NE1442: Poultry Production Systems and Well-being: Sustainability for Tomorrow

(Multistate Research Project)

Status: Inactive/Terminating

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[12/19/2014] [10/15/2015] [10/10/2016] [09/29/2017] [10/05/2018] [09/27/2019]

Date of Annual Report: 12/19/2014

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Annual Meeting Dates: 10/23/2014 - 10/25/2014
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2013 - 09/01/2014

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Brief Summary of Minutes

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Accomplishments

Objective 1. Energy/resource efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed and fuel energy sources for poultry and facilities by geographical region, facility design, equipment efficiency, management, and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Ventilation Manipulations. IL conducted an experiment using commercial male broilers. For the purpose of examining varying levels of constant atmospheric CO2 levels on broiler performance, the levels of 2,000, 4,000 and 8,000 ppm were used. In this experiment, ninety Ross 708 commercial broilers at 1 day of age were housed in each of the 3 chambers. This gave a final bird density of 0.65 ft2/bird up to 4 wk of age taking into account feeder and waterer space. The experimental period was from Day 1 to 4 wk of age. From Day 1 to 7 the lighting regime consisted of 23 hr light:1 hr dark at a light intensity of 3.25 foot candles (35 lux) at bird level. From Day 8 to 28 the lighting regime consisted of 20 hr light: 4 hr dark at a light intensity of 1 foot candle (10 lux) at bird level. The reduction in light intensity was accomplished by lowering the wattage of bulbs used. All chambers had the following temperature regimen. The target temperature was 30°, 27°, 24°, 22°, and 20°C at 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of age, respectively. Prior to housing the birds, approximately 4 inches of ground corn cobs were placed in each chamber. The feeding and watering system consisted of two tube-type feeders and two plasson waterers. These feeders and waterers allowed for a feeder space of 0.75 in2/bird and ample water space per bird. From Day 1 to 28, all birds were fed ad libitum a regular broiler starter and grower diet. During the 4-wk trial mortality was very low and birds that died was not a result of the CO2 levels. This study revealed that constant exposure of 8000 ppm of CO2 did not have a damaging effect on broiler growth, feed intake or feed conversion. It was anticipated that exposing broilers to a constant level of high atmospheric CO2 would produce stunted body weight gain, reduced feed intake, and poor feed conversion. Total body weight gain was the lowest for birds subjected to 4000 ppm CO2, followed by 8000, then 2000 ppm CO2. During the first week birds exposed to the highest CO2 level gained the least, but they gained as much weight as birds exposed to the lowest CO2 level during Week 2. During Week 1, birds exposed to 8000 ppm CO2 ate the least; but during Week 2, these birds had the highest feed intake. Total feed intake was the greatest for birds exposed to the lowest level of CO2 (2000 ppm), followed by birds exposed to 8000 ppm, then 4000 ppm CO2. For feed conversion, there might have been an effect of atmospheric CO2 during week 2, with the lowest conversion being noted for the 8000 ppm CO2 environment. However, total average feed conversion was virtually the same for all CO2 treatments. In summary, these results indicate that exposing constant high atmospheric CO2 to growing broilers does not negatively affect body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion. Heat Stress Therapy. USDA-ARS, Purdue University, and University of Illinois conducted an experiment using cooled perches to reduce heat stress in laying hens. The provision of a cooled perch in which chilled water is circulated through a conventional galvanized pipe passing through the laying hen cage offers the potential for improved performance during both acute and chronic heat stress events, is amenable to both natural and mechanically ventilated systems, and provides a positive welfare aspect by providing birds with a means to express their natural perching behavior. Pullets, 16 wk of age, were assigned to 1 of 3 banks of 6 cages each. A bank consisted of 3 deck levels with 2 cages per deck. Each bank was assigned to 1 of 3 treatments from 16 to 32 wk of age: 1) conventional cages with round metal perches that circulated cooled water when perch temperature exceeded 25° C, 2) conventional cages with identical perches except there was no coolant, and 3) conventional cages with no perches. A 4 h acute heating episode where temperatures were increased to a range of 32.0 to 34.6° C was instigated when hens were 27 wk of age. Behavioral, production, physical, and physiological data were collected. Behavioral data were analyzed using the GLIMMIX procedure in SAS and focused on the proportions of hens perching, feeding and drinking, and the presence or absence of panting and wing spreading behaviors within each cage. Other data were subjected to an ANOVA or an analysis of covariance with BW as the covariate where appropriate using the MIXED model procedure of SAS. Through a summer pilot study in 2013, we demonstrated proof of concept that our engineering design for thermally cooling perches was effective in reducing hen core body temperature and delaying the onset of panting and wing spreading during an acute heating episode of 4 hours. Furthermore, once these stress related behaviors did become evident later in the hens with access to thermally cooled perches, they remained lower during and after the heating episode as compared to hens with access to perches that were not cooled and controls without perches (all P < 0.05). Thermally cooled perches reduced heterophil to lymphocyte ratio at both 27 (P < 0.01) and 32 (P < 0.05) wk of age; and lowed plasma total IgG concentrations at 32 wk of age (P < 0.05). However, thermally cooled perches used during a mild summer with 4 h of acute heat stress did not affect hen performance, expression of IL-1?, IL-6, TNF-?, iNOS, and TLR-4 mRNA or musculoskeletal health. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence that the cooled perch system may assist laying hens in coping with heat stress. Nutrition. CT conducted studies on aflatoxins in poultry feed. Aflatoxins (AF) are toxic metabolites mainly produced by molds, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Contamination of poultry feed with AF is a major concern to the poultry industry due to serious economic losses stemming from poor performance, reduced egg production and diminished egg hatchability. Additonally, AF are the only mycotoxins regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) due to their carcinogenic and hepatotoxic effects, and their potential presence as residues in meat and eggs. We investigated the inhibitory effect of two GRAS, plant-derived compounds, namely carvacrol (CR) and trans-cinnamaldehyde (TC), on?A. flavus and A. parasiticus growth, and AF production during long-term storage in chicken feed. Two hundred gram portions of chicken feed supplemented with CR and TC (0%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1.0%) and inoculated with A. flavus (NRRL 3357) or A. parasiticus (NRRL 2999 or NRRL 4123) were stored at 25oC for 3 months. The mold population and AF concentrations in the feed were determined at 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 8, and 12 weeks of storage. All studies were replicated three times with duplicate samples of each treatment. Carvacrol and TC substantially inhibited A. flavus and A. parasiticus growth and AF production in chicken feed during the entire storage period (P < 0.05). All the concentrations of CR and TC decreased AF concentrations in the feed to levels below the FDA regulated limit (20 ppb). However, feed samples with no added CR or TC yielded more than 40 ppb (NRRL 2999) and 30 ppb (NRRL 4123 and NRRL 3357) of AF. The results suggest that CR and TC could potentially be used as feed additives to control AF contamination in poultry feed. Objective 2. Evaluating commercial poultry production systems. This will include collaborative efforts on the characterization of the performance of conventional, alternative, and organic poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management, acoustic environment, and animal health and welfare. IN conducted work as part of the multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional project of Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES). The CSES project involves three housing systems for egg production at the same research farm site in the Midwest, USA, namely, a conventional cage (CC) house, an aviary (AV) house, and an enriched colony (EC) house. The CC house – 141.4 m L × 26.6 m W × 6.1m H had a nominal capacity of 200,000 hens (6 hens in a cage at a stocking density of 516 cm2 hen-1); and the cages were arranged in ten rows, eight tiers per cage row, with a perforated aisle walkway at 4-tier height. The AV house – 154.2 m L × 21.3 m W × 3.0 m H and the EC house – 154.2 m L × 13.7 m W × 4.0 m H each had a nominal capacity of 50,000 hens. The AV house had six rows of aviary colonies, and the EC house had five rows of 4-tier enriched colonies containing perches, nestbox, and scratch pads (60 hens per colony at a stocking density of 748 cm2 hen-1). The overarching goal of the CSES project, as stated in the opening article of this series, was to comprehensively evaluate the three egg production systems from the standpoints of animal behavior and well-being, environmental impact, egg safety and quality, food affordability, and worker health. So that all the area-specific papers would not have to repeat a detailed description of the production systems and the management practices, this paper is written to provide such description and used as a common reference by the companion papers. IN conducted studies on comprehensively assessing conventional vs. some alternative laying-hen housing systems under U.S. production conditions, a multi-institute and multi-disciplinary project, known as Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES) study, was carried out at a commercial egg production farm in the Midwestern USA over two single-cycle production flocks. The housing systems studied include a conventional cage (CC) house (200,000 hen capacity), an aviary (AV) house (50,000 hen capacity), and an enriched colony (EC) house (50,000 hen capacity). As an integral part of the CSES project, continual environmental monitoring over a 27-month period described in this paper quantifies indoor gaseous and particulate matter (PM) concentrations, thermal environment, and building ventilation rate (VR) of each house. Results show that similar indoor thermal environment in all three houses was maintained through ventilation management and environmental control. Gaseous and PM concentrations of the EC house were comparable with those of the CC house. In comparison, the AV house had poorer indoor air quality, especially in wintertime, resulting from the presence of floor litter (higher NH3 levels) and hens’ activities (higher PM levels) on it. Specifically, daily mean indoor ammonia (NH3) concentrations had the 95% confidence interval (C.I.) values of 3.8-4.2 (overall mean of 4.0) ppm for the CC house; 6.2-7.2 (overall mean of 6.7) ppm for the AV house; and 2.7-3.0 (overall mean of 2.8) ppm for the EC house. The 95% C.I. (overall mean) values of daily mean indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations were 1997-2170 (2083) ppm for the CC house, 2367-2582 (2475) ppm for the AV house, and 2124-2309 (2216) ppm for the EC house. Daily mean indoor methane (CH4) concentrations were similar for all three houses, with 95% C.I. values of 11.1-11.9 (overall mean of 11.5) ppm. The 95% C.I. values (overall mean) of daily mean PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations, in mg m-3, were, respectively, 0.57-0.61 (0.59) and 0.033-0.037 (0.035) for the CC house, 3.61-4.29 (3.95) and 0.374-0.446 (0.410) for the AV house, and 0.42-0.46 (0.44) and 0.054-0.059 (0.056) for the EC house. Investigation of mitigation practices to improve indoor air quality of the litter-floor AV housing system is warranted. As an integral part of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES) Project, IN simultaneously monitored air emissions of three commercially-operated egg production systems at the house level and associated manure storage over two single-cycle flocks (18-78 weeks of age). The three housing systems were a) a conventional cage house (CC) with a 200,000-hen capacity (6 hens in a cage at a stocking density of 516 cm2 hen-1), b) an enriched colony house (EC) with a 50,000-hen capacity (60 hens per colony at a stocking density of 748 cm2 hen-1), and c) an aviary house (AV) with a 50,000-hen capacity (at a stocking density of 929 cm2 hen-1). The three hen houses were located on the same farm and were populated with Lohmann white hens of the same age. Indoor environment and house-level gaseous (ammonia – NH3, greenhouse gasses – GHG including carbon dioxide – CO2, methane – CH4 and nitrous oxide – N2O) and particulate matter (PM10, PM2.5) emissions were monitored continually. Gaseous emissions from the respective manure storage of each housing system were also monitored. Emission rates (ERs) are expressed as emission quantities per hen, per animal unit (AU, 500 kg live body weight), and per kg of egg output. House-level NH3 ER (g hen-1 d-1) of EC (0.054) was significantly lower than that of CC (0.082) or AV (0.112) (P<0.05). House-level CO2 ER (g hen-1 d-1) was lower for CC (68.4) than for EC and AV (74.0-74.4), and CH4 ER (g hen-1 d-1) was similar for all three houses (0.07–0.08). House-level PM ER (mg hen-1 d-1), essentially representing the farm-level PM ER, was significantly higher for AV (PM10 of 100.3 and PM2.5 of 8.8) as compared to CC (PM10 of 15.7 and PM2.5 of 0.9) or EC (PM10 of 15.6 and PM2.5 of 1.7) (P<0.05). The farm-level (house plus manure storage) NH3 ER (g hen-1d-1) was significantly lower for the EC system (0.16) as compared to the CC (0.29) or AV (0.30) system (P<0.05). As expected, the magnitudes of GHG emissions were rather small for all three production systems. Data from this study enable comparative assessment of conventional vs. alternative hen-housing systems regarding air emissions and enhance the U.S. national air emissions inventory for farm animal operations. NC 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. Objective 3. Establishing parameters influenced by the production system and strains utilized within the poultry industry. This collaborative research will encompass the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety and quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems. Poultry and disease control. CT conducted work on reducing egg-borne transmission of Salmonella enteritidis in laying hens. One hundred twenty Single Comb White Leghorn hens were randomly assigned to 6 treatments (n = 20/treatment): a negative control (?ve SE, ?ve CA), 2 compound controls (?ve SE, +ve 0.75% or 1% vol/wt CA), a positive control (+ve SE, ?ve CA), a low dose treatment (+ve SE, +ve 0.75% CA) and a high dose treatment (+ve SE, +ve 1% CA). On d 0, birds were tested for any inherent Salmonella (n = 5/experiment), and CA was supplemented in the feed at the aforementioned levels for 64 d. On d 10, birds in the positive controls and low dose and high dose treatments were challenged with a 5-strain mixture of SE (10 log10 cfu/bird) by crop gavage. After 4 d of challenge, eggs were collected and examined for SE in the yolk and on the shell daily until the end of the trial. On d 64, 10 birds from each treatment were killed to determine SE presence in the cecum, liver, and oviduct. Caprylic acid at 0.75% reduced SE on shell by ~21% and in yolk by 24%, whereas supplementation of 1% CA reduced SE by ~44% on shell and ~32% in yolk. Additionally, CA at both concentrations reduced SE in cecum, liver and oviduct (P < 0.05) by ~30 to 40% compared with control birds. No significant differences in egg production were observed among the different treatment groups (P> 0.05). The results suggest that CA could potentially be used as a feed additive to reduce egg-borne transmission of SE in layer chickens. In another study, CT examined methods to reduce SE colonization in broiler chickens. Two naturally occurring, generally recognized as safe compounds, namely ?- resorcylic acid (BR), (0.5%, 1%) chitosan (CH) (0.5%, 1%), and their combination (BR -1% and CH -1%; BR – 0.5% and CH-0.5%) were investigated for reducing Salmonella Enteritidis (SE) colonization in broiler chickens. One hundred sixty, day-old chicks were randomly allocated to eight treatments (n=20): (1) a negative control (no SE challenge or supplemented compound), (2) a CH control (no SE, but 0.5 or 1% CH), (3) a BR control (no SE, but 0.5 or 1% BR), (4) a CH and BR combination control (no SE, but 0.5 or 1% CH and 0.5 or 1% BR), (5) a positive control (SE challenge, but no CH or BR) (6) CH treatment (SE and 0.5 or 1% CH), (7) BR treatment (SE and 0.5 or 1% BR) and (8) a CH and BR combination treatment (SE and CH and BR at 0.5 or 1%). CH and BR were supplemented in the feed for 20 days, starting on day 0. On day 8, birds in the positive control, CH and BR treatments were challenged with SE (8 log10 CFU/bird) by crop gavage. After 10 days of challenge, 10 birds per treatment (n=10) were sacrificed by CO2 asphyxiation, and cecum, liver and crop from each bird were collected for SE enumeration. The SE counts recovered from the cecal samples of the control birds ranged from 4 to 5 log10 CFU/g after 10 days post infection. CH at 1% reduced cecal SE by ~ 2 log10 CFU/g, whereas BR (1%) reduced SE by ~ 3 log10 CFU/g. The combination treatment containing BR and CH at 0.5 or 1% was effective in reducing cecal SE by ~ 2 -2.5 log10 CFU/g. Similarly, BR (1%) and CH (1%) significantly decreased SE by ~ 2.5 and 1.5 log10 CFU/g, respectively and their combination decreased SE by ~1.5 log10 CFU/g in liver, when compared to controls. In the crop, CH (1%) and BR (1%) reduced SE by ~2.3 log10 CFU/g and by ~1.3 log 10 CFU/g, respectively. The cecal endogenous bacterial counts and pH did not differ (P > 0.05) among the various treatments. Although supplementation of CH and BR at 0.05% had no effect on the body weight of birds (P > 0.05), the treatments containing 1% BR or CH slightly decreased the body weight (P < 0.05). IN conducted a study to determine minimum horizontal distance (HD) between perches for laying hens using qualitative and quantitative behavioral analysis. A real-time monitoring system was developed to record hen’s perching behaviors, such as the number of perching hens, perching duration, perching trips, and the pattern of perch occupancy. Three groups of sixteen W-36 laying hens (68 weeks old at test onset) with prior perching experience were used. For each group, hens were kept in an enriched wire-mesh floor pen (1.2 × 1.2 × 1.2m) equipped with two parallel perches (15 cm perch space/hen). The HD between the perches were varied sequentially at 60, 40, 30, 25, 20, and 15 cm; then varied again in a reversed order. The minimum HD that led to no significant change in hen’s perching behavior was determined. Results showed that reduction of HD to 25 cm did not significantly restrain hen’s perching behavior; however, HD <25 cm significantly reduced the proportion of perching hens. When HD was insufficient, more perching trips occurred during the 45 min prior to dark period, indicating increase in perching competition. Meanwhile, hens perched interlacing with one another and tended to perch outwards from the opposite perches or hens during dark period, which might be a strategy to use the perch more efficiently. Horizontal distance of 60 cm increased the perching duration and reduced the perching trips during light period; however these two behavioral responses were not affected by HD <60 cm. Therefore, 25 cm is suggested as the minimum HD between laying-hen perches, 30 cm being preferable, and large HD’s such as 60 cm being ecessive. IN conducted a bird behavior study. Housing design and management schemes (e.g., bird stocking density) in egg production can impact hens’ ability to perform natural behaviors and production economic efficiency. It is therefore of socio-economic importance to quantify the effects of such schemes on laying-hen behaviors, which may in turn have implications on the animals’ well-being. Video recording and manual video analysis is the most common approach used to track and register laying-hen behaviors. However, such manual video analyses are labor intensive and are prone to human error, and the number of target objects that can be tracked simultaneously is small. In this study, we developed a novel method for automated quantification of certain behaviors of individual laying hens in a group-housed setting (1.2 m x 1.2 m pen), such as locomotion, perching, feeding, drinking, and nesting. Image processing techniques were employed on top-view images captured with a state-of-the-art time-of-flight (ToF) of light based 3D vision camera for identification as well as tracking of individual birds in the group with support from a passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) system. Each hen was tagged with a unique RFID transponder attached to the lower part of her leg. An RFID sensor grid consisting of 20 antennas installed underneath the pen floor was used as a recovery system in situations where the imaging system failed to maintain identities of the birds. Spatial as well as temporal data were used to extract the aforementioned behaviors of each bird. To test the performance of the tracking system, we examined the effects of two stocking densities (2880 vs. 1440 cm2 hen-1) and two perching spaces (24.4 vs. 12.2 cm of perch per hen) on bird behaviors, corresponding to five hens vs. ten hens, respectively, in the 1.2 m x 1.2 m pen. The system was able to discern the impact of the physical environment (space allocation) on behaviors of the birds, with a 95% agreement in tracking the movement trajectories of the hens between the automated measurement and human labeling. This system enables researchers to more effectively assess the impact of housing and/or management factors or health status on bird behaviors. In this project, NC estimate the costs and benefits of implementing the proposed rule for changes in living conditions for organic broilers. In contrast to the effects of the proposed rule for changes in living conditions for laying hens, the effects of the rule on organic broilers is anticipated to be relatively limited. All producers are already in compliance with Option 2 of the rule, and changes required under Option 3 are minimal for most producers. Using the per-farm estimated regulatory costs and the estimates of production volumes and actual prices, the total estimated annual industry cost under Option 3 is $2.4 million, which represents 0.1% of total industry revenue. The estimated benefits associated with this type of perceived animal welfare improvement are high enough to cover the anticipated cost, and the proposed option easily passes the benefit-cost ratio test.

