NE1042: Optimization of Poultry Welfare and Production Systems for the 21st Century

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

Project Menu

SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[12/11/2009] [12/08/2010] [12/21/2011] [12/14/2012] [01/10/2014]

Date of Annual Report: 12/11/2009

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/09/2009 - 10/10/2009
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2008 - 09/01/2009

Participants

Anderson, Ken (ken_anderson@ncsu.edu) -North Carolina State University; Angel, Rosalina (rangel@umd.edu) -University of Maryland; Buresh, Bob (bob.buresh@novusint.com -NOVUS International; Cheng, Henwei (hwcheng@purdue.edu) -USDNARS-Purdue University; Darre, Mike (MichaeI.Darre@uconn.edu) -University of Connecticut; Green, Angela (angelag@illinois.edu) -University of Illinois; Hart, Ian (ian.hart@uconn.edu) -University of Connecticut; Koelkebeck, Ken (kkoelkeb@illinois.edu) -University of Illinois; Noll, Sally (nollx001@umn.edu) -University of Minnesota; Scheideler, Sheila (sscheideler1@unl.edu) -University of Nebraska; Swanson, Janice (swansoj@anr.msu.edu) -Michigan State University; Reynnells, Richard (rreynnells@csrees.usda.gov) -USDA-CSREES, Washington, DC; Xin, Hongwei (hxin@iastate.edu) -Iowa State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

This project just began on October 1, 2009. The accomplishments for objectives 1 and 2, impacts, and literature cited will be reported on after the meeting of October 8-9, 2010.

Publications

Impact Statements

Date of Annual Report: 12/08/2010

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/07/2010 - 10/09/2010
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2009 - 09/01/2010

Participants

Participants Attachment:

Attachment

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /> <title>Untitled Document</title></head> <body> Objectives 1. Investigation and development of poultry production systems to improve energy and resource use efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed energy sources for poultry by geographical region, ventilation systems, lighting systems, animal welfare and modeling energy use in poultry systems. 2. Alternative systems and profitability. This collaborative research will encompass characterization and mitigation of air emissions, manure nutrient management, animal welfare (including health), and economic evaluation of alternative poultry production systems. Methods Objective 1. Investigation and development of poultry production systems to improve energy and resource use efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed energy sources for poultry by geographical region, ventilation systems, lighting systems, animal welfare and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Methods Feed and fuel prices reached historical highs in 2007/2008. The volatility in corn and fuel prices has brought into focus the need to improve energy utilization in the production of poultry meat and eggs. Project participants will examine different ventilation and lighting systems relative to energy consumption, flock productivity and welfare. Ventilation Manipulations. GA conducted a study to determine what factors affect cross-sectional air velocity distribution in a tunnel-ventilated broiler house. The air velocity profiles that have been studied thus far in poultry housing measures air at one level in the house (sometimes at bird level and sometimes 3-4 ft off the floor). The unique aspect of the current study is to use a cross-sectional air velocity profile to study air movement in tunnel-ventilated poultry houses using a grid of 15 anemometers (ceiling to floor - wall to wall). Air velocity profiles were be taken at the tunnel fan end. The anemometers were connected to a computer so that wind speed could be continuously monitored as the number of fans operating were changed. The airspeed and static pressure were monitored for 15 minute periods for each configuration of fans. This new method of evaluating air velocity profiles in a house has the potential to give an estimate of the total air movement capacity of the fans in a house. Currently, this can only be achieved using a FANS unit that has to measure one fan at a time taking about one hour per fan. Total air movement capacity could be used to evaluate fan and shutter maintenance as well as differences in fans in commercial settings. If the array provides air movement information comparable to the FANS unit, it is hoped that more research can be accomplished on ventilation in poultry facilities. The information from the current study would be used to educate broiler producers on possible broiler house improvements and management practices that will maximize bird cooling during hot weather. The results will also provide better understanding of the relationship between air movement and static pressure which will allow producers to make informed decisions on future upgrades o new construction. IN conducted a study that used 90 28-week-old White Leghorns of two strains were used; DXL line individually-selected hens for high productivity and KGB line selected from White Leghorn birds for high group survivability and productivity (kind gentle bird). Hens were randomly paired within the line, and assigned to control (21-25ÚC) or hot (32.-34ÚC) treatment for 14 days. Room humidity was at about 40%. Feed and water was provided at ad libitum and the lighting was 16:8 (L:D) for the whole time. Physical and physiological measures were collected at day 8 and 14 post-treatment. The tissue samples were analyzed using HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography), RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), and western blot, respectively. Behavior data was collected at day 1, 2, 6, 11, and 13. Compared to the control birds, the stressed birds 1) had significantly higher core temperature at both week 1 and 2 post-treatment; 2) showed significantly greater amount of open-wing behavior; but KGB birds exhibited greater percent time of panting at day 2, 11 and 13 than DXL birds; 3) had a reduced body weight in DXL birds at both week 1 and 2 but at week 2 only in KGB birds; 4) reduced relative liver weight without genetic differences at both week 1 and 2; 5) reduced relative spleen weight in DXL birds at both week 1 and 2 but at week 1 only in KGB birds; 6) had a greater. Heterophil:Lymphocyte ratio at week 2; 7) increased Toll-like receptor 2 in KGB birds but not DXL birds at week 2; 8) reduced norepinephrine concentrations in both DXL and KGB birds but significant was found in DXL birds only; and 9) reduced concentrations of epinephrine in DXL birds at both week 1 and 2 but increased in KGB birds at week 1. There results indicate that heat stress causes behavioral, physical, and physiological changes in birds. There are genetic variations in heat stress response in the current strains. Genetic selection could be a useful tool in reducing heat stress response in chickens. Lighting Manipulations. AL conducted a study to determine the effects of lighting programs consistent with the European Union (EU) and National Chicken Council (NCC) on broiler live and processing performance, mobility, and stress response. The lighting programs tested consisted of the following. An increasing-dim lighting program (23L:1D, 1 to 7 days; 12L:12D, 8 to 14 days; 14L:10D, 15 to 21 days; 17L:7D, 22 to 28 days; 20L:4D, 29 to 35 days; and 23L:1D, 36 to 48 days; 1 FC from 1 to 7 days and 0.25 FC thereafter), meeting NCC photoperiod guidelines and with an intensity commonly used in the US, was compared to an increasing-bright program (23L:1D, 1 to 7 days; 12L:12D, 8 to 14 days; 14L:10D, 15 to 21 days; 16L:8D, 22 to 28 days; 18L:6D, 29 to 45 days; and 23L:1D, 46 to 48 days; 2 FC throughout), and a split dark-bright program (16L:4D:2L:2D, 2 FC throughout), both meeting EU photoperiod and intensity guidelines. The EU guidelines can be satisfied with a 18L:6D light cycle but only 4 hours of darkness in a single block are required. Providing light in the middle of the dark period (as in the split dark-bright program) will allow broilers to feed when their digestive tracts have emptied, because they generally don't feed in the dark and gut transit time is about 4 hours. A 2 hour light period will allow all of the broilers to fill their digestive tracts, given amounts of feeder space provided in the industry. Each lighting program was tested on 4 pens (5 x 12 ft) of 42 male broilers of tray pack and breast yield strains. Live production was characterized by measuring body weights, and feed consumption and conversion at about 6, 20, 34, and 47 d. Uniformities were calculated at 20 and 47 d. Mortalities were recorded daily and necropsied to determine cause of death. The percentage metabolic (due to ascites, sudden death syndrome, and skeletal problems), other (due to other causes), and total mortality were determined. Processing performance was determined from 10 broilers per pen at 48 days. Birds were subjected to a 12 hour feed withdrawal and then processed in the Auburn University Poultry Research Unit processing plant. After processing, carcasses were cut up by commercial deboners. Whole carcass, total breast, fillet, tender, wing, and leg weights and yields were determined. Foot pad lesion scores were also determined at slaughter. Welfare and mobility related measures were determined at about 3 and 7 weeks. These ages are when broilers begin to lose mobility and when mobility is most restricted due to high body weights. Blood was collected from 3 birds per pen and heterophil to lymphocyte ratios determined since it is a commonly used measure of chronic physiological stress. Plasma corticosterone was also determined since it is the most commonly accepted measure of acute physiological stress. Tonic immobility was determined on 3 birds per pen as it is a widely accepted measure of psychological stress or fearfulness. The percentage of birds standing or sitting upon 6 inch (15 cm) high decks (raised perching surfaces modified for broilers) which made up 20% of each pen's area, or decking, and the climbing index (the ratio of feed consumed with feeders over decks for 4 hr following a 12 hr period of feed withdrawal, and the feed consumed without decks for the next 4 hr) were quantified as indicators of mobility. Gait scores were determined and latency-to-lie tests (the length of time birds remained standing when placed in a tub containing 1.5 cm of water) were conducted during week 7 only. Live Production: Body weights were reduced similarly at 20 and 34 days in the 2 increasing lighting programs relative to the split dark-bright program. Weights were greater in the tray pack strain than the breast yield strain at 6, 20, 34, and 47 days. At 47 days, the interaction between lighting program and strain was significant. The 47 day weight of the tray pack strain was greater than breast yield strain and was unaffected by lighting program. However, the weight of the breast yield strain did not differ from the tray pack strain under the split dark-bright program, while it was significantly reduced by both increasing lighting programs relative to both the split dark-bright program and the tray pack strain. Feed consumption was decreased at 20, 34, and 47 days in the increasing lighting programs relative to the split dark-bright program but was only transiently reduced in the breast yield relative to the tray pack strain at 34 days. Feed conversion was unaffected by lighting program; but, improved at 6, 20, 34, and 47 days in the tray pack relative to the breast yield strain. Feed conversion was influenced by an interaction between lighting program and strain at 47 days. In the breast yield strain feed conversions were consistently elevated (poorer) but uninfluenced by lighting programs; whereas, in the tray pack strain feed conversions were consistently improved (decreased) and this effect was most marked in the decreasing lighting programs. These data demonstrate how compensatory growth allows body weight to recover following it being decreased by reduced feed consumption in response to markedly shorter photoperiods provided during weeks 2 and 3 of increasing lighting programs. Results of this trial do not demonstrate clear links between the various measures of mobility, walking and standing ability, and foot condition as affected by lighting programs. However, it seems likely that the greater mobility measures in the tray pack strain may have been related to their better footpad condition. Vocalizations as a Welfare Assessment Tool. CT studied vocalizations as an indicator of bird welfare. Psychological stress in the form of fear results when birds are exposed to the presence of unknown herdsman or stockman, predators or other abrupt intrusions, be they visual or auditory in nature. Chickens straining against mental stressors are liable to be affected health-wise, and will also have a lower hen-day production. Age and breed of the hen influences their responses to stressors and our results indicate that in general the White Leghorn emits a more distinct vocal response to stressors than the ISA red breed. Stress vocalizations can be elicited from chickens under commercial conditions and may be used as an early warning system to alert the producer that something is amiss in the poultry facility, and allowing them to attend to the situation before it leads to a drop in production of loss of animals. A modified Hidden Markov Model can be used to identify and classify these vocalizations with a fairly high accuracy. This model algorithm could be adapted for use as a means of monitoring vocalizations in a commercial poultry facility to notify the producer when a stressful situation is occurring in the chicken house. Dietary Manipulations. IL conducted a study to determine the effects of feeding low-density diets to Hy-Line W-36 laying hens on production performance. For this study, four hundred and eighty Hy-Line W-36 pullets (18 wk of age) were placed in cages (61 cm wide x 58.4 cm deep; 445.3 cm2/hen) and housed 8 hens per cage; with two adjacent cages of 16 hens equaling one replicate. Each replicate (2 side by side cages) was randomly assigned one of five dietary treatments (6 reps/treatment) with the control diet formulated to meet or exceed the recommended energy and nutrient levels in the 2009 Hy-Line W-36 management guide. The dietary treatments (Diets 1-5) were formulated by changing the nutrient densities of the control diet (100% of recommended nutrient density) to 85, 90, 95, 100, and 105% of recommendations, respectively. The experimental diets were fed in three phases to maximize egg production and egg weights to equal that which is published in the 2009 Hy-Line W-36 management guide. Egg production and mortality were recorded daily and feed consumption was measured every 2 wk. Eggs were collected over a 48-hr period and weighed every 2 wk for determination of egg weight. At 31 wk of age, egg production of hens fed Diet 1 (85% of control) dropped greatly to 57.6%. Due to production being too low, Diet 1 was discontinued and hens were switched to the control diet (Diet 4). Egg production was stable by 34 wk of age. From 18 to 31 wk of age, diet density had significant linear and quadratic effects on egg production and egg weight. Egg production and weight increased with an increase in diet density for Diets 1 through 4. Hens fed Diet 5 showed a decrease in egg production. Egg mass and feed efficiency increased with an increase in diet density across all diets. Feed intake showed a significant quadratic response with intake increasing over Diets 1 and 2 and decreasing for Diet 5. From 32 to 55 wk of age, diet density had significant linear and cubic effects on egg production. Egg production increased with an increase in diet density for Diets 2 through 4 but decreased when hens were fed a diet with 5% more density than the control. A diet of 85% nutrient density was unable to provide hens with enough nutrients to support egg production, showing that feeding Hy-Line W-36 hens diets formulated to contain lower nutrient density (85% of the control) than recommended may compromise production performance. IL also conducted a study in which spray-dried bovine plasma protein was fed to laying hens exposed to short-term heat stress conditions. Commercial White Leghorn laying hens of the Hy-Line W-98 strain were used in this study. At 38 wk of age, hens were randomly transferred to two side-by-side environmentally controlled chambers and placed in cages. A total of 192 hens were used in the study. In each chamber 96 hens were housed in 46 X 46 X 46 cm cages (18 X 18 X 18) with 4 hens per cage. This allowed for a cage density of 81 sq. in. per hen. Each chamber contained 8 replicate cages per treatment. Following housing, all hens were fed ad libitum a regular laying hen diet (16% crude protein) and provided with water. In order to test the effect of feeding sprayed-dried plasma in laying hen diets on production performance of hens kept in heat stress and non-HS conditions, hens in both chambers were fed 3 diet treatments. Spray-dried plasma was formulated into diets to provide equal energy, protein, and amino acids. The dietary treatments were 0% plasma (control), 0.75% plasma, and 1.50% plasma. Egg production and mortality were recorded daily for the 5-wk experimental period. For the first wk, with hens at 40 wk of age, both chambers were maintained at 21°C. This was the adjustment period. On d 8, the environmental temperature and relative humidity (RH) in the heat stress designated chamber was increased to a constant 29°C and 60% RH. The other chamber was maintained at 21°C and 60% RH as the control. On d 15, the temperature in the HS chamber was increased to a constant 35°C and 50% RH. These temperature and RH conditions were maintained for 3 wk. The results of this study showed that hens exposed to the 35°C temperature starting at wk 3 dropped off in egg production by wk 4 and this trend continued into wk 5. The hens fed the control diet supplemented with 0.75% plasma had the lowest egg production of any treatment during wk 4, followed by the hens fed the 1.50% plasma supplemented diet. During wk 5, there was a trend for the hens in the HS chamber and fed the 1.50% plasma diet lay more eggs than hens fed the control or 0.75% plasma diet. A similar trend was noticed for egg weights as was seen with egg production. As one would expect, exposing the hens to a 35°C temperature environment had a negative effect on feed consumption. Overall feed consumption between the hens in the TN conditions produced about a 27% decrease in consumption for all diets during wk 3 to 5. During wk 3, feed consumption dramatically decreased for all hens in the 35°C environment; however, a further reduction in feed consumption did not occur for the hens. Hens in the 35°C environment and fed