronic HS on chickens, such as a severe reduction in feed intake and growth [2–4], systemic alkalosis [5],...
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Dr. Leonie Jacobs (Virginia Tech / Poultry Extension Collaborative) offers insights on poultry welfare and its potential for the future of production systems -and the industry as a whole-, during this Engormix interview....
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Dr. Leonie Jacobs (Virginia Tech / Poultry Extension Collaborative) explains how poultry welfare has gained relevance and created awareness in the industry, and comments on some interesting projects, during this Engormix interview....
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(Mandarin) Strengthening Pellets for Better Feed Performance
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Dr. Leonie Jacobs (Virginia Tech / Poultry Extension Collaborative) talks about PEC goals, publications, and initiatives (including courses and an upcoming symposium) during this Engormix interview....
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High stocking density and environmental factors such as acute heat stress, health challenges, bacterial or viral exposure, and mycotoxin-contaminated diets may cause serious stress of laying in modern intensive egg production systems. Laying hens under immunological stress are susceptible to pathogen infection due to an imbalance in immune response and cecal microbiota. Laying hens that are raised under the conditions of intensive farming and high stocking densities are exposed to...
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The holiday season is once again here, which means many kitchens will be filling up with baked goods and savory dishes. It is also the time of year when the use of eggs increases for all of those delicious dishes! However, eggs can be a potential source of Salmonella bacteria that can cause illness or in rare cases even death. Here are some tips to...
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The hatching phase of broiler production refers to the last three days of incubation, which are embryonic days 18-21. This phase of embryonic development is critical for the chick’s survival, as well as welfare and production later in life. In commercial hatcheries, eggs with viable embryos are transferred from incubators to...
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Light and dark cycles within a 24-hour period play a crucial role in maintaining physiological and behavioral rhythms in animals. In birds, daily rhythms associated with feed intake, physical activity, sleep-wake cycles, and physiological rhythms are influenced by photoperiod. The ancestors of domestic chickens, the Red...
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Introduction The United States (US) has three main broiler chicken production systems which mandate that birds have outdoor access. The first is certified organic production overseen by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which requires that birds have access to the outdoors, with shade, shelter, exercise areas, fresh air, direct sunlight, and protection from predators year-round [1]. The second is free-range poultry production, overseen by the USDA, where...
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Stress is a term which is very commonly used in today’s poultry and livestock rearing. Although the classical school of thought has always considered within the prism of “Heat Stress” which is true and holds its essence in today’s poultry and livestock rearing. However, with the advancement in the rearing of poultry and livestock, there has been lot of measures which have been taken to improve the productive parameters of birds. This has been possible primarily...
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Bright Ideas in Poultry Lighting:
Illuminating species-specific considerations
Thursday May 23rd
9 AM - 12 AM est
via Zoom
Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner
University of...
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Commercial egg laying operations can benefit from more effective and economical ways to depopulate flocks at the end-of-lay while improving worker performance and maintaining or improving animal welfare. Recent on-farm research in Switzerland applied portable blue light units and specialized crate carts, seeking to improve depopulation during catching, carrying, and crating without changes to flock housing or other infrastructure. However, neither the blue light nor the cart reduced layer...
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Layer battery chicken cage system is a popular poultry farming equipment used for raising laying hens. This system is designed to provide a comfortable and efficient environment for the hens to lay eggs. There are two main types of layer cage systems used in poultry farming: A-type and H-type. Each system has its own unique features and benefits, and choosing the right one depends on various factors such as the size of the farm, the breed of the hens, and the specific requirements of the...
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Smothering is a form of mortality which results from groups of hens pressing together in such a way that some hens are killed presumably due to suffocation. A recent Australian epidemiological study reported that smothering accounted for 11% of mortality across 3 separate organisations and in two separate climate zones in Australia (Hemsworth et al., 2022). Previous surveys of producers in the UK reported a positive correlation between range use on a sunny day and smothering and suggested...
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I. INTRODUCTION With the recent COVID-19 pandemic disrupting the regular supply chain in agriculture and threatening food security, it is imperative to look for innovative ideas to meet the population's food demand (FAO, 2021). The agriculture sector is pressured to offer sustainable, economical, and ethically-produced animal protein. Egg, a cheap and relatively easy-to-produce commodity, is one of the best candidates for such protein. Thus, there is a surging increase in layer...
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