Publications

CT Upadhyaya, I., A Upadhyay, A. Kollanoor-Johny, M.J. Darre and K. Venkitanarayanan. 2013 Effect of Plant Derived Antimicrobials on Salmonella Enteritidis Adhesion to and Invasion of Primary Chicken Oviduct Epithelial Cells in vitro and Virulence Gene Expression Int. J. Mol. Sci. 14(5), 10608-10625 Upadhyaya, I., A. Upadhyay, H.-B.Yin, Z. Droczdowich, M. Nair, V. K. Bhattaram, D. P. Karumathil, S. Mooyottu,, M. I. Khan, D. Schreiber, A. Kollanoor-Johny, M. J. Darre, K. Venkitanarayanan. 2014. Reducing egg-borne transmission of Salmonella Enteritidis in layer chickens by in-feed supplementation of caprylic acid. Poult.Sci. 93(E-Suppl. 1):32. H.Yin, A. Kollanoor-Johny; M.J. Darre; K. Venkitanarayanan. 2014. Effect of carvacrol and trans-cinnamaldehyde on Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production in poultry feed Poult. Sci. 93(E-Suppl. 1):17-18. I. Upadhyaya, A. Upadhyay, H. Yin, Meera Nair, D. Karumathil, V. Bhattaram, Jianping Li, M. Khan, A. Kollanoor-Johny, M. J. Darre, A. Donoghue, D. Donoghue and K. Venkitanarayanan 2014. Effect of ? –resorcylic acid and Chitosan on reducing Salmonella Enteritidis colonization in 21-day-old broiler chicks Poult.Sci. 93(E-Suppl. 1):70. Darre, M. J.; A. Kollanoor-Johny; K. Venkitanarayanan; I. Upadhyaya 2014 Practical implications of plant-derived antimicrobials in poultry diets for the control of Salmonella Enteritidis. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 23:1-5. Upadhyaya, I, A. Kollanoor-Johny; M. J. Darre; K. Venkitanarayanan. 2014. Efficacy of plant-derived antimicrobials for reducing egg-borne transmission of Salmonella Enteritidis. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 23:1-10. IL Koelkebeck, K.W., S. dePersio, K. Lima, P.C. Harrison, C. Utterback, P. Utterback, R.N. Dilger, R.S. Gates, A. Green, and J.M. Campbell. 2014. Evaluation of feeding spray-dried bovine plasma protein on production performance of laying hens exposed to high ambient temperatures. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 23:393-402. Bland, K., P. Utterback, K. Koelkebeck, and C. Parsons. 2014. Evaluation of feeding various sources of distillers dried grains with solubles in non-feed-withdrawal molt programs for laying hens. Poult. Sci. 93:1421-1427. dePersio, S., P.L. Utterback, C.W. Utterback, S. Rochell, N.O. Sullivan, K. Bregendahl, J. Arango, C.M. Parsons, and K.W. Koelkebeck. 2014. Effects of feeding diets varying in energy and nutrient density to Hy-Line W-36 laying hens on production performance and economics. Poult. Sci. 93:(submitted). IN Liedtke, E. A., P. Y. Hester, G. Vezzoli, R. S. Gates, S. A. Enneking, H. W. Cheng, and M. M. Makagon. 2014. The effects of chilled perches on body surface temperature of laying hens exposed to an acute heat episode. Proc. 12th ISAE North-American Regional Meeting, page 50. Cheng, H.W., M. M. Makagon, R. S. Gates, J. Y. Hu, S. A. Enneking, and P. Y. Hester. 2014. The effect of thermally cooled perches installed in cages on White Leghorn hen performance. Poultry Sci. 93 (E-Suppl.1):92. Hester, P. Y., M. M. Makagon, R. S. Gates, J. Y. Hu, S. A. Enneking, and H.W. Cheng. 2014. The musculoskeletal health of caged White Leghorn hens with access to thermally cooled perches. Poultry Sci. 93 (E-Suppl.1):93. Makagon, M. M., P. Y. Hester, G. Vezzoli, R. S. Gates, S. A. Enneking, and H. W. Cheng. 2014. Access to cooling perches affects the behavioral responses of laying hens during acute heat stress. Proc. 48th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (Estevez, I., Manteca, X., Martin, R.H. and Averos, X., eds.). Wageningen Academic Publishers, The Netherlands, page 181. Gates, R.S., S.A. Enneking, Y. Xiong, P.Y. Hester, J.M. Makagon and H.W. Cheng. 2014. Design and performance of cooled perches for alternative egg laying production systems. Paper No. 141901235. ASABE and CSBE/SCGAB Annual International Meeting, Montreal. 13-16 July. St. Joseph, MI: ASABE. IA Akarmi, A., L. Tang, and H. Xin. 2014. Automated tracking and behavior quantification of laying hens using 3D computer vision and radio frequency identification technologies. Transactions of the ASABE 57(5): 1455-1472. Hayes, M.D. H. Xin, H. Li, T. A. Shepherd, and J. P. Stinn. 2014. Electricity and fuel usage of aviary layer houses in the Midwestern USA. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 30(2): 259-266. Kang, J., T. Wang, H. Xin, and Z. Wen. 2014. A laboratory study of mitigating ammonia gas emission from animal production operations using microalgae. J. Air and Waste Management Association 64(3): 330-339. Karcher, D.M., D.R. Jones, Z. Abdo, Y. Zhao, T.A. Shepherd, and H. Xin. 2014. Impact of commercial housing system and nutrition and energy intake on laying hen performance and egg quality parameters. Poultry Science (accepted for publication). Liu, K, H. Xin, T. A. Shepherd, and Y. Zhao. 2014. Determination of minimum horizontal distance between laying-hen perches. Technical Paper No. 1901652, presented at the 2014 ASABE and CSBE/SCGAB Annual International Meeting Sponsored by ASABE, Montreal, Quebec Canada, July 13 – 16, 2014. St. Joseph, MI: ASABE Mendes, L.B., H. Xin, J.W. Nascimento, and H. Li. 2014. Evaluation of a soil moisture sensor for real-time measurement of poultry manure or litter moisture content. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 30(2): 277-284. Pelletier, N., M. Ibarburu, and H. Xin. 2014. Comparative assessment of the environmental footprint of the U.S. egg industry in 1960 and 2010. Poultry Science 93:241-255 Shepherd, T.A., Y. Zhao, H. Li, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, and H. Xin. 2014. Environmental assessment of three laying-hen housing systems– Part II: ammonia, greenhouse gas, and particulate matter emissions. Poultry Science (accepted for publication). Wang, Y., H. Dong, Z. Zhu, C. Liu, and H. Xin. 2014. Comparison of greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions during storage of raw liquid pig manure and biogas digester effluent. Transactions of the ASABE 57(2):635-645. Wang, Y., H. Dong, Z. Zhu, T. Li, K. Mei, and H. Xin. 2014. Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from biogas digester effluent stored at different depths. Transactions of the ASABE 57(5): 1483-1491. Zhao, Y., A. Aarnink, and H. Xin. 2014. Inactivation of airborne Enterococcus faecalis and infectious bursal disease virus using a pilot-scale ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation scrubber. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association 64(1):38-46. Zhao, Y, H. Xin, D. Zhao, W. Zheng, W. Tian, H. Ma, K. Liu, H. Hu, T. Wang, M.L. Soupir. 2014. Free chlorine loss during spray of membrane-less acidic electrolyzed water and its antimicrobial effect on airborne bacteria from poultry house. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine 21(2):249-255. Zhao, Y., T. A. Shepherd, J. Swanson, J. A. Mench, D.M. Karcher, and H. Xin. 2014. Comparative evaluation of three laying-hen housing systems: description of the production systems and management practices. Poultry Science (accepted) Zhao, Y., T.A. Shepherd, T.A., H. Li, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, and H. Xin. 2014. Environmental assessment of three laying-hen housing systems–Part I: ammonia, greenhouse gas, and particulate matter emissions. Poultry Science (accepted) Zheng, W., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, B. Li, R.S. Gates, Y. Zhang and M.L. Soupir. 2014. Airborne particulate matter and bacteria reduction from spraying slightly acidic electrolyzed water in an experimental aviary laying-hen housing system. Transactions of the ASABE 57(1):229-236. Zhu, Z., H. Dong, J. Xi, and H. Xin. 2014. Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from co-composting of dead hens with manure as affected by forced aeration rate. Transactions of the ASABE 57(1):211-217. NC Vukina, T., K. E. Anderson, and M. K. Muth. 2014. Proposed changes in living conditions for broilers under the National Organic Program will have limited economic effects. J. of Applied Poult. Res. 23: 233–243. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.3382/japr.2013-00896. Vukina, T., K. E. Anderson, and M. K. Muth. 2014. Economic effects of proposed changes in living conditions for laying hens under the National Organic Program. J. of Applied Poult. Res. 23: 80-93. Anderson, K. E. 2014. Time Study Examining the Effect of Range, Cage-Free, and Cage Environments on man-hours committed to bird care in three Brown Egg Layer Strains. J. of Applied Poult. Res. 23:108-115. Gast, R. K., R. Guraya, D. R. Jones, and K. E. Anderson. 2014. Contamination of Eggs by Salmonella Enteritidis in Experimentally Infected Laying Hens Housed in Conventional or Enriched Cages. 2014 Poultry Science 93:728–733. http://dx.doi.org/ 10.3382/ps.2013-03641. Gast, R., R. Guraya, D. Jones, and K. Anderson. 2014. Horizontal transmission of Salmonella Enteritidis in experimentally infected laying hens housed in conventional or enriched cages. Poult. Sci. Suppl. 93:89 (Abstract 263). Toomer, O. T., R. D. Malheiros, D. Smith, C. Shenton, M. Ferguson, M. Pereira, A. Do, U. S. Babu, K. V. Balan, P. Ferket, and K. Anderson. 2014. Assessment of the prevalence of Salmonella within layer hen traditional and non-traditional housing environments. Poult. Sci. Suppl. 93:60 (Abstract 177). Anderson, K. E., R. D. Malheiros, and D. R. Jones. 2014. Comparison of hen preference for nesting substrate material, and performance in a free-range production system. Poult. Sci. Suppl. 93:60 (Abstract 175). Malheiros, R. D., and K. E. Anderson. 2014. Productivity, and Egg Quality from Organic Free-range Chickens used in an Integrated Pest Management System with Organic Dairy in the Forage Paddocks. Southern Poult. Sci. Suppl. 93:204 (Abstract M42). Gast, R. K., R. Guraya, D. R. Jones, and K. E. Anderson. 2014. Salmonella Enteritidis organ invasion and egg contamination in experimentally infected laying hens housed in conventional or enriched cages. AAAP/AVMA Scientific Program in Denver, CO July 26-29, 2014. Anderson, K. E., 2014. Grow Report of the Thirty Ninth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test: Summary. Vol. 39, No. 2, January 2014.

Impact Statements

Broiler producers will benefit from the knowledge that high ambient CO2 exposure during the brooding period will not adversely affect growth performance.
Research using water-cooled perches for laying hens during high temperatures demonstrated that negative effects of heat stress were minimized.
Research studies conducted demonstrated that laying hens kept in aviary houses were exposed to a poorer air environment as a result of being exposed to high NH3 levels and particulate matter.
It was demonstrated that Caprylic Acid could be used as a feed additive to reduce egg-borne transmission of Salmonella enteritidis in laying hens.

Date of Annual Report: 10/15/2015

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 08/16/2015 - 08/19/2015
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2014 - 09/01/2015

Participants

Anderson, Ken (kanderso@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University;
Cheng, Heng-wei (cheng5@purdue.edu) – USDA ARS;
Darre, Michael (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;
Purswell, Joseph (joseph.purswell@ars.usda.gov) – USDA ARS;
Purdum, Sheila (purdum2@unl.edu) – University of Nebraska;
Swanson, Janice (swansoj@msu.edu) – Michigan State University;
Xin, Hongwei (hxin@iastate.edu) – Iowa State University;
Karcher, Darrin (dkarcher@msu.edu) – Michigan State University;
Persia, Mike (mpersia@vt.edu) – Virginia Tech;
Zhai, Wei (wei.zhai@msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University;
Hulet, Mike (mrh4@psu.edu) – Penn State University;
Liang, Yi (yliang@uark.edu) – University of Arkansas;
Christensen, Karen (kc014@uark.edu) – University of Arkansas;
Makagon, Maja (mmmakagon@ucdavis.edu) – Univ. of CA-Davis;
Patterson, Paul (php1@psu.edu) – Penn State University;
Davis, Jeremiah (jdavis@abe.msstate.edu) – Auburn University;
Wamsley, Kelley (kwamsley@poultry.msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University;
Toscano, Mike (michael,toscano@vetsuisse.unibe.ch) – ZTHZ, VPHI;
Johny, Anup Kollanoor (anupjohn@umn.edu) – University of Minnesota;
Estevez, Inma (iestevez@neiker.net) – Teiker-Tecnalia;
Ferket, Peter (peter_ferket@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University;
Jones, Deana (deana.jones@ars.usda.gov) – USDA-ARS;
Li, Hong (hli@udel.edu) – University of Delaware;
Macklin, Ken (macklks@auburn.edu – Auburn University;
Sunde, Roger (sundenutrisci.wisc.edu) – University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Vukina, Tom (tom_vukina@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University;
Vizcarra, Jorge (Jorge.vizcarra@aamu.edu) – Alabama A&M University;
Widowski, Tina (twidowski@uoguelph.ca) – University of Guelph;
Erasmus, Marissa (merasmus@purdue.edu) - Purdue University;
Roberson, Kevin (kevin.roberson@michaelfoods.com) – Michael Foods Egg Products Co.;
Cameron Faustman (cameron.faustman@uconn.edu) - Univ. of Connecticut;
McDonald, Ron;
Novak, Curtis;
Arango, Jesus;
Rubinoff, Ian;

Participants Attachment:

Attachment

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes of the first meeting of the NE1442 multistate research group which met on August 15 – 16, 2015 in Raleigh, NC at the Hunt Library.

Meeting was attended by: Ken Anderson, M. Hulet, D. Jones, D. Karcher, K. Koelkebeck, A. Johnny, Y. Ling, K. Macklin, P. Patterson, M. Persia, K. Wamsley, H. W. Xin, J. Zhu, M. Williams, R. Linton, B. McCrea, H. Li, P. Ferket, M. Toscano, S. Furmah, W. Zhou, Economist NC State, plus others.; M. Erasmus.

Ken Anderson is meeting chair and also in charge of local arrangements, with Mike Darre as Secretary.

The minutes from the last meeting were reviewed. Hongwei Xin moved to approve the minutes, seconded by D. Jones. Approval was unanimous.

Committee was formed to nominate vice chair, Senior Executive, and Junior Executive for the group. Committee was Ken Koelkebeck, Hongwei Xin, and Darrin Karcher. They will report back tomorrow morning.

Ken Koelkebeck needs a paragraph and list of references for NIMS Report – Due October 2, 2015 – send paragraph by August 31, 2015. He will send out a template for full Report as given in REEport – full report is due January 1, 2016.

Addition of 1890 schools in project was discussed. Brigid McCrea was present and expressed why she saw value in participating in the group. 1890 schools should be able to participate, as would industry representatives or personnel from foreign countries.

Station Reports:

North Carolina State University – Ken Anderson –
Station Test looking at Layer Densities for enriched/enrichable cages; mitigate behaviors – brood, egg-eating , floor eggs
Free Range System evaluation
1940 vs Modern commercial layer evaluation
Evaluate VMD – ventilation mediated depopulation – euthanasia using heat/co2 in layers; observe behavior and done in concert with AAAP,
AVMA, and USDA

Michigan State – Darrin Karcher –
Euthanasia Layers – foaming
Molted cage-free and look at Salmonella shedding with different
densities
Cage-free – different strains with Deanna Jones – look at Salmonella
shedding in eggs.
Work on fractured keel with Toscano
Look at Shell Strength in enriched colony cages
Stalling pullets with Koelkebeck, Anderson, Marissa Erasmus by using molt and look at immune capacity.
Examine what causes egg-shell defects

Virginia Tech – Mike Persia
Energy in layers (Hyline 36) – look at body composition

Mississippi State – Kelly Wamsley
Evaluate feed form
Probiotics / coccidiosis

Auburn – Ken Macklin
3 new hires – 2 new jobs advertised – Bilgili and Production / feed
feed milling and Poultry Health (DVM)
Phone App on backyard diseases
Probiotics – production evaluation – looking at models for use
Prebiotics – mixed efficacy; reducers of ammonia

Delaware State University – Brigid McCrea
Market poultry – meat production in Heritage breeds, pastured poultry, pen trials versus pastured; look at tick/ bug consumption.
Game cameras for behavior.

Iowa State University – Hongwei Xin
AI – air sampling, ; UV lights – egg belts, beetles.
Mitigating Ammonia;
LED Lights vs CFL on pullets; Egg production and quality.

Switzerland – Mike Toscano
Placement of laying hen feeders – bird density;
Perches on Broiler Breeders
Survey of aviary systems
Keel Bone Damage: Omega 3; across genetic lines
Alltech SP1 - bone strength different for different collision amount on
keel damage.
Genetic differences were found in keel bone strength

Proposal for 2016 Meeting
Bern Switzerland – up to 30 people – grant for $12K
Cost per person - $1300; European Poultry Congress – similar time, but not essential.
Need to have commitment by Oct. 1, 2015 by at least 15 people.

Alternative site – Atlanta (Deanna Jones); August 1 – 13, 2016 – Doodle poll in 2-3 days
Contract other international

University of Minnesota – Anup Johnny
Probiotics – Propionibacterium – Salmonellosis in turkeys

University of Illinois – Ken Koelkebeck
Ammonia / Environmental Gas control

University of Maryland – Hong Li
Alternative housing; air quality (litter additives), feed additives
and sodium bisulfate, vegetative buffer
Floor systems – netting vs rice halls – Shandong
Ammonia control – spinner system for PLT

NC State Economist (Tom Vukina)
Production and welfare economics

Perdue – Marissa Erasmus
Euthanasia, genetic strains, stress, stocking densities

NC State University – Peter Ferket
Layers – organic trace minerals
Turkeys – hydrogel – vaccination / additives

Penn State University – Paul Patterson/Mike Hulet
Vegetative buffers, AI disposal, backyard information on AI,
biosecurity, and management. Probiotics, turkey density, litter types,
foot pad, gait scores, and behavior

University of Arkansas – Jun Zhu
Thermal effects of Animal Wellbeing;
Transportation measurement
Cooling Sheds

University of Nebraska – Sheila Purdum
4H – Quality assurance – bird handling; Grooming, Biosecurity – on line.
Pullet with calcium particle size; keel damage, heal layer. Stress
vocalization between flocks – hear rate variability – Isa Babcock
– better cage birds.

Write Nick Zimmerman – send get well cards.

Objectives:
1. Energy /resource Economics – geography, facilities, equipment
management, modeling
2. Evaluating commercial poultry production system – alternative organic,
air water quality, environment, and acoustics.
3. Establishing animal measurement by production systems Nutrition, physiology, behavior, foods and milling, economist.

USDA-ARS – Deanna Jones
Test kitchen – BLC2 lab
Impact of hen housing
Molecular typing – salmonella.

Officers: Sec – Anup Johnny; Sr. Executive: Kelly Wamsley; Jr. Executive: Hong
Li

Funding Opportunities:
1 USDA NIFA – economic aspect
2 USCAP – economic aspect
3 Organic – co systems
4 Capacity building grant
5 ASP&E association grant.

Move to adjourn – Ken Koelkebeck
Second – Darrin Karcher

Unanimous approval

Minutes Attachment:

Attachment

Accomplishments

Objective 1. Energy/resource efficiency. This will include shared efforts on feed and fuel energy sources for poultry and facilities by geographical region; facility design, equipment efficiency, management, and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Facility Design. UDEL worked with Dr. Zhiping Zhu, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, to compare two different flooring systems in commercial broiler houses on broiler production performances, welfare quality, and housing environment in eastern China. Nutrition and Probiotics. IN examined the effects of probiotics on performance, eggshell quality, cecal microflora composition, and skeletal health of White Leghorn hens. Six replicates (cages) with 4 White Leghorn hens each were assigned to 1 of 4 treatments at 60 wk of age based on BW. The hens were fed either a basal diet (Control, 2890 kcal/kg ME and 18.3% CP) or one of three treatment diets comprising the basal diet with 3 levels of a commercial probiotic product (0.5X, 100,000 cfu/g of feed; 1.0X, 200,000 cfu/g of feed; 2.0X, with 400,000 cfu/g of feed) for a 7-wk period. The results indicated that the percent of damaged eggs (cracked or shell-less egg) was significantly decreased in 0.5X and 2.0X groups compared with Control (P = 0.02). Hens of 2.0X groups had significantly higher bone mineral density and content of femur (P = 0.03 and 0.04, respectively). In addition, cecal Bifidobacterium counts were significantly increased in all probiotics treated groups (P < 0.001). These results indicate that probiotics supplementation in feed had a significant effect on eggshell quality, skeletal health, and cecal microflora composition in laying hens. MN investigated the potential of alternative interventions, including probiotics and essential oil ingredients to reduce pathogen colonization and improve performance in poultry. A series of trials were conducted to investigate the efficacy of a few GRAS status probiotic bacteria against major Salmonella serotypes in poultry using co-culture and cecal multiplication assays in vitro. Salmonella at a range of concentrations was tested against different levels of probiotics for obtaining effective co-culture combinations. Then, the most effective inoculation level of the probiotics was tested against the optimum Salmonella concentration in turkey/broiler cecal contents. The tested probiotics completely inactivated Salmonella after 24 hours of incubation in co-culture and resulted in the reduction of all serotypes in cecal contents. The in vitro results indicate the potential of the tested probiotics to control Salmonella in poultry. Follow up in vivo studies are scheduled to validate the results. MN also conducted trials to determine the metabolizable energy (ME) content of corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) which varied in crude fat content resulting from partial oil extraction in turkeys. A comprehensive chemical analysis was conducted at USDA-ARS (Ames, Iowa). Crude fat content ranged from 7 to 13.3% on a dry matter basis. Composition of the DDGS samples also varied in crude protein, amino acids, fiber, and mineral content. Metabolizable energy content corrected for nitrogen was determined in young turkeys using two methodologies – apparent metabolizable energy (AMEn) and true metabolizable energy (TMEn). No differences were observed among DDGS sources for ME content measured as AMEn, but differences were observed among DDGS sources for TMEn. Values for TMEn ranged from 2,747 to 3,138 kcal/kg (DM basis). Weak correlations of TMEn were observed with DDGS composition for crude protein, crude fat, gross energy, and lysine digestibility coefficient. With such weak correlations, prediction equations using different subsets of composition variables did not generate any valid predictive equations. These results indicate that extraction of oil from DDGS resulted in DDGS with varying chemical composition, and TMEn decreased with decreasing oil content, but the decrease in TMEn was not strongly associated with any DDGS chemical component including crude fat content. PA investigated the nutritional and performance impact of lower or no synthetic methionine allowances for organic poultry. Recent studies included evaluations of black soldier fly larvae, high methionine corn varieties, algae, naked oats, lentils, rye and alternatively processed sunflower meal with digestibility studies and broilers and layer trials. Mostly these alternatives to conventional ingredients are not readily available and will not meet the economic, environmental, welfare or performance goals of thoughtful organic production. A new US-EPA/US Poultry & Egg Assoc. project in the six Chesapeake Bays states including Pennsylvania will seek to update the nutrient contribution models for commercial broilers, layers and turkeys with new county census data and updated manure/litter production and nutrient concentrations to reflect modern commercial practices, rather than dated information from historical data bases. Environmental Lighting. IA completed a study on assessment of fluorescent lighting need by laying hens (W36 at 23-30 weeks of age) through preference test. The hens were found to show 1) preference of staying in dimmer light (5 lux) over 15 or 30 lux, with 100 lux being least preferred during light period; 2) preference to feed in 5 lux with a feeder light of 30 lux or <1 lux without feeder light, as compared to 15, 30 and 100 lux all with a feeder light of 30 lux; 3) strong preference of laying egg in ‘dark’ (<1 lux) over light; and 4) daily overall photoperiod of 14L: 10D, although the intermittent hourly light and dark time was distributed quite consistently throughout the day, with time spent in the ‘dark' (<1 lux) condition averaging 25.0 ± 0.4 min per hour. Manuscript of the study has been accepted for publication in Animals. Objective 2. Evaluating commercial poultry production systems. This will include joint efforts on the characterization of the performance of conventional, alternative, and organic poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management, acoustic environment, and animal health and welfare. Thermal Environment. AR worked on examining the extremes of heat and cold on physiological stress during broiler transport from farms to processing plants. Five commercial broiler live-haul trips were monitored in winter, spring and summer seasons. Temperature and relative humidity at 36 locations on trailers were continuously monitored at 1-minute interval during on-farm loading, transit and holding before being slaughtered. Large temperature variation existed across the trailer in transit during the winter trip when ambient temperatures were in lower 40s F. Large variation (about 10 F) was also found across the trailer during trip monitored when ambient temperatures were in lower 90s, partially due to the difference of moisture evaporation and wind at different locations on the trailer. Work will continue to further quantify the effect of mitigation methods that’s used on altering thermal environment in summer and winter, to evaluate the impact on the broilers’ wellbeing. Air Quality and NH3 emissions. IL worked on the measurement of NH3 concentration and emission from animal housing. The measurement instruments are required to be accurate, portable, stable and affordable. A Portable Monitoring Unit (PMU) was designed and developed for measuring NH3 and CO2 concentrations and emissions from animal buildings. This study aimed to develop a new PMU system (PMU) with a replacement of the previous NH3 sensor and a redesign to create a more user friendly system compared to the previous version. The objectives were to 1) to redesign the PMU system; and 2) To evaluate the new system. Two 48 hours field tests were performed to demonstrate the feasibility and improve any problems encountered with the PMU system. A commercial caged layer barn, with manure belts, in the Midwest was chosen as the subject of the field test. The barn is 2 floors (12 decks of cages that measured 540 feet (164.59 meter) length and 91 feet (27.74 meter) width, and housed about 425,000 laying hens. Since the field test only measured the laying hen housing during winter time, the ventilation system for summer time that is constructed on the north and south side of the building (cooling pads and summer ventilation fans) will not be specifically introduced in this study. Ventilation fans for winter time are constructed on the west and east walls of the building. The minimum variable fans (marked with “M” in Figure 4) are normally running continuously for minimum ventilation of the building. When temperature in the building raises to a higher level than the control point, a stair-like control system of fans will be activated. The fans with different stage levels (marked with “I” to “V” in Figure 4) will be activated stage by stage for gradually regulating the temperature of the building. On the west side of the laying hen housing, a manure storage room is built and connected to the west wall of the main animal building. Therefore, except for the first six ventilation fans which can directly exchange air with outdoor atmosphere, the rest of ventilation fans have to exchange air with outside environment through the windows of the manure storage room. The air exchange from the fans is also applied for drying the manure in the storage room. The sampling points of the two field tests with PMU are noted in Figure 3 which are the first and last two minimum ventilation fans on west wall of the laying hen housing. The performance evaluation of these two field tests included periodic control, signal communication with sensors, data logging, real-time processing and wireless data transfer. Before the test, the sensors were calibrated, the circuit and tubing connections were rechecked, and the protective case was disinfected. The two field tests, which were performed to evaluate the performance (the implement of optimized functions and the reliability of the replaced NH3 EC sensor) of the PMU system in field application, demonstrated the feasibility of the PMU for air quality monitoring in animal housing. Litter Amendments. UDEL worked on conducting a trial to look at various litter amendments with multiple litter amendment application on ammonia emission, growth and health of broilers. Lighting and Indoor Air Quality. IA completed a field study, involving four commercial aviary laying hen houses – two of them with commercially available LED lights and two with compact fluorescent lights (CFL), to assess the effects of LED vs. CFL on egg production in terms of light distribution, degradation, lamp and holder temperature, hen production performance, egg quality, hen activity levels as reflected by the rate of dust settlement, feather condition and avoidance distance. IA worked with an industry partner (Hy-Line International), to initiated a new research project that systematically evaluates a new programmable LED light vs. compact fluorescent light (CFL) for pullets and laying hens with regards to behavioral responses of young (pullets) and adult (layer) hens, production performance of the hens, egg quality, light source preference, and locomotion activities. The proposed project consists of four components to evaluate the impact of LED vs. CFL on a) behaviors (especially aggression) of pullets from 4 to 16 weeks of age; b) hen production performance and egg quality; c) light preference; and d) locomotion activity level. Pullets will be reared under either LED or CFL environment before they are subject to the LED or CFL light regiment during the production stage (17-42 weeks of age). Pullets and hens used in the c) and d) experiments will be raised under incandescent lighting prior to the evaluation tests. Results of the project will help better understand the impact of programmable LED light on pullets and laying hens, and provide research-based data for development or refinement of management guidelines toward more efficient egg production and enhanced animal well-being. IA started a new USDA-NIFA funded project that aims to improve the indoor environment and productivity of cage-free aviary hen housing system by devising an innovative mitigation system that suppresses the generation of particulate matter (PM), airborne bacteria (AB) and ammonia (NH3) plus an added benefit of cooling hens during warm/hot weather. Through laboratory and filed experiments, the project addresses the following specific objectives: a) quantify the efficacy of spraying acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) onto the litter of aviary housing on reduction of PM, AB and NH3 generation in lab-scale experiments; b) design, install and field-test a spray system in a commercial aviary hen house; and c) quantify the impact of the spray system on reducing PM, AB and NH3 generation, hen behavior and welfare, and heat stress relief of hens in summertime. The system for the lab experiments has been developed and tested. Bird Health. IA (Egg Industry Center) responded to the unpreceded highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in the United States by serving as a clearinghouse during the crisis, conducting research aimed to understand and prevent transmission of the highly infectious virus, supporting/coordinating AIV-related research as identified by the scientific community and the industry leaders. IA has also developed a computer model tool to assist decision-making in reducing the virus spread by quickly depopulating inflected flocks. NE conducted studies examining the major welfare issues of cage-free housing systems. The goal of this research was to improve bone health in layers by building better pullet skeletons and to investigate limestone particle size (LPS) effects on bone health in conventional cages and cage-free housing systems. Study 1 was a preliminary study that compared conventional cages with litter floor pens in terms of performance, bone health, and eggshell quality from 33 to 47 wk of age. Caged hens had higher egg production and eggshell strength, and improved feed efficiency, but lower tibia bone mineral content compared to floor housed hens. Study 2 examined the effects of LPS fed from 7 to 17 wk of age on performance and bone health in conventional cage and aviary systems. The use of a limestone blend of fine and large particles (0.879 mm; LPS-Blend) rather than a fine limestone (0.431 mm; LPS-Fine) increased tibia bone mineral density (BMD) and alleviated incidence of curved keel bones at the end of the pullet phase. Study 3 investigated the subsequent effects of LPS (Study 2) during the layer phase. The LPSBlend increased eggshell weight and alleviated keel bone indentations in the middle and end of the lay cycle (Study 3). Study 4 examined the effects of LPS fed from 9 to 17 wk of age on pullet and hen performance, bone health, and eggshell quality in deep litter systems. Hens fed LPS-Blend during the pullet phase had greater tibia BMD at onset of egg production and higher overall eggshell strength. Study 5 evaluated the effect of two layer strains on nest and perch use in aviary systems. White Leghorn hens had greater usage of perch and nest and preferred elevated tiers compared to Brown hens. In conclusion, the provision of LPS-Blend rather than LPS-Fine during the pullet phase improved bone mineralization at the onset of egg production and eggshell quality. Although White Leghorn hens had greater usage of resources in aviary systems; they had higher potential risk of bone fractures. PA and NE 1442 members contributed to the PA HPAI Task Force with preparedness documents, websites and presentations to back yard and commercial poultry keepers in the areas of flock plans, virus testing, biosecurity, flock depopulation and disposal. Antimicrobial alternatives for Coccidiosis Control. VA conducted an experiment to understand the effects of antimicrobial alternatives on the effective control of coccidiosis in broiler chickens as a result of regulation around the continued use of antibiotics in a growth promoting role. This research in collaboration with Dr. Rami Dalloul demonstrated that bata-glucans can have some positive effects for cocci control and that when looking at the effects of coccidiosis on broiler lean v. fatty tissue accumulation, coccidiosis has a greater effect on energy accumulation as fatty tissue than amino acid accumulation as lean tissue. This effect should be expected as one of cocci modes of action includes reduced dietary fat digestibility, but part of this effect could be also related to activation of the immune system with more energy resources diverted from tissue accretion. Follow up experiments to this work include evaluation of direct fed microbials with an E. coli challenge model and control of necrotic enteritis using non-drug preventatives. Body composition will be used to help determine the fate of both energy and amino acid resources in response to infection. Environmental Stewardship. PA received a new USDA-CIG grant which will focus on doing new research and outreach with vegetative and Riparian Buffers for Environmental Stewardship and Renewable Fuels on Poultry Farms, demonstrating the five conservation practices vegetative buffers can deliver for air quality, landscaping and screening, energy conservation, biomass (bedding & fuel) production, and riparian buffers for water quality. Objective 3. Establishing parameters influenced by the production system and strains utilized within the poultry industry. This collaborative research will encompass the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety and quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems. Nutrition. KY conducted a series of experiments to look at increase nutrient utilization. A study exploring the relationship between calcium and phosphorus levels resting on apparent and standardized ileal amino acid losses in broiler and laying hens has just been completed. A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the use of algae as a source of Omega 3 fatty acids in layer and broiler diets. Studies evaluated the effect of pasture vs. conventional rearing in combination with alternative ingredients on heritage breeds. Laying Hen Performance and Economic Returns. NC conducted the 39th North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test (NCLP&MT) with a flock in its 109th week of production. To date 4 reports have been published the, Hatch report 39th NCLP&MT Vol39, No. 1, the Grow report of the 39th NCLP&MT Vol. 39, No. 2, the First Cycle Report of the 39th NCLP&MT Vol. 39, No. 3, and the Single Cycle Report of the 39th NCLP&MT and the 3rd NCAPELP&MT Vol. 39, No. 4. The Piedmont Research Station Poultry Unit Layer facilities which underwent a major remodel have been through a complete laying cycle, conventional cage, enrichable cage, enriched environmental housing system, cage-free and free-range production environments used in the US. NC also conducted studies examining molting hens is the 39th NCLP&MT trial. Currently the egg industry practice remains to molt over 80% of the caged, enrichable and enriched egg-type hens in the U.S.A. Molting remains a viable management tool used to extend the productive life of the hen and enhance the production planning needed by the producers. In the 39th NCLP&MT the non-feed-withdrawal program developed in conjunction with the NCLP&MT at the Piedmont Station, was completed in the conventional cage system. The hens experienced a cessation of egg production in the flock, and the birds experience a respite from egg production with a 20% body weight loss. This study showed that the documented method for molting extensive production systems was effective in both Brown and White Egg Strains. The hen livability and subsequent productivity of the hens having undergoing the non-anorexic molt are the key aspects along with taking into account the costs of feed and management. These costs may be more than compensated for by the expected reduction in mortality and increased salable eggs produced under the non-anorexic program which would provide additional monetary returns. PA and members of NE 1442 from MN, MI, NC, IN, and PA combined on a NIFA grant addressing production and animal welfare of turkeys. A study was started evaluating heavy hen density and litter composition on welfare of the birds (growth, foot pad scores, litter scores, walking ability, and behavior).

