Poultry Tips

Since the implementation of the Clean Water Act and subsequent creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) in the early 1970s, commercial egg processing plants have been required to continually improve the quality of their process wastewater effluent discharges. The determination of wastewater quality set forth in environmental permits has been established since the 1970s in a series of laboratory analytical tests focused in four (4) major categories: organics,...

Poultry farm biosecurity involves a comprehensive range of management procedures put in placeto limit or eliminate the introduction of infection into the operation. A good biosecurity program in anybroiler operation should always include an integrated pest management (IPM) program. Simply put, anIPM is an effective and environmentally sensitive approach to pest management. The lifecycle of the pestin combination with available pest control methods is used to manage and control pest damage....

Utility expenses make up the largest component of the annual variable operating costs associated with the live production of broilers on farms in Georgia and the United States. Heating fuel and electrical costs contribute nearly 60% of these costs for Georgia contract broiler growers (Cunningham and Fairchild, 2009). Controlling utility expenses represents one of the best opportunities for growers to reduce their production costs. Contract growers have experienced significant increases in...

When brooding broilers, growers can utilize either the partial house or full house brooding method.Partial house brooding uses half of the house square footage and can utilize either half house or centerhouse areas. With half house brooding, a single brood curtain suspended from the ceiling and located atthe center of the house is lowered and chicks are placed in the end of the house that includes the tunnelinlet. Center house brooding uses two curtains that allow broilers to be brooded in...

Salmonella colonization of poultry breeder and broiler flocks is a very complex issue. Chickens may become colonized through both vertical (from parent stock) and horizontal (environmental) means. This purpose of this Poultry Tip is to detail how Salmonella colonize breeder chickens and to explain effective measures for preventing or controlling vertical colonization.

In 2009, Georgia commercial egg plants processed almost 12.5 million cases (360 eggs per case) of table eggs (USDA, 2010). A survey of water use in 73 U.S. commercial shell egg processing facilities in 2005 showed that 2 out of every 3 (66%) facilities used water supplied by on-site wells (Jones and Northcutt, 2005). The survey also showed that the average shell egg plant utilizes 1.5 gallons of water per case, which means Georgia egg processors use about 19 million gallons of water each...

It is often difficult to ascertain how Salmonella issues in poultry begin and what measures should be implemented to prevent them. Chickens may become colonized through both vertical (from parent stock) and horizontal (environmental) means. This purpose of this Poultry Tip is to detail how Salmonella colonize breeder chickens and to explain effective measures for preventing or controlling vertical colonization. Many scientists have implicated breeder chickens as vehicles...

Anyone visiting a poultry farm will quickly become aware of the secondary occupants in and around the houses. The darkling beetle is an insect that is commonly found around poultry, specifically meat production birds and to lesser extent commercial layers. The beetle is also known as “lesser meal worm” and its common habitat is flour, meal, and other grain and cereal products. It originated in the tropics and is well suited for warm humid conditions making the broiler house the perfect...

New broiler house construction has slowed in recent years as a result of the economic recession. Nevertheless, new house construction to primarily replace depreciated facilities, continues across the poultry producing regions of Georgia. Financing for new broiler house construction is dependent on cash flow assessments for these operations. A recent survey of broiler housing costs and cash flow examples (Cunningham and Fairchild, 2009) provides some insight to the current situation for...

Raising chickens in the United States dates back to the 17th century when the English first brought them here. The chicken was originally domesticated by the English for cock fighting which was considered a spectator sport. Since then chickens have been grown for showing, meat and egg supply or just the pure pleasure of having the birds running around in the yard. Whatever your reasons for having a flock of birds in your yard, consideration should be given to where and how the birds will be...

Whether it is limited water supplies due to urban growth or drought conditions, or simply the rising cost of purchasing potable water, most poultry processing plants today are expending resources of time and money on water conservation efforts. It is logical that the goal in water conservation is to consume less water in the processing of poultry, but the question arises: Where Do I Start?

No nutrient is more important to the overall health of your backyard flock than water. Restricting access to an unlimited supply of clean, cool water will cause detrimental effects faster in your flock than restricting any other nutrient in your flock’s diet. That’s because water plays a vital role is every aspect of poultry metabolism. Water is essential in controlling body temperature, assists in food digestion, and aids in the processing and elimination of body wastes.  Although water is...