the 1.50% plasma supplemented diet were significantly more feed efficient than hens fed the control diet in the 35°C environment or those fed the control or 1.50% plasma supplemented diet and exposed to a TN temperature. In this study, exposure of hens to acute severe HS conditions did reduce feed intake, body weight, hen-day egg production, egg weight, and egg mass. In addition, there was 2.1% mortality due to exposure to HS temperatures, while no hens died in the TN temperature treatment in the present study. In addition to the general effect of HS on production performance, this study examined the effect of adding either 0.75 or 1.50% bovine spray-dried plasma protein to the diet. Therefore, the overall results of this study provide further documentation on the deleterious effect of acute HS on laying hen performance. In addition, the supplementation of a laying hen diet with 1.50% bovine spray-dried plasma may improve production performance of laying hens exposed to acute HS conditions. IA conducted a field verification study was conducted during the period of December 2007 to March 2010. It comparatively evaluates efficacy of three laying-hen diets on gaseous (ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and greenhouse gases) emissions and the impact on hen production performance and the production economic efficiency for high-rise layer houses. The three dietary regimens were standard industry diet (Control), a diet containing 10% DDGS, and a diet containing an acidifier ingredient (EcoCal). Each of the three layer houses had approximately 255,000 W-36 hens. A state-of-the-art air emissions monitoring system was used to continuously monitor gaseous concentrations, building ventilation rate, and hence emission rates. Hen production performance data were collected and reported on weekly basis. Manure samples of each house were collected prior to house cleanout and subsequently analyzed by a certified commercial lab for manure nutrients and properties. Data from 24-month monitoring period were used in the analysis. Feeding EcoCal diet or the DDGS diet to laying hens in the high-rise house was shown to have the following impact on gaseous emissions and production performance: a) 39% and 14% overall reduction in NH3 emissions during the 24-month testing period, with a mean daily NH3 emission rate of 0.58 ± 0.05, 0.82 ± 0.04, and 0.96 ± 0.05 g d-1 hen-1 for the EcoCal, DDGS, and control diet, respectively; b) 202% and 7% overall concomitant increase in H2S emissions, with a mean daily H2S emission of 5.39 ± 0.46, 1.91 ± 0.13 and 1.79 ± 0.16 mg d-1 hen-1 for the EcoCal, DDGS and control diet, respectively (note that the absolute amount of H2S emissions were very small). The efficacy of NH3 emission reduction by the EcoCal diet decreased with increasing outside temperature, varying from 72.2% in February 2009 to 4.0% in September 2008. Manure of the EcoCal diet contained 68% higher ammonium nitrogen (NH3-N) and 4.7 times higher sulfur content than the Control diet manure (1.46% on dry matter base). Manure pH values of the three diets were 9.3, 8.9 and 8.0 for Control, DDGS and EcoCal, respectively. Few differences in egg production, egg weight, or egg mass (output) were observed for hens fed EcoCal, DDGS as compared to hens fed the control diet. The cash return from each hen over the 91-wk period averaged $11.88, $11.18, and $12.35 for Control, DDGS and EcoCal regimens, respectively. MD conducted a study to evaluate the effect of feeding laying hens commercial diets containing 0, 10, or 20% distillers dried grains plus solubles (DDGS) fed to laying hens (21 to 26 wk of age) on emissions of NH3 and H2S. Hy-line W-36 hens (n= 640) were allocated, randomly, to 8 environmental rooms for a 5-wk period (hens in 3 rooms were offered the 10% and 20% DDGS diets each; hens in 2 rooms were offered the 0% DDGS diet). Diets were formulated to contain similar CP levels (18.3%), non-phytate P (0.46%), and Ca (4.2%). On an analyzed basis, the 0, 10, and 20% DDGS diets contained 0.22, 0.27, and 0.42% S. Egg weight (50.9 g), egg production (85%), and feed intake (87.9 g/hen/d) were unaffected by diet (P > 0.05) over the study period. Daily NH3 emissions from hens fed diets containing 0, 10, and 20% DDGS were 105.4, 91.7, and 80.2 mg/g N consumed, respectively (P < 0.05). Daily H2S emissions from hens fed commercial diets containing 0, 10, and 20% DDGS were 2.6, 2.4, and 1.1 mg/g S consumed, respectively. Overall, feeding laying hens 21 to 26 wk-old diets containing 20% DDGS to decreased daily NH3 emissions by 24% and H2S emissions by 58%. Each hen emitted approximately 280 mg NH3 and 0.5 mg H2S daily when fed a control diet containing 18% CP and 0.2% S. The results of this study demonstrate that 20% DDGS derived from ethanol production can be fed to laying hens resulting in lower emissions of NH3 and H2S with no apparent adverse effects on hen performance. MD also investigated if birds had the capacity to adapt to low P diets. The application of the adaptation principle in poultry may allow for decreasing both diet and excreted P without sacrificing performance and provide an additional low cost tool to decrease P in poultry litter. The goal of this work was to determine if adaptation occurred in broilers and then to try to identify the mechanisms of this adaptation. We evaluated the ability of the chicken to adapt to a moderate early life deficiency in P and Ca and characterized this adaptation changes by examining the impact of the previous P and Ca status (starter phase, hatch to 18 d) on performance, bone characteristics, and nutrients absorption of broilers the grower phase (19 to 32 d). In summary, broilers fed a diet moderately deficient in P and Ca from hatch to 18 d demonstrated the ability to adapt to the deficiency. This was shown in the increased total P and Ca ileal absorption, the increased PP disappearance, improved growth, and improvement in bone measures including tibia ash, tibia and shank bone mineral density and bone mineral content in a later growth phase (18 to 32 d). These published data indicate that in birds during the period immediately post hatch there is a phenomenon occurring that permanently alters the bird's response to its environment. This adaptation or conditioning, which-ever term you choose to use, is a real observable fact for which no underlying mechanism has been previously proposed. IA examined different stocking densities (SDs) or space allocations in commercial laying-hen operations as an attempt to improve hen welfare. Information concerning the impact of SD on accumulated manure properties (e.g., moisture content) and thus ammonia (NH3) emissions is limited in the literature. Bird SD affects the amount of manure per unit of accumulated manure surface area, which may affect the NH3 emission from the accumulated manure. A lab-scale study was conducted that resembled the conditions of manure-belt laying-hen houses, with the objectives of (a) determining NH3 emission rate (ER) of W36 pullets and laying hens housed under different SDs; (b) measuring the NH3 emissions from pullet and laying hen manure during 6-d manure accumulation time (MAT); and (c) delineating the dynamics of feed disappearance, manure production and NH3 ER of laying hens during dark and light periods. Two different SD's at a given bird age were evaluated, being that the higher density (HD) had 33% lower per-hen floor area allocation than the lower density (LD). Stocking densities ranged from 155 to 619 cm2 (24 to 96 in2) per bird. Tests were conducted for W36 pullets/laying hens at 4 to 37 weeks of age. Ammonia ER was expressed in the units of NH3 emission per bird, per kg of feed nitrogen (N) disappearance, per kg of as-is and dry manure, and per animal unit (AU, 500 kg BW). Results showed that daily NH3 ER for pullets and laying hens increased exponentially with bird age and MAT (P<0.0001). Stocking density effect on NH3 ER was more pronounced for MAT e 3d, where the treatment HD led to higher ER. Specifically, for the laying hens, NH3 emissions from the 3rd to 6th d MAT ranged from 41 to 251 mg/hen-d for HD and from 29 to 160 mg/hen-d for LD. This outcome supports the current egg industry practice of removing manure at 1- to 3-d MAT for the manure-belt house systems. Results also indicated that the SDs did not affect feed disappearance or fresh manure production (P = 0.17 - 0.81) of laying hens. Each gram of feed use corresponded to a 1.15 g of fresh manure production. The light (16 hr) and dark (8 hr) partitioning of daily feed disappearance was 98% to 2%, respectively, while the concomitant partitioning of fresh manure production was 80% and 20%, respectively. This study has been described in an MS thesis and certain results have been disseminated through a conference paper. A manuscript on the study is being prepared for publication consideration in the peer-reviewed journal. MN examined the unevenness in turkey flocks at market and a study was initiated to determine if differences exist between light and heavy weight poults that could explain the variability. Eight flocks (six commercial flocks and two research flocks) were sampled at 1-wk intervals to 3 wks of age. Poults were weighed and gut and tissue samples were taken for histopathology scores. Gut contents were taken for virus and bacteria tests. Body weight of the research flocks exceeded those of the commercial flocks at 3 wks of age. Remaining tests are yet to be completed on all flocks. Turkeys were fed diets with different sources of distiller's dried grains with soluble that varied in crude fat content. Energy value of the DDGS was influenced by the level of fat and potentially digestibility of lysine. Objective 2. Alternative systems. This collaborative research will encompass characterization and mitigation of air emissions, manure nutrient management, animal welfare, and economic evaluation of alternative poultry production systems. IA conducted a study in an effort to collect some baseline information, a study has been initiated that aims to conduct a comprehensive assessment of an aviary production system (two houses each holding 50,000 laying hens) for egg production under Midwest conditions over 1-year period. Data collected will include concentrations and emission rates of ammonia (NH3), particulate matters (PM10, PM2.5), and greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4), metabolic rate and its partitioning into sensible and latent heat, electricity and fuel use, air temperature and humidity, animal behaviors (aggression, cannibalism) and welfare (bone strength, feather condition, feet injuries), microbiological quality (incidence of environmental Salmonella), and hen performance (feed use, egg production, feed conversion, mortality). Economic analyses of the operation will be performed using the collected data, considering the capital cost of the infrastructure and different egg-marketing prices. A multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional team is involved to holistically tackle this complex issue. Data collection has been ongoing since June 2010. NE conducted a study to 1) determine the effects of broiler chick addition on the reduction of early mortality due to starve-outs and 2) determine the effects of providing environmental complexity in the form of ramps, platforms, perches and pecking objects on leg strength of turkey toms. This experiment was conducted in two phases. Phase one consisted of 248 one-day-old turkey poults and 8 three-day old broiler chicks. Four pens of thirty two turkey poults were set using industry standard techniques for the control groups. Four pens of thirty 1-day-old turkey poults and two 3-day-old broiler chicks were set with no human intervention for the treatment groups. Body weights were taken at placement, 1 and 2 weeks of age. Feed intake was calculated daily. Behavioral analysis was conducted on days 2, 4, 8, and 14 days of age. Behaviors were determining using an instantaneous time sampling technique. The birds were recorded for eight consecutive hours, videos were stopped and observations were recorded at 15 min intervals. All visible birds were recorded as to what behavior they were performing at the time the video was stopped. Behavior categories were eating, drinking, active and resting. Definitions of each category were as follows: eating- time spent within one inch of feeder and standing; drinking- time spent within one inch of waterer and standing; active-a bird that was standing, moving or interacting with a pen mate while standing; resting-a bird that was laying down with no discernable movement. Phase two began immediately following phase one. The draft shields were removed from the pens to allow poults to have access to 114 ft2 area (3.5 ft2/ bird). In four pens, an enrichment containing two adjustable ramps and a platform to perch on was placed in the center of the pen. One feeder was placed on the top of the enrichment and another feeder was placed on the floor opposite the drinker. The remaining four pens remained barren except for two feeders and drinkers. Body weights were taken at 2, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks of age. Feed intake was calculated weekly. Gait scores were conducted at 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks of age. Gait scores were determined using a scale ranging from 3 to 1. Score 3 represented no detectable impairment of walking and able to run when encouraged, a score 2 indicated a slight abnormality in walking pattern and a hesitation to run and a score of 1 indicated a severe abnormality in walking pattern and refused to run. Behavioral measurements were taken at 5, 10 and 15 weeks of age to determine the type of use of the enrichment and frequency of enrichment use. Behaviors were determined using an instantaneous time sampling technique. The birds were recorded for eight consecutive hours, videos were stopped and observations were recorded at 15 min intervals. All visible birds were recorded as to what behavior they were performing at the time the video was stopped. Behavior categories were: eating on enrichment, active on enrichment, resting on enrichment, eating on floor, drinking on floor, active on floor and resting on floor. At 20 weeks of age 10 birds from each pen were euthanized. Bone quality will be determined with TD scores, bone ash, tibial length and diameter measurements. No significant treatment differences were observed for feed intake and mortality during phase I. Body weights tended to be greater at 7 days of age for the broiler enriched groups (P<.1097). Preliminary behavioral results suggest that with broiler addition, poults spend equal time eating, drinking, active and resting as traditionally raised birds. It could be concluded from these results that broiler addition to a flock of poults could minimize human intervention in the setting process saving time and money for the producers. NC conducted a study to provide an unbiased comparison of the performance of the white-egg and the brown-egg entries for use by North Carolina egg producers in their ordering of replacement stocks, and for the entrant breeding organizations in the evaluation of where their stocks stand relative to their competition. The components of this study include Cage Free and Cage production in order to achieve the overarching objectives that include: <blockquote> a) House 2 a blackout floor brood grow containing 24 pens (12 x 18'). b) House 8 with quad-deck 24" wide x 26" deep cages and fluorescent lights. </blockquote> 1) To compare the performance of strains of white or brown-egg layers when housed as follows: <blockquote> a) House 2 which will be divided into 24 slat litter pens (12' x 18') at a density of 144 in2 at a population of 216 hens/pen. b) House 4 containing 216 replicates containing 5 birds/cage in 24" x 16" cages at a density of 77 in2, or 7 birds/cage in 32" x 16" cages at a density of 73 in2. c) House 5 containing 252 replicates containing 5 birds/cage in 24" x 16" cages at a density of 77 in2, or 7 birds/cage in 32" x 16" cages at a density of 73 in2. </blockquote> 2) Examination of non fasting molt programs. <blockquote> a) Evaluate hen's productivity after a molt, based upon percent weight loss and post-molt production period performance. </blockquote> <ol> <blockquote> i) Single Cycle Flocks (Cage, Cage Free and Range) ii) Molted flocks (2 cycles) </blockquote> </ol> <blockquote> b) Determine if population/density has an effect on the molting programs effectiveness. c) Evaluate the response of the hens to the molt program based on their behavioral modifications. </blockquote> 3) Evaluate the impact of leaving hens with intact beaks vs. beak trimming the hens in cages 4) Examine the performance of each strain when reared on a litter floor with roosts in a controlled brood-grow house. 5) Compare the performance of strains to be used in cage free or range settings with brown-egg layers when housed at similar densities in the range hut at 144 in2 and range area 86.5 ft2 equivalents using a population of 75 birds/paddock as Single Cycle Flocks to 80 to 84 wk of age. </body> </html>