Publications

AR Liang, Y. and Z. Liang. 2015. Monitoring thermal environment on live haul broiler trucks. ASABE Annual Meeting, Paper No. 152189918. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. DE Li, H., R. Alphin, Z. Zhu, Z. Zhou, X. Wen. 2015. Comparison of Two Different Floor Systems for Broilers. Paper number 15-053. NABEC annual meeting, Newark, Delaware, July 12-15, ASABE. Weiss, Alyson. 2015. Effects of acidic litter amendments with multiple application on ammonia, microbial environment, production performances, and health of broilers. University of Delaware. Yang, X., H. Li, C. Zhang, C. Lin. 2015. Development of a Spinner-Disc Spreader System to Apply Litter Amendments in Broiler Houses. Paper number 152161483, 2015 ASABE Annual International Meeting. Yang, X., H. Li, C. Zhang. 2015. Field Comparison of TSI DustTrak PM Monitor with Tapered Element Oscillating Microbalance (TEOM. Paper number 152161447, 2015 ASABE Annual International Meeting. (doi: 10.13031/aim.20152161447). IL Maia, G.D.N., A.R. Green, B.C. Ramirez, Y. Sun, L.F. Rodriguez, D.W. Shike, and R.S. Gates. 2015. A novel ruminant emission measurement system: Part II-Commissioning. Transactions of the ASABE. Accepted for Publication. Maia, G.D.N., B.C. Ramirez, A.R. Green, J.R. Segers, D.W. Shike, L.F. Rodriguez and R.S. Gates. 2015. A novel ruminant emission measurement system: Part I. Design evaluation and description. Transactions of the ASABE 58(3):749-762. doi:10.13031/trans.58.10752. Sales, G.T., A.R. Green, R.S. Gates, T.M. Brown-Brandl and R.A. Eigenberg. 2015. Quantifying detection performance of a passive low-frequency RFID system in an environmental preference chamber. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 114:261-268. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2015.03.008. Xiong, Y., A.R. Green, and R.S. Gates. 2015. Characteristics of trailer thermal environment during commercial swine transport managed under US industry guidelines. Animals 5(2):226-244. doi 10.3390/ani6020226. Zhang, Z., R.S. Gates, Z. Zhirong and H. Xiohui. 2015. Evaluation of ventilation performance and energy efficiency of greenhouse fans. Int J Agric & Biol Eng 8(1):103-110. doi 10.3965/j-ijabe.20150801.014. Saraz, J.A.O., I.F.F. Tinoco, R.S. Gates, K.S.O. Rocha and O.L.Z. Marin. 2015. A simple methodology to measure ammonia flux generated in poultry houses submitted to natural ventilation. Rev Colomb Cienc Pecu 28:3-12. dePersio, S., P.L. Utterback, C.W. Utterback, S. Rochell, N.O. Sullivan, K. Bregendahl, J. Arango, C.M. Parsons, and K.W. Koelkebeck. 2014. Effects of feeding diets varying in energy and nutrient density to Hy-Line W-36 laying hens on production performance and economics. Poult. Sci. 94:195-206. IN Yan, F.F., G.R. Murugesan, and H.W. Cheng. 2015.The effects of dietary supplementation of probiotics on performance, eggshell quality, cecal microflora composition, and skeletal health of White Leghorn hens. Poult. Sci. 94(E-Suppl.1):46. IA Hansen, H., T. Wang, D. Dolde, and H. Xin. 2015. Tocopherol and annatto tocotrienols distribution in laying-hen bod. Poultry Sci. doi: 10.3382/ps/pev228. Hansen, H., T. Wang, D. Dolde, H. Xin, and K. Prusa. 2015. Supplementation of laying-hen feed with annatto tocotrienols and impact of ?-tocopherol on tocotrienol transfer to egg yolk. J. Agric. Food Chem. DOI: 10.1021/jf505536u. Karcher, D.M., D.R. Jones, Z. Abdo, Y. Zhao, T.A. Shepherd, and H. Xin. 2015. Impact of commercial housing system and nutrition and energy intake on laying hen performance and egg quality parameters. Poult. Sci. 94:485-501. Li, H., C. Zhang and H. Xin. 2015. Performance of an infrared photoacoustic single gas analyzer in measuring ammonia from poultry houses. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 31(3):471-477. Long, H., Y. Zhao, T. Wang, Z. Ning, and H. Xin. 2105. Effect of light-emitting diode (LED) vs. fluorescent lighting (Fl) on laying hens in aviary hen houses: Part 1 – Operational characteristics of lights and production traits of hens. Poultry Sci. doi.org/10.3382/ps/pev121. Long, H., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, H. Hansen, Z. Ning, and T. Wang. 2015. Effect of light-emitting diode (LED) vs. fluorescent (FL) lighting on laying hens in aviary hen houses: Part 2 – Egg quality, shelf life and lipid composition. Poultry Science (accepted). Ma, H., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, B. Li, T.A. Shepherd, and I. Alvarez-Castro. 2015. Assessment of lighting needs by W-36 laying hens via preference test. Animals (accepted). Shepherd, T.A., Y. Zhao, H. Li, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, and H. Xin. 2015. Environmental assessment of three laying-hen housing systems– Part II: ammonia, greenhouse gas, and particulate matter emissions. Poultry Science 94(3):534-543. Zhao, Y., T.A. Shepherd, T.A., H. Li, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, and H. Xin. 2015. Environmental assessment of three laying-hen housing systems–Part I: monitoring system and indoor air quality. Poult. Sci. 94:518-533. Zhao, Y., T. A. Shepherd, J. Swanson, J. A. Mench, D.M. Karcher, and H. Xin. 2015. Comparative evaluation of three laying-hen housing systems: description of the production systems and management practices. Poult. Sci. 94:475-484. MN Johny, A. Kollandoor, K. Venkitanarayanan, A. Donoghue, D. Donoghue, and M. Darre. 2015. Potential Role of Essential Oils in Organic Poultry Production. Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, Saint Paul, Minnesota, March 15-17, p 8. Nair, D. V. T., and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2015. Use of probiotics and prebiotics in poultry. Proceedings of the 76th Minnesota Nutrition Conference. Pp 200 – 209. Nair, D. V. T., Jennifer Hagen, Claire Peichel, Soren Hallberg, Alexandra Bakken and Anup Kollanoor-Johny. 2015. Antimicrobial potential of Propionibacterium freudenreichii against Salmonella Heidelberg and Salmonella Enteritidis. Poult. Sci. 94 (E-Suppl. 1): 13. Noll, SL, 2015. U of M Research Update: Energy Value of DDGS for Turkeys Proceedings of the 76th Minnesota Nutrition Conference. Pp 218-219. Youmans, B , S. Noll, T.J. Johnson. 2015. Modulating the gut microbiome to enhance growth and performance in commercial turkey flocks. Proceedings of the 9th Turkey Science and Production Conference. Chester UK. Wealleans, A.L., D Yueming, M Hruby, K Gibbs, S Noll. 2015 A multi-enzyme and direct-fed microbial combination improves turkey brooder performance and intestinal morphology. Poult. Sci. 94 (E-Suppl. 1): 90. Noll, S.L., Z. Jiang, PB Tillman. 2015. Digestible lysine requirement of male turkey poults. Poult. Sci. 94 (E-Suppl. 1): 124. NC Burley, H. K., P. H. Patterson, and K. E. Anderson, 2015. Alternative ingredients for providing adequate methionine in organic poultry diets in the United States with limited synthetic amino acid use. World’s Poultry Sci. J. 71: In Press. Gast, R. K., R. Guraya, D. R. Jones, and K. E. Anderson. 2015. Persistence of fecal shedding of Salmonella Enteritidis by experimentally infected laying hens housed in conventional or enriched cages. Poult, Sci. 94: In Press. Jackson, M and K. Anderson. 2015. Effect of ß-mannanase (Hemicell-HT) feed enzyme on post-molted layer performance in 11 white egg strains. Southern Poult. Sci. Suppl. 94:40 (Abstract T133). Anderson, K.E. 2015. Single Production Cycle Report of the Thirty Ninth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test: Alternative Production Environments. Vol. 39, No.4. August 2015; http://poultry.ces.ncsu.edu/layer-performance/. Karcher. D. M., K. W. Koelkebeck, K. E. Anderson. 2015. Pullets: Alternative Methods to Delay Onset of Lay. Michigan State University Extension, Publication AABI-060 Pullets, 1P–05:2015–Web–PA/AB WCAG 2.0 AA2. Anderson, K.E. 2015. First Cycle Report of the Thirty Ninth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test. Vol. 39, No.3. April 2015; http://poultry.ces.ncsu.edu/layer-performance/. Anderson, K. E. 2015. Explaining the North Carolina Egg Law for Producers with Small Flocks, North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension Service, Prestage Dept. of Poultry Science, Raleigh, NC, NC Cooperative Extension Publication AG-802, Feb 13, 2015; http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/explaining-the-north-carolina-egg-law-for-producers-with-small-flocks. Anderson, K. E. 2015. Induced Molting as a Management Tool. North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension Service, Prestage Dept. of Poultry Science, Raleigh, NC, NC Cooperative Extension Publication AG-800, Feb 13, 2015 ; http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/induced-molting-as-a-management-tool. Anderson, K. E. 2015. Induced Molting of Commercial Layers. North Carolina State University, Cooperative Extension Service, Prestage Dept. of Poultry Science, Raleigh, NC, NC Cooperative Extension Publication AG-801, Feb 13, 2015 http://content.ces.ncsu.edu/induced-molting-of-commercial-layers. Anderson, K.E., 2015. Commercial Layer Industry. PAACO Training Conference, Brownstone Hotel, Raleigh, NC August 5, 2015. Anderson, K.E. 2015. Economics of Different Production Systems. Multi-State Poultry Feeding and Nutrition Conference and AS Vista’s Technical Symposium, Marriott East, Indianapolis, IN, May 19-21, 2015. Anderson, K.E., 2015. Lecture VII: Conserving Egg Quality. Proceedings of the National Egg Quality School, Section III, pp.52-66, Indianapolis, IN, May 18-21, 2015. Anderson, K.E., 2015. Lecture IV: Cleaning Eggs for Quality and Safety. Proceedings of the National Egg Quality School, Section III, pp.1-15, Indianapolis, IN, May 18-21, 2015. Anderson, K.E., 2015. Comparison between three egg production systems and its effect on egg safety. XI Symposium on Poultry Processing and Food Safety ANECA - Texas A&M University, February 12-13, 2015, Misión Juriquilla Hotel, Querétaro, México Participants. Vukina, T., K. Anderson, and M.K. Muth. 2014. Proposed Changes in Living Conditions for Broilers under the National Organic Program Will Have Limited Economic Effects. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, Vol. 23: 233-243. Vukina, T., K. Anderson, and M.K. Muth. 2014. Economic Effects of Proposed Changes in Living Conditions for Laying Hens under the National Organic Program. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, Vol. 23: 80-93. VA Calvert, A., M. Schirmacher, C. Honaker, M.E. Persia, and A., McElroy. 2015. Effect of calcium level and a direct-fed microbial on performance of broilers experiencing naturally occurring necrotic enteritis. Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, Louisville, KY July 27-30. Ehr, I.J., A.B Kehlet, J. Dickerson, and M.E. Persia. 2015. Effects of direct-fed microbials on egg production in late first cycle laying hens. Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, Louisville, KY July 27-30. Ott, C.P., Persia, M.E., Payne, R.L., and R.A. Dalloul. 2015. The effect of ?-glucans on performance and response of broiler chicks during coccidiosis. Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, Louisville, KY July 27-30. Walugembe, M., J.C.F. Hsieh, N.J. Koszewski, S.J. Lamont, M.E. Persia, and M.F. Rothschild. 2015. Effects of dietary fiber on cecal short fatty acid and cecal microbiota of broiler and laying hen chicks. Poult. Sci. 94:2351–2359.

Impact Statements

Cooperative research and efforts by many of the NE-1442 states was very active this Spring and early summer reacting to HPAI preparedness plans by many states in light of the HPAI outbreaks in the Midwest
Several stations researched nutritional recommendations for layers and turkeys and the use of probiotics on layer performance
Several stations researched the benefits of fluorescent and LED lighting on performance of layers in commercial settings
Portable monitoring units (PMU?s) were developed to measure the air environment in commercial poultry facilities
Assessment of major welfare issues with cage free housing was conducted at sereral locations

Date of Annual Report: 10/10/2016

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 08/08/2016 - 08/10/2016
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2015 - 09/30/2016

Participants

Anderson, Ken (kanderso@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University; Cheng, Heng-wei (cheng5@purdue.edu) – USDA ARS; Darre, Michael (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; Purswell, Joseph (joseph.purswell@ars.usda.gov) – USDA ARS; Purdum, Sheila (purdum2@unl.edu) – University of Nebraska; Swanson, Janice (swansoj@msu.edu) – Michigan State University; Xin, Hongwei (hxin@iastate.edu) – Iowa State University; Karcher, Darrin (dkarcher@purdue.edu) – Purdue University; Persia, Mike (mpersia@vt.edu) – Virginia Tech; Zhai, Wei (wei.zhai@msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University; Hulet, Mike (mrh4@psu.edu) – Penn State University; Liang, Yi (yliang@uark.edu) – University of Arkansas; Christensen, Karen (kc014@uark.edu) – University of Arkansas; Makagon, Maja (mmmakagon@ucdavis.edu) – Univ. of CA-Davis; Patterson, Paul (php1@psu.edu) – Penn State University; Davis, Jeremiah (jdavis@abe.msstate.edu) – Auburn University; Wamsley, Kelley (kwamsley@poultry.msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University; Toscano, Mike (michael,toscano@vetsuisse.unibe.ch) – ZTHZ, VPHI; Johny, Anup Kollanoor (anupjohn@umn.edu) – University of Minnesota; Estevez, Inma (iestevez@neiker.net) – Teiker-Tecnalia; Ferket, Peter (peter_ferket@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University; Jones, Deana (deana.jones@ars.usda.gov) – USDA-ARS; Li, Hong (hli@udel.edu) – University of Delaware; Macklin, Ken (macklks@auburn.edu – Auburn University; Sunde, Roger (sundenutrisci.wisc.edu) – University of Wisconsin-Madison; Vukina, Tom (tom_vukina@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University; Vizcarra, Jorge (Jorge.vizcarra@aamu.edu) – Alabama A&M University; Widowski, Tina (twidowski@uoguelph.ca) – University of Guelph; Erasmus, Marissa (merasmus@purdue.edu) - Purdue University; Roberson, Kevin (kevin.roberson@michaelfoods.com) – Michael Foods Egg Products Co.; Cameron Faustman (cameron.faustman@uconn.edu) - Univ. of Connecticut; McDonald, Ron; Novak, Curtis; Arango, Jesus; Rubinoff, Ian;

Brief Summary of Minutes

NE 1442 Poultry Production Systems and Well-being: Sustainability for Tomorrow

Meeting Minutes

August 8-10, 2016

The meeting was held at the Center for Proper Housing Poultry and Rabbits (ZTHZ) within the Veterinary Public Health Institute, University of Bern and the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, Bern, Switzerland.

Dr. Michael Toscano served as the meeting coordinator and host.

NE-1442 members attending: Tayo Adedokum, KY; Kenneth Anderson, NC; Michael Darre, CT; Cameron Faustman (Advisor), CT; Angela Green, IL; Kenneth Koelkebeck, IL; Hong Li, DE; Anthony Pescatore, KY; Jody Purswell, USDA-ARS; Janice Swanson, MI; Harshavardhan Thippareddi, GA; Michael Toscano, CH; Jorge Vizcarra, AL; Tom Vukina, NC; Kelley Wamsley, MS; Hongwei Xin, IA; Wei Zhai, MS. European visitors and collaborators: Christoph Ahrens, Anicon GmbH; Sabine Gebhardt, U of Bern; Christph Gerpe, U of Bern; Richard Hoop, U of Zurich; Karin Kreyenbühl, Geflugel and Vogelpraxis; Sarah Lambton, U of Bristol; Bas Liebregts and Harry Luimes, Vencomatic Group; Franz Renggli, Frifag Marwil AG; Nadine Ringgenberg, FSVO; Christina Rufener, U of Bern; Lars Schrader, Friedrich Loeffler Institute; Markus Schwab, U of Bern; Janja Sirovnik, U of Bern; Ari Stratmann, U of Bern; John Tarlton, U of Bristol; Teun van de Braak, Hendrix Genetics; Sabine Vögeli U of Bern; Claire Weeks, U of Bristol; Ruedi Zweifel, Aviforum.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Ken Koelkebeck is sitting in as Senior Exec and meeting chair and called the meeting to order at 9:00 am. Mike Darre is secretary and will be taking minutes. All those present introduced themselves. Then he asked our USDA advisor, Dr. Cameron Faustman to speak.