We frequently discuss pathogenic diseases that can infect and quickly spread through a flock of hens, however, there are also nutritional and metabolic disorders that may not be infectious but if they are not identified and treated their symptoms will be seen quickly spreading through a flock. This month’s commercial layer tip will focus on three common nutritional or metabolic disorders that can affect laying hens.

As the popularity of small scale poultry production increases and producers seek avenues to sell their poultry products, small flock owners need to be mindful of their flock health and endeavor to take needed steps to prevent the spread of disease to other poultry.  Unfortunately, many of the respiratory diseases of poultry have similar clinical signs. Sneezing, gurgling, labored breathing, nasal discharge, swollen eyes and head all are symptoms that can be associated with respiratory...

Modern American agriculture is a model of production efficiency and mechanization. Fertilizers, pesticides and modern genetics help farmers fight disease and ensure a safe and abundant food supply. With this success also comes increased scrutiny and concern over the environmental impacts of largescale agricultural enterprises. Concerns such as water quality and quantity, soil integrity, food safety, and energy usage are associated with large farming operations. Warranted or not, these...

Broodiness is a condition in which laying hens have a desire to set their eggs. When hens go broody they stop laying eggs and marshal their physiological and behavioral resources for incubating and hatching chicks. This is a favorable condition if one wants to produce chicks through the natural nesting process. It is, however, a detrimental condition if one is only interested in maximizing egg production. If one wants to achieve maximum egg production from their flocks, they must minimize...

Technological advances in waste minimization, waste stream analysis and wastewater treatment have focused the environmental efforts of many poultry processing plant personnel on the minutia of pollution prevention. However it is often a good idea to periodically step back from the small details and revisit the basics. One of these pollution prevention basics is blood collection.  The potential impact of blood on poultry processing wastewater streams is significant. Research shows that blood...

In 2002, the United States government encouraged the production of ethanol and other bio-fuels through a combination of tax benefits and direct subsidies. Since most of the ethanol produced in the United States comes from corn, this program increased the demands for corn supplies. In 2002, 11 % of available U. S. Corn was used for ethanol production. However, by 2008, 30 % of the U.S. corn crop was used for ethanol production. The increased demand for corn supplies as a result of the...

Poultry production has evolved from raising a few hens and a rooster in your backyard to one of the largest food industries in the country where poultry farmers contract with companies to grow chickens. Even so, many people continue to raise chickens in their backyards and the practice is catching on. They decide to begin a backyard flock for a variety of reasons. Some do it for the pleasure of having them, others for the convenience of having eggs or meat on hand at all times. Some people...

Fertilization in commercial chickens is usually the result of natural mating. However, in some cases, artificial insemination is commonly practiced. The turkey industry especially depends on artificial insemination since natural mating is virtually impossible as a result of intense genetic selection for conformation and body weight. The completed mating in chickens is the culmination of a sequence of behaviors. The rooster will initiate mating by exhibiting courtship behavior: dropping one...

 
Many small flock producers keep poultry for egg production. The recent increase in the interest in home grown products has made locally produced eggs more popular for many consumers. In addition, consumers are more quality conscious and more demanding of uniformity in products than ever before. Escalating costs for poultry feed during the past two years has increased the costs of egg production for all producers, small and large. Thus it is important that the quality of “home grown”...

 
Poultry producers in the United States have to deal with numerous issues in the day to day operation of their facilities. One important issue is the disposal of their daily mortality. Several options are available to poultry producers, including: burial, incineration, rendering, and composting. Available options are becoming more restrictive with rising processing costs and continued concerns of environmental safety. The objective of this broiler tip is to inform readers of the...

 
When establishing a backyard flock it is important to choose the best breed of chicken to meet your goals whether that is egg production, meat production, dual purpose, or exhibition/ornamental.  Chicken breeds differ in their production abilities, and it is important to take this into consideration when choosing a breed for your backyard flock.  For example, if you choose leghorn varieties, then there should be an abundance of eggs produced, but if meat is your objective then you...