Publications

Impact Statements

Studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of cross-sectional air velocity in a tunnel-ventilated broiler house on broiler performance (GA) and the effects of heat stress on production performance of two strains of laying hens (IN).
Broiler growth performance as affected by different lighting programs was evaluated by AL.
Physiological stress as measured by bird vocalizations was studied by CT.
Dietary manipulations and bird performance was examined by IL, IA, MD, and MN.
The above studies will help to increase the knowledge of ventilation systems, lighting systems, nutritional modifications affect poultry production and welfare.

Date of Annual Report: 12/21/2011

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/21/2011 - 10/22/2011
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2010 - 09/01/2011

Participants

Participants Attachment:

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Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

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Accomplishments

Objectives 1. Investigation and development of poultry production systems to improve energy and resource use efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed energy sources for poultry by geographical region, ventilation systems, lighting systems, animal welfare and modeling energy use in poultry systems. 2. Alternative systems and profitability. This collaborative research will encompass characterization and mitigation of air emissions, manure nutrient management, animal welfare (including health), and economic evaluation of alternative poultry production systems. Methods Objective 1. Investigation and development of poultry production systems to improve energy and resource use efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed energy sources for poultry by geographical region, ventilation systems, lighting systems, animal welfare and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Methods Ventilation Manipulations. GA conducted work on ventilation of broiler houses. Though broiler houses may be designed for an average air speed of 500 or 600 ft/min, actual air speed tends to be lower. The results of this project provides producers information that can be used when building new houses or renovating older houses for increased air speed. Approximately 80% of the cooling produced in a modern tunnel-ventilated poultry house is a result of the high wind speed of 500 ft/min or more moving over birds. Significant differences in bird performance have been document by increasing air speeds as little as 20% in tunnel ventilated houses, especially when larger birds are involved. Though houses may be designed for an average air speed of 500 or 600 ft/min, actual air speed tends to be lower. This results in revenue losses for both the grower and the integrator. In making improvements to increase airspeeds, growers can spend as much as $10,000 to $15,000 per house and at the end not see much increase in airspeed or broiler performance. A study of more than a dozen houses with different broiler companies has been conducted over the last two years, utilizing an array of anemometers across the width of the house. In addition, sensors were positioned along the length of the house to monitor the rise in static pressure. The anemometer array allowed the total amount of air being moved by the fans, as well as, the air speed to be recorded. These data were used to construct air speed and static pressure profiles of each house. The results demonstrated that higher air speeds of 600, 700 or 800 ft/min will be associated with greater static pressure (0.12 to 0.17 inches of water column) than growers have been used to in the past. The reason many houses have less actual air speed than that calculated is due to the increased static pressure observed. As static pressure increases, the fans move less air. These results show that integrators and growers need to use higher static pressures of at least a 0.15 when designing new houses or renovating houses in the future. These higher air speeds will require the selection of fans that are able to move sufficient air at higher static pressures. The expense of renovating a house to increase air speed can be anywhere between $10,000 to $15,000 or more. The data from this study indicates that simply adding fans to house will not provide sufficient increases in air speed because the increase in static pressure created by the new additional fan will result in the older fans moving less air. The current study also suggests that the tunnel inlet opening can be reduced which would provide better air movement in the front of the house but would not affect static pressure or air speed significantly. Utilizing this information growers can better estimate how to spend money most economically in building or renovating broiler houses so that their actual airspeed can match the calculated air speed and observe a return on their investment through better broiler performance in hot weather. Lighting Manipulations. GA conducted studies with CFL lights in broiler houses. Incandescent bulbs are being phased out due to their inefficiency. Broiler producers need information on the bulbs that will be available. One light source that has been utilized in broiler housing for approximately 20 years but has not been widely adopted is compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. These bulbs are approximately 65 percent more efficient than INC bulbs. Earlier versions of the CFL bulb were not dimmable. Newer versions that are dimmable have experienced high bulb failure rates. If CFL bulbs can be utilized, broiler producers will save money on both replacements and reduced energy usage. Incandescent (INC) light bulbs have been the first choice for light sources in broiler houses for the spectrum and intensity provided as well as the ability to dim. Incandescent bulbs are being phased out due to their inefficiency in power usage. Broiler producers need information on the bulbs that will be available. One light source that has been utilized in broiler housing for approximately 20 years, but has not been widely adopted is compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs. These bulbs are approximately 65 percent more efficient than INC bulbs. Earlier versions of the CFL bulb were not dimmable and the newer versions that are were experiencing failure rates as high as 50%. In a typical broiler house this could mean that a producer might potentially spend as much as $600 per house annually just to replace blown CFL light bulbs. As a result, producers have generally avoided using CFL bulbs in broiler operations that reduce light intensity as the flock gets older. Another issue with changing light sources is that not all light bulbs provide the same number of lumens which means that the light intensity at bird level could be much lower than desired. Broiler producers need information on bulb life, lumen output and efficiency to make sure that the make the best decision economically and that will not reduce broiler performance. An ongoing evaluation of three brands of compact fluorescent (CFL) bulbs on a commercial broiler farm has been in effect for over a year. The bulb failure rate on one type of CFL bulb has been reduced from over 50% in 3-6 months to less than 4% for the year. The main way this was accomplished was by making sure the bulbs were not dimmed more than 80%. When CFL bulbs are dimmed too much, the failure rate increases, possibly due to break downs in the electronic components in the ballast. Another solution that is being evaluated is the use of a T-adaptor that allows two bulbs to be utilized in one light fixture. This allows the use of both a dimmable and non-dimmable bulb. The producer can use both light bulbs during the brooding phase and then turn off the non-dimmable CFL bulb and utilize a lower intensity dimmable CFL. This setup provides optimum light intensity at bird level, utilizes more energy efficient bulbs, and has had less than a 1% failure rate. Extension specialists, county agents and broiler companies are extending this information to growers so they can make decisions on which energy efficient bulbs to purchase and how to management them. Producers that are monitoring how much they dim the the CFL bulbs and that are choosing light bulbs not on price, but on features such as lumen output and bulb efficiency are spending less money on replacing bulbs and have lower energy usage by their lighting system. With this information, not only has bulb failures been reduced, but more efficient bulbs are being utilized that will reduce the producers energy usage. Utilizing this information broiler producers can choose a light source that will save them money by reducing energy usage but also not lose money due to reductions in broiler performance as a result of improper light intensity in the broiler house. With these bulbs costing approximately $7 per bulb, this could be a potential savings of $600 per house. On the farm where this evaluation was conducted it could mean as much as $3,600 in one year just on the bulb savings. This does not include the 40-45% in power savings from using the more efficient CFL bulb over the less efficient incandescent bulb. CT conducted a pilot study to determine the effect of providing illumination within each cage of caged laying hens vs. the traditional lighting method of a ceiling lamp in the aisle between cage rows. The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of the LED vs CFL lamps on egg production and feed consumption. There were no significant differences between initial and final body weights within or between groups. The light intensity values measured in foot candles outside the cage at the feeder and 3 inches inside the cage indicated that the LED lamps produced significantly higher illumination levels inside the cages than the CFL lamps at an average of 19x brighter. Both lamp types lost illumination value over the 20 week period, but still maintained a level of illumination sufficient to support egg production. There were no statistical differences in feed consumption on an hen/day basis between the light treatments overall, however when the CFL lamps were dimmed the birds ate an average of 5 grams per bird per day more feed than the LED lit birds. There were no significant differences between light treatments on egg production on a hen/day basis. The average egg was 58.47 g for the LED birds and 58.95 g for the CFL birds. Dimming the CFL lamps did not affect the outcome. The results indicate that LED lamps set for individual cages did not adversely affect egg production, however there were slight numerical differences in feed consumption data indicating that the LED lit birds were very slightly more efficient with feed conversion at 3.97 lbs/doz vs 4.04 lbs/doz for CFL birds. This amounts to a 2.1 lbs per 30 dozen case difference. Although due to the variance in the data this may not be statistically significant, if the trend is accurate, then on a larger scale this would be significant. Dietary Manipulations. IL conducted a study to determine the effect of feeding different nutrient dense diets to Hy-Line W-36 laying hens on long-term production performance. Outside the Midwest United States, high-energy feed ingredients such as corn grain and vegetable oil are relatively expensive, meaning that low-energy diets are often fed. While low-energy diets may not appear to supply sufficient energy to laying hens, hens can regulate their feed intake rate to maintain energy intake. In this way, hens will consume more of a low-energy diet than of a high-energy diet, thus ensuring that the calories consumed are similar with either diet. Low-density diets are attractive to producers outside the Midwest due to their lower purchase price and, often, mainly low-density commercial laying-hen diets are available from independent feed mills. Modern strains of laying hens, such as the Hy-Line W-36, only have a limited capability to increase their feed intake to ensure adequate energy and nutrient intake. While low density diets are less expensive to purchase, they will not ensure optimal egg production if hens do not adjust their feed intake. Given this background, the hypothesis of this study is that laying hens can respond to less expensive, low-density diets, by increasing feed intake and thereby maintaining energy and nutrient consumption to meet the needs for maximal egg production such that overall returns are improved. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to measure egg production and economic effects of feeding diets of five different nutrient densities, formulated to 85, 90, 95, 100, and 105% of the energy and nutrient recommendations in the 2009-2011 Hy-Line W-36 management guide. All animal care procedures were approved by the university Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. An experiment was conducted using 480 Hy-Line W-36 Single Comb White Leghorn hens from 18 to 70 wk of age. The chicks were transported to the poultry research farm at 1 d of age and were brooded and reared on the floor in a grow-out building until 17 wk of age, upon which they were moved to a fan-ventilated cage laying-hen facility of commercial design. At this time, they were fed a pre-lay diet ad libitum and allowed to acclimate for a 1-wk period. This diet contained 17.0% CP, 2,951 kcal/kg of MEn, 2.5% Ca, and 0.48% available P. At 18 wk of age all hens were weighed and assigned to treatments in a randomized complete block design with location within house and initial body weight as blocking criteria. Hens were housed 8 per cage (60.9 x 58.4 cm; 69 in2/hen) to simulate industry practices and 2 adjacent cages of 16 hens served as the experimental unit. Six replicate groups of 16 hens were each randomly assigned to each of the five treatment diets. All hens were fed the experimental diets from 18 to 70 wk of age. At 31 wk of age, hens fed the 85% Treatment experienced a post-peak decrease in egg production, with an average hen-day egg production of 65%. At 32 wk of age hen-day egg production for hens on the 85% Treatment was below 50%, with an average of 36%. At this time, hens fed the 85% Treatment were switched to the 100% Treatment (control) due to low egg production. Hens were managed according to the guidelines in the 2009 Hy-Line W-36 management guide and had free access to feed and water at all times. The control diet was formulated to meet or exceed recommended energy and nutrient levels in the 2009 Hy-Line W-36 management guide, and the other dietary treatments were created by changing the energy and nutrient densities of the control diet (100%) to 85, 90, 95, and 105%, respectively. All diets were formulated on a least-cost basis using corn grain, soybean meal, wheat middlings, corn distillers dried grains with solubles, and/or soybean hulls, to mimic industry practices, using feed-ingredient prices from a local commercial feed mill. The experimental diets were fed in phases. Phase 1 diets were fed from 18 to 25 wk of age, phase 2 diets were fed from 26 to 31 wk of age, and phase 3 diets were fed from 32 to 70 wk of age. All hens were weighed at the beginning of the trial at 18 wk of age, when switched from Phase 1 to Phase 2 and Phase 2 to Phase 3 diets, and at the conclusion of the trial at 70 wk of age. At 31 wk of age, hens fed the 85% Treatment experienced a post-peak decrease in egg production, with an average hen-day egg production of 65%. At 32 wk of age hen-day egg production for hens on the 85% Treatment was below 50%, with an average of 36%. At this time, hens fed the 85% Treatment were switched to the 100% Treatment (control) due to low egg production. After being switched to the control treatment, hens previously fed the 85% Treatment had an average hen-day egg production of 68% at 33 wk of age. After two weeks, at 34 wk of age, the hens had recovered and caught up with hens fed the other experimental treatments, having an average hen-day egg production of 92%. Production data for the 85% Treatment was not statistically analyzed for data from 32 to 70 and 18 to 70 wk of age. A significant linear response to increasing nutrient density was seen in hen-day egg production from 26 to 31, 32 to 70, and 18 to 70 wk of age. The 100 and 105% Treatments showed higher egg production than the 85, 90, and 95% Treatments from 32 to 70 and 18 to 70 wk of age. In addition, egg production of the hens fed the control diet (100%) was the highest for all phases and over the entire experiment. There was a significant linear increase in egg weight by 1 to 2 g from 18 to 25, 26 to 31, 32 to 70, and 18 to 70 wk of age. From 18 to 25 and 26 to 31 wk of age, the 85% Treatment produced the lightest eggs, while the 90 and 95% Treatments produced eggs of similar weight, and the 100 and 105% Treatments produced the heaviest eggs. Overall (18 to 70 wk of age), the 90% Treatment produced the lightest eggs, the 95 and 100% Treatments produced similarly, and the 105% Treatment produced the heaviest eggs. There was a significant linear increase in egg mass (g egg/hen per day) in response to increasing nutrient density from 18 to 25, 26 to 31, 32 to 70 and 18 to 70 wk of age. In general, egg mass was highest for hens fed the 105% Treatment and decreased linearly with the 85 and 90% Treatments having the least. An increase in dietary nutrient density showed a significant linear response in increased feed intake when hens were switched to the control. Hens fed the 85% Treatment consumed the most feed from 18 to 25 wk of age and the 90% Treatment consumed the most feed from 26 to 31 wk of age. Birds adjusted feed intake to nutrient density early in the lay cycle, from 18 to 25 and 26 to 31 wk of age, while failing to do so throughout the majority of the trial and lay cycle (32 to 70 wk of age). An increase in nutrient density showed a significant linear response in improved feed efficiency (g egg/g feed) for 18 to 25, 26 to 31, 32 to 70 and 18 to 70 wk of age. As expected, the 105% Treatment had the best feed efficiency across 18 to 25, 26 to 31, 32 to 70 and 18 to 70 wk of age, with a peak from 26 to 31 wk of age of 0.56 g egg/g feed. In summary, these results indicate that increasing nutrient density in the diet of a laying hen will increase egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed efficiency, body weight, income, and feed cost, as well as decrease return over feed cost. Furthermore, many of these benefits did not take effect in early production and seem to be most effective in later stages of the lay cycle; perhaps priming the birds for better future production. IA conducted field studies to assess the effects of feeding diets containing EcoCalTM and corn dried distillers grain with solubles (DDGS) on ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, and N2O) emissions. Three high-rise layer houses (256,600 W-36 hens per house) received standard industry diet (Control), a diet containing 7% EcoCal" (EcoCal) or a diet containing 10% DDGS (DDGS). Gaseous emissions were continuously monitored during the period of December 2007 to December 2009, covering the full production cycle. The 24-month test results revealed that mean NH3 emission rates were 0.58 ± 0.05, 0.82 ± 0.04, and 0.96 ± 0.05 g/hen/d for the EcoCal, DDGS, and Control diet, respectively. Namely, compared to the Control diet, the EcoCal and DDGS diets reduced NH3 emission by an average of 39.2% and 14.3%, respectively. The concurrent H2S emission rates were 5.39 ± 0.46, 1.91 ± 0.13, and 1.79 ± 0.16 mg/hen/d for the EcoCal, DDGS and Control diet, respectively. CO2 emission rates were similar for the three diets, 87.3 ± 1.37, 87.4 ± 1.26, and 89.6 ± 1.6g/hen/d for EcoCal, DDGS, and Control, respectively (P=0.45). The DDGS and EcoCal houses tended to emit less CH4 than the Control house (0.16 and 0.12 vs. 0.20 g/hen/d) during the monitored summer season. The efficacy of NH3 emission reduction by the EcoCal diet decreased with increasing outside temperature, varying from 72.2% in February 2009 to -7.10% in September 2008. Manure of the EcoCal diet contained 68% higher ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and 4.7 times higher sulfur content than that of the Control diet. Manure pH values were 8.0, 8.9 and 9.3 for EcoCal, DDGS and Control diets, respectively. This extensive field study verifies that dietary manipulation provides a viable means to reduce NH3 emissions from modern laying-hen houses. The results of this study also contribute to the baseline data for improving the national air emissions inventory for livestock and poultry production facilities. MN studied the performance and well-being of turkeys as affected by diet including indirect effects on the gut. Turkey producers have noticed unevenness in their flocks at market and a study was initiated to determine if differences exist between light and heavy weight poults within the same flock that could explain the variability. Eight flocks (six commercial flocks and two research flocks) were sampled at 1-wk intervals to 3 wks of age. Poults were weighed and gut and tissue samples were taken for histopathology scores. Gut contents were taken for virus and bacteria tests. Body weight of the research flocks exceeded those of the commercial flocks at 3 wks of age. Key findings suggest that light weight poults mature more slowly in terms of gut immune system development than heavy weight poults and/or are challenged early on with pathogens causing enteritis. Diets containing distillers grains with solubles and/or canola meal were fed to market turkeys with varying levels of chloride. Preliminary results suggest that excess chloride is detrimental to feed efficiency when both distillers grains and canola meal are fed to grow/finish turkeys. Objective 2. Alternative systems. This collaborative research will encompass characterization and mitigation of air emissions, manure nutrient management, animal welfare, and economic evaluation of alternative poultry production systems. IA evaluated the use of alternative, cage-free egg production systems, especially under the U.S. production conditions. As indicated in the 2010 report, a study was initiated in June 2010 that aims to comprehensively assess an aviary production system (two houses each holding 50,000 Hy-Line brown laying hens) for egg production under Midwest conditions over two production cycles. Data collected include a) continuous monitoring of concentrations and emission rates of ammonia (NH3), particulate matters (PM10, PM2.5), and greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4), metabolic rate and its partitioning into sensible and latent heat, electricity and fuel use, air temperature and humidity; b) periodic monitoring of animal behaviors (aggression, cannibalism) and welfare (bone strength, feather condition, feet injuries); c) periodic monitoring of microbiological quality (incidence of environmental Salmonella), and d) weekly data of hen performance (feed use, egg production, feed conversion, mortality). Economic analyses of the operation will be performed using the collected data, considering the capital cost of the infrastructure and different egg-marketing prices. We are in the latter portion of the second flock production (as of November 2011) and a complete analysis of the collected data will be performed and manuscripts prepared within the next six months. Some intermediate results have been shared at professional conferences (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers 2011 Annual International Meeting, Louisville, KY, Aug 8-10, 2011; International Symposium on Health Environment and Animal Welfare, Rongchang, Sichuan, China, Oct 19-21, 2011). A new USDA-NIFA project was awarded (Oct 2010) to expand the study to include more houses of same type in Iowa and similar type of hen houses in California. IA conducted multi-disciplinary field research that systematically compares three types of hen housing systems under commercial production settings for sustainability of egg production: a) conventional cage (200,000 hens/house), b) enriched colony (50,000 hens/house), and c) aviary (50,000 hens/house). The sustainability will be assessed with regards to a) animal welfare/health, b) environmental impact, c) food affordability, d) food safety/quality, and e) worker safety. The study will cover two full production flocks, each to about 80 weeks (no molting). ISU, in collaboration with UC-Davis, is responsible for the environmental impact component. In doing so, we continually collect the following data for each of the three houses: concentrations and emission rates of ammonia (NH3), particulate matters (PM10, PM2.5), and greenhouse gases (CO2, N2O, CH4), metabolic rate and its partitioning into sensible and latent heat, electricity and fuel use, air temperature, and relative humidity. In addition, gaseous emissions from manure storage are also monitored during different seasons. A state-of-the-art mobile air emissions monitoring unit equipped with precision gaseous and PM monitors is used for the intensive monitoring and data collection. Weekly hen performance data (feed use, egg production, feed conversion, mortality) are obtained from the cooperative producer and used in the calculation and expression of environmental impact variables. Nutrient mass balance will be performed by UC-Davis colleagues. The overall project involves collaboration among Michigan State University, University of California-Davis, Iowa State University, USDA-ARS, Cargill Kitchen Solution, McDonalds U.S.A, and the cooperative egg producer. NC conducted the 38th North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. To date 4 reports have been published, Hatch, Grow, 1st Cycle and Single Cycle reports. The reports examined 3 production environments Range, Cage-Free, and Commercial Cage. The information on comparing the range, cage free, and cage production has been well received resulting in numerous presentations. Concurrent studies are examinign the impact of a feed additive on the egg production and quality. The project we received funding through the NCI/NIH to conduct a trial on the effect of CP-31398 on cancer development in laying hens has been completed and data is being tabulated. Molting:- The current industry practice is to molt over 80% of the caged egg-type hens in the U.S.A. Molting is a management tool used to extend the productive life of the hen and meet the production needs of the producers. In the cage production setting a non-feed-withdrawal program was used to induce the molt in this test. This program was developed at the Piedmont Station, and it ensures that a cessation of egg production occurs in the flock, and that the birds experience a respite from egg production. It must be remembered that molting is a stressful period regardless of the method used to induce it, and that physiological stress is the method which triggers an animals adaptation to new situations. This study will examine the impact of differing weight loss methods and developing a weight loss prediction equation based upon the percentages of either 20 to 25 % body weight loss using the Non-Anorexic and Fasting (Small number of replicates as negative control) method. The objective is to determine the nutritional support required to enhance the welfare status (by providing a low level of nutrition throughout the molting period), survivability and subsequent productivity of hens undergoing the non-anorexic molt in comparison with what would be expected to achieve by the fasting molt. The cost of administering the molting ration would be small because almost every laying house is already equipped with an automatic feeding system. The cost of the feed and management may be more than compensated for by the expected reduction in mortality and last of the salable eggs produced would provide additional monetary returns. There was a non-molted component maintained within the cage production setting. The cage free and range production hens were terminated at the end of a single production cycle (80 to 84 weeks of age). In this study the performanc eof a Heritage strain was measure concurrently with the commercail strains. The NCLP&MT is the only test of its kind remaining in the world that is disseminated internationally. There is a small test being conducted in the Czech Republic. The results of the NCLP&MT are disseminated internationally and are now available via the internet. The Ovarian Adenocarcinoma Chemoprevention Study is being accepted as a viable animal model for cancer prevention research with numerous publications and for developing it as a tool for identifying markers for potential early detection for developing ovarian cancer later in life. IL, CA, NC, and MN collaborated on the FASS Poultry Training Video which was completed this year.

