Poultry
Protect broiler performance with HMTBa methionine
Methionine is the first limiting amino acid in poultry; a chicken’s growth is limited by the amount of methionine supplemented, to a certain extent
- New molecule unveiled to improve poultry gut health
- Carcass quality affected by nutrition and management
- Biotin for poultry: An essential but expensive vitamin
- How to start your own poultry business
- Feeding broilers for the future
- A poultry producer’s guide to red mite control
- Laying hens stick to their own routine
- Vaccine atomisation promising for influenza immunisation
Poultry
Interview: Is robotic egg collection the future?
Chickens lay most of their eggs in their nests, but some end up in the hay. Egg collection is therefore both necessary and time-consuming
Restoring the hatchability of stored eggs
Poor or prolonged storage of incubating eggs leads to major losses in hatch results. Restoring the hatchability of stored eggs is now possible by the commercial
Disease resistance influenced by egg colour
Ph.D. candidate Tom Berghof came across a surprising genetic link between the mother hen’s eggshell colour and the natural antibody levels of the descendants
Golden yolk colour comes from healthy hens
Colour is one of the most important factors that affect consumer choices through the sensory evaluation of food, including egg yolks.
Breeding resistant chickens for improved food safety
Test identifies roosters whose blood contains naturally high levels of cytokines and chemokines. Breeding resistant chickens for improved food safety
Can fly larvae replace synthetic methionine in organic egg systems?
Project to determine if feeding hens a diet supplemented with black soldier fly larvae will cause their eggs to taste or look different.
Parasite control can reduce hen mortality
A recent PhD study has investigated animal welfare in organic egg production and found an association between hen mortality and the level of parasite infection
Project to prevent erysipelas in organic poultry
A new project that that will enable scientifically based guidelines to prevent future erysipelas outbreaks in both organic poultry and pig production.
Old bird diseases occur more among free-range hens
Over the last two decades old bird diseases, such as Coryza, Blackhead and Pasteurelle multocida increasingly reared their ugly heads among free-range hens
Parasites on chickens: backyard v commercial
Researchers compared the number of parasites found on commercial chicken flocks with those found on backyard flocks. But which chicken was the itchiest?
Impact on hen bone integrity in cage-free environments
Dr Lay also mentions that the environmental complexity can create opportunities for the hens to express behaviours that may be detrimental to their welfare
Impact of space on the welfare of free-range layers
An important factor in the case of free-range eggs is the potential access to an outdoor area for laying hens, even though access to an outdoor area may