 
On January 25, 2008, the USDA-FSIS issued a formal report entitled, “Public Health Risk- Based Inspection System for Poultry Slaughter-Technical Report.” This document may be accessed at the following web address: edocket.access.gpo.gov/2008/08-292.htm. In this report on page 8, a table is provided and is shown below: 

 
Achieving maximum health and performance of poultry requires nutritionally balanced diets. One of the common issues with regard to back yard flocks relates to poor or inadequate feeding programs that can lead to vitamin and mineral deficiencies for the birds. Vitamins and minerals are very important components of a chicken’s diet and unless a formulated ration is feed, it is likely that deficiencies will occur. Poultry require all known vitamins except C. Some vitamins are soluble in...

 
Previously we looked at three specific behaviors that you will observe in your backyard flock. In the Backyard tip this month we will continue to look at more behaviors that birds perform in the backyard. Some of these activities will be more obvious if your birds are allowed to roam freely.

It goes without saying that an essential part of poultry rearing involves providing adequateamounts of the correct diet. Sometimes backyard poultry producers are confused by exactly which diet is needed. In fact, this is a relatively straight forward matter. Virtually all poultry feeds have about 60% corn and 25-30% soybean meal. It is the adjustments in these two ingredients, plus the addition of smaller amounts of a few others, that differentiate one diet from the next. Corn, or...

 
Measuring chick quality has been a difficult issue since the beginning of the poultry industry. There have been many attempts over the decades to evaluate chick quality in the hatchery to predict future performance in the broiler house. One can examine chicks in the hatchery and enumerate conditions such as the incidences of red hocks, open navels, string navels, and other abnormalities. In most circumstances, the percentage of these obviously poor quality chicks is so low that it is...

 
With the advancements in the genetics of broilers combined with improvement in the diet, enhanced feed conversion efficiency and growth rate have been observed in broiler chickens. The result is a bigger bird with a larger breast muscle than their ancestors. Scientists have associated this increased growth rate to the increasing skeletal and leg problems that are currently observed in growing broiler. Of course, rapid growth rate is not the only cause of leg problems in broiler...

 
 For years, poultry companies have known that they can significantly improve finished whole-ready-to-cook WOG yield by lowering scalder temperatures. However, every time companies attempt to lower scalder temperatures two problems routinely occur: 1) Salmonella begins to multiply in the scalder and 2) carcasses do not pick well. This has led to repeated assistance to companies that were having difficulty meeting the USDA-FSIS, HACCP/Salmonella ...

 
Birds that are heat stressed have increased mortality, reduced weight gain and poor feed conversion. As warmer weather approaches, the threat of heat stress increases. Poultry producers need to anticipate this and have housing and management procedures ready to respond. Effective summertime management is crucial for growers to achieve maximum weight gains and optimum feed conversion while preventing bird loss due to heat exhaustion. The following is a summary of some steps to be...

 
According to an excellent review of the history of online reprocessing by Dr. Stan Bailey of the USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS), approximately 0.5 to 1% of processed broilers require reprocessing. This percentage equates to 45 to 90 million carcasses per year. Prior to 1989, the USDA-FSIS would allow a fecally contaminated carcass to be inspection passed if the part that had feces on it was trimmed from the carcass. In 1989, the Code of Federal Regulations was amended such...

 
There are many factors that can influence the egg production of back yard flocks. Diet, plenty of water and environmental factors such a temperature, relative humidity, and light can influence poultry performance. Controlling the light environment can improve egg production and growth.  Light influences bird behavior, metabolic rate, physical activity and physiological factors such as reproduction. While it is important to optimize all environmental conditions, many times errors in...

 
Because of the long, hot, humid summers we experience in Georgia, it is natural that when questions of feed quality andthe feeding of poultry are discussed, more emphasis is given to problems encountered during the summer months. However, feed problems can also occur in the winter and these need to be reviewed. During the summer, warm temperatures and high humidity tend to make feed go out of condition more quickly. It is not uncommon for feed to become damp, with visible or...

 
Part 1 of this two-part series considered cervical dislocation, water-based foam killing, poisoning with avicides, electrocution, and masceration as mass depopulation methods. All were inadequate for caged commercial layer flocks when dealing with H5N1 AI. Gas killing will be discussed here.