Cover Stories

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  The Poultry Smith - In this exclusive interview with Poultry Health Today, Fieldale Farms veterinarian John Smith reflects on his career, the state of the US poultry industry and, most importantly, what it needs to do to ensure a healthier, more sustainable future.

Special Report

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  Specialists explore new options for managing flock health while defending judicious antibiotic use - Growing demand for poultry raised without food-animal antibiotics has put more pressure on veterinarians to find alternative yet dependable disease-control options, according to a panel of nine experts at a recent roundtable, “Poultry health: New challenges for a new era.”
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  Can we learn from Denmark? - Proponents of antibiotic-free production often cite the experience in Denmark as “Exhibit A” in their argument against the use of antimicrobials in poultry and livestock feed.
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  Marketing vs. Medicine: Finding the balance - Growing demand for poultry raised without food-animal antibiotics has put more pressure on veterinarians to find alternative yet dependable disease-control options, according to a panel of nine experts at a recent roundtable, “Poultry health: New challenges for a new era.”

Discoveries

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  IBD V877 vaccine can break through maternal antibodies - A live infectious bursal disease (IBD) vaccine based on the V877 strain can override maternal antibodies, doesn’t revert to virulence and has limited interactions with other live vaccines.

Expert Advice

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  Cage-free hen housing: How far will the pendulum swing? - By John Brown, DVM Senior Technical Services Veterinarian, Zoetis

Sound Science

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  Early feeding, housing may affect broiler response to immune challenges - Early feeding after hatch and the housing type can affect the response of broilers to immune challenges later in life, indicates a study from the Netherlands.
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  Hens in enriched colony system appear more stressed, flighty - Hens in an enriched colony system were more stressed and flighty than conventionally caged birds in a study from Mississippi State and Texas A&M Universities.
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  S. enteritidis shedding more frequent among hens in conventional cages - Fecal shedding of Salmonella enteritidis was significantly more frequent among experimentally infected laying hens in conventional cages compared to hens housed in enriched colony cages, indicates a study from USDA and North Carolina State University researchers.

The Real World

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  Broiler study shows challenges and potential of drug-free production - Broilers raised in a drug-free program had a higher feed-conversion ratio (FCR), decreased mean daily weight and decreased mean live marketing weight despite administration of antibiotic alternatives.

Words & Numbers

The Last Word

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  Editorial – Judicious antibiotic use: How should the poultry industry be judged? - Beginning in January 2017, FDA will require veterinarians to issue a veterinary feed directive, or VFD, for any medically important antibiotics administered through poultry or livestock feed.