Dr. Cameron Faustman spoke about the project, said our project is doing well, the experiment station directors feel this is a good project and are very supportive of the work being done.

Updates: Keep up with reports and submissions. Personnel changes have occurred in the NE office. Steve Rossie stepped down as regional office manager and Rick Rhodes is now in the office. Ruby Maize, who was the administrative secretary retired July 1 and is with University of Maryland, so we are now looking for her replacement. All NE schools contribute funds to maintain a central office of the NE projects where the website is maintained and reports are consolidated.

He said there is a new NC project about microbial resistance.

Some funds are available through USDA education grants program, but there is not a lot of competition for them. He felt we might try to develop some educational based projects, perhaps with internships. Since there are not many Industry/Academic partnerships apply there is funding available. These grants are for practical hands-on type learning projects.

Hatch/Smith lever funding is flat with more overhead taken out prior to getting to states. More funding in future will probably be for Microbiome research from USDA/NIFA.

From now on, any equipment from Multistate funds costing more than $5K will need special approval from the feds. This will add some time and paperwork to equipment funding.

The NIMMS website is relatively new and still has some bugs to work out so have patience when reviewing or submitting to the site.

Food waste is becoming a bigger issue in the US and worldwide. We waste almost 40% of our food in US. Ad council is now doing ads about this. So research on utilization of food waste might be of value and may get funding in the future.

2. Ken asked for the approval of the minutes of last year’s meeting. Moved by Ken Andersons, second by Mike Persia. The minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

3. The Nominating Committee was appointed as follows: Ken Andeson, Hongwei Xin, Mike Toscano and Ken Koelkebeck. They will nominate the Junior Executive.

4. Next year’s NE 1442 meeting will be in Athens GA where Deana Jones will be our host. Deana suggested, either Aug 3-5 (arriving Aug 3 and departing afternoon Aug 5) or 10- 12 would be the dates we may want to target. Our mid-year meeting will be in Atlanta at IPPE in January. Ken Anderson will notify of the time and room at the IPPE.

5. We deed to submit a NIMMS report 60 days after the end of this meeting, Oct 10, 2016 is due date. We need to submit a short paragraph summary of work and a list of publications to Ken Koelkebeck by Sept 23. The full station reports will be due prior to January 1, 2017.

6. Our project needs some new industry advisors. Hank Engster retired and Bob Buresh is also off the project as well as the person from Aviagen. We will ask Ryn Devine, Cal-Maine Foods, food safety (Kelly will contact), Phil Smith, broiler nutrition (Tony will contact). It was also suggested to ask Derek Emmerson (broiler Genetics) from Aviagen to join, Jorge will ask him. Also would like to invite Neal O’Sullivan (Hy-Line Intl) layer behavior and genetics (Ken Koelkebeck to contact), and Vernon Felts, nutrition and production (Turkeys, Butterball) (Mike Persia will contact).

Cameron noted that Texas A&M had funding to summarize project info into a short PDF publication. Optimization of Poultry Welfare and Production Systems NE-1042 (2009-2014) was a PDF as is attached to this report. We still have an old website at UConn that Mike Darre set up. It will remain as is for historical reference.

We need to get a re-write committee together. We will need to start the rewrite at next year’s meeting in Athens.

There was a short break at 10:28 am and return to business at 10:40 am.

The nominating committee put forth the following slate of officers:

Senior Executive – Anup Koolanoor-Johny (MN)

Junior Executive – Kelly Wamsley (MS)

Secretary – Mike Darre (CT)

Meeting Chair for 2017 – Deana Jones

Meeting Chair for 2018 – Mike Persia (Virginia Tech)

Ken Anderson Moved and Janice Swanson seconded. The slate was approved by unanimous vote.

NE-1442 Station Reports:

NC State: Ken Anderson – Overview of Piedmont Research Station and Layer test. Three missions, Extension and Outreach, Research and Instruction. Layer Test under the NCLP&MT (North Carolina Layer Production and Management Test). They have the ability to test conventional, enriched, colony, free range and organic poultry. This test has been ongoing since 1958.

They are working on building an Aviary system, and currently have $1.6 million, need an additional $1.6 million to finish the project.

One of their projects is on humane mass depopulation with ventilation shut down (VSD), feed ingredients, feed products to reduce SE in gut, and molting systems and food safety and organic eggs. For VSD they are using brain wave activity (EEG) to see when they are brain dead relative to the shutdown.

Tom Vukina – Economist. Looking at integrator-grower relationships and contracts. What will happen if AI hit NC? He did an impact study. Hongwei said that they studied the impact of cage free on the layer industry and it is estimated that it would be about $8.5 billion.

University of Bristol, UK John Tarlton. He is studying sustainable production in laying hens. He is looking forward to US/UK collaborations. Talked about production systems and banning of conventional battery cages by different countries, starting with Switzerland and Europe. Still some problems with alternative systems. Particularly keel bone fractures in free range systems. Perching/roosting systems affect the frequency of fractures. Higher up, more fractures. Used some accelerometers to monitor impact force, but also gets some behavior data. They found that during mid lay, at 46-52 weeks, there is a peak in fractures. The key is to reduce energy and frequency of collisions. There is a Hazard Paradox - the more work or stress on the keel the more bone is formed and increased stiffness, but also more fractures. Less activity, less fractures. Wing flapping without obstruction seems to be a good activity. They are now testing range birds, some with enhancement, some without. They are using accelerometers and light monitors to tell where the birds are and how much movement is occurring. They are also looking at nutritional issues and skeletal development. In extensive systems bone strength continues to increase during the laying period compared to intensive systems. N3 Linolenic acid vs N6 linoleic acid ratios affect bone, more N3 in diet is better. With genetics, diet, rearing and housing we are able to reduce keel bone fractures.

Virginia Tech – Mike Persia. He is studying acute and chronic effects of heat stress on performance and blood gas parameters in laying hens. They have two heat chambers with individual cages for birds. They heat stress birds by putting them into a chamber at 35^oC for an acute exposure or chronic for 2 or 4 weeks. After two and four weeks of stress, body temps came down to almost normal during heat exposure. Heat stress reduced egg production and feed intake. Probiotics help reduce effects of heat stress. Added coccidiosis to see how probiotics help with negative effects of cocci on birds. Coccidial infection with Acervulina resulted in a 6.7% reduction in lean tissue and a 17.3% reduction in fatty tissue.

Break for lunch at the Rutti cafeteria at noon.

University of Bern – Michael Toscano. At the research facility they have a small scale commercial aviary system (Vencomatic) for research projects. Projects include: Optimizing layer feeder space, especially in aviary. EU and Swiss specified 8 and 10 cm/bird. Studied 5 spaces ranging from 3.8 cm to 10 cm/bird. They found decreased aggression with more feeder space, but interestingly they found that the rate of change decreases as you increase space, the diminishing returns principle. With more feeder space, birds consume more feed with same egg production. Another study is on differential ranging. Most birds (>70%) of birds stay inside the house by choice. In Australia, they want 50% of the birds outside 50% of the time. Real data needs to be generated on bird behavior in range systems. Using RFID systems they are tracking up to 150 birds per range pen. Another project is looking at genetic variation of keel bone damage, found some strains with high resistance to fractures. Additionally they looked at productivity of the layer birds with keel bone damage. Birds with fractures had fewer eggs. Egg mass and shell quality were also affected. Future projects are on early detection of disease states in broilers and how hen removal from an aviary affects bird damage. Mike has a grant for 440,000$ EU over 4 years to create a CH/EU-wide network of researchers and stakeholders interested in keel bone damage, members outside are welcome to join, e.g. US.

Iowa State University – Hongwei Xin. One of their projects is assessing light intensity choice of layers using CFL lamps at different intensities, but with the same spectral output. They designed a light tunnel so birds had a choice of where they wanted to be. Birds spent 45% of time in 5 lux and 22% of time in 15 and 30 lux. The spent about 25 min per hour in dark and the rest of their time in light throughout the day. About 62% of eggs were laid in the dark. The total daily light and dark hours were 14L:10D. They also looked at lighting preference of birds reared under incandescent light for either CFL or LED lamps during the production period. Birds spent more time in CFL than LED. Another study looked at feeding and nesting behaviors of individual hens in enriched colony systems using an RFID system. Not all birds wanted to feed at same time, but on average they spent about 320 minutes (22% of time) per day at feeder. They are also looking at the effects of acidified electrolyzed water on particulate matter on ammonia levels in cage-free housing. The more water on the litter the lower the PM level, and the more acidic the lower the ammonia level. Another project is on barn environment after Ventilation Shut Down (VSD) and time to achieve 104^oF. Looking to achieve in no more than 30 min and determine the amount of supplemental heat needed to achieve the target environment, which depends on number of birds and outside temp. CO₂ never went over 1,600 ppm, so it is temperature and humidity, not CO₂ that kills birds. In another study they studied HPAI movement by attaching to dust particles. One approach is filtering the air entering the henhouse. An electrostatic filtering system coupled with less expensive particle filters works well.

Michigan State University – Janice Swanson is reporting for Darren Karcher. The studies they have done and are doing include the impact of Bio-D on layer performance from 17 to 84 weeks of age, causes of keel abnormalities in laying hens housed in enriched colony cages, egg quality and safety, impact of hen strains in an aviary housing system, and space and resource use of 4 strains of laying hens.

University of Kentucky – Tony Pescatore and Tayo Adedokun. One study was on endogenous amino acids in broilers and layers to determine loses and the effect of dietary electrolyte balances. They also looked at the cost of analysis for feed samples comparing regular drying ovens vs freeze drying. They found that how samples are handled may affect final analysis. Some ingredients are adversely affected by drying method and other analyses and may alter the results. Another project is looking at how dietary fiber affects feeding time. They are also developing a database on production characteristics of various breeds, including heritage breeds of meat birds. Heritage birds were much slower growing and less efficient than the Cornish cross broiler. Use of Red Rangers vs Cornish cross will require more inputs, more birds, etc. Much more use of energy and facilities for using these types of slow growing broiler birds. However, some retail food companies are looking to purchase the slower growing broilers.

University of CT - Michael Darre. At UConn there is a lot of research on the use of natural plant derived antimicrobials (PDA) to reduce the incidence of Salmonella (both Enteritidis and Heidelberg). It was found that carvacrol, eugenol, and beta-resorcylic acid when mixed with either pectin or gum arabic and used to coat shell eggs reduced the incidence of SE, with carvacrol being the most effective. In another study, it was found that feed supplementation of beta-resorcylic acid and trans-cinnamaldehyde for 21 day old broilers significantly reduced Salmonella Heidelberg colonization in the cecum, liver, and crop. In another study the PDA carvacrol was used to determine antiviral activity against the Avian Influenza virus in an in ovo infection model. Carvacrol at both 0.2% amd 0.1% significantly reduced the virus titer, suggesting potent antiviral activity of the phytochemical against the AI virus. The researchers also studied the efficacy of Octenidine hydrochloride (OH) in reducing SE on chicken meat. Octenidine is a new generation disinfectant use in human mouth rinses. For this study chicken wings were used and were spot inoculated with 5 log CFU of a five strain mixture of SE per wing. It was found that OH is an effective disinfectant against SE on chicken meat. Energy efficient lighting has been the subject of research for many years at UConn and it is continuing with a study of using LED lamps to individually illuminate each cage in a commercial layer facility. A string of 2700K LED’s were placed in the bottom level of a four tier cage system prior to placing 18 week old pullets. The light levels were about 16 lx (1.5 fc) in the middle of the cage and about 7 lx (0.6 fc) at the feeder. Data will be accumulated over the life of the flock on HD and HH egg production as well as mortality. Some data from 26 and 27 weeks post housing indicated a slight increase in egg production in the LED birds compared to the corresponding cage tier on either side of the cage row with the LED lamps. Complete statistical analysis will be forthcoming.

University of Illinois – Ken Koelkebeck and Angela Green. One project is focused on assessing ventilation using intelligent portable monitoring units in a layer barn. They have six units for measuring ammonia, CO₂, temp, and static pressure. They are collecting data on ammonia levels, temperature, CO₂, and static pressure within cages and between cages in a tunnel ventilated, 12 deck, 425k bird house. They found higher temps at the fan end of the house vs inlet end. Also more ammonia within the cages compared to between cages. Lower outside temps, with lower ventilation rate resulted in higher ammonia levels compared to during hot weather with max ventilation. Angela Green is involved in a “Systems thinking approach to animal housing and husbandry”. This means looking at all factors involved in the animals environment and the ability of the animal to adapt to changes. Housing is a “system” and one needs to focus on animal needs within that system. The current project is on decision support in managing ammonia in the laying hen environment. They looked at long term exposure to 5 or less ppm, 30 ppm for one year and 60 and 90 ppm for a few weeks. They also tested bird preference for ammonia levels. IgM and C4 were reduced at 25 weeks of exposure to 30 ppm but by 45 weeks there were no differences from the control. Birds appear to be adapting to ammonia. Preference testing showed some aversion to 40 ppm. In another study they ran a preference study for door covering type, for their preference chamber. The birds like the hanging chain type covering the best. Maybe because of the novelty of the movement. They also tested the effect of ammonia level on learning and memory. High ammonia levels appeared to increase the learning time and decreased memory.

Alabama A&M University – Jorge Vizcarra. They are doing research on broilers and broiler breeder reproduction. Compared testis weight and body weight and found no direct relationship. However there is a direct relationship between testis weight and sperm per gram of testis weight. Also found that testis weight peaks at about 28 weeks and then starts to decrease. Testis weight was positively correlated to FSH. The size of the testis will affect the pulses of FSH per 12 hours, such that testis less than 10 g do not produce any pulses. In a study of Ghrelin (a 28 AA hormone with Ser-3 modification and is produced in the proventriculus), it was found that it is produced when the proventriculus is empty. In pigs when Ghrelin was blocked, they lost appetite and weight. Passive immunization of turkeys with pig serum from pigs immunized against Ghrelin had an opposite effect, the turkeys ate more. Another project was the effect of Ghrelin on hypertension and acities in broilers.

USDA-ARS Mississippi State – Jody Purswell. They are studying the performance of an automated whole house vaccination system. A system was developed to spray both cage and non-cage house systems. They vaccinated for IBV and NDV and found that the pulsed spray along with a light pulsed on and off results in much higher sero-conversion than manual spray. Works well for pullets and broilers. They are also looking at white striping in broilers. A myopathy in breast tissue. As body weight goes up and age goes up more white striping is found. Also evaluated light intensity sensitivity for chickens and compared to human sensitivity curves. Adjusted to CIE curve for humans. Birds and human are essentially similar. Also looked at how light leakage though fans affects broiler performance. Data still being collected.

University of Delaware – Hong Li. They are studying air emissions from broiler houses through the use of a litter amendment, PLT, at 50lb/1000ft² and 200lb/1000ft², and in the feed and on the floor. They found that there was no difference between the 50 and 200 lb rates in controlling ammonia. They also looked at comparing PL Biochar or PLT on litter surface. It took twice as much of Biochar to get the same level of ammonia control as PLT. Another approach was using seasonal vegetative buffers in addition to the acid scrubber to reduce outside emissions to neighbors. Another area of study was looking at perching behavior and choices of broilers, such as height and shape of the perches. Birds spent more time on square perch at 4 inches than round perch at 4 inches.

Meeting adjourned for the day at 5:14 pm. The group went to Restaurant Kirchenfeld for dinner and enjoyed a delicious meal.

Tuesday, August 9, 2016, 8:30 am – Meeting resumed.

Remarks from Dean. Dr. Hans Wyss, Director, Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office. Dr. Wyss officially welcomed us to Switzerland and the research station. They became both Vet and Food Safety two years ago. They have had a strong collaboration with research and animal welfare for the last thirty years because of the size of the country and the poultry industry.

Remarks from Dr. Gertraud Schupbach, Head, Veterinary Public Health Institute, University of Bern. Her group does work on diseases, welfare and economics. The fact that they are collaborators with and funded by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office they are able to do a lot of good work. All housing systems for animals must be approved by the animal welfare arm of the government (FSVO). They do a lot of work on the subject of housing, welfare, humane impact and economics. They banned cages in 1992 and antimicrobial growth promoters in 1999.

Remarks from Dr. Nadine Ringgenberg, Scientific Collaborator, FSVO. The ZTHZ (Center for proper housing of poultry and rabbits) is a joint venture between the University of Bern and FSVO. They have facilities for both layers and broilers that mimic commercial conditions. One of two areas of research is animal behavior and welfare and the second is testing of farm animal housing systems and equipment for laying hens, broilers and turkeys. In particular they are working on aviary systems, and perches for broilers. They also work with Gallo Suisse, the farmers organization. The authorization procedure for farm animal housing systems must be approved by the FSVO. If a company wants to sell new equipment they must apply, then it is determined if the minimal animal welfare requirements are met, then it is determined if enough info is available on the product and if on farm visits or further testing needs to be done. The switch away for battery cages started in 1981 with the Animal Welfare Ordinance of 1981. Then they had a 10 year phase in period to switch out. Pressure came from major retailers such as Migros and COOP that from 1989 on they would not purchase eggs from hens in battery cage systems.

Special Presentation of Poultry Science Animal Welfare Award.

Since Michael Toscano could not be at the Poultry Science Meetings in New Orleans, LA a few weeks ago, his award was presented by Hongwei Xin and Kenneth Anderson. He received a plaque and a check in recognition of his outstanding research in the field of poultry welfare.

Alternatives to battery cages: Problems and Solutions.

1. Dr. Lars Schrader, Director, Friedrich Loeffler InstituteThe aviary systems are now required to provide 1,111 cm^2/hen. Some aviary systems still have high feather pecking and skin lesions and keel bone damage. Air emissions are much higher in the Aviary compared to the colony cage. Mortality is also much higher in the Aviary compared to the colony. Ramps might be good for reducing keel bone damage, but might encourage more floor eggs due to hiding under the ramps, and possible competition for ramp space, It is also suggested to use about 45 minutes of “dusk” (light transition from light to dark) to help birds settle. It is better to keep the litter area brighter than the tiers to encourage foraging and reduce floor eggs. Nest area should be larger than 1 m² for 120 birds. Pullets should be reared in aviary systems before going to the aviary laying systems. It is critical that chicks and pullets be reared under the same conditions as they will experience as layers, making the transition to the layers house less of a problem, especially for them learning to jump or fly up and down an aviary system.

2. In Germany battery cages were banned in 2010, two years prior to the rest of the EU. There was a legal regulation for use of the colony systems but it was repealed in 2010. A voluntary ban on beak trimming has been in place since 2013. Now there will be a ban on colony cages starting in 2025. So all housing systems for layers must be aviary or other floor or free range type systems. In Germany they must have 800 cm² per hen, which is 50 cm² more than in the EU. The nest must be 90 cm² /hen with perches at two different heights with 15 cm/hen and feed troughs with 12 cm per hen and a litter area of 90 cm²/hen. They found that feather pecking and keel bone damage is relatively high in colony systems. Not many used the litter area (12%). There were low levels of ammonia and particulate matter due to running the manure belts regularly. In a study of commercial farms, the smaller farms (<3,000 birds) had higher mortality and higher feed consumption. The colony cage systems have a high incidence of feather pecking, skin lesions, keel bone damage and requires a higher management effort than battery cages. They also found that having two smaller nest areas is better than one large nest area.

Janice said we need to get Canada involved and also obtain grants for education involving non-cage systems. Mike Toscano will attempt continue funding options with US colleagues (Janice Siegford, MSU) and his existing EU-COST grant. Ken A. said it is more animal husbandry than just technical. It is hard to find people with a good background and understanding of poultry and how they behave and their biological needs. Must get people that train their own replacement. The number of skilled and knowledgeable people is very low compared to the need and the value of the world’s poultry industry. Tom asked if anyone knows the time movement, how long it takes for prices to change from a niche market to a general commodity? Economics is a big part of the transition. Teun van der Braak said that the genetics of layers is there in Europe to use in the cage free systems. Will they be used in the US or other breeds be developed for that market is a big question.

11:50 am. The group went to lunch at the Rutti Cafeteria, and then took a tour of the Aviforum poultry research facilities. We saw the aviary, free-range/WG barn, pullet growing, and egg processing facilities. Mike Toscano and his graduate students led the tours. They showed the RFID systems used to track bird movement and behavior. The group was impressed with the facilities and funding to maintain research.

The meeting resumed at about 14:30.

Discussion Session: Mike Toscano started the discussion with a question of “Why is the cost of labor so high for non-cage systems in the U.S.?” Is training of workers an issue? Janice Swanson noted that part of the labor costs is training time for the workers. Plus lots of time to collect floor eggs. Harry said we must consider that we are comparing a mature system in Switzerland and the EU with a new system in the U.S. that will take time to work out the kinks. We have a lack of experience and training for these systems, but can learn from the EU experience and move forward much faster. Do we have some suggestions for action plan:

Ken Anderson – North Carolina State University. Talked about the economics of the various production systems. Predation was a large problem in their range system until the put netting over the top. All the studies from the NCLPMT have been made available at their website. (https://poultry.ces.ncsu.edu/layer-performance/).

Ken Koelkebeck – University of Illinois. Talked about the history of animal rights and pressure on the poultry industry in the US. From banning battery cages to using colony systems and now to cage-free. Many food companies are committed to cage-free by 2025. It is estimated that the cost to go to cage-free is about 8 billion dollars. He also presented the CSES data from their three year study. This can be found at the CSES website (http://www2.sustainableeggcoalition.org/).

Harry Luimes VP Sales North America and Mexico and Bas Liebregts product manager from Vencomatic Group. Vencomatic is the world’s number one in sustainable poultry friendly systems. Now they are in the US and Mexico as well as the rest of the world. Pullet management is the weak link in the system at this point. Pullets should be reared in the same manner as they will be in production. A good pullet must be able to jump, use perches, sleep away from litter, and use nest boxes. They found that about 83% of flocks in EU have red mites (chicken mite) and with banning of pesticides, it is a real problem. How to cope with this problem is one of the issues facing aviary system management. One solution is to create an electrical barrier between resting and feeding. They have invented a perch with an electrical shock system under the perching surface so when the mites crawl up to get to the birds, they must cross this barrier and get shocked and killed. This is currently under testing.

Restricted antibiotic use: Problems and solutions

Richard Hoop – Institute for Veterinary Bacteriology, University of Zurich. In Western Europe the ban of antibiotic growth promoters (AGP) started in Switzerland in 1999, Denmark in 1998, Sweden in 1986 the EU in general in 2006. Now 35 EU countries have a veterinary prescription requirement for limited use of critical antibiotics (AB). Prudent Use (or optimal use) means less AB by avoiding unnecessary use and appropriateness. In Denmark the vet must purchase the AB used from a pharmacy or company for use on the farm. In Denmark they are now down to only .15 treatment days per year. Lower numbers of resistant bacteria are found in broilers reared in Denmark. In the Netherlands they also monitor AB use through vets. In 2014 there was an average of 19.9 treatment days per year. www.abcheck.ugent.be or www.antibiotawijzer.nl are sites vets can check for antibiotic resistance information. StAR in Switzerland is available for similar info. Swiss poultry is about 750 units, small broiler flocks, mandatory salmonella control program. Now have only 1.5 to 2 treatment days/year. No reduction in resistance between 2006 and 2014 in Switzerland (CH). New definition of prudent use of AB must be integrated into the concept of good management. This includes all husbandry, vet, vaccine, hygene, etc. If we don’t use AB it will cost more, so must be careful in use of AB. Must start with the eggs and chicks. In Europe there are some vaccines for Ecoli and Clostridium perfringens (netB). No current SE vaccine in CH. What about feed additives? Probiotics, new one are available that produce butyrate-producing bacteria. Pre-biotics and PDA’s are most effective in sub-optimal production systems. Future methods: Probiotics, bacteriophages, quorum sensing.

