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POULTRY

How to prevent coccidiosis in poultry

The cost of coccidiosis to the poultry industry is massive. A 1999 paper put its global cost to production and control at more than $5bn each year. Subclinical cases will…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Turkey tips: How to get the best results with your poults

Getting poults off to a flying start requires careful planning and a watchful eye. Paul Kelly, managing director of Farmgate Hatcheries, explains. Brooding turkey poults is like a disaster waiting…

POULTRY

Tips for separating wild birds from poultry to avoid AI

The threat of avian influenza (AI) is ever present for British poultry farmers and one of the most significant sources of infection comes from wild birds. But keeping the two permanently…

POULTRY

How to avoid wormer resistance in poultry

With only three different active ingredients on the market, failure to follow best practice protocols could result in rapid development of resistant worm strains, warns vet Stuart Young from Mount…

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Case studies

HEALTH AND WELFARE

50 years of poultry health progress – one firm’s view

It was during the 1960s that the poultry industry really began to evolve into the structure it holds today. British farmers were looking to the United States, where poultry farming…

POULTRY

Sound and steam aids campylobacter reduction in poultry

Poultry integrator Faccenda has reached a “key milestone” in its work in reducing campylobacter – a slaughterhouse intervention that is commercially viable and creates a meaningful reduction. It has been…

POULTRY

Biosecurity the key focus for top turkey breeders

Getting the basics right and maintaining high biosecurity standards are the keys to success when it comes to producing high health status turkey breeding stock, according to Kenton Hazel of…

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Clean drinking water is key to poultry performance

Poor quality drinking water is often overlooked in free-range egg production and can lead to reduced productivity and an overreliance on antibiotics. “There is an assumption that, as water is…

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Insights

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How geneticists are breeding for better broilers welfare

As more and more is asked of the modern broiler, so genetics companies have to keep an even closer eye on health and welfare, as Frank Siewerdt, Cobb director of…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

How stressed parents can cause layer offspring to peck

The link between a stressed parent flock and more anxious chicks has been identified for the first time, as Jake Davies discovers on a trip to Holland Our mothers all…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Welfare at centre of Aviagen broiler breeding programme

Leading genetics firm Aviagen recently invited customers from around the world for an update on company research and broiler breeder progress. Jake Davies provides an overview. When the first broilers were…

HEALTH AND WELFARE

Dietary change to avoid wet litter in poultry

Research carried out over recent years has confirmed a strong link between poultry diets and the onset of wet litter syndrome, according to Professor Richard Ducatelle from Ghent University, Belgium.…

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News

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Scottish bird flu case prompts biosecurity warning

NFU Scotland has urged poultry farmers to be vigilant with biosecurity after a case of avian influenza was confirmed last week. The union said the case, in a free-range laying…

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Avian influenza strikes a second commercial turkey farm

A second outbreak of the H5N8 strain of avian influenza (AI) has been discovered on a turkey farm in Lincolnshire, exactly one month after the first case was found in the…

POULTRY

'No region safe from avian flu'

Migratory wild bird pathways mean no region is safe from avian influenza, the director general of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) has said. Monique Eloit blamed the plethora…

POULTRY

Second outbreak of bird flu in backyard poultry flock

Bird flu has been discovered in a second flock of backyard poultry, this time near Settle, North Yorkshire. It follows findings of the highly virulent H5N8 strain in wild birds…

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Video

HEALTH

Sanderson Farms says antibiotic-free chicken is a ‘gimmick’

US poultry integrator Sanderson Farms has said it will not phase out antibiotics from its farms, taking a position that runs contrary to many other similar companies in the USA.…

US poultry sector strikes back at welfare abuse claims

One of America’s top three poultrymeat producers, Perdue Farms, has launched a new website to help consumers better understand indoor chicken production. The move follows a spate of bad publicity…

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Top tips for spray vaccinating chickens

While spraying is an excellent way of carrying out mass vaccinations for respiratory diseases in broilers and pullets, using the wrong equipment can have disastrous consequences. Traditional pressure sprayers in…

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