Poultry vets are latest focus of popular YouTube series

The popular YouTube series, Veterinarians on Call, recently turned its cameras on two poultry veterinarians from the University of Georgia to help educate the public on modern poultry production.

The short video features Chuck Hofacre, DVM, MAM, PhD, and graduate student Samantha Pohl, DVM, on recent visits to family-owner broiler farms in the US.

“It’s the family farm that everybody thinks we should go back to but it’s always been this way in the broiler industry,” Hofacre says.

“Broiler chickens are not raised in cages, they have plenty of space, they have unlimited access to food and water, so a lot of the misconceptions that these activist groups will utilize aren’t true.”

Speaking about the care chickens receive on commercial farms, Pohl says, “In a lot of regards, they’re taken care of better than some humans. They live in better conditions — temperature controlled, humidity controlled, we control the quality of the air.”

Hofacre and Pohl are among 23 US farm veterinarians across 13 states who have volunteered to host film crews and give the public a firsthand look at how farm animals are raised on commercial farms. A second video of the two poultry veterinarians will premiere on the channel this summer.

Sponsored by Zoetis Inc., the Veterinarians on Call YouTube series now features 56 episodes and has attracted more 4.5 million views and an approval rating of 85% likes. Viewers can subscribe to the YouTube channel to be alerted of new videos.

Locations of the series have ranged from veterinary clinics and shelters caring for pets, to horse stables, to US livestock farms and feedlots. The series also allows the public to comment and contribute to the discussion.

Editor’s note: One of the veterinarians featured in this video, Samantha Pohl, passed away July 29, 2015. We are keeping this video posted as a tribute to her commitment to avian medicine.