Dr. Franz Renggli – Frifag foods/Head of Swiss Poultry Vet Association. There is a cost to every change we make in antibiotic use in food animals. He feels most problems are human made because we want good, cheap production. Some resistances to AB was there prior to AB use. Public view is that farm use is less important than efficacy of antibiotics in humans. Most decisions about AB is by human doctors, the press and politicians. Public is influenced by Activists, the press and politicians and human doctors. What will be most important? Price, welfare, food to eat, biosecurity, and human health are major concerns. Will there be availability of AB, AGP, vaccines, coccidiostats, and anti-parasitic agents? What to do to prepare? Good general health situation, good organization, everyone with same concern, good biosecurity and hygiene, more education for farmers, good parent stock, use AB only when needed are all things to set as goals to achieve. The big problem is animal welfare vs animal health vs food cost vs human health.

BREAK at 15:30 with chocolate, cookies, tea, coffee, and apples.

Dr. Kelly Wamsley – Mississippi State Univ. Antibiotic use for poultry in the US. Some report antibiotic resistance (ABR) as a global healthcare crisis. Most people feel this is from misuse in agriculture. More than 50% of US broiler flocks are currently AB free. What is an acceptable level of mortality? To go AB free producers must start at the breeder level through the hatchery and on to production birds. In-feed disease control – three legged stool – 3-Nitro, antibiotics and coccidiostats. Take one leg away, stool sways, take away more, it topples. What are the replacements? Probiotics, prebiotics, essential oils, etc? Other nutritional approaches such as through proteins, CHO, and other ingredients such as exogenous feed enzymes. Early nutritional strategies are also important. What about litter management as it relates to bird health? Biosecurity? Flock down time? In MS they have done some research on in-ovo injections of probiotics. Used Gallipro Hatch. No negative affect on Marek’s vaccine. Tried some pre-biotics (saccharomyces cerevisiae) also. So there are some research hurdles to AB and NAE free production such as regional issues, different management schemes, funding, etc.

Discussion: Much was discussed about the Veterinary Feed Directive (VFD) that goes into effect on Jan 1, 2017 in the USA. No antibiotics but can use anticoccidial in Switzerland and EU. Talked about genetics and resistance, and early feeding and water on broiler health. Harry Luimes discussed moving 18 day old embryo eggs to the actual broiler farm and hatching the eggs at the broiler growing farm. He felt the birds do much better since they are placed quickly and have access to water almost immediately which helps birds adapt to the facility and are healthier. This is a new management strategy that may help. Action Points: What next? React to the situation as best we can. Must be honest to consumer. Need to coordinate. The poultry health conference is a good venue to discuss this issue. US Poultry and Egg is also putting out information for producers. Other?? At 17:40 we ended discussion and adjourned for the day. We met at the Restaurant Volkhaus for dinner and afterword retired to Kornhauskeller for social time. Wednesday, August 10, 2016, 8:30 am

HPAI Preparedness

Christoph Ahrens, M.Sc. (For Dr. Peter Behr – Managing Director (Vaccines) Anicon) GESEVO (Pest preparedness) Gesellschaft fur Seuchenvorsorge.

AI in Northern Italy since 1999, Netherlands 2003. They learned it was too slow to respond and combat, it was spread by crews and it resulted in spike in prices. Depopulation must be done quickly and efficiently and not spread the disease. Depends on quick diagnostics. Then must have a generous indemnity for the birds that were killed. Accepted methods allowed in EU and Germany are CO₂ and CO₂ plus argon. Cannot use foam or ventilation shutdown. One problem is that the farm owner is not expert in depopulation and not always psychologically prepared to kill their own flock. GESEVO was founded by local farmer organizations and was set up for depopulation of flocks and help with indemnity. They develop systems and do training. There are standards for worker protection, animal welfare, hygiene, and protection against spread of disease. Set up is done with few staff members, no touching of live animals and proper disposal of the dead. The have small, portable truck disinfection units. They have a mobile shower truck for personnel. They use whole house gassing with CO₂. Then they disinfect dead birds prior to picking up and loading. For gassing using containers they use a mix of CO2 and Argon gas. (www.anicon.eu)

Hongwei Xin – Iowa State University. Egg Industry Center. US Egg Industry during and after 2015 HPAI outbreak.

First talked about the 2015 HPAI outbreak and the loss of 48 million birds, most of which were layers (34,358,140, or 71%). The start was in a backyard flock in December 2014 and not until April 2015 was the first commercial layer farm hit. Disposal was burial for layers, composting in the barn for turkeys or outside for layers and turkeys. Some incineration and landfills were also used. The impact on bird inventory was significant. We had about 312 million layers to start and it dropped to 278 million. Now we are starting to recover and in July 2016 we were up to about 300 million layers. The export market was at about 12 million eggs per day, and after the outbreak went to about 6 million per day. We are still importing 2 million eggs per day right now. US egg prices went to about $2.75 per dozen during the outbreak and now it is about $0.8 per dozen, way below the 10 year average. We are consuming about 230 million eggs per day now.

Then vs Future procedures/actions. Now: talking about vaccine, better communication, movement in control zones, depopulation and disposal methods, and new cleaning and disinfecting methods. Now want to depopulate flocks within 24 hrs of outbreak. May use whole house foam or gas, or CO₂ carts or VSD. Now looking at enhancing biosecurity entries into facilities – such as two zone entry – dirty vs clean side. Also looking at a three zone where you have dirty then wash hands then change clothes. Also looking at better truck and equipment washing and disinfecting systems. Cost is about $1 per bird for all the enhanced biosecurity systems.

Other research has shown that the AI virus can be airborne in the dust. Filtering air going out of house may be one option. Also assessing movement of air from one facility to another or across larger areas to other farms.

Ventilation shut down (VSD) has been studied to determine best way to use this and how much additional heat is needed.

Also looking at heat treatment of egg flats to disinfect. Another project was determining if AI can be transmitted via feedstuffs. The role of terrestrial wild birds, rodents and insects in virus transmission is also being determined. Other projects are looking for a genetic basis for resistance to AI in commercial egg layers. In Alabama they are studying the role of litter beetles, water and rodents in AI transmission. At UC Davis they are looking a persistence of virus under different environmental conditions.

Most of these studies are funded by Egg Industry Center at Iowa State University.

General Discussion: Mike T. asked if depopulation was being considered in the structures being built for aviaries and cage systems. Some new swine facilities are going to positive pressure systems, which can filter incoming air. How are costs offset for depopulation? Now thinking that use of government funds to pay owners to do their own C&D after depopulation might be the best way. This is because the U.S. government hired a crew that was good at industrial disinfection, but had no idea how to handle dead poultry and their facilities. One question is “Who declares it is HPAI?” in each country. What about movement of un-infected product in and out of a quarantine zone? In Germany and EU no movement at all within a 3 km radius zone. In US there are some allowances for product movement. How should farms be placed relative to bird migration patterns. Most farms are now built with reference to existing housing and living areas. How is monitoring being done in US? In the US we have NPIP and NAHMS labs for regular testing. In Germany, if an outbreak occurs, the CO₂ suppliers (Linde) must bring gas, even if on their way to another customer. Where is the HPAI protocol? Now USDA has the REDBOOK. In US one can get funding once every 3 years to do a drill on depopulation.

Closing Comments: None. Thanks to Mike for setting up and the format of the meeting. What about the format of meeting here? Works well for this meeting, but in the U.S. we need more industry presentations in the future, also need time for station report discussion and collaborations. The industry/research/outreach combination makes this a good project. Sometimes in U.S. the public perception is that if scientists are funded by private industry then the scientist is in the pocket of industry. It was proposed that people bring a draft of their full station report to the meeting for all to use during the presentations (like we used to do) and then the presentation can just be highlights of their work with more time for discussion and building collaborations. We still want industry collaborations. Thanks to Chris and Hongwei.

Break – Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Cookies, Apples, etc.

Ruedi Zweifel – Director Aviforum. Foundation for enhancement of Swiss poultry production and housing. A facility for testing Swiss egg and broiler production. This is a non-profit foundation, tax free entity. All funding goes to research and supporting the poultry industry. They are a combination public/private entity. Co-financed by the Swiss confederation, Cantons, and private organizations, since 2002. They have 10 full time employees, and get 50% of funding from products and services, 35% from government, and 15% contract funded. They have three branches of Aviforum-Activities. Education, Service (outreach) and research. For education they have specialized training for poultry, vegetables, fruits, grapes and wine and general Ag. Two years on farms and one day a week in classes. Third year mostly interning full time. Producer organizations are Gallo Suisse for eggs and SGP ASPV for broilers. They also gather stats for evaluation on the industry, do media response and provide contacts for Swiss and foreign industry. They produce a monthly journal of about 38 pages. The research is mostly applied research on management, feeding, and housing. They have 7,200 layers, 7,815 pullets and 46,700 total broilers each year.

Facts and Figures about Swiss egg and poultry production. No more than 18,000 birds can be reared on any one farm. Animal welfare is the number one factor in housing and production. There are three levels of welfare in Switzerland, lowest is the basic federal law. The regulations include enclosure size, proper conditions and lighting for each species type, with outdoor access and provision of bathing water as appropriate. Then there is the PAS level. At first it was difficult for Swiss egg producers and broiler producers, but now 90% of layers are in the PAS with 73% on free range. Welfare laws say must have 16 hrs light/8 dark for all chickens. No less than 5 lux. Layers under the PAS system must in addition to the federal law have pastures with structures. Also have intermediate outside access with cover for rainy days so birds do not destroy pasture. Generally this is called a Winter Garden. Broilers, 16L/8D, 5 lux, 30 kg/m² is rule. PAS for broilers is they must have outside area, pasture. Min age at slaughter is 56 days. Labeling laws have country of origin listed. The third level is organic which has even more strict rules for space and outside access.

Production value of poultry is 2.8% for eggs and 3.4% for broilers of the ag economy. Egg consumption per person is about 175 and meat is growing at about 12 kilos per year. They have about 44% of eggs imported. The organic eggs are 15.3%. No more than 2,000 per building are allowed under organic production rules. About 33% of all eggs are sold directly from farm. Imported poultry is mostly from Brazil (Frozen) and France, Hungary and Spain for fresh poultry. Migros and Coop no longer do turkey. But they are the largest owners for poultry meat and eggs. Consumer is in control of what they buy based on country of origin (COO) labels. They produce TV and radio commercials for support of Swiss poultry and eggs. 50% Code 2, 50% code 1, no code 3 in Swiss.

If you construct a building to rear more than 150 birds, you need to have specialized education before you can rear the birds.

Contract research at the Aviforum facility is for companies to gain information of how it will work under the Swiss system.

Lunch at Rutti Cafeteria.

At 13:20 we bussed to a commercial poultry farm.The farm was managed by Rolf Jaussacher and was located just outside of Lyss. The farm has a pullet barn as well as an aviary with a winter porch as well as outside access for the layers.

Meeting ended at 17:50. A hearty thanks to Michael Toscano for all his efforts and those of his secretary and graduate students for hosting a most successful meeting.

The farm visit was excellent and was conducted by the farm owners and Mike Toscano and his graduate students and other members of the Swiss and European group.

Accomplishments

Publications

AL Lents, CA., Looper, ML., Ojeda, AJ., Vizcarra, JA, and Wettemann, RP. 2015.  Removal of ruminal contents followed by restricted feeding does not affect the frequency of luteinizing hormone pulses in steers.  The Professional Animal Scientist 31:349-353. Kirby, J. and Vizcarra, J. 2015.  Regulation of FSH secretion in broiler breeders. Rev. Bras. Reprod. Anim. 39(1) 91:96. Mutai, E., Sunkara, R., Vizcarra, J., Walker, L. and Verghese, M. 2015.  Antioxidant, Enzyme Inhibitory and Anti-Obesity Potential of Sorrel Calyx Extracts in 3T3-L1 Adipocytes. Food and Nutrition Sciences, 6, 452-465. Vizcarra, J., Alan, R., and Kirby, J. 2015.  Chapter 29 - Reproduction in Male Birds. In C. G. Scanes (Ed.), Sturkie's Avian Physiology (Sixth Edition) (pp. 667-693). San Diego: Academic Press. CT Indu Upadhyaya, H.-B. Yin, M. Surendran Nair, C.-H. Chen, R. Lang, M. J. Darre, and K. Venkitanarayanan (2016) Inactivation of Salmonella Enteritidis on shell eggs by coating with phytochemicals. Poultry Science (September 2016) 95 (9): 2106-2111 first published online June 1, 2016 doi:10.3382/ps/pew152. Hsin-Bai Yin, Chi-Hung Chen, Anup Kollanoor-Johny, Michael J. Darre and Kumar Venkitanarayanan (2015) Controlling Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus growth and aflatoxin production in poultry feed using carvacrol and trans-cinnamaldehyde Poultry Science 4 (9): 2183-2190. IL Ji, B., W. Zheng, R. S. Gates, and A. R. Green. 2016.  Design and performance evaluation of the upgraded portable monitoring unit for air quality in animal housing. Comput. Electron. Agric. 124:132-140. Koelkebeck, K.W. 2016.  Quick molt diets and programs.  Proc. of Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, St. Paul, MN. Koelkebeck, K.W. 2016.  Hen Housing – A Holistic Approach.  Proc. of 23rd Annual National Egg Quality School, Indianapolis, IN. IA Hansen, H., T. Wang, D. Dolde, and H. Xin. 2015. Tocopherol and annatto tocotrienols distribution in laying-hen body. Poultry Science 94(10):2421-2433.  Hansen, H., T. Wang, D. Dolde, H. Xin, and K. Prusa. 2015. Supplementation of laying-hen feed with annatto tocotrienols and impact of α-tocopherol on tocotrienol transfer to egg yolk. J. Agric. Food Chem. 63(9):2537-2544. DOI: 10.1021/jf505536u Karcher, D.M., D.R. Jones, Z. Abdo, Y. Zhao, T.A. Shepherd, and H. Xin. 2015. Impact of commercial housing system and nutrition and energy intake on laying hen performance and egg quality parameters. Poultry Science 94(3):485-501. Li, H., C. Zhang and H. Xin. 2015. Performance of an infrared photoacoustic single gas analyzer in measuring ammonia from poultry houses. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 31(3):471-477. Long, H., Y. Zhao, T. Wang, Z. Ning, and H. Xin. 2015. Effect of light-emitting diode (LED) vs. fluorescent lighting (Fl) on laying hens in aviary hen houses: Part 1 – Operational characteristics of lights and production traits of hens. Poultry Science 95(1):1-11. doi.org/10.3382/ps/pev121 10. Long, H., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, H. Hansen, Z. Ning, and T. Wang. 2015. Effect of light-emitting diode (LED) vs. fluorescent (FL) lighting on laying hens in aviary hen houses: Part 2 – Egg quality, shelf life and lipid composition. Poultry Science 95(1):115-124, doi.org/10.3382/ps/pev306 11. Ma, H., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, B. Li, T.A. Shepherd, and I. Alvarez. 2015. Assessment of lighting needs by W-36 laying hens via preference test. Animal, doi:10.1017/S1751731115002384 Shepherd, T.A., Y. Zhao, H. Li, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, and H. Xin. 2015. Environmental assessment of three laying-hen housing systems– Part II: ammonia, greenhouse gas, and particulate matter emissions. Poultry Science 94(3):534-543. 13. Zhao, Y., T. A. Shepherd, J. Swanson, J. A. Mench, D.M. Karcher, and H. Xin. 2015. Comparative evaluation of three laying-hen housing systems: description of the production systems and management practices. Poultry Science 94(3): 475-484. 15. Zhao, Y., T.A. Shepherd, T.A., H. Li, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, and H. Xin. 2015. Environmental assessment of three laying-hen housing systems–Part I: monitoring system and indoor air quality. Poultry Science 94(3): 518-533. KY Adedokun, Sunday A., Anthony J. Pescatore, Michael J. Ford, Jacqueline P. Jacob, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Examining the effect of high dietary calcium on ileal endogenous amino acid losses and standardized ileal amino acid digestibility in broilers. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):91. Adedokun, Sunday A., Anthony J. Pescatore, Michael J. Ford, Jacqueline P. Jacob, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Evaluating the effect of dietary calcium levels on ileal endogenous amino acid losses and standardized ileal amino acid digestibility in laying hen. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):136. Dudley, Megan M., Ryan S. Samuel, Michael J. Ford, Anthony J. Pescatore, and Kristen M. Brennan. 2016. Interaction of dietary microalgae and trace mineral source in 14-day old broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):133. Ao, Tuoying, Marquisha A. Paul, Lizza M. Macalintal, Anthony J. Pescatore, Austin H. Cantor, Ryan S. Samuel, Mike J. Ford, and Karl A. Dawson. 2016. Total replacement of inorganic micro minerals with reduced levels of proteinates in laying hen diets: Effect on productive performance, egg characteristics, and bone quality. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):155. Ao, Tuoying, Lizza Macalintal, Marquisha Paul, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, Mike Ford, and Karl Dawson. 2016. Effects of dietary supplementation of Actigen® and Allzyme SSF® on the performance and carcass yield of broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):290. Fisher, Tatijana, Anthony J. Pescatore, Jacqueline P. Jacob, Austin Cantor, Michael Ford and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Effect of sex and feed ingredients on carcass yields of commercial broilers and Rhode Island Reds. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):7. Fisher, Tatijana, Anthony Pescatore, Jacquie Jacob, Austin Cantor, Mike Ford, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Effect of feed ingredients and breed of chicken on meat quality. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):172. Jacob, Jacqueline P., Anthony J. Pescatore, Michael J. Ford, Tatijana M. Fisher, Sunday A. Adedokun, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Growth performance of broiler chickens and heritage breeds raised on pasture. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):125. Jacob, Jacqueline P., Anthony J. Pescatore, Michael J. Ford, Tatijana M. Fisher, Sunday A. Adedokun, and Tuoying Ao. Carcass yield of broiler chickens and heritage breeds raised on pasture. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1): 125. Jacob, Jacqueline P., Anthony J. Pescatore, Michael J. Ford, Tatijana M. Fisher, Harold D. Gillespie, Sunday A. Adedokun, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Effect of raising different breeds of chicken on pasture on skeletal development. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):126. Bear, McKenzie, Gregg Rentfrow, Jacqueline Jacob, Anthony Pescatore, Tatijana Fisher, Marquisha Paul, and Michael Ford. 2016. The effect of pasture vs indoor rearing on the breast filet shelf life of commercial-meat chickens and alternative breeds. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):198. Jacob, Jacqueline, Blake Newton, Anthony Pescatore, H. David Gillespie, and Siddhartha Dasgupta. 2016. FIELD OBSERVATIONS: Insect populations on mixed grasses versus alfalfa pastures. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):272. Jacob, Jacqueline, Blake Newton, Anthony Pescatore, H Gillespie, and Siddhartha Dasgupta. 2016. FIELD OBSERVATIONS: Effect of pasture crop selection on insect population. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1): 276. Fisher, Tatijana, Anthony Pescatore, Jacquie Jacob, Austin Cantor, Mike Ford, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Carcass traits of heritage chicken breeds using sorghum and field peas to replace corn and soybean meal in diets. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):280. Macalintal, Lizza, Tuoying Ao, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, P. Glenney, Michael Ford, and Karl Dawson. 2016. Maternal dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidant compound affect levels of trace minerals in eggs and docosahexaenoic acid content in progeny tissues. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):297. Adedokun, Sunday, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, Michael Ford, Jacqueline Jacob, Tuoying Ao, and Ariane Helmbrecht. 2016. Energy source and not dietary electrolyte balance influenced ileal endogenous amino acid losses in 21 d-old broilers fed nitrogen-free diets. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):287. Adedokun, Sunday, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, Jacqueline Jacob, Michael Ford, Tuoying Ao, and Ariane Helmbrecht. 2016. Examining the effect of dietary electrolyte balance, energy source, and length of feeding of nitrogen-free diets on ileal endogenous amino acid losses in broilers Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):242. MI Campbell, DLM, MM Makagon, JC Swanson and JM Siegford. 2016. Perch use by laying hens in a commercial aviary. Poultry Science. 95:1736-1742. DOI: 10.3382/ps/pew111. Mench, JA, JC Swanson and C. Arnot. 2016. The Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply: A unique public-private partnership for conducting research on the sustainability of animal housing systems using a multi-stakeholder approach. J. Animal Science. DOI: 10.2527/jas.2015-9680. Lee, HC, MA. Erasmus, I Kang, and JC Swanson. 2016. Mitigation of Pale, Soft, Exudative (PSE) turkey using hot-boning, quarter sectioning, and crust-freeze-air-chilling of breast fillets. Poultry Science 95:138-143. Campbell, DLM, SL Goodwin, MM Makagon JC Swanson, and JM Siegford. 2016. Failed landings after laying hen flight in a commercial aviary over two flock cycles. Poultry Science, 95:188-197. Campbell DLM, MM Makagon, JC Swanson, and JM Siegford. 2016. Laying hen movement in a commercial aviary: enclosure to floor and back again. Poultry Science, 95:176-187. Campbell, DLM, MM Makagon, JC Swanson and JM Siegford. 2016. Litter use by laying hens in a commercial aviary: Dust-bathing and piling. Poultry Science, 95:164-175. Vaughan, PE, MW Orth, RC Haut, and DM Karcher. 2016. A method of determining bending properties of poultry long bones using beam analysis and micro-CT data." Poultry Science 95: 207-212. Gast, RK., R Guraya, DR Jones, KE Anderson, and DM Karcher. 2016. Colonization of internal organs by Salmonella Enteritidis in experimentally infected laying hens housed in enriched colony cages at different stocking densities. Poultry Science 95: 1363-1369. Regmi, P, N Smith, N Nelson, RC Haut, MW Orth, and DM Karcher. Housing conditions alter properties of the tibia and humerus during the laying phase in Lohmann white Leghorn hens. Poultry Science 95: 198-206. Regmi, P, N Nelson, JP Steibel, KE Anderson, and DM Karcher. 2016. Comparisons of bone properties and keel deformities between strains and housing systems in end-of-lay hens. Poultry Science 95: 2225-2234. Jones, DR, Jean Guard, RK Gast, RJ Buhr, PJ Fedorka-Cray, Z Abdo, JR Plumblee et al. 2016. Influence of commercial laying hen housing systems on the incidence and identification of Salmonella and Campylobacter. Poultry Science: pew036. Ali, ABA, DLM Campbell, DM Karcher, and JM Siegford. 2016. Influence of genetic strain and access to litter on spatial distribution of 4 strains of laying hens in an aviary system. Poultry Science, DOI: 10.3382/ps/pew236. Blatchford, R A, RM Fulton, and JA Mench. 2016. The utilization of the Welfare Quality® assessment for determining laying hen condition across three housing systems. Poultry Science 95: 154-163. Campbell, DLM, DM Karcher, and JM Siegford. 2016. Location tracking of individual laying hens housed in aviaries with different litter substrates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2016.09.001. Villanueva S, A Ali, D Campbell, and J Siegford. 2016. Effect of different laying hen strains on daily egg laying patterns and egg damage in an aviary system. Proceedings of the 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology. 50:285. Newsome N, A Ali, D Campbell, J Siegford. 2016. Open or Under? Occupancy and dust bathing in different litter areas by 4 strains of laying hen. Proceedings of the 50th Congress of the Society for Applied Ethology. 50:86. Hunniford, ME, J Siegford, and TM Widowski. 2016. The devil is in the details: How a simple design feature might affect laying hens’ perception of nest sites in furnished cages. 9th Annual Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare Research Symposium. 9:18. Chargo, N, CI Robison, SL Baker, MJ Toscano, MM Makagon, and DM Karcher. 2016. Keel bone measurement consistency in enriched colony laying hens. Poult Sci. 95 (E-Suppl. 1):39. Mutch, VQ, P Regmi, CI Robison, and DM Karcher. 2016. Influence of different housing systems on laying hen keel bones. Poult. Sci. 95 (E-Suppl. 1):167. Robison, CI, P Regmi, and DM Karcher. 2016. Turkey gait analysis: Calibrating a pressure-sensing walkway. Poult. Sci. 95 (E-Suppl. 1):126. Jones, DR, and DM Karcher. 2016. Influence of aviary forage substrate on environmental and egg microbial indicator organisms and pathogen prevalence. Poult. Sci. 95 (E-Suppl. 1):24. Karcher, DM and DR Jones. 2016. Laying hen performance and well-being over two flock cycles on different litter substrates in an aviary housing. 95 (E-Suppl. 1):71. Gast, RK, R Guraya, DR Jones, J Guard, KE Anderson, and DM Karcher. 2016. Colonization of internal organs by Salmonella serovars Heidelberg and Typhimurium in experimentally infected laying hens housed in enriched colony cages at different stocking densities. Poult. Sci. 95 (E-Suppl. 1):24. Swanson, JC and JA Mench. 2016. Can animal welfare science have a role in creating a sustainable future for animal agriculture? Proceedings of the 50th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology. 50:427. NC Gast, R. K., R. Guraya, D. R. Jones, K. E. Anderson, and D. M. Karcher. 2016. Colonization of internal organs by Salmonella Enteritidis in experimentally infected laying hens housed in enriched colony cages at different stocking densities. Poultry Science 95:1363–1369. Burley, H. K., K. E. Anderson, P. H. Patterson, and P. B. Tillman. 2016. Formulation challenges of organic poultry diets with readily available ingredients and limited synthetic methionine. J. Appl. Poultry Res. 25: 1-12. Burley, H. K., P. H. Patterson, and K. E. Anderson, 2016. Alternative feeding strategies and genetics for providing adequate methionine in organic poultry diets with limited use of synthetic amino acids. World’s Poultry Sci. J. 72(1): 1-10. World's Poultry Science Journal, available on CJO2016. doi:10.1017/S0043933915002688. Shen, Y.B., Ferket, P.R., Park, I., Malheiros, R.D., Kim, S.W., 2015. Effects of feed grade l-methionine on intestinal redox status, intestinal development, and growth performance of young chickens compared with conventional dl-methionine. J. Anim. Sci., 93:1-10. Xu, Y., Stark, C.R., Ferket, P.R., Williams, C.M., and Brake, J., 2015. Effects of feed form and dietary coarse ground corn on broiler live performance, body weight uniformity, relative gizzard weight, excreta nitrogen, and particle size preference behaviors. Poultry Science 94(7):1549-1556. Xu, Y., Stark, C.R., Ferket, P.R., Williams, C.M., Auttawong, S., and Brake, J., 2015. Effects of dietary coarsely ground corn and litter type on broiler live performance, litter characteristics, gastrointestinal tract development, apparent ileal digestibility of energy and nitrogen, and intestinal morphology. Poultry Science 94(3):353-361. Xu, Y., Stark, C.R., Ferket, P.R., Williams, C.M., Nusairat, B., and Brake, J., 2015. Evaluation of litter type and dietary coarse ground corn inclusion on broiler live performance, gastrointestinal tract development, and litter characteristics. Poultry Science 94(3):362-370. Ayoola, A.A., Malheiros, R.D., Grimes, J.L., Ferket, P.R., 2015. Effect of dietary exogenous enzyme supplementation on enteric mucosal morphological development and adherent mucin thickness in turkeys. Front. Vet. Sci. 2:45-33. Xu, Y., Stark, C.R., Ferket, P.R., Williams, C.M., Pacheco, W.J., and Brake, J., 2015. Effect of dietary coarsely ground corn on broiler live performance, gastrointestinal tract development, apparent ileal digestibility of energy and nitrogen, and digesta particle size distribution and retention time. Poultry Science 94:53-60. Ferket, P.R., 2015. Finding alternatives to growth promotors.  Poultry Nutrition and Milling Seminar, Guntersville, AL 4/15-16, 2015. Ferket, P.R., 2015. Influences of feed manufacturing on animal performance.  Alltech REBELation Symposium.  Lexington KY. 5/16/2015. Ferket, P.R., 2015. The role of feed and the feed mill in the transition to an antibiotic free production system.  Novus Advantage Conference, Naples, FL 5/12-13/2015. Ferket, P.R., 2015. The many faces of trace mineral nutrition.  Trace Mineral symposium, Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY 7/30/2015. Ferket, P.R., 2015. Prestage Department of Poultry Science Education, Extension, and Research Update. Carolina Feed Industry Association Annual Convension. Myrtle Beach, SC, 7/23/2015. Ferket, P.R., Korver, D., Leeson, S., Viera, S., and Salah, N., 2015. Moving towards the future rational use of antibiotics.  III symposium on Emerging Issues in Poultry Nutrition and Meat Production. Raleigh, NC 8/13/2015. Ferket, P.R., 2015. The great potential of perinatal nutrition.  III symposium on Emerging Issues in Poultry Nutrition and Meat Production. Raleigh, NC 8/14/2015. Ferket, P.R. 2015. Influence of feed manufacturing on poultry performance.  NCSU Feed Manufacturing Shortcourse, Raleigh, NC 8/21/2015. Ferket., P.R., 2015. Xylanase supplementation of feed to optimize the gut ecosystem for peak performance and profitability.  BRI-Ilender Technical Training Seminar.  Raleigh, NC 8/11/2015. Ferket, P.R., 2015. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry.  In Feedstuffs Reference Issue, Vol 87, Number 35, pages 42-49. Publisher Sarah Muirhead, ed., Tim Linden. Anderson, K. E., 2016. Hatch and Serology Report of the Fortieth North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test: Summary. Vol. 40, No. 1, July 2016. VA Barrett, N.W., M.M. Ritzi, R.A. Dalloul, N. Evans, J. Sewell, and M.E. Persia. Effects of a direct-fed microbial on live performance of broilers challenged with an avian pathogenic Escherichia coli.  Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, New Orleans, LA July 11-14, 2016. Omara, I.I., C.T. Mou, M.E. Persia, and E.A. Wong. Effects of available phosphorus source and concentration on sodium phosphate type IIb co-transporter, vitamin D-1α-hydroxylase, and vitamin D-24-hydroxylase mRNA gene expression in broiler chicks. Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, New Orleans, LA July 11-14, 2016. Schaal, T., J. Arango, A. Wolc, J. Brady, J. Fulton, I. Rubinoff, I. Ehr, M.E. Persia, and N. O'Sullivan. 2016.  Commercial Hy-Line W-36 pullet and laying hen venous blood gas and chemistry profiles utilizing the portable i-STAT®1 analyzer.  Poult. Sci. 95:466–471. Wen, J., A. Helmbrecht, M. Elloit, J. E. Thomson, and M.E. Persia. Evaluation of the tryptophan requirement of small-framed first cycle laying hens. Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, New Orleans, LA July 11-14, 2016. Wen, J., A. Helmbrecht, M. Elloit, J. E. Thomson, and M.E. Persia. Evaluation of the valine requirement of small-framed first cycle laying hens. Presented at the PSA Annual meeting, New Orleans, LA July 11-14, 2016.