Publications

CT Kollanoor-Johny, A., M. J. Darre, D. J. Donoghue, A. M. Donoghue, and K. Venkitanarayanan. 2011. Caprylic acid reduces Salmonella Enteritidis invasion of avian abdominal epithelial cells in vitro and down-regulates virulence gene expression. Poult. Sci. 90(E-Suppl. 1) 23 # 71 Kollanoor-Johny, A., T. E. Mattson, S. A. Baskaran, M. A. R. Amalaradjou, M. J. Darre, M. I. Khan, D. J. Donoghue, A.M. Donoghue, and K. Venkitanarayanan. 2011. Effect of food-grade carvacrol on cecal Salmonella Enteritidis colonization and cloacal shedding in 19-day-old commercial broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 90(E-Suppl. 1) 23 #72 IL S.A. dePersio, K.W. Koelkebeck, C.M. Parsons, P.L. Utterback, C.W. Utterback, N.O. Sullivan, K. Bregendahl, and J. Arango. 2011. Effect of feeding low-density diets to Hy-Line W-36 laying hens on long-term production performance. Poult. Sci. 90(E-Suppl. 1):103. IA Chepete, J.H., H. Xin, and H. Li. 2011. Technical Note: Heat and moisture production of W-36 laying hens at 24 to 27 °C temperature conditions. Transactions of the ASABE 54(4): 1491-1493. Chepete, J.H., H. Xin, and H. Li. 2011. Effect of partially covering turkey litter surface on ammonia emission. 2011. J. App. Poult. Res. (accepted) Chepete, J.H., H. Xin, H. Li. L. Mendes, and T. Bailey. 2011. Ammonia emission and performance of laying hens as affected by different dosages of yucca schidigera. J. App. Poult. Res. (accepted) Chepete, J.H., H. Xin, and H. Li. 2011. Ammonia emissions of laying hen manure as affected by accumulation time. J. Poult. Sci., 48:138-143, 2011. Jacobson, L.D., B.W. Auvermann, R. Massey, F.M. Mitloehner, A.L. Sutton, and H. Xin (co-authors in alphabetical order) 2011. Air Issues Associated with Animal Agriculture: A North American Perspective. IP47, The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology Issue paper. IP47, May 2011, 24 pp., http://www.cast-science.org/displayProductDetails.asp?idProduct=172 Li, H., H. Xin, R. T. Burns, S.A. Roberts, S. Li, J. Kliebenstein, and K. Bregendahl. 2011. Reducing ammonia emissions from high-rise laying-hen houses through dietary manipulation. J. Air and Waste Management Association (accepted) Li, S., H. Li, H. Xin, and R.T. Burns. 2011. Particulate matter concentration and emissions of a high-rise layer house in Iowa. Transactions of the ASABE 54(3):1093-1101. Li, H., H. Xin, R. T. Burns, L. D. Jacobson, S. Noll, S. J. Hoff, J. D. Harmon, J. A. Koziel, I. Celen, B. Hetchler. 2011. Air emissions from tom and hen turkey houses in the U.S. Midwest. Transactions of the ASABE 54(1): 305-314. Muhlbauer R.V., T.A. Shepherd, H. Li, R.T. Burns, H. Xin. 2011. Technical Note: Development and application of an induction-operated current switch for monitoring fan operation. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 27(2): 287-292. Tao, X., H. Dong, H. Zhang, and H. Xin. 2011. Sex-based responses of plasma creatine kinase in broilers to thermoneutral constant and cyclic high temperatures. British Poul. Sci. (in press) Tu, X. S. Du, L. Tang, H. Xin, and B. Wood. 2011. A real-time automated system for monitoring individual feed intake and body weight of group housed turkeys. Computer and Electronics in Agriculture 75(2011): 313-320. Xin, H., R.S. Gates, A.R. Green, F.M. Mitloehner, P.A. Moore, Jr. and C.M. Wathes. 2011. Environmental impacts and sustainability of egg production systems. Poultry Science 90(1):263-277. doi:10.3382/ps.2010-00877 Zhu, Z., H. Dong, Z. Zhou, H. Xin, and Y. Chen. 2011. Ammonia and greenhouse gases concentrations and emissions of a naturally-ventilated laying hen house in Northeast China. Transactions of the ASABE 54(3):1085-1091. NC Anderson, K.E. 2011. Comparison of fatty acid, cholesterol, and vitamin A and E composition in eggs from hens housed in conventional cage and range production facilities. Poultry Sci. 90: 1600-1609 Arbona, D.V., K.E. Anderson and J.B. Hoffman, 2011. A Comparison of Humoral Immune Function in Response to a Killed Newcastle's Vaccine Challenge in Caged Vs. Free-range Hy-line Brown Layers. International Journal of Poultry Science 10 (4): 315-319 Carver, D.K.,J. Barnes, K.E. Anderson, J. Petitte, R. S. Whitaker, A. Berchuck, and G. Rodriguez, 2011. Reduction of Ovarian and Oviductal Cancers in Calorie-Restricted Laying Chickens. Cancer Prevention Research 4 (4): 1-6. Anderson, K. E. and P.K. Jenkins. 2011. Effect of rearing dietary regimen, feeder space and density on egg production, quality and size distribution in two strains of brown egg layers. Int. J. Poult. Sci. 10(3):169-175. Anderson, K.E., Z. Lowman, Anne-Marie Stomp and Jay Chang. 2011. Duckweed as a Feed Ingredient in Laying Hen Diets and its Effect on Egg Production and Composition. Int. J of Poultry Sci. 10 (1): 4-7, 2011 Jones, D. R., K. E. Anderson, and M. T. Musgrove, 2011. Comparison of environmental and egg microbiology associated with conventional and free range laying hen management. Poultry Science 90: (In Press) Bosquet, J.G., A. Peedicayil, J. Maguire, J. Chien, G.C. Rodriguez, R. Whitaker, J.N. Petitte, K.E. Anderson, H.J. Barnes, V. Shridhar, and W.A. Cliby. 2011. Comparison of gene expression patterns between avian and human ovarian cancers. Gynecologic Oncology 120: 256-264. Anderson, K. E., and J. N. Broomhead, 2011. Performance of layers fed orriginal XPC® for 24 weeks. Poult.Sci. Suppl. 90: Abstract # Anderson, K.E., 2011. Impact of beak trimming versus no beak trimming on range and cage free brown egg layers through 53 wks of age. Poult.Sci. Suppl. 90: Abstract # Evans, M.M. and K.E. Anderson, 2011. Effect of Range, Cage free and cage environments on egg production and quality in two brown egg layer strains. Poult.Sci. Suppl. 90: Abstract # Hawkridge, A, E. Karoly, R. Mohney, R. Wysocky, J. Petitte, P. Mozdziak, K. Anderson, and D. Muddiman, 2011. Comparative Metabolomic Profiling of the Onset and Progression of Spontaneous Ovarian Cancer in the Chicken. ASMS Meeting 2011: Abstract 2183. Evans, M. M., K. E. Anderson, and C. R Stark, 2011. Effect of dietary crude protein levels on cage free brown egg layers in egg production and quality. SPS Meeting, Atlanta, GA. . Poultry Sci. Suppl. 90: Abstract #, pp. Anderson, K. E. and J. Frank, 2011. Effects of Original XPC on Performance of Layers. SPS Meeting, Atlanta, GA. Poultry Sci. Suppl. 90: Abstract #, pp Anderson, K.E., 2011. Single Production Cycle Report of the Thirty eighth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. Vol. 38, No.4. November 2011. Anderson, K.E. 2011. First Cycle Report of the Thirty Eighth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. Vol. 38, No.3. July 2011. Anderson, K.E. 2011. Genetic Stock Evaluation During Laying PeriodXXII Congreso Latinoameicano De Avicultura 2011, La Rural Predio Ferial De Buenos Aries, Argentina, September 6-9, 2011. www.avicultura2011.com Anderson, K.E., 2011. 37 Flocks of the North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. 2011 59th Edition, National Breeders Roundtable, St. Louis Airport Marriott 10700 Pear Tree Lane, St. Louis, Missouri , May 5-6, 2011. Anderson, K.E., 2011. Comparison of cage vs. non-cage egg production systems. Egg Industry Center, Forum, Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel, Columbus, OH. April 7, 2011. Anderson, K.E., 2011. Brooding Basics and Housing. All Agent Training Resources for Working with Small and Niche Market Poultry Growers, NC State University, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Department of Poultry Science, NC State Poultry Science Teaching Unit, 3901 Inwood Rd, Raleigh, NC, May 12, 2011 and Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center, 74 Research Drive Mills River, North Carolina June 7, 2011. Anderson, K.E., 2011. Feeding and Nutrition for Broilers and Layers. All Agent Training Resources for Working with Small and Niche Market Poultry Growers, NC State University, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Department of Poultry Science, NC State Poultry Science Teaching Unit, 3901 Inwood Rd, Raleigh, NC, May 12, 2011 and Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center, 74 Research Drive Mills River, North Carolina June 7, 2011. Anderson, K.E., 2011. Layer Management and Egg Quality. All Agent Training Resources for Working with Small and Niche Market Poultry Growers, NC State University, NC Cooperative Extension Service, Department of Poultry Science, NC State Poultry Science Teaching Unit, 3901 Inwood Rd, Raleigh, NC, May 12, 2011 and Mountain Horticultural Crops Research & Extension Center, 74 Research Drive Mills River, North Carolina June 7, 2011. Anderson, K.E., 2011. Layer Management. International Short Course on Poultry Production, North Carolina State University, Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NC Cooperative Extension, Raleigh, NC, USA, May 16-20, 2011 Anderson, K.E., 2011. Poultry Welfare. International Short Course on Poultry Production, North Carolina State University, Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NC Cooperative Extension, Raleigh, NC, USA, May 16-20, 2011 Anderson, K.E., 2011. Feeding Layers. International Short Course on Poultry Production, North Carolina State University, Department of Poultry Science, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, NC Cooperative Extension, Raleigh, NC, USA, May 16-20, 2011

