Cover Stories

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  Sustainability: What on earth does it really mean? And how does it apply to poultry health? - In the poultry industry, sustainability trends are reshaping every link in the production chain. But what exactly does it mean for poultry to be “sustainable”?
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  Sustainability: What does it mean to poultry health? - In agriculture, sustainability translates to producing more with less — a goal that morphs into a dire need when looking at global population trends. According to a recent UN report, food production will need to increase by 70% to feed the world’s 9.6 billion people by 2050 while limiting greenhouse gases and the need for additional land and water.
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  Too busy for sustainability? Think again - Sure, sustainability is a sound and noble concept — something everyone needs to think about and practice — but try telling that to a veterinarian or producer in the middle of an infectious bronchitis outbreak. Timing, as they say, is everything.
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  Five ways to put sustainability into action today - So how can commercial poultry producers make their poultry-health programs more sustainable — ethically, environmentally and economically?
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  Making sense of poultry labels - Demand for increased transparency has led to the proliferation of poultry labeling terms — many of which surface in discussions about sustainability and production practices. What these terms actually mean, however, is sometimes less clear. Following are four common labeling terms and their official USDA definitions...

Sound Science

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  Link between fishmeal, Eimeria and necrotic enteritis in broilers explored - Insights into how fishmeal in poultry rations and Eimeria infection may predispose broilers to necrotic enteritis come from a study by Australian investigators.
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  Temperature of drinking water may affect bodyweight during brooding - The temperature of drinking water during brooding may affect the bodyweight of broiler chicks, according to a University of Arkansas study.
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  S. enteritidis frequency in eggs similar in conventional and enriched cage systems - The frequency of egg contamination with S. enteritidis did not significantly differ between hens housed in conventional and enriched cages, investigators say in the March 2014 issue of Poultry Science.
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  Cracked corn has positive effect in broilers - Cracked corn fed to broilers increased weight gain and gizzard size and had a positive effect on gut microflora, say New Zealand investigators.

The Real World

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  Sanderson’s Phil Stayer: ‘Sustainability is really nothing new for poultry’ - Maintaining good intestinal health is particularly important for sustainability because the condition of the gut ultimately determines a flock’s growth rate and feed conversion.
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  ‘Rotate smarter,’ says coccidiosis specialist - Poultry producers need to “rotate smarter” and learn the differences between anticoccidials if they want to maintain effective and sustainable coccidiosis-management programs, says well-known coccidiosis specialist Greg Mathis, PhD, Southern Poultry Research, Athens, Ga.

Reality Check

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  Reality check: Technically, all poultry in the US is ‘antibiotic-free’ - Confidently presenting facts can go a long way toward shaping consumer opinions about commercial poultry production and the importance of maintaining flock health, welfare and efficiency. For this special feature, Poultry Health Today checked into whether poultry raised without antibiotics was more wholesome than meat from medicated birds.

Rules & Regs

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  Prevention claims essential for ensuring flock health, welfare - New FDA guidelines that discourage using medically important antibiotics for promoting growth in food animals appear to have been well-received by both producers and most consumer activists.

Discoveries

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  Timing may affect accuracy of in ovo vaccination - The coccidiosis vaccine Inovocox® EM1 was more precisely deposited to embryos when the vaccine was administered at 18.5 versus 19 days of incubation, indicates a Zoetis-sponsored study from Mississippi State University.

The Last Word

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  Editorial: Never say never - Not that long ago, the thought of raising broilers on a large scale without ionophores or other intestinal health antibiotics would have seemed foolhardy. But that has changed in recent years, as we’ve learned how best to grow and manage antibiotic-free (ABF) flocks.