Impact Statements

4. Representatives of this research project met in Switzerland to interact and share research ideas with counterparts in Europe. Much of the discussion dealt with alternative housing for laying hens and the differences between the U.S. standards and Europe standards for housing.

Date of Annual Report: 09/29/2017

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/31/2017 - 08/01/2017
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2016 - 09/30/2017

Participants

Anderson, Ken (kanderso@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University; Cheng, Heng-wei (cheng5@purdue.edu) – USDA ARS; Darre, Michael (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; Purswell, Joseph (joseph.purswell@ars.usda.gov) – USDA ARS; Purdum, Sheila (purdum2@unl.edu) – University of Nebraska; Swanson, Janice (swansoj@msu.edu) – Michigan State University; Xin, Hongwei (hxin@iastate.edu) – Iowa State University; Karcher, Darrin (dkarcher@msu.edu) – Michigan State University; Persia, Mike (mpersia@vt.edu) – Virginia Tech; Zhai, Wei (wei.zhai@msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University; Hulet, Mike (mrh4@psu.edu) – Penn State University; Liang, Yi (yliang@uark.edu) – University of Arkansas; Christensen, Karen (kc014@uark.edu) – University of Arkansas; Makagon, Maja (mmmakagon@ucdavis.edu) – Univ. of CA-Davis; Patterson, Paul (php1@psu.edu) – Penn State University; Davis, Jeremiah (jdavis@abe.msstate.edu) – Auburn University; Wamsley, Kelley (kwamsley@poultry.msstate.edu) – Mississippi State University; Toscano, Mike (michael,toscano@vetsuisse.unibe.ch) – ZTHZ, VPHI; Johny, Anup Kollanoor (anupjohn@umn.edu) – University of Minnesota; Estevez, Inma (iestevez@neiker.net) – Teiker-Tecnalia; Ferket, Peter (peter_ferket@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University; Jones, Deana (deana.jones@ars.usda.gov) – USDA-ARS; Li, Hong (hli@udel.edu) – University of Delaware; Macklin, Ken (macklks@auburn.edu – Auburn University; Sunde, Roger (sundenutrisci.wisc.edu) – University of Wisconsin-Madison; Vukina, Tom (tom_vukina@ncsu.edu) – North Carolina State University; Vizcarra, Jorge (Jorge.vizcarra@aamu.edu) – Alabama A&M University; Widowski, Tina (twidowski@uoguelph.ca) – University of Guelph; Erasmus, Marissa (merasmus@purdue.edu) - Purdue University; Roberson, Kevin (kevin.roberson@michaelfoods.com) – Michael Foods Egg Products Co.; Cameron Faustman (cameron.faustman@uconn.edu) - Univ. of Connecticut; McDonald, Ron; Novak, Curtis; Arango, Jesus; Rubinoff, Ian;

Participants Attachment:

NE-1442 Participants.docx

Brief Summary of Minutes

NE-1442 Annual Meeting:

Poultry Production Systems and Well-being: Sustainability for Tomorrow

Daft Minutes

July 30-August 1, 2017

USDA-ARS, and the University of Georgia

Athens, GA

Monday, July 31, 2017

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Anup Kollanoor Johny at 8:40 am.

Introduction of Participants:

Mike Darre – UConn – Extension – all birds, environmental physiology, since 1975

Anup Kollanoor Johny – U of Minn. Food safety, microbiology.

Ken Koelkebeck – U of Illinois - mgmt., layers, lbroilers, molting since 1987.

Tom Vukina – NC State Economics, since 2016

Tony Pescatore – KY, Nutrition and Mgmt

Roger Sunde U of Wisc. - molecular biology, bio markers, nutrients,

Neil O’Sullivan - Hy Line Genetics, industry interface, behavior and new environments

Yang Zhao Miss State. env mgmt. air quality, diseases automation in broiler

Tayo (Sunday) Adedokun – Kentucky

Jean Guard - USDA ARS vet med officer, salmonella,

Oscar Garrison – UEP

Taylor Rodgers - UEP intern

Rich Gates - U of Ill. Ag Engineer

Jody Purswell - USDA ARS Miss. Ag Engineer

John Linhoss - Miss State env mgment, lighting, etc

Dianna Bourassa – Auburn – processing, food safety

Gabriella Furo - U of Minn Foot pad dermatitis

Mike Persia - Va Tech nutrition, broiler gut health

Kelly Wamsley - Miss State nutrtion, broilers feed quality. Since 2012

Woo Kim - UGA nutrition

Marisa Erasmus - Purdue

Janice Swanson – Michigan State Univ. behavior

Douglas Cosby – USDA - ARS

Richard Daven - USDA - ARS SE work.egg contaminate

Manfried Singh - USDA – ARS food micro

Harshavardhan Thippareddi - UGA 2016

Deana Jones USDA- ARS egg safety previous projects

Mike R. USDA- ARS small flock, etc

Ken Anderson – NC State Extension, layers, etc

Ken Macklin – Auburn Nutrition

Casey Ritz – UGA extension, broiler and env waste mgmt.

Michael Rothrock – USDA-ARS Small flock mgmt..

Start of Business

Ken Koelkebeck asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the 2016 meeting in Bern,

Switzerland. Ken Anderson moved and Mike Persia second. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

Ken K. then discussed the history of the project which started as Poultry Physiology and Engineering, as a NE regional project. It has expanded over the years to a more national scope which then included nutrition, economics, behavior, food safety, etc. This is normally a five year project with potential for renewal. Our new project must be submitted by March 2019, but we must submit an intention to renew by September 2018. We have a short meeting in Atlanta in Jan each year to discuss how we are doing with collaborative research, grants, and planning for the next full meeting.

Welcome to UGA

Sam Perdue - Academic Dean CAES – UGA Welcome to GA. A lot of people named Perdue in GA. UGA is one of six remaining poultry science depts. In USA. He is excited about the future, especially with plans for new Poultry Department building. The U.S. Farm bill is still a work in progress. Hopefully it will work out to benefit the industry and research. Food safety is very important now, maybe more than ever. This generation may not have the same understanding of food safety as previous generations. Colleges of Ag are facing new challenges. New students are more interested in where their food comes from and how their food is processe than past generations. We as the industry must do better at educating the consumers to the reality of food production. Sam stated that if he makes it to 2050 the population will triple from when he started. We must have a safe and economical food supply. Steve Troxler, Ag Commissioner from NC said “hungry people are mean people”. Let’s not make people mean.

Todd Appplegate, Head, dept of PS UGA. Todd started with a brief history of poultry in GA. He said that there was not much prior to 1920, however the boll weevil came and destroyed the cotton industry. South GA moved to growing tobacco. Jesse Jewell, who owned a feed mill, started giving chicks to farmers to grow, one of the fist integrators, with a feed mill, hatchery, and processing plant. Poultry is about 47% of Ag in GA. It is a $35 to $50 Billion industry. It generates a $3.5 to $3.8 billion tax base in GA. GA has 102 counties producing more than $1 million in poultry products. If GA was a country it would be 7^th in world producing 2,634 metric tons per year. About 1.4 billion birds are raised each year in GA. The Port of Savannah is a large port with a lot of international shipping.

The UGA Dept. of Poultry Science has 6.7 Research, 4.2 Instruction and 7.7 Extension FTE. Focusing on four areas: Safeguarding and Sustaining the world; Production and Mgmt. Systems; Bird Physiology, Metabolism, omics; and Bird health and well-being. They will be adding some new faculty in the future. The dept. received $5 m in capital for poultry farm renovations. Classroom and processing building renovations are also scheduled, including adding a BSL2 facility. UGA currently has 10 animal buildings on the poultry farm.

The poultry science program has four majors; Poultry Science, Avian biology, Animal Health and Biological Science. Have about 45 Poultry Science graduate students. They have a vet PDRC with about 11 people.

Ken K. asked how they handle the farm budget. Todd said now they charge a per-diem of 1 cents per sqaure foot per day.

Rakesh K. Singh- Food science dept. head also welcomed the group. He noted that they have two locations, One in Griffin, with about 11 faculty and one in Athens. A lot of food safety work. In 1888, the Georgia Experiment Station was established to carry out agricultural research for the University of Georgia. Located in Griffin, Georgia – 40 miles south of Atlanta – the University of Georgia-Griffin Campus now includes both graduate and undergraduate programs in agriculture and other areas of study.

The Food Process Research and Development Laboratory (FPRDL) in Athens, GA provides facilities and expertise for developing new products and for testing new processing technologies.

The Department of Food Science and Technology at the Griffin campus is located in the Melton building – which houses offices and research labs for faculty in the Department of Food Science and Technology and the UGA Center for Food Safety. They have both undergrad and grad students, and some extension faculty. They focus on processing and microbiology.

Tony asked how cooperation between Griffin and Athens works out. Rakesh said all food safety went to Griffin first and grew. Now both work well.

Administrative updates from Cameron Faustman. Nothing new to share. Will have someone to replace him as administrator. He noted that there is no more requirement for a 25% match for the USDA Challenge grants for teaching. These challenge grants are not as competitive as others, may be easier to get some funding. There are some changes at NIMMS site. Ruby Maize is no longer with them. David Liebowitz is now the contact about renewal of project. Request to renew is due by Sept 2018 and the final project proposal is due by March 2019. There was some discussion of the fact that we are a NE project and Mike Darre is retiring. How will this affect the NE designation? PA is the only other NE state still active in the project. Maybe we should become a North Central project? It was suggested that we all meet with our own experiment station directors to discuss this issue. We should also meet early with whomever they appoint as our new project advisor.

NE-1442 Current Situation – Ken Koelkebeck

If you did not submit a paragraph or two to Anup earlier, or need to amend or change them, then send a paragraph and list of publications by Sept. 22, 2017 to Ken K. We need to produce a full annual report also. Mike Darre will send out format instructions for the annual report. Each station needs to do a full station report sent to Ken Koelkebeck by March 1. Next year’s meeting will be at Purdue in Indiana. The week of Aug 6-10 works with our preference being Aug 9-10, but any time that week will work. We will await to see what Darren Karcher can do.

Break at 10:30 am

Research Needs from Industry Personnel

Oscar Garrison – UEP Vice President for food safety/regulatory affairs. Currently there is a pesticide contamination in eggs in Netherlands, do egg products reach the USA?

What does UEP do?

We started as a National Farmer Coop in1968. About 95% of total US poultry egg production. (More than 300 million hens) are UEP members. Most of the lobbying for the layer industry is done by UEP. There are about 147 companies represented. The professional staff is down to 4 plus 1. What will the US layer industry look like in the future? There has been a lot of consolidation in past 20 years and it looks to be continuing. Now there are 60 companies that have more that 1 million layers and 17 with 5 million or more. Some of the challenges are that is not easy to start fresh with a farm, easier to purchase existing land and facilities and to consolidate the farms. Currently only 4.7% of US produced eggs are exported. Cage free is a focus right now. Housing is important. How do we transition to cage free systems? Other issues are FSMA, Organic Rule, CERCLA/EPCRA, Biosecurity, and survival in general. (Price and supply.) FSMA says farm is exempt, but what is a farm? Egg farmers have the egg safety rule, but really want a risk based approach, but the regulators not there yet.

What caused the 2015 AI outbreak? Some high biosecurity farms broke but some without good biosecurity did not. Why? People to people contact from different farms? How do we prevent the people to people contact?

Some producers still feel that conventional cage systems will survive and others are moving to cage free systems. Right now 232 grocery stores and food companies have committed to cage-free eggs by 2025. It will take 228 million layers to be cage free by 2025 to meet commitment if all the companies still want cage free eggs. This is almost impossible to meet that timeline.

It will cost about $10 billion to convert to cage-free farms. Only 7 years to get to 228 million layers cage free. How? Current cage free is 14.2% in 2016, or 44 million birds. Many of the commitments say if eggs available, if consumers want. However, the special interest groups are pressuring customers of poultry farms. UEP is trying to strengthen and amplify cage, enriched colony and cage free. Should we include enriched colony in UEP certified program? The UEP is now Partnering with the World Wildlife fund for a sustainability study. Currently there are 5 types of cage free housing systems, so how do we really define cage free? MA went to 1.5 sq ft per bird, cage free. CA at 1.16, and RI, MI all with different regulations. All pushed by HSUS. (See UEP statement on cage free definition/guidelines) Will there be a market for caged eggs by 2025? Conventional cages cost about $15 per hen, enriched colony cages about $25 per hen. Cage free is about $40 per bird. UEP supports all three production systems. Specialty eggs are not supported by the WIC program in many states, so 58% of recipients will not be able to purchase cage free eggs at current prices. Right now there is a surplus of cage free eggs and they are being dumped on the conventional egg market at a loss.

Research Issues from UEP perspective:

Animal welfare issues will be the problems in the future. Worms in eggs have been reported now with cage-free, free range, etc. birds. Other issues are emerging pathogens, pesticides (7 farms in Netherlands with issues), and free range vs cage free. Training periods for pullets, doors to outside? Also there are labor issues. Human trafficking is an issue for depopulation crews. Finding workers for the industry with poultry skills and knowledge/education will be a major issue in the future.

Discussion: How do we deal with small flock people with eggs for sale in commercial producer cartons that do not have the names, dates, etc. crossed out? How do we deal with the extra males from hatcheries by 2020? Food safety testing that regulators do not have access to, such as smaller flocks. There is a need for third party labs to independently test eggs without having to report to USDA or FDA if things are found that are not currently listed as hazards. What about new SE serotypes? Need to get ahead of the curve on the pathogen issues.

Multi Institutional Grants:

Cathy Cuppett and Jake Maas from the UGA sponsored projects and proposal enhancement.

Jake provided five key dynamics for effective teams (from a google study) Meaning of work, Impact of work, psychological safety (can we take risks on this team without feeling insecure or embarrassed?) Dependability, Structure and Clarity. Who is on the team is very important.

When do RFA’s come out from NIFA? Depends on need, funding, etc. You have about 10-12 weeks to get the proposal completed. Find previous proposals that were funded to review. Check the CRIS site for these. Identify collaborators, review the NIFA application guide, but check the RFA, talk to program officer, develop check list, timeline, (one by Jake will be sent to all), summary and abstract. Go to www.research.uga.edu/proposal/enhancement for templates.

Neil O’Sullivan – Hy-Line. Is the Global director of R&D for Hy-Line. Their main focus is on genetics of breeders for laying hens. He said that about 15% of eggs are currently from cage-free production. Producers look at their current footprint to change from conventional cage to cage free systems. That way they avoid some of the zoning issues. Feather cover is an issue with the birds in aviary systems. Fast feathering and re-feathering is important. Feather cover is directly related to feed conversion ratios. Three is some pressure in Brown egg birds because without feathers the birds get more UV to skin and more vitamin D production that suppresses the porphyrin pigments for brown egg shells and we end up with lighter brown eggs. Leghorns learn to use nests fast, browns do not. Browns are more sensitive to light intensity and want dark areas like a nest box to make a nest in the litter. Catastrophic floor eggs is when the calls come in to them asking why and what can be done to reduce them. Hy-Line is selecting for nesting behavior now. High exploratory behavior birds do well in cages and go to aviary systems without much problem. Browns do not do well starting in cages. Browns also need slightly higher brooding temps, about 2^oC more than whites. Foot scores are a challenge for leghorn hens. Keel condition is also an issue. This is mostly an environmental and nutritional component. Keel fractures are tough, need good imaging to detect them. For meat birds, the so called consumer push is for slow growth birds. One of the problems here is how we select for slow weight gain while keeping feed efficiency. People are putting hens out in pastures, not forests, and expecting them to act like it is the natural setting for chickens. Unfortunately pastoral scenes for chickens are what the consumer is being given and have come to expect.

Salmonella is also an issue. There is no such thing as exotic salmonella. Any strain of salmonella is not accepted by the breeders. There is about 5% better egg production in clean and disinfected layer houses. So clean between flocks. We need to be pro-active in this area of biosecurity. Must stress test your biosecurity – ask the right questions of the workers such as: “Are you having an affair with someone from another farm? Worker safety is also an issue.

Lighting is an issue. Fluorescent lamps are too discrete in their spectral quality. Chicks and pullets should have some blue light in the spectrum while adults should have red.

Blood chemistry is important. What are the normal ranges? Now we are looking at diagnostic systems. We need to measure blood oxygen levels and select for higher levels. This was done in broiler breeders in selecting against ascities and may need to be selected for in layers.

Chick sexing is also a point of emphasis. McGill University work is not proven in the field. Rahman spectroscopy from Germany has been used to determine if male, ZZ chromozomes are denser which changes the spectrum of 4 day embryos. Testing is being done in the pedigree hatchery. We in the industry must never lose sight of the fact that poultry protein is one of the most sustainable food sources.

Discussion: What about the microbiome of poultry? Hy-Line is looking at this, but needs more computing power to analyze this. What about heavy metals found in eggs, from backyard flocks.

Other Business and Group Sessions on Current Objectives:

We had some further discussion of dates of next meeting in Purdue. Earlier August (PSA is July 23-26) would be good. Sometime during the week of Aug 6-10, however the preference is for Aug 9-10, but any time will work. On Jan 31, 2018 2-3 pm at IPPE will be the next short meeting of the committee do generally see how things are going and finalize plans for the August meeting.