Impact Statements

Studies were conducted to evaluate the effects of air velocity in tunnel-ventilated broiler houses on broiler performance and the effects of compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) on broiler performance (GA).
Dietary manipulations and bird performance was examined by IL, IA, and MN.
Alternative production systems were evaluated by NC, IA, CA, and MI.
The FASS Poultry Training Video was completed with collaboration from IL, MN, NC, and CA.
The above studies will help to increase the knowledge of ventilation systems, lighting systems, nutritional modifications and alternative housing that affect poultry production and welfare.

Date of Annual Report: 12/14/2012

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/12/2012 - 10/13/2012
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2011 - 09/01/2012

Participants

Anderson, Kenneth (ken_anderson@ncsu.edu) North Carolina; Angel, Rosalina (rangel@umd.edu) Maryland; Cheng, Hengwei (hwcheng@purdue.edu) Indiana; Darre, Michael (michael.darre@uconn.edu) Connecticut; Fairchild, Brian (brianf@uga.edu) Georgia; Green, Angela (angelag@illinois.edu) Illinois: Harrison, Paul (pharriso@illinois.edu) Illinois; Koelkebeck, Ken (kkoelkeb@illinois.edu) Illinois; Mench, Joy (jamench@ucdavis.edu) California; Noll, Sally (nollx001@umn.edu) Minnesota; Purswell, Joseph (joseph.purswell@ars.usda.gov) Mississippi; Ruiz-Feria, Ciro (ciro.ruiz@poultry.tamu.edu) Texas; Purdum, Sheila (spurdum2@unl.edu) Nebraska; Swanson, Janice (swansoj@anr.msu.edu) Michigan; Xin, Hongwei (hxin@iastate.edu) Iowa; Karcher, Darrin (dkarcher@msu.edu) Michigan; Douglas, Jihad (jdouglas@avigen.com), Industry Advisor Avigen; Roberson, Kevin (kevin.roberson@michaelfoods.com), Industry Advisor Michael Foods Egg Products Co.

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Publications

CT Darre, M.J., and A. Ritchie. 2012. LED versus CFL lamps on egg production parameters of SCWL laying hens. Poult. Sci. 91(Suppl. 1):35 (Abstr.) Kollanoor-Johny, A., T. Mattson, S.A. Baskaran, M.A. Amalaradjou, S. Babapoor, B. March, S. Valipe, M. Darre, T. Hoagland, D. Schreiber, M.I. Khan, A. Donoghue, D. Donoghue, and K. Venkitanarayanan. 2012. Reduction of Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis colonization in 20-day-old broiler chickens by the plant-derived compounds trans-cinnamaldehyde and eugenol. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 8:2981-2987. Kollanoor-Johny, A., I. Upadhyaya, S.A. Baskaran, S. Moyoottu, M.J. Darre, M.I. Khan, A.M. Donoghue, D.J. Donoghue, and K. Venkitanarayanan. 2012. Effect of therapeutic cinnamaldehyde and eugenol on Salmonella Enteritidis in market age broiler chicken. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 21:816-822. IL Bland, K.A., C.M. Parsons, and K.W. Koelkebeck. 2012. Evaluation of feeding different levels of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and soybean hulls in non-feed-withdrawal molt programs for laying hens. Poult. Sci. 91(Suppl. 1):142 (Abstr.) IN Dennis, R.L., and H.W. Cheng. 2012. Effects on selective serotonin antagonism on central neurotransmission. Poult Sci. 91:817-22. Dennis, R.L., and H.W. Cheng. 2012. Effects of different infrared beak treatment protocols on chicken welfare and physiology. Poult. Sci. 91:1499-505. Felver-Gant, J.N., L.A. Mack, R.L. Dennis, S.D. Eicher, and H.W. Cheng. 2012. Genetic variations alter physiological responses following heat stress in two laying hen strains. Poult. Sci. 91:1542-51. Mack, L.A., J.N. Felver-Gant, R.L. Dennis, and H.W. Cheng. 2013. Genetic variations alter production and behavioral responses following heat stress in two strains of laying hens. Poult. Sci. (in press). Enneking, S.A., H.W. Cheng, K.Y. Jefferson-Moore, M.E. Einstein, and P.Y. Hester. 2013. Pre-pubertal exposure to mechanical loading in White Leghorn pullets. Poult Sci. (in press). Hester, P.Y., S.A. Enneking, K.Y. Jefferson-Moore, M.E. Einstein, H.W. Cheng, and D.A. Rubin. 2013. The effect of perches in cages during pullet rearing and egg laying on White Leghorn hen performance, foot health, and plumage. Poult. Sci. (in press). Dennis, R.L., A.G. Fahey, and H.W. Cheng. 2013. Alterations to embryonic serotonin change aggression and fearfulness. Aggressive Behavior (in press). MN Calvert, A.J. Light Turkey Syndrome: Field Study and Inoculation Trial. Thesis. NE Purdum, S.E., and B. Kreifels. 2012. Feeding low oil DDGS to layers. Egg Industry, 117: Vol. 7. p. 4-6. Purdum, S.E. 2012. Hen-pecking behavior in alternative environments. Egg Industry, 117: Vol. 11, p. 6-7. Purdum, S.E., and D. Hahn, 2012. Fats and Fatty Acids in Laying Hens, in Fats and Fatty Acids In Poultry Nutrition and Health, G. Cherian and R. Poulrslami, Context Products Limited, Leicestershire, UK. Eusebio-Balcazar, P.E., D. Didde, and S. Purdum. 2012. Nest box color and height preference of White Leghorn laying hens raised in floor pens. Proceedings of the 46th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology, p. 164. Purdum, S.E. 2012. Getting more value from poultry feed ingredients. Feed Management, March/April, p. 16-19. Purdum, S.E. 2012. Starting Spring Chicks. The Nebline, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lancaster Co. Extension., p. 1 Purdum, S.E., and B. Kreifels. 2012. Low Oil DDGS in Poultry Feeds. Proceedings of the 15th Annual Distillers Grains Symposium, St. Louis, MO. May 16-17, 2012. Esusebio-Balcazar, P.E., and S. Purdum. 2012. Effects of cage-free housing system on performance, egg quality, and bone health in White Leghorn laying hens. International Poultry Scientific Forum Abstracts, Atlanta, Georgia, p. 66. Masa'deh, M.K., S.E. Purdum, and K.J. Hanford. 2012. Distillers dried grains with solubles in pullet diets. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 21:531-539. Purdum, S.E. 2012. Examining the impact of low oil DDGS in feed. Feed Management, July/August, p. 16-17. NC Jones, D.R., K.E. Anderson, and J.Y. Guard. 2013. Prevalence of coliforms, Salmonella, Listeria, and Campylobacter associated with eggs and the environment of conventional cage and free-range egg production. Poult. Sci. 91:(in press). Anderson, K.E., and D.R. Jones. 2012. Effect of genetic selection on growth parameters and tonic immobility in Leghorn pullets. Poult. Sci. 91:765-770. Golden, J.B., D.V. Arbona, and K.E. Anderson. 2012. A Comparative Examination of Rearing Parameters and Layer Production Performance for Brown Egg-Type Pullets Grown for Either Free-Range or Cage Production. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 21:95-102. Anderson, K.E. 2012. The ever changing landscape of animal production practices. Poult. Sci. 91(Suppl. 1):4 (Abstr.) Anderson, K.E. 2012. Effect of range, cage-free, and cage environments on man-hours committed to bird care in brown egg layer strains. Poult. Sci. 91(Suppl. 1):34 (Abstr.) Broomhead, J.N., W. Michael, and K. Anderson. 2012. Performance of layers fed original XPC® during increased environmental temperatures. Poult. Sci. 91(Suppl. 1):69 (Abstr.) Anderson K.E., and M.M. Evans. 2012. Effects of strain and molt method on physiological organ weight changes in commercial layer hens. Poult. Sci. 91(Suppl. 1):34 (Abstr.) Anderson, K.E. 2012. Final Report of the Thirty Eighth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. Vol. 38, No.5.April 2012. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/tech_info.html#layer Anderson, K.E. 2011. Single Production Cycle Report of the Thirty eighth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. Vol. 38, No.4. November 2011. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/poulsci/tech_info.html#layer Anderson, K.E. 2012. New Results of North Carolina State University Cage vs. Non-Cage Egg Production Research. Fourth Egg Industry Center Issues Forum, April 10-11, 2012, Holiday Inn Denver East-Stapleton, Denver, Colorado. Anderson, K.E. 2012. Update on Range vs. Conventional Cage vs. Cage-free Egg Production: A Comparison and Contrast. 2012 Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, Touchstone Energy®Place at River Center, St. Paul, Minnesota, March 14-15, 2012, CD proceeding. Anderson, K.E. 2011. Genetic Stock Evaluation During Laying Period. XXII Congreso Latinoameicano De Avicultura 2011, La Rural Predio Ferial De Buenos Aries, Argentina, September 6-9, 2011, www.avicultura2011.com ANIMAL WELFARE IN ANIMAL AGRICULTURE; Husbandry and Stewardship in Animal Production, Editors: Wilson G. Pond, Fuller W. Bazer and Bernard E Rollin; Chapter 7, Animal Welfare: Synthesizing Contemporary Animal Agriculture/Engineering and Animal Comfort and Social Responsibility. Chapter editor Bernard E. Rollin, Co-Authors: John McGlone (Swine), Judith Capper (Dairy Cattle), Kenneth Anderson (Poultry), and Terry Engle (Beef Cattle). pp 147-184. Taylor & Francis Group, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, Florida 33487.

Impact Statements

1. Studies were conducted to evaluate different sources and inclusion rates of DDGS in non-feed withdrawal molt diets for laying hens, and efficiency of feeding low oil DDGS to laying hens.
2. Studies were conducted on Salmonella control by using plant-derived microbials.
3. Studies examined light turkey syndrome problems and osteoporosis in laying hens.
4. Studies were completed on the effects of alternative housing systems (floor pens, traditional cages, cage-free housing, range pens, and aviaries) on laying hen performance, behavior, and economic results.
5. The above studies will help poultry producers increase their knowledge about lighting systems, nutritional modifications, and alternative housing that affect poultry production and welfare.

Date of Annual Report: 01/10/2014

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 10/04/2013 - 10/05/2013
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2012 - 09/01/2013

Participants

Anderson, Ken (kanderso@ncsu.edu) - North Carolina State University; Angel, Rosalina (rangel@umd.edu) - University of Maryland; Cheng, Heng-wei (cheng5@purdue.edu) - USDA/ARS-Purdue University; Darre, Mike (Michael.Darre@uconn.edu) - University of Connecticut; Green, Angela (angelag@illinois.edu) - University of Illinois; Koelkebeck, Ken (kkoelkeb@illinois.edu) - University of Illinois; Noll, Sally (nollx001@umn.edu) - University of Minnesota; Purdum, Sheila (purdum2@unl.edu) - University of Nebraska; Swanson, Janice (swansoj@msu.edu) - Michigan State University; Xin, Hongwei (hxin@iastate.edu) - Iowa State University; Mench, Joy (jamench@ucdavis.edu - University of California-Davis; Purswell, Jody (joseph.purswell@arrs.usda.gov) - USDA/ARS - Mississippi State; Karcher, Darrin (dkarcher@msu.edu) - Michigan State University; Ruiz-Feria, Ciro (ciro.ruiz@poultry.tamu.edu) - Texas A&M University)

Participants Attachment:

Attachment

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

The following is a summation of the accomplishments from 2009-2012. Objective 1. Investigation and development of poultry production systems to improve energy and resource use efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed energy sources for poultry by geographical region, ventilation systems, lighting systems, animal welfare and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Feed and fuel prices reached historical highs in 2007/2008. The volatility in corn and fuel prices has brought into focus the need to improve energy utilization in the production of poultry meat and eggs. Project participants will examine different ventilation and lighting systems relative to energy consumption, flock productivity and welfare. Ventilation Manipulations. GA conducted a study to determine what factors affect cross-sectional air velocity distribution in a tunnel-ventilated broiler house. The air velocity profiles that have been studied thus far in poultry housing measures air at one level in the house (sometimes at bird level and sometimes 3-4 ft off the floor). The unique aspect of the current study is to use a cross-sectional air velocity profile to study air movement in tunnel-ventilated poultry houses using a grid of 15 anemometers (ceiling to floor wall to wall). Air velocity profiles were be taken at the tunnel fan end. The anemometers were connected to a computer so that wind speed could be continuously monitored as the number of fans operating were changed. The airspeed and static pressure were monitored for 15 minute periods for each configuration of fans. This new method of evaluating air velocity profiles in a house has the potential to give an estimate of the total air movement capacity of the fans in a house. Currently, this can only be achieved using a FANS unit that has to measure one fan at a time taking about one hour per fan. Total air movement capacity could be used to evaluate fan and shutter maintenance as well as differences in fans in commercial settings. If the array provides air movement information comparable to the FANS unit, it is hoped that more research can be accomplished on ventilation in poultry facilities. The information from the current study would be used to educate broiler producers on possible broiler house improvements and management practices that will maximize bird cooling during hot weather. The results will also provide better understanding of the relationship between air movement and static pressure which will allow producers to make informed decisions on future upgrades o new construction. IN conducted a study that used 90 28-week-old White Leghorns of two strains were used; DXL line individually-selected hens for high productivity and KGB line selected from White Leghorn birds for high group survivability and productivity (kind gentle bird). Hens were randomly paired within the line, and assigned to control (21-25ÚC) or hot (32.-34ÚC) treatment for 14 days. Room humidity was at about 40%. Feed and water was provided at ad libitum and the lighting was 16:8 (L:D) for the whole time. Physical and physiological measures were collected at day 8 and 14 post-treatment. The tissue samples were analyzed using HPLC (High-performance liquid chromatography), RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction), and western blot, respectively. Behavior data was collected at day 1, 2, 6, 11, and 13. Compared to the control birds, the stressed birds 1) had significantly higher core temperature at both week 1 and 2 post-treatment; 2) showed significantly greater amount of open-wing behavior; but KGB birds exhibited greater percent time of panting at day 2, 11 and 13 than DXL birds; 3) had a reduced body weight in DXL birds at both week 1 and 2 but at week 2 only in KGB birds; 4) reduced relative liver weight without genetic differences at both week 1 and 2; 5) reduced relative spleen weight in DXL birds at both week 1 and 2 but at week 1 only in KGB birds; 6) had a greater. Heterophil:Lymphocyte ratio at week 2; 7) increased Toll-like receptor 2 in KGB birds but not DXL birds at week 2; 8) reduced norepinephrine concentrations in both DXL and KGB birds but significant was found in DXL birds only; and 9) reduced concentrations of epinephrine in DXL birds at both week 1 and 2 but increased in KGB birds at week 1. There results indicate that heat stress causes behavioral, physical, and physiological changes in birds. There are genetic variations in heat stress response in the current strains. Genetic selection could be a useful tool in reducing heat stress response in chickens. Vocalizations as a Welfare Assessment Tool. CT studied vocalizations as an indicator of bird welfare. Psychological stress in the form of fear results when birds are exposed to the presence of unknown herdsman or stockman, predators or other abrupt intrusions, be they visual or auditory in nature. Chickens straining against mental stressors are liable to be affected health-wise, and will also have a lower hen-day production. Age and breed of the hen influences their responses to stressors and our results indicate that in general the White Leghorn emits a more distinct vocal response to stressors than the ISA red breed. Stress vocalizations can be elicited from chickens under commercial conditions and may be used as an early warning system to alert the producer that something is amiss in the poultry facility, and allowing them to attend to the situation before it leads to a drop in production of loss of animals. A modified Hidden Markov Model can be used to identify and classify these vocalizations with a fairly high accuracy. This model algorithm could be adapted for use as a means of monitoring vocalizations in a commercial poultry facility to notify the producer when a stressful situation is occurring in the chicken house. Dietary Manipulations. IL conducted a study to determine the effects of feeding low-density diets to Hy-Line W-36 laying hens on production performance. For this study, four hundred and eighty Hy-Line W-36 pullets (18 wk of age) were placed in cages (61 cm wide x 58.4 cm deep; 445.3 cm2/hen) and housed 8 hens per cage; with two adjacent cages of 16 hens equaling one replicate. Each replicate (2 side by side cages) was randomly assigned one of five dietary treatments (6 reps/treatment) with the control diet formulated to meet or exceed the recommended energy and nutrient levels in the 2009 Hy-Line W-36 management guide. The dietary treatments (Diets 1-5) were formulated by changing the nutrient densities of the control diet (100% of recommended nutrient density) to 85, 90, 95, 100, and 105% of recommendations, respectively. The experimental diets were fed in three phases to maximize egg production and egg weights to equal that which is published in the 2009 Hy-Line W-36 management guide. Egg production and mortality were recorded daily and feed consumption was measured every 2 wk. Eggs were collected over a 48-hr period and weighed every 2 wk for determination of egg weight. At 31 wk of age, egg production of hens fed Diet 1 (85% of control) dropped greatly to 57.6%. Due to production being too low, Diet 1 was discontinued and hens were switched to the control diet (Diet 4). Egg production was stable by 34 wk of age. From 18 to 31 wk of age, diet density had significant linear and quadratic effects on egg production and egg weight. Egg production and weight increased with an increase in diet density for Diets 1 through 4. Hens fed Diet 5 showed a decrease in egg production. Egg mass and feed efficiency increased with an increase in diet density across all diets. Feed intake showed a significant quadratic response with intake increasing over Diets 1 and 2 and decreasing for Diet 5. From 32 to 55 wk of age, diet density had significant linear and cubic effects on egg production. Egg production increased with an increase in diet density for Diets 2 through 4 but decreased when hens were fed a diet with 5% more density than the control. A diet of 85% nutrient density was unable to provide hens with enough nutrients to support egg production, showing that feeding Hy-Line W-36 hens diets formulated to contain lower nutrient density (85% of the control) than recommended may compromise production performance. Light Turkey Syndrome in Market Turkey. MN examined this phenomenon. Light weight turkey syndrome (LTS) was recognized in the previous five years by Minnesota turkey farmers as flocks with low body weights at market. Examination of producer records indicated body weights were less than expected near the end of brooding. Poor growth may be attributed to intestinal damage, loss of gut function and therefore decreased nutrient absorption. The objective of this study was to determine if differences existed between groups of poults that were 1015% below (light) or above (heavy) average flock body weight. Enteritis has widely impacted poultry performance and it was thought that this could be a possible cause of LTS. The prevalence of Campylobacter, Salmonella, E. coli, reovirus, rotavirus and astrovirus in gut contents were examined due to their involvement in previous cases of enteritis (Barnes et al., 2000; Jindal et al., 2009). Intestinal tissue samples were collected and subjectively scored to determine if intestinal damage, specifically acute or chronic infiltrates differed between heavy and light weight poults. Six commercial and two research flocks were sampled at 1, 2 and 3 weeks of age. Gut contents from five poults were pooled and two to four pools per weight group were collected and analyzed for the presence of viruses and bacteria previously mentioned via PCR/RT-PCR and culture, respectively. Tissue samples were collected from the duodenum, jejunum, ileum and ceca from the same poults and scored for severity (normal to severe) and distribution (absent to generalized) of lymphocytes and heterophils. Tissue samples were also scored for presence of coccidia. Presence of selected pathogens in gut contents and gut tissue histopathology scores were analyzed using Proc Glimmix and Logistic respectively (SAS 9.2) with factors of weight group, flock and age. Average sample flock body weights at one week were within 10% of genetic potential performance. However at two weeks, weights were 11% lower in the research flocks and one commercial flock and 32% lower in the other five commercial flocks. At three weeks, weights averaged 17% lower in the research flocks and one commercial flock and 40% lower in the other five commercial flocks. Tissue score differences were primarily found for age and flock with a few differences related to weight group. Lymphocytic severity and distribution scores increased with age in the duodenum (P<0.09, P<0.0001) and jejunum (P<0.002, P<0.0001). Lymphocytic scores also increased with age in severity in the ceca (P<0.001) and distribution in the ileum (P<0.0001). Heterophilic distribution differed among age groups scores peaking at 2 weeks in the ileum and 3 weeks in the ceca (P<0.07, P<0.005). In the jejunum distribution of heterophilic infiltrates differed among age groups in three of the eight flocks (P<0.05). In the ileum heavy poults had higher lymphocytic distribution and severity scores than light weight poults (P<0.09, P<0.1). In the ceca heavy weight poults had more severe lymphocytic infiltrates than light weight poults (P<0.005). In the jejunum light weight poults in two commercial flocks had significantly higher heterophilic distribution scores than heavy poults (P<0.1, P<0.05). Significant flock differences were seen in the small intestinal tissues but not in the ceca. Objective 2. Alternative systems. This collaborative research will encompass characterization and mitigation of air emissions, manure nutrient management, animal welfare, and economic evaluation of alternative poultry production systems. NE conducted a study to 1) determine the effects of broiler chick addition on the reduction of early mortality due to starve-outs and 2) determine the effects of providing environmental complexity in the form of ramps, platforms, perches and pecking objects on leg strength of turkey toms. This experiment was conducted in two phases. Phase one consisted of 248 one-day-old turkey poults and 8 three-day old broiler chicks. Four pens of thirty two turkey poults were set using industry standard techniques for the control groups. Four pens of thirty 1-day-old turkey poults and two 3-day-old broiler chicks were set with no human intervention for the treatment groups. Body weights were taken at placement, 1 and 2 weeks of age. Feed intake was calculated daily. Behavioral analysis was conducted on days 2, 4, 8, and 14 days of age. Behaviors were determining using an instantaneous time sampling technique. The birds were recorded for eight consecutive hours, videos were stopped and observations were recorded at 15 min intervals. All visible birds were recorded as to what behavior they were performing at the time the video was stopped. Behavior categories were eating, drinking, active and resting. Definitions of each category were as follows: eating- time spent within one inch of feeder and standing; drinking- time spent within one inch of waterer and standing; active-a bird that was standing, moving or interacting with a pen mate while standing; resting-a bird that was laying down with no discernable movement. No significant treatment differences were observed for feed intake and mortality during phase I. Body weights tended to be greater at 7 days of age for the broiler enriched groups (P<.1097). Preliminary behavioral results suggest that with broiler addition, poults spend equal time eating, drinking, active and resting as traditionally raised birds. It could be concluded from these results that broiler addition to a flock of poults could minimize human intervention in the setting process saving time and money for the producers. Accomplishments for 2013 Objectives 1. Investigation and development of poultry production systems to improve energy and resource use efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed energy sources for poultry by geographical region, ventilation systems, lighting systems, animal welfare and modeling energy use in poultry systems. A. Lighting manipulations CA continued to study the effects of lighting programs on broiler health and welfare by conducting a study of light intensity on activity and fearfulness. Cobb x Cobb broilers (N = 273) were reared under either a 20 lux or 10 lux photophase, with a 0.5 lux scotophase and a 12L:12D photoperiod. Activity was automatically measured continuously for 48 hours on days 22 - 24 and 31 - 33 of age using a passive infrared detection system. Tonic immobility (TI) fear responses were measured at 26 - 30 days of age, with half of the birds tested just after the dawn transition and half just after the dusk transition, the times when minimal and maximal responses should occur. The 20 lux treatment group was more active during the photophase than the scotophase, and also had a significant difference in TI responses between these time periods, indicating the presence of an activity rhythm as well as a TI rhythm. In contrast, 10 lux birds only showed a non-significant trend towards a photophase-scotophase activity difference, and no TI rhythm. The 20 lux birds were more active overall than the 10 lux birds, and also had a longer TI latency to turn their heads, required a greater number of inductions and tended to have longer latencies to right, than 10 lux. These results indicate that 20 lux was sufficient to entrain behavioral rhythms and promoted more activity than 10 lux, but was also associated with increased fear responses as measured by the TI test. CA also continued to collaborate with MI in collecting behavioral data from laying hens housed in three commercial systems: conventional cages, enriched colonies, and cage-free, to evaluate resource use in these systems. B. Identifying stress in poultry IN conducted work on osteoporosis. This problem is widespread in todays commercial laying hens and contributes to approximately 20 to 35% of all mortalities during the egg production cycle of caged hens. Bone fractures during production are a huge welfare issue because of the chronic pain these hens may experience. The objective of this study was to examine if perch availability during all or part of the life cycle of White Leghorns affects skeletal mineralization and physiological homeostasis involved in bone development. The outcomes of this study indicate that, due to endocrine response to exercise, pullets using perches during the growing phase have increased bone mineralization as compared to pullets not using perches, with benefits in improving bone integrity. IN conducted work on feather pecking (FP) and beak trimming (BT). Feather pecking and cannibalism occur in all the current egg production systems including cage and free range, which is an eminent cause of mortality in untrimmed chickens. Beak trimming is a common practice to prevent FP and cannibalism. However, BT causes tissue damage, exposing billions of chickens to pain (acute, chronic, or both) annually. Serotonin and its receptors appear early during prenatal development. It, acting as a morphogen, influences brain development and, acting as a neurotransmitter, regulates multiple biological functions including aggression. We hypothesize that serotonin treatment immediately before egg incubation will affect brain development in chickens and prevent FP and cannibalism. The outcomes of this study indicate that serotonin can be used in laying hens to replace BT for controlling feather packing and cannibalism. C. Dietary manipulations MN did work on Light Turkey Syndrome (LTS). This is indicated by decreased market BW of tom turkeys that begins during brooding and could be due to presence of undesired bacteria in the digestive system. Naïve poults were gavaged with microbial contents from poults that experienced LTS and compared to controls without LTS. In comparison to the control, body weights were reduced but feed intake was similar. The decreased BW of the inoculated poults but with similar feed intake suggested that the immune system in poults receiving LTS contents were diverting nutrients to the immune system instead of growth. Litter moisture can negatively affect well-being of poultry with development of foot pad lesions and/or difficulties in gait. Phytase addition, chloride level and dietary electrolyte balance were examined in market turkey diets containing dried distillers grains with solubles and canola meal. Increasing dietary chloride level reduced body weight and increased litter moisture. Dietary chloride at levels of 0.4 and 0.5% Cl significantly increased the foot pad score in comparison to 0.3% Cl with no affect on the gait score. The findings emphasized the importance of considering the level of chloride and associated dietary electrolyte balance in growing turkey diets containing high levels of alternative by-products. CT evaluated reducing eggborne transmission of Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) in layer chickens by in-feed supplementation of trans-cinnamaldehyde. Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) is a major foodborne pathogen in the United States, largely transmitted to humans by consumption of contaminated eggs. The pathogen colonizes the chicken intestinal tract, and migrates to reproductive organs via systemic route, or invades the oviduct epithelial cells via ascending infection from the cloaca. Previous studies in our lab have shown that adhesion to- and invasion of- chicken oviduct epithelial cells (COEC) are critical steps in SE colonization of chicken reproductive tract and subsequent yolk contamination, and that trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC) is effective in reducing these virulence attributes. The present study was designed to determine the effectiveness of TC in the feed of laying hens for controlling egg-borne transmission of SE. We also studied how TC affects oviduct colonization and macrophage survival genes. One hundred twenty White Leghorn layers at either 25 or 40 weeks of age were randomly assigned to one of six treatment groups. The birds with feed supplemented with TC at both 1 and 1.5% showed significant reductions in SE in both the yolk material and the shell for each week tested for both 25 and 40 week old hens. There were no differences in egg production between the TC treated and non-treated hens at either age group. There was a significant reduction in SE levels in the cloacal contents of both the 1 and 1.5% TC treated hens. This reduction was also found in the liver, cecum and oviduct of both the 25 and 40 week old hens. Eggs from all groups and ages showed no differences in sensory analysis. TC significantly down-regulated the expression of SE virulence genes fimD, flgG, hflK, invH, IrpF, Mrt1, ompR, orf245, pipB and prot6E. CT also examined the effect of plant-derived molecules, carvacrol and trans-cinnamaldehyde, on Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production. In general, aflatoxins are highly immune-suppressive compared with other mycotoxins. This may make the host more susceptible to infection from bacteria, viruses and parasites. Aflatoxins have been linked to an increased infection rate of HIV/AIDS. Aflatoxin is a carcinogenic agent in both humans and animals resulting in liver cancer and is synergistic with hepatitis B and C virus. Because of its hepatotoxic effects it has been placed in the list of group 1 carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Carvacrol (CR) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC) were tested in a model broth system and also in contaminated chicken feed. For the nutrient broth system, 106 CFU/ml of either A. flavus or A. parasiticus were added to 10 ml of potato dextrose broth, to which either 0%, 0.02%, 0.04% or 0.08% CR or 0% 0.005%, 0.01% or 0.2% TC was added. The tubes were then incubated at 25oC for 7 days, during which mold counts and aflatoxin concentrations (total and B1) were determined at days 0, 1, 3, 5, and 7. Aflatoxin was measured using an ELISA kit (Romer labs AgraQuant-ELISA-Aflatoxin). The data was analyzed as a 2x2x4x5 factorial using proc-mixed from SAS. For the feed trial, 106 CFU/ml of either A. flavus or A. parasiticus were added to 200 g of layer feed to which either 0%, 0.4%, 0.8% and 1% of CR or TC were added to the mix and incubated at 25oC for 7 days. Mold counts and aflatoxin concentrations were measured at 0, 1, 5, and 7 days. The data was analyzed as a 2x2x4x4 factorial using proc-mixed from SAS. CR and TC significantly decreased A. flavus and A. parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production in both a model nutrient broth system and in layer feed. Objective 2. Alternative systems. This collaborative research will encompass characterization and mitigation of air emissions, manure nutrient management, animal welfare, and economic evaluation of alternative production systems. A. Hen behavior MI worked on objectives 1 and 2. This was achieved with data collection by Drs. Swanson and Siegford related to hen behavior in aviary systems at a commercial site for a multidisciplinary project assessing hen health and welfare, economics, food safety, environment, and worker health. Dr. Karcher is working with Dr. Maja Makgon, Purdue University, conducting a trial to look at various densities in the enriched colony housing for laying hens evaluating productivity measures, hen well-being, behavior. Additionally, egg quality measures are being evaluated by Dr. Deana Jones, USDA-ARS. Drs. Karcher, Jones, and Siegford are engaged in an aviary project evaluating alternative litter substrates on hen productivity, well-being, behavior, microbiology, and egg quality. The aviary and enriched colony projects are both on-going. Dr. Karcher and graduate student Prafulla Regmi collaborated with Dr. Ken Anderson, North Carolina State University, to investigate the housing impact on different genetic lines in different housing environments. The results of these studies showed that laying hens in different environments had an average keel deformity score not significantly different among the groups. However, each housing system was associated with high prevalence (>90%) of keel deformities. Dr. Karcher and Dr. Makagon additionally completed gait scoring studies on meat ducks with manuscripts being prepared for submission. The results of this work documented that duck femur and tibia bone ash displayed a negative linear correlation as gait score increased (P < 0.01) such that the lowest percent ash was found in ducks with the worse gait score. B. Conventional vs organic egg production NC worked on evaluating conventional vs. organic egg production systems. This project estimated the costs and benefits of implementing the proposed rule for laying hens, compared with alternatives. For the regulatory proposals under Option 2 the regulatory cost will be zero as most of producers are already in compliance with the proposed regulation. The anticipated benefits of this regulation will be zero as well because the current market prices already reflect the consumers willingness to pay for the existing animal welfare conditions. For the regulatory proposals under Option 3, prior to market adjustments, the average regulatory burden for the entire organic egg industry will amount to $0.09 per dozen eggs, with extreme variations between $0 for small operations and $2.30 per dozen for large operations. If we rely on the average price of organic eggs of $2.69 per dozen and assume the maximum estimated benefits associated with improved animal welfare conditions that consumers would be willing to pay of about 30% above the current market price, the estimated benefits of regulation amount to $0.81 per dozen eggs. Based on the findings we conclude that Option 2 is welfare neutral and could be easily adopted as it is already adopted by representative producers. For Option 3, the benefit-cost ratio is larger than 1 which indicates that the proposal passes the benefit-cost ratio test. The obtained result, however, has to be interpreted with serious reservation because of the differential impact that the proposed regulation would have on different industry participants. Under Option 3, the impact of the proposed changes on small organic egg producers is negligible because most small producers are operating under conditions similar to the proposed living standards. However, costs will increase substantially for large organic egg producers and likely cause a substantial number of producers to exit organic production and switch to conventional production which would cause a substantial decline in the prices of conventional eggs and organic feed in the short run. The following impact statements are related to accomplishments for the entire project.