We need to appoint a nominating committee to select people to fill the following positions: Senior Executive, Junior Executive, Secretary, Host or chair. Sr. Exec. Runs the meeting, Junior exec. helps and covers for Sr. Ex. Secretary keeps minutes of all the meetings. The nominating committee was appointed as follows: Ken Koelkebeck, Tony Pescatore, Ken Anderson, Mike Persia. They will report back tomorrow morning with their nominations.

Re-write time line: Request to submit is no more than 20,000 characters and must be received in either Sept 2018 or March 2019. Tony moved and Deana seconded that we work on the rewrite request at the 2018 meeting in August and submit for the September 2018 deadline. Motion carried. Completed project would be due by Nov 2018 or April 2019.

Group discussions of current objectives:

Objective 1. Energy/resource efficiency (Input resource efficiency for sustainability) This will include shared efforts on feed and fuel energy sources for poultry and facilities by geographical region; facility design, equipment efficiency, management, and modeling energy use in poultry systems.

New Name – Input and Resource Efficiency for Sustainability

Big Questions – Evaporative Pad, Lighting, slow growing broilers

Evaluate alternative construction practices and effects on resource use; Evaporative pad/Water use; Lighting; Slow growing broilers; Automation technology (input technology includes labor); Feed vs fuel costs; Efficiency of birds ability to metabolize carbohydrates

People

Jeremiah Davis,,Yang Zhao,Rich Gates, Hongwei Xin, Tony Pescatore, Mike Darre, John Linhoss, Angela Green, Yi Liang, Hong Li

Schools: Auburn, MSU, ARS, U of I, UK, UConn, Arkansas, Delaware, ISU

Resources

USDA Fans Unit; USDA Environmental Chambers; Power Analyzers; Thermal Cameras; Radiant Flux Sensor Sampling System; Goniometer; Bess Labs; Ammonia samplers, CO2 samplers; MEEL trailer; Preference Chambers

Project

Example: Broiler and Layer chicks preference for radiant vs floor heat

Teams

Example: MSU, ARS, U of I – radiant vs floor heat

Objective 2. Evaluating commercial poultry production systems This will include joint efforts on the characterization of the performance of conventional, alternative, and organic poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management, acoustic environment, and animal health and welfare. (Joint effort characterizing performance of conventional and alternative poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management and bird welfare.

New Name: Evaluating poultry production and processing systems.

NE-1442 Working Group 2 Objective

Objective: Evaluating Commercial Poultry Production Systems

Committee People: K. Koelkebeck

Casey Ritz

Michael Rothrock

Ken Macklin

Dianna Bourassa

Potential Collaborators: Most every experiment station

Facilities: Extension type studies at commercial and small flock facilities. Facilities at IL, NCSU, ISU, etc. to examine the areas of environmental quality, nutrient management, bird welfare, food safety and quality

Projects:

Revise the current NRCS Water Quality Handbook. Casey Ritz has been given a grant to revise this booklet. This would be a joint effort from all experiment stations that choose to participate. It would require the review of the current material in the book and updating items in the book and potentially add additional items.

Poultry Water Quality Handbook – 3^rd edition expanded Draft – February 2004

*Highlighted text indicates suggested revision, addition/deletion, or movement within the contents.

Water Quality Issues

Introducing the Poultry Industry – It’s Environmental Issues and Impacts

What is water quality?

Poultry production and water quality

Understanding water quality regulations

Drinking water quality – protecting your birds’ health and performance (retain topic? Handbook relevance?)

Controlling struvite buildups (retain topic? Handbook relevance?)

Additional topics needed (?)

Agricultural Water Usage

On-farm Storm Water Management

Processing Waste Water and Storm Water Management

Poultry Waste Management

Environmental impacts of poultry waste

CAFO requirements

Planning poultry waste management

Optimizing nutrient utilization for a better environment

Dry waste management

Liquid waste management

Composting waste products

Putting nutrient management to work

Economics of transporting poultry manure and litter

Feeding litter to beef cattle (retain topic? Handbook relevance?)

Horticultural uses of composted litter

Additional topics needed (?)

Poultry Mortality Management

An overview of poultry mortality management

Composting – a disposal method for dead birds

Incineration – a disposal method for dead birds

New takes on the rendering process – refrigeration

New preservation technology – fermentation and acid preservation

Humane methods for dealing with spent hens

Developing alternative markets for poultry mortality

Additional topics needed (?)

Hatchery Waste and By-product Chicks

Soils and Land Application of Manures

Constructed wetlands

Additional topics needed (?)

Other Environmental Issues Air Quality and Odor Management

Site selection for the poultry homestead

The benefits of planting trees around the poultry homestead – Vegetative Buffers

Air quality and its management

Using regulations as management principles

Controlling odors – multiple purpose management

Additional topics needed (?)

Neighbor relations

Zoning issues and their impacts on the industry and communities

Greenhouse gas emissions

Poultry Farmstead Pest Control

Preventing fires in manure/litter storage structures

Protection against pests, predators, and darkling beetles

Protection against pests – controlling flies

Additional topics needed (?)

Energy Conservation

Using litter to generate heat and electricity

Additional topics needed (?)

Energy conservation practices and immerging technologies

Alternative Technologies

Alternative bedding – select materials may have hidden values (retain topic? Handbook relevance?)

Additional topics needed (?)

Resource Information (contact information listed for the various agencies and personnel)

Poultry water quality consortium

U.S. Poultry and Egg Association

USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Tennessee Valley Authority

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Directory of Poultry Associations: State, Regional, and National

Other Supporting USDA Agencies

Directory of State Water Quality Agencies

Acoustic Research: This type of research is being conducted at Georgia Tech in cooperation with Karen Christensen at the University of Arkansas. This group thinks that it would be advisable to see if the faculty person at Georgia Tech and Karen Christensen would want to join the project. Perhaps see if Peter Scheifele at University of Cincinnati would be interested.

Objective 3. Establishing parameters influenced by the production system and strains utilized within the poultry industry. This collaborative research will encompass the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety and quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems.

Discussion – Systems approach and strains – still applicable

Research collaboration – NIFA – not sure

National organic grants – RFP December, March due date

Darrin –
- Revisit synthetic methionine production and environmental impact – need to get together a prelim grant ($50,000) to plan for big $2.5 project – synthetic methionine goes into effect in 2021? – this sunset timing is important to consider
  - in previous project – Cherry Hill farm collaboration
  - for this probably need to focus
  - initial – research facility – if recruiting grant, then developing relationships with industry partners to take the end of the research to a commercial farm
  - THIS YEAR $50,000 planning great – research plan, infrastructure, outcomes, if need data – opportunity to do small pilot to generate data - needs to be solid enough so that they know intent is to apply the following fiscal year
    - Outcome measures: if 1-2 stakeholders, then outcome would be stakeholder advisory committee would consist of… - then need letter.; recruitment of people to test certain ideas – then need letter; pilot study – could be data even if not organic to prove a point (like with high protein)
- Ken A - nematode parasites and options to mitigate (regional - $500,000)
  - turkey associated parasites – need to relate to chickens now

We need a vet on committee:

Mike Persia suggested Bill Pierson

Deana Jone suggested Yuko Sato at Iowa

Ken Anderson suggested Mike Martin

We need to develop a list of names of interested parties

Action Item - Darrin – head up planning grant for National Organic Grants – Layers and synthetic methionine

Research question: synthetic methionine overfeeding protein as lack of use and impact of environment of bird – egg quality/safety, behavior (not getting all AA),
- Birds organic – more aggressive, no enrichment, feather loss
- Get involvement of mobile hut, etc

Facilities – concentrate on organic facilities – and getting together the collaborators for the organic facilities
- Buy in from organic nutritionists – different philosophies on diets

Get a wildlife person involved

Vet involved

Ken has entomologist

Neil – is it possible we are overfeeding due to high protein diets (due to overestimation from NRC and breeder guidelines)?

Persia – crude protein levels are lower but with synthetic AA we are able to be more precise and feed lower CP.

Ken A – nutrient partitioning very different and significant overestimation on what birds are getting from range; nutrient utilization differences are also due to microflora; these alternative ingredients are pretty close to meat meal – where can we get methionine and how can we concentrate it?
- Small producers feed one diet and never change; whereas larger producers do change diets.
- Nutritional affect (1940s diet vs current diet)
  - Persia run dexa on this project

Gut length ranges – birds underproducing – deficient of length of gut – never looked if bird is always that decreased in gut length
- Feeds, gut biome – affecting gut length
- Gut length heritable trait

KA – AVIARY – meeting with company

Deana – BSLII facilities for cage –free (floor);

MS state BSLII facilities (new); a-frame layers, enriched caged layers; raised wire cages; processing; 5 floor pen facilities (broilers) – 1 newly renovated; 2 conventional houses

What ages can you optimize moving to cage-free; considering strain

Michigan – increase aviaries (donate or buy)

VT – 2 conventional meat bird; BSL II facilities; free access to DEXA; petersime cages; a-frame layers

Kentucky – (no new) conventional laying; floor pen broiler; raised wire cages Broiler breeder programs – skip a day feeding

Rewrite Teams:

Enrichment in housing for broilers, etc

Objective 1. John Linhoss, Jody Purswell, Rich Gates, Yang Zhao, Mike Darre, Tony Pescatore

Objective 2. K. Koelkebeck, Casey Ritz, Michael Rothrock, Ken Macklin, Dianna Bourassa

Objective 3. Deena Jone, Darrin Karcher, Ken Anderson, Marisa Erasmus, Janice Swanson, Mike Persia, Kelly Walmsley, Neil O-Sullivan, Roger Sunde, Tayo Adedokun

Session Adjourned at 4:50 pm. The group met for dinner at Logan’s Roadhouse.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Meeting was called to order at 8:32 am by Anup Kollanoor Johny.

Nominating Committee Report:

New Sr. Exec: Kelly Walmsley

New Jr. Exec: John Linhoss

New Secretary: Dianna Bourassa

Host for 2018 Darrin Karcher and Marissa Erasmus – Purdue Univeristy

Station Reports: 4 min for presentation and 1 min for discussion

Roger Sunde – WI Rodent and molecular biologist. High Selenium requirement in rodents. Works with Turkey also. Found 24 seminal proteins for Se. Did work with turkeys with Arsenic and Selenium. Analysis of Se concentration in thigh, breast, kidney and liver in poults, as well as selenoprotein enzyme activities and mRNA levels, suggests that NRC chicken requirement for poults should be raised to 0.4 μg Se/g. Need about .15 to .2 ug for broiler chicks and .4 for Se for turkeys. Working to find better bio-markers for when too much mineral is in diet. Used inorganic Se. Met deficient with seleno-met and did not help Se level.

Ken Koelkebeck – IL Strudied Hybrid Turkeys at CO₂ levels of 2000, 4000, and 6000 ppm in air. Looked at bw, mortality and behavior. Body weight gain at day 21 was greater for poults at 2000 ppm compared to the higher concentrations, however no significant statistical difference was observed. This preliminary (first and second replication) study showed that the tested concentrations of CO2 were not a strong contributing factor to reduced turkey performance in the initial phase of rearing.

Ken Anderson – NCSU 40^th layer test had 18 strains of birds, 5 environments (cage to cage free to free range) with 15,000 birds total. Still working on ventilation shut down (VSD) studies, VSD plus heat and/or CO₂. VSD plus heat works well. Mostly working on current objectives 2 and 3. Comparing 1940’s leghorn diets to modern and comparable diets for type of bird, and looking at microbiome. Ken will be going to Ethiopia to help get flocks to better utilize nutrients.

Tom Vukina – NCSU Tom is looking at substitution and price of organic eggs. Excess organinc eggs get sold with non-organic eggs at a loss in price. A lot more space is required for Organic layer, thus fewer birds per unit space and higher cost of production per bird. We will have a supply shift due to loss of organic eggs from producers going to just cage-free. Looking at data sets from USDA pricing and sales. A small change can affect overall price.

Ken Macklin – Auburn Lots of projects at Auburn. Jeremiah in engineering is looking at heater systems through the National Poultry Technology Center(NPTC). Dianna has three ongoing projects. One is looking as different methods of stunning, such as CO₂ and electrical stunning. She is comparing the stunning method and EEG, so far it is better to use higher voltage, such as 110 vs 60 volts for a better stun. Another project is with Buffered Neutralized peptone water. It is being tested in plants to see if it works in the field. The study is to determine the efficacy of neutralizing buffered peptone water (BPW) compared to standard BPW on whole carcass rinse microbiology. It was determined that for Enterobacteriaceae, neutralization was necessary to prevent residual antimicrobial action. No differences were detected in Salmonella prevalence. However, the detection of Campylobacter may be hindered by the use of neutralizing BPW. Some agents may be depressing campylobactor. Another area if research is the impact of feed withdrawal/catching on broiler respiratory tract microbiology. Catching (and the inherent dust produced during catching) does not appear to impact anaerobic plate count, Enterobacteriaceae counts/prevalence, or Salmonella prevalence. There is also some extension work at feed mills to make sure no food borne pathogens are in the mills and transferred to the feed. Joe Hess is doing more small flock management and food safety work. Ken is working on objective 2. Salmonella infections and where it colonizes, so far the ceaca seems to be the best area. They are also studying some probiotic and looking at litter management and microflora, with litter treatments to control ammonia.

John Linhoss – Miss State Working on insulation in new and old houses and heat efficiency. Radiate heaters are putting only about 40% of heat to floor. He is testing new measurement devices for determining efficiency of these heater systems. Research projects on bird behavior and preference for radiant heat during brooding and building envelope thermal performance for new and aging broiler houses were also completed and the manuscripts are currently being prepared for publication. There is great room for improvement in brooder heating. He is also looking at fan shades to decrease incoming sunlight intensity. Good shade will show up to a 10 fold decrease in intensity in the building.

Kelly Wamsley Miss State She is focusing on DGS in diets of broilers. She has found that up to 8% low fat DGS inclusion is ok. Also looking at Zn in broilers. Some research is being done on Xylanase and NSP enzymes and their cost. Data demonstrated an economic benefit for feeding diets formulated with an enzyme primarily providing xylanase, as opposed to a diet formulated with a multi-carbohydrase enzyme. Another area of interest is amino acid requirements of Cobb birds. Feed particle size in broilers is also of concern. Data demonstrated a benefit for feeding >1760 and 2257-micron crumbles, though more research is necessary to determine if overall crumbles size or the SD associated with the crumble particle size has a greatest influence on bird performance in the starter period.

Janice Swanson, Janice Sigford, and Darren Karcher Mich State. One of their projects is resource use of brown vs white layers in aviary system. They are currently using the Big Dutchman system and looking at perch use. Whites go higher and crowd more while the Brown birds stay lower in the system. Browns lay outside of nest more and whites use the nest more. Whites also do more wing flapping. It is recommend that a minimum of 15 cm perch space per bird is needed. They are working primarily on objectives 2 and 3. Janice Swanson said that they currently have an Extension (70%) and teaching (30) position available at MSU. On Jan 22, 2018 a new Department Head will be arriving as Janice is stepping down.

Tony Pescatore and Tayo Adedokun KY ME of diets of corn and wheat midds was studied. Diet matrix changes this. Drying method did not affect ME. High Na resulted in increased N excretion. It was found that one can feed organic minerals with less of them excreted. Chicks fed with organic Zn had better tibial length. They are working on objective 3 and pasture systems for meat production. Three weeks inside then outside works pretty well. With pasture systems they found much slower growth with heritage birds. Breeds on pasture have more off flavors, more in females than males. This sex difference was also evident with chicken flavor with females having a stronger chicken flavor. Broilers used alfalfa pasture as bedding and heritage birds ate it.

Mike Persia VaTech Focusing on broiler models and antibiotic replacement, such as buterate, which helps with feed efficiency. He is also looking into other feed additives and natural products. With Laying hens he is looking at distillers oil vs other vegetable blends. Both DDGS derived corn oil and soybean oil were evaluated in growing broiler chicks at both commercial and higher dietary Ca concentrations. Overall the AMEn values of both oils were reduced by the high Ca diets, but corn oil AMEn was reduced at a greater rate when high concentrations of dietary Ca were present. This might indicate that corn oil would be a less available source of energy in laying hen diets that contain higher concentrations of dietary Ca. Another experiment was completed to understand the effects of feeding hulless barley to growing broiler chickens. This research quantified the nutritional value of the barley and also explored additional value of feeding the small barley grains in a whole form to reduce the cost of grain processing and to explore potential benefits from a gut health standpoint. Results indicate that hulless barley does have appreciable nutrients and can be fed to growing broiler chickens, but it appears that the hull (fiber) is involved with the development of a larger gizzard associated with the feeding of intact small grains in poultry.

Anup and Gabi U of Min The effect of rearing conditions on footpad dermatitis (FPD) in hen and tom turkeys using a combination of controlled research pen studies and by conducting observations on commercial farms were undertaken. For older turkeys, there was a positive significant correlation of the live score with the post mortem scores. In both studies, there was a shift toward a more severe score with the post-mortem sample.

A comprehensive project determining the potential of antibiotic alternatives to control multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella Heidelberg in turkeys was undertaken. Probiotics, prebiotics, and vaccination were tested individually and in combination in 2-week, 7-week, and 12-week old turkeys challenged with MDR S. Heidelberg. Microbiome analysis was also conducted.

Darren Karcher Purdue Pullet molt study. Can we delay pullets from laying too soon. A pullet molt study was conducted to evaluate the impact of an early production molt as a way to extend pullet-stay in the grower house in an event of disease outbreak. Results indicated that hens that were molted did not completely cease egg production, but molting hens at 10% production may prove advantageous to maintain pullets for a longer period of time in the pullet house during a disease quarantine scenario, resulting in sufficient egg production post-molt with little impact on egg safety once birds are moved into a multi-tier aviary. Not a health and safety problem from pathogen standpoint. Another experiment evaluated the impact of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (Bio-D) on production, egg, and skeletal characteristics in early or late phase production of laying hens. Bio-D supplementation did not have an impact on egg or skeletal characteristics but resulted in 16 more eggs per hen housed when introduced at 45 wk. of age.

Marissa Erasmus - Purdue studied probiotics for laying hens and vocalizations and stress. Pine shavings and miscanthus grass for litter for turkeys, no real changes. W36 hens like plastic astroturf better than litter in the nest box. Orange vinyl curtains for nest boxes were also studied..

Paul Patterson Penn State Mike Hulet retired. Looked at environmental effects on meat bird production. Vegetative buffers and cover component for birds outside is also an interest for Penn State Researchers. Birds want cover not open pasture. Looking at Methionine alternatives due to Organic rules. Also at corn particle size. Young birds like smaller particles better than adult birds. Looking at broiler, layer, and turkey manure output. Find less output now compared to years ago. Game birds and UV exposure and changes in shell color and quality. Ensiling method to dispose of dead birds. Need to put down commercial size flock. Feeding turkeys with naturalized diets.

Break from Station Reports:

Special Welcome and Report:

Dr. Eileen Thacker Center Director USDA-ARS. A welcome and what is going on. In 2014 they merged the Russell Research Center and Southeast Poultry Center and other facilities to make Athens the center of much of USDA-ARS poultry research. Now there is the US National Poultry Research Center. They just received $155 mill for new facility at the Southeast Poultry Center. Then Avian Disease and Oncology (ADO) lab will come to Athens when the new facility is completed. They work with other agencies and researchers on poultry issues. They have 7 units with Egg safety, Bacterial resistance, processing group, imaging group, mycotoxin group, exotics (AI and New Castle), and endemic group. Genetics group and Marek’s group with ADO lab. (See website for more info https://www.ars.usda.gov/southeast-area/athens-ga/us-national-poultry-research-center/adol/ ).

Break at 9:56 to 10:15 am.

Dr. John Glisson, Vice President of Research Programs, USPEA was introduced by Ken Anderson. John was on the faculty at UGA Vet School and retired in 2011 to work with USPEA. USPEA is located in Tucker, GA. Not a political action organization. More communication and technical and educational organization. Funds come from IPPE and US Poultry Foundation and others. Research funding is done by a 15 person advisory committee of poultry industry personnel. They determine research priorities and proposal reviews and funding.

They have 2 programs. One is a comprehensive program that started in 1962 for Marek’s and Infectious bursal disease research funding. Now there are 17 areas of potential funding. New priorities added as needed. The Board Research Initiative started 5 years ago with 25 people (CEO’s, presidents, etc). They have set up flexible proposal dates for the projects they want researched. Topics generally fall into two categories: Food Safety and Welfare, third is Environmental issues. Requests go out in September. Short one page proposal due Nov 1. In recent years SE has been a priority. Especially in ground turkey and chicken, which are high risk products. Need fast – real time analysis of SE or other pathogens to determine if they can be used for ground product. Now also focusing on Campylobacter, especially in chickens. Reducing Campy in all steps of growing and processing needs to be researched. Egg industry is good at SE control, now want to look at all Salmonella types. Welfare is another big topic. Need objective measures of welfare in cage, cage free, aviary, etc. systems. Reporters ask why birds outside are breaking wings, legs, etc and ask what can be done? Put in cages is the answer, but they don’t like cages. Can’t win. Slow growing broilers research is needed since consumers seem to want slower growers. Social enhancements and welfare for broilers and turkeys. Euthanasia is also an area to study. Mass and individual. We know what works but is there research to support that it is humane. VSD is being funded. Live-haul research is needed also. Are the trailers up-to-date? Pretty primitive. Environmental issues, such as carcass disposal from mass depopulation. Biosecure handling. Processing plant water use is also an issue. Chemicals for SE control during processing (PA) how to deal with this in wastewater. More funding will be available on water issues. Water runoff is also an issue. Seldom get more than 12 or so proposals for each topic. So pretty good chance for funding. They consider proposals from University, ARS, private companies, etc. How much funding per proposal. This year they have $1.5 million. Board projects are capped at $125K, the comprehensive program rarely goes over $100K. Nov 1 or May 1 are pre-proposal deadlines. Can be submitted by individuals, but full proposals must come through the institution. Why not electronic submissions? Soon to be that way.

Mike Darre – Uconn In an attempt to determine the effect of carvacrol on the Avian Influensa virus a study was undertaken. It was found that carvacrol at 0.2% and 0.1% significantly reduced the virus titer when compared to controls (P<0.05), suggesting potent antiviral activity of the phytochemical against AIV. Further studies to delineate the mechanism(s) behind the antiviral effect of CR are underway.

Another study was undertaken to determine the effect of probiotic treatment of hatching eggs. Eggs in the treatment group were sprayed with probiotic cultures [Probiotic cocktail- PC (Lp - Lactobacillus paracasei DUP-13076 and Lr - L. rhamnosus NRRL-B-442)] (7 log CFU/egg) while control eggs were sprayed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) prior to incubation and hatching. Following hatch, chicks were housed in floor pens at the UConn poultry research unit for six weeks and fed with feed containing PC (7 log CFU/g of feed) or PBS. Ten eggs/birds were sampled on d18 and 21 (day of hatch), wk1, wk3 and wk6 of the study. Results of the study revealed that early probiotic supplementation significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved embryonic growth. On d18, when compared to the control, PC treated eggs demonstrated 6.6, 5.5 and 9.2% increase in embryo weight, crown rump length and tibiotarsal length, respectively. With respect to body weight gain, an average of 5.6-8.2% increase in live weight and a concomitant improvement in FCR was observed in PC treated chicks when compared to the control.

Lighting research is continuing with LED’s in a commercial egg laying facility. Birds in the bottom row of cages with an LED lamp in each cage produced more eggs than birds lit only by the ceiling lamp between rows. Another study is underway looking at an LED lamp with a filter that eliminates the UV and blue light spectrum and its effect on ectoparasites on the bird.

Deana Jones USDA ARS She is focusing on objective 3. Working with Ken Anderson and the NCSU flock test. Currently looking at egg quality with cage free egg and Brown vs White birds. The focus is on welfare quality assessment, microbiology, etc. Not analyzing conventional cages now. They have a new egg quality assessment system for egg shape and volume that can be used for bones also. This is a 3D imaging system. People who want to train on equipment at ARS can do so. The HB LED candling light developed for the Egg Quality School is now available for general purchase. AH pharma is making them at a cost of about $280 per lamp. ARS is doing bone imaging now for anyone that needs it.