Publications

The publications in the attachment are from October 2012 to September 2013. The prior 4-year annual reports have each year's publications included.

Publications Attachment:

Attachment

Impact Statements

Over the past 5 years, this multi-state poultry research group has investigated various environment, management, housing, poultry welfare, and nutrition factors that contribute towards improving poultry production. This included collaborative efforts on ventilation, lighting, housing, nutrition, and animal welfare research.
Over the last 5 project years, this multi-state poultry research group has published 412 abstracts, 119 peer-reviewed journal articles, 10 popular-press articles, 9 peer-reviewed extension reports, and 55 proceedings at national and international meetings.
This group has secured over $22 million in grants to conduct research in the last 5 years.
Collaborative efforts among IA, CA, IL, MN, and PA resulted in more than $2.5 million in grants to monitor and mitigate ammonia emissions from poultry operations.
Focused research at MN, MS, IL, NE, IN, and IA was conducted on ethanol co-products in poultry diets that resulted in 80% of the commercial egg producers adopting non-feed withdrawal molting programs, and turkey producers decreasing feed costs by using up to 30% DDGS (distillers dried grains with solubles).
Collaborative efforts by CA, CT, and GA on lighting programs and energy efficient lighting resulted in significant savings by producers.
On-going research between CA, IA, MI, and GA-ARS on alternative production systems at a commercial scale for laying hens has resulted in identifying the trade-offs that exist between these alternative systems.
All stations have collaborated to conduct a comprehensive assessment of alternative hen housing systems, especially aviary non-cage housing systems; tracking individual birds housed in a group; evaluation of aversive responses of pullets and layers to ammonia and temperature combination; evaluation of LED vs CF lighting for laying hens in aviary housing; and assessment of lighting needs and preference by pullets and layers.
During this past year research was conducted on lighting effects on broilers, osteoporosis and feather pecking in laying hens, investigating light turkey syndrome, Salmonella Enteritidis contamination of eggs, and hen performance and economic evaluation of alternative egg production systems.