Casey Ritz – UGA A lot happening at UGA. Antimicrobials and processing. Dr. Kim Cook is studying probiotics and food grade alcohols. Also some Microbiome work and Quail work on SE and Campy. Casey is working on antibiotic impact on S. Heidelberg (Nelson Cox and Kim Cook). They are also doing some poultry litter and manure studies. Mortality composting and viral livability is another area of research. Casey has done a lot of work on the NRCS handbook on water quality, and they now want it to be an environmental quality handbook. He provided a list of current topics in the notebook. (See Objective 2 committee report above.) They are looking for reviewed technical bulletins for the handbook. Engineered bio-carbon as a feed supplement is a new area of research. It is tot approved by USDA as feed ingredient yet. Also work on litter and bedding amendments for ammonia control. They also have two position openings in the department. Harsha does processing work and microbiology on birds and cross contamination.

Jody Purswell MS USDA-ARS They are conducting nutrition research on insect meal to replace SBM in the diet. Light leaking through fans results in more feed consumption, due to more activity, etc. not the best feed conversions so looking a better light traps on inlets, fans, etc. They are also comparing the Once^TM lamp and incandescent lamp to determine if there is a Clux vs Human lux difference in performance. No real production difference. In another study they wanted to determine an optimal time to withdraw antimicrobials (antibiotics and anticoccidials) and replace them with probiotics in broiler diets without adverse effects on growth performance. In place of antimicrobials, half of the diets were supplemented with probiotics. On day 14, all the birds were challenged by oral gavage of 10 × dose of commercial coccidial vaccine including live Eimeria. The results suggest that supplementing probiotics may alleviate the adverse effects of coccidiosis on growth performance of broilers fed diets with antimicrobial taken out on day 21 or 28.

Jorge A. Vizcarra Alabama A&M He is doing work with Avian species appetite and feed intake and the relationship with ghrelin. He is also studying the effect of coccidiosis and ghrelin in gut. Ghrelin has a role in the regulation of CRH.

End of Station Reports.

Other final business

Rich Gates noted that the International Livestock Environmental Symposium (ILES) on Animal responses to environment and precision livestock farming will be held on Sept 25-27, 2018 in Omaha, NE. Abstracts may be due by October 1.

(https://asabe.org/meetings-events/2018/09/10th-international-livestock-environment-symposium-(iles-x).aspx )

Ken Koelkebeck reminded the objective groups to work on the re-write and come up with newly worded objectives for the re-write. We need those and drafts by the January meeting in Atlanta.

Ken would send out materials from USDA on the proposal re-write process.

Thanks to the host committee of Deanna Jones, Harshavardhan Thippareddi and their crew for arrangements for the hotel, the great classroom, meals, snacks and tours.

Thanks to Anup for chairing the meeting this year as Sr. Executive.

The group wished Dr. Mike Darre all the best in his retirement.

Ken Anderson moved to adjourn, and Tony Pescatore Seconded.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:04 pm.

Many of the group proceeded to tours of UGA farm and USDA ARS processing facilities.

Respectfully submitted by Michael J. Darre

Minutes Attachment:

2017 NE-1442 minutes.docx

Accomplishments

Objective 1. Energy/resource efficiency.  This will include collaborative efforts on feed and fuel energy sources for poultry and facilities by geographical region; facility design, equipment efficiency, management, and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Environmental Lighting. IA also looked at LED lighting in poultry production facilities. Despite anecdotal evidence about the benefits of such lighting on bird performance and behavior, concrete research data are lacking. In this study, a commercial poultry-specific LED light (dim-to-blue, controllable correlated color temperature or CCT from 4 500K to 5 300K) and a typical compact fluorescent (CFL) light (soft white, CCT = 2 700K) were compared with regards to their effects on growing performance, activity levels, and feather and comb conditions of non-beak- trimmed W-36 pullets during a 14-week rearing period. A total of 1280-day-old pullets in two successive batches, 640 birds each, were used in the study. For each batch, pullets were randomly assigned to four identical litter-floor rooms equipped with perches, two rooms per light regimen, 160 birds per room. BW, BW uniformity (BWU), BW gain (BWG), and cumulative mortality rate (CMR) of the pullets were determined biweekly from day-old to 14 weeks of age (WOA). Activity levels of the pullets at 5-14 WOA were delineated by movement index. Results revealed that pullets under the LED and CFL lights had comparable BW (1 140 ± 5 g vs. 1 135 ± 5 g, P = 0.41), BWU (90.8 ± 1.0% vs. 91.9 ± 1.0%, P = 0.48), and CMR (1.3 ± 0.6% vs. 2.7 ± 0.6%, P = 0.18) at 14 WOA despite some varying BWG during the rearing. Circadian activity levels of the pullets were higher under the LED light than under the CFL light, possibly resulting from differences in spectrum and/or perceived light intensity between the two lights. No feather damage or comb wound was apparent in either light regimen at the end of the rearing period. The results contribute to understanding the impact of emerging LED lights on pullets rearing which is a critical component of egg production.   Management. AL researchers are involved with several projects that fit in with the objectives of NE 1442. One researcher and his team are involved with determining the correct size to cut giant Miscanthus as well as the depth it must be added to poultry houses to be an adequate replacement for soft woods. The use of this plant, which grows rapidly, could save the typical poultry farmer thousands of dollars annually. This same researcher and his group are also in the process of determining the most affective/efficient types of brooders that poultry growers can use to economically heat the young birds.   AL also completed work assessing the impact of feed withdrawal/catching on broiler respiratory tract microbiology. Catching (and the inherent dust produced during catching) does not appear to impact anaerobic plate count, Enterobacteriaceae counts/prevalence, or Salmonella prevalence. This same researcher also conducted a project to assess the efficacy of neutralizing buffered peptone water (BPW) compared to standard BPW on whole carcass rinse microbiology. It was determined that for Enterobacteriaceae, neutralization was necessary to prevent residual antimicrobial action. No differences were detected in Salmonella prevalence. However, the detection of Campylobacter may be hindered by the use of neutralizing BPW. A third project had assessed EEGs and the ability to recover consciousness following two-phase (DC/AC) electrical stunning. Preliminary data indicate that at 35 s post stun, broilers stunned at lower voltages are insensible. A high AC voltage of 110 V was required to prevent recovery of consciousness (100%), however, at 60 V AC, only 43% of broilers stunned (and not bled) were able to recover. MS has 3 faculty working on engineering solutions in commercial poultry production. Current ABE research projects are investigating variations in spatial and temporal light intensity in broilers houses, heater canopy shape and design to maximize efficiency, alternative litter amendments, and automated methods of detecting and tracking in-house broiler mortalities. ABE researchers are also collaborating with the USDA ARS PRU in Starkville to develop and test a novel whole-house infiltration system for commercial broiler houses. Extension efforts include 3 publications, numerous invited talks, articles in trade journals, and an upcoming webinar series on commercial broiler production in MS. Researchers from ABE and Poultry Science recently received a competitive Cochran Fellowship to host a training program for poultry experts from Eastern Europe. The 2014 and 2016 NE1442 milestones of quantifying the effective heating areas for commercial radiant brooders and standardizing methods to compare radiant heaters were met and the work was recently published. Research projects on bird behavior and preference for radiant heat during brooding and building envelope thermal performance for new and aging broiler houses were also completed and the manuscripts are currently being prepared for publication. Completed research was presented at the International Poultry Scientific Forum and the American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineering (ASABE) Annual International meeting.   MS also recently investigated the potential of improving overall broiler performance as a result of improving feed quality in earlier stages of life due these phases being of lower feed volume demands (1760 and 2257-micron crumbles, though more research is necessary to determine if overall crumbles size or the SD associated with the crumble particle size has a greatest influence on bird performance in the starter period.   Another trial was conducted using 2 commercial diets and 2 carbohydrase enzymes. Data demonstrated economic benefit for feeding diets formulated with an enzyme primarily providing xylanase, as opposed to a diet formulated with a multi-carbohydrase enzyme. Diets were proprietary, but contained corn, soybean meal, meat & bone meal, phytase, antibiotic, and anticoccidial; however, one of the diets included 10-25% wheat.   Additionally, an experiment was conducted to determine if 1) commercially used mineral packs in diets are adequately included into diets and if reducing mineral pack inclusion throughout diet phases negatively affects growth performance of broilers; and 2) to determine the optimal commercially available Intellibond Z (Zinc) supplementation level to maximize FCR, growth performance and processing. Overall, reducing mineral pack inclusion did not affect performance, but did tend to affect body weight gain, body weight, and mortality, when compared to birds fed treatments with a higher level (120 ppm Zn) of Intellibond Z inclusion (unknown why at this point; Objective 1). In general, data did not support feeding a particle level of Intellibond Z in the diet; however, breast weight data tended to support feeding birds either 40 or 160 ppm Zn (Objective 2).   MN in collaboration with PSU (M. Hulet) and Purdue University (D. Karcher, M. Erasmus) conducted studies were initiated to study the effect of rearing conditions on footpad dermatitis (FPD) in hen and tom turkeys using a combination of controlled research pen studies and by conducting observations on commercial farms. UM graduate student (Gabriella Furo, MS candidate) first examined FPD scores taken live at the farm and then taken post-mortem after the same samples were placed in 10% buffered formalin which allowed for better assessment of the pad area. For older turkeys, there was a positive significant correlation of the live score with the post mortem scores. In both studies, there was a shift toward a more severe score with the post-mortem sample. A pilot study was conducted in collaboration with UM Biosystems and Bioengineering (K. Janni) to compare five different commercial flooring materials with a conventional bedded system. The five flooring materials were: Double L Classic Red Rooster; SW Ag Plastics Dura-Slat STO; SW Ag Plastics Dura-Slat ST; and Tenderfoot rectangular or square. Each flooring was allocated to two replicate pens with 50 toms each. Flooring occupied 25% of the pen floor. The remaining area contained fresh wood shavings as did the conventionally bedded pens. Turkeys (male, Hybrid Converter) were moved to the study facility at 5 wks. of age and performance followed to 18 wks. of age. No differences among treatments were detected for 18 wk. body weight, feed efficiency (5 to 18 wks. of age), livability, or breast blister/button scores. For the flooring treatments, the proportion of turkeys with the more severe breast scores ranged from 2.3 to 8.6% while the turkeys reared on conventional litter floor averaged 6.6 % severe blisters. Processing plant data indicated similar performance among treatments for breast trim. The preliminary results of this pilot study indicate that a partially slotted flooring system may be a suitable alternative to conventional bedded system. A second trial is planned to confirm these findings.   Facility Design. PA worked on examining the use of trees and shrubs which are strategically planted around poultry farms following a conservation plan can help improve the environment for the farm, the birds and neighbors. These environmental vegetative buffers can provide five different conservation practices for poultry farms. Windbreaks and hedgerows filter and trap, dust, odor, ammonia and viruses from poultry exhaust fans. They can screen the farm and activities from neighbors at the urban-rural interface using vegetation comprised of attractive trees and shrubs that can also landscape and beautify the farm and buildings. Riparian species can slow, trap and treat storm-water from roofs, roads and the barnyard filtering nutrients, sediment and reducing erosion. Biomass buffers of grasses, willows and trees like poplar can be grown for bedding and the spent litter can be utilized as a renewable, carbon-neutral fuel to replace propane. Finally, windbreak, shelter-belts around the farm can protect birds and buildings from winter winds and drifting snow. During hot weather, shade trees can reduce the solar load on the barns and cooling energy expenditures. Bird Density. PA also worked on the effect of density for turkeys and how density affects litter characteristics, and litter moisture and available nitrogen can be affected by bedding source. Therefore, a study (3X2 factorial; significant difference at P < 0.05) looking at 3 different bird densities (4.2, 5.3, and 7.1 birds/square meter, LOW, MEDIUM, and HIGH, respectively) on either pine shavings (PS) or Giant Miscanthus grass (MG) bedding was conducted. Hybrid poults (1056) were placed into either PS or MG bedding pens (8.18 m2) with 35, 44, or 58 birds/pen. No significant interactions were found between bird density and litter source. Hens placed at LOW bird density had significantly greater body weight (10.76 kg) over hens placed at HIGH bird density (10.04 kg), MEDIUM density birds (10.43 kg) were intermediate and not significantly different. Bird density showed no differences in feed intake, but pens with LOW density had significantly lower feed conversion (1.86) than the hens placed at HIGH bird density (1.98). No differences in body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion nor mortality were found between PS and MG bedding However, HIGH density did have greater ammonium content of litter at 42 d and moisture content at 98 d than pens with LOW bird density. In summary, MG litter was equal in bird performance and litter composition to PG Litter. Birds reared at a LOW bird density had better performance than the hens reared on HIGH bird density, but no difference than hen reared under commercial MEDIUM bird density. Antibiotics and Antimicrobials.   GA examined the antibiotic withdrawal in feed on chicken gut microbial dynamics. Chicken gut microbiome plays an important role in host performance, health and immunity. There is a need to understand the development and dynamics of gut microbiota, gut immunity, and host performance resulting from antibiotic withdrawal from feed. The specific objectives of the research are: (1) Evaluate the effect of antibiotic withdrawal from broiler feed on bird performance; (2) Compare the microbial dynamics in ileum and the cecum in response to antibiotic withdrawal; and (3) Determine the effect of antibiotic withdrawal on host immunity. Birds were raised on three phase diets {starter (d0-22), grower (d23-35) and finisher (d36-42)} with and without (control) Bacitracin Dimethyl Salicyclate-50 (BMD) for 42 d. Ileal and cecal contents of birds along with feed and litter samples were collected on d 0, 7, 14, 22, 35 and 42. At early growth stage, bird performance was improved (P ≤ 0.05) with BMD treatment, while performance was better (P ≤ 0.05) in control group at the time of commercial processing. Acetate and butyrate production was affected (P ≤ 0.05) by age whereas propionate production was affected (P ≤ 0.05) by both the treatment and age. The bacterial communities in the cecum were more diverse (P ≤ 0.001) and rich compared to the ileal communities, and they shifted in parallel to one another as the chicks matured. Differences in diversity and species richness was not observed (P > 0.05) between the BMD-fed and control group. Comparing all ages and diets, the composition of cecal and ileal bacterial communities was different (P ≤ 0.001). However, both the communities remained unchanged in response to antibiotic withdrawal. Inclusion of BMD in the feed did not affect the bacterial phyla. However, predictable shift in the ileal and cecal bacterial population at lower taxonomic level was observed in control vs BMD-fed group. Cytokines gene expression (IL-10, IL-4, IFN-γ, beta-defensin, TLR-4) was affected (P ≤ 0.05) in the BMD-fed group at early stages of growth. Overall, this study provided insight of the impact of antimicrobial supplementation in the feed on gut microbial modulations, bird performance, host immunity and pathogen prevalence. This information can assist in designing alternative strategies to replace antibiotics in modern poultry production and for food safety.   MS conducted a study to determine the effects of dietary antimicrobials and alternatives (Bacillus subtilis and zinc) on digestive tract and intestinal microflora of commercial broilers with Eimeria challenge. Feeding antimicrobial diets resulted in the highest number of bacterial species in ceca and feeding probiotics diets resulted in the least number of bacterial species. Zinc supplementation decreased Blautia and Clostridium proportions in cecal microflora as compared to other diets. Antimicrobial diets lowered Lactobacillus proportion as comparted to control diets. Anticoccidial diets increased Bifidobacteria proportion as comparted to probiotic and zinc combined diets. Both probiotics and antimicrobial diets decreased D29-40 feed conversion ratio as compared to control diets. In conclusion, both dietary probiotic and antimicrobial supplementations improved the feed efficiency of broilers; however, they have opposing effects on cecal microflora diversity and composition. In addition, extra zinc supplementation may inhibit the growth of Clostridium pathogens in broiler ceca.   In the 3rd trial, the study was conducted to determine an optimal time to withdraw antimicrobials (antibiotics and anticoccidials) and replace them with probiotics in broiler diets without adverse effects on growth performance. Birds were fed in 6 phases: 0-14, 14-21, 21-28, 28-35, 35-46, and 46-56 days with 1 of 3 feeds including basal, antimicrobial, and probiotic diets during each feeding phase, so that antimicrobials were withdrawn at different phases. In place of antimicrobials, half of the diets were supplemented with probiotics. On day 14, all the birds were challenged by oral gavage of 10 × dose of commercial coccidial vaccine including live Eimeria. The results suggest that supplementing probiotics may alleviate the adverse effects of coccidiosis on growth performance of broilers fed diets with antimicrobial taken out on day 21 or 28.   MN also examined multiple antibiotic alternatives to improve preharvest safety of turkeys. A comprehensive project determining the potential of antibiotic alternatives to control multidrug resistant (MDR) Salmonella Heidelberg in turkeys was undertaken. Probiotics, prebiotics, and vaccination were tested individually and in combination in 2-week, 7-week, and 12-week old turkeys challenged with MDR S. Heidelberg. Dr. Anup Johny (PI), and Co- PI’s, Drs. Sally Noll, Tim Johnson, and Carol Cardona participated in this successful project. Microbiome analysis was also conducted. The project was partially supported by the Minnesota turkey industry and the Minnesota state legislature. In a different project, various inoculum levels of MDR S. Heidelberg were tested in turkey poults and adult turkeys to determine the potential of the pathogen to reach several organs and tissues, including skeletal muscles. Along with the PI, Dr. Johny, Drs. Sally Noll and Robert Porter Jr. participated in the project. Microbiome analysis is currently underway. In yet another project, essential oils were tested to control MDR Salmonella Heidelberg in turkeys and broilers. Overall, these projects have resulted in 4 scientific abstracts, 2 poster presentations, and 2 oral presentations this year. A graduate student won a national level competition presenting his research abstract from one of these projects.   CT examined investigated the antiviral efficacy of carvacrol (CR), a GRAS-status phytochemical from oregano oil, against two isolates of low pathogenic AIV, namely H5N2 and H7N2. A total of 42, eleven-day old, embryonated, specific-pathogen-free (SPF) eggs (21 each for H5N2 and H7N2) were randomly assigned to 6 treatments: a negative control [1 egg], virus (positive) control [4 eggs], solvent control [4eggs] and three CR treatments [4 eggs each] (0.2%; 0.1% and 0.05%). Carvacrol at 0.2% and 0.1% significantly reduced the virus titer of both isolates when compared to controls (P<0.05), suggesting potent antiviral activity of the phytochemical against AIV. Further studies to delineate the mechanism(s) behind the antiviral effect of CR are underway.   CT also looked at probiotic treatment of hatching eggs. Eggs in the treatment group were sprayed with probiotic cultures [Probiotic cocktail- PC (Lp - Lactobacillus paracasei DUP-13076 and Lr - L. rhamnosus NRRL-B-442)] (7 log CFU/egg) while control eggs were sprayed with phosphate buffered saline (PBS) prior to incubation and hatching. Following hatch, chicks were housed in floor pens at the UConn poultry research unit for six weeks and fed with feed containing PC (7 log CFU/g of feed) or PBS. Ten eggs/birds were sampled on d18 and 21 (day of hatch), wk1, wk3 and wk6 of the study. Results of the study revealed that early probiotic supplementation significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved embryonic growth. On d18, when compared to the control, PC treated eggs demonstrated 6.6, 5.5 and 9.2% increase in embryo weight, crown rump length and tibiotarsal length, respectively. A similar improvement in morphometric measurements was also observed in the hatchlings and pullets. With respect to body weight gain, an average of 5.6-8.2% increase in live weight and a concomitant improvement in FCR was observed in PC treated chicks when compared to the control Likewise, tibia from PC treated pullets were found to be 22% heavier and 13% longer than the control samples. Additionally, tibial bone weight/length index was higher in the treatment group (0.77) when compared to the control (0.71). Furthermore, significantly (P ≤ 0.05) higher numbers of Lactobacillus species (firmicutes) were recovered from the cecal contents of PC treated chicks (~ 9.2 log CFU/ml) when compared to the control (~ 6.84 log CFU/ml). Nutrition.   KY looked at a series of experiments under objective 1 conducted a series of experiments to evaluate the nutrient strategies and the impact of dietary electrolyte balance, mineral sources and fatty acid profile on nutrient excretion. High sodium levels increased the loss of amino acids from endogenous origin resulting in increased nitrogen excretion. Organ minerals can be fed at lower levels in the diet with no effects on growth or egg production and less heavy metal excretion. A study was conducted to investigate the effects of 2 broiler breeder dietary Zn sources (ZnO vs. Bioplex Zn) on tibia characteristics and performance of broiler chick offspring. At hatch, no effect of breeder dietary Zn source was observed on offspring body wt. Chicks from breeders fed Bioplex Zn had greater tibia length (28.3 vs. 27.0, mm) and tibia distal condyle width (4.61 vs. 4.25, mm) than chicks from breeders fed ZnO. Chick tibia diaphysis width, proximal condyle width, and mineral content (Ca, P, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn) were unaffected by breeder dietary Zn source. At 3 wk of age, chicks from breeders fed Bioplex Zn had greater tibia proximal condyle width (16.9 vs. 16.0, mm) than chicks from breeders fed ZnO. No effect of breeder dietary Zn source was observed on tibia length, tibia diaphysis width, tibia distal condyle width, tibia ash %, or performance of chicks.   Objective 2. Evaluating commercial poultry production systems.  This will include collaborative efforts on the characterization of the performance of conventional, alternative, and organic poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management, acoustic environment, and animal health and welfare. Air Quality and NH3 Emissions. IL examined the effects of atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) on production performance of turkey poults. In the commercial industry, brooding of turkey poults is still done by conventional methods of providing brooding temperatures from a propane fueled brooder hover. It has been documented that CO2 levels can be relatively high during the early phases of brooding which may negatively affect early poults performance. To our knowledge, no study has determined the exposure limit of CO2 above which turkey performance degrades. However, there is anecdotal evidence from the industry suggesting that concentrations as low as 4000 ppm may have adverse effects on poults in the first weeks of brooding. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of CO2 on turkey poult weight gain. In the first and second replication, many male poults were weighed post-hatch to obtain turkeys whose weights were within 10 g of the mean; these poults were transported to the laboratory, randomly distributed into three environmental control chambers and reared with standard temperature and humidity according to their age. Three different fixed CO2 concentrations (2000, 4000, or 6000 ppm) were used throughout the entire experiment. Poults were individually weighed weekly. Body weight gain at day 21 was greater for poults at 2000 ppm compared to the higher concentrations, however no significant statistical difference was observed. This preliminary (first and second replication) study showed that the tested concentrations of CO2 were not a strong contributing factor to reduced turkey performance in the initial phase of rearing. More replications are planned to further explore the influence of CO2 on turkey poult performance. IA examined particulate matter (PM) concentrations are in aviary hen houses due to accumulation of litter on the floor and hen activities. The use of spraying agent such as acidic electrolyzed water (AEW) to mitigate PM levels and disinfect houses has been reported, and high spray dosages will reduce PM to a low level. However, spraying a high dose of AEW may generate high levels of ammonia (NH3) due to an increase in litter moisture content (LMC). Lab-scale experiments were conducted to assess the effect of AEW spray dosage and pH on PM and NH3 emissions from litter of aviary hen houses. Four dynamic emission chambers (DEC’s) located in an environmentally-controlled room were used for the evaluation. Three spray dosages of 25, 50, and 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 and three pH values of 3, 5, and 7 at a free-chlorine concentration of 200 mg L-1 were tested. Spraying occurred within 10 min once a day for 5 consecutive days. A no-spray regimen was used as the control. The results showed that higher spray dosages of AEW led to lower PM emissions. Specially, spraying dosages of 25, 50, and 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 reduced PM levels by (mean±SD) 71±3%, 81±1%, and 89±1%, respectively, immediately after spraying. The PM reductions were still significant after 24h of spraying, averaging 57±4%, 71±5%, and 83±1%, respectively. There was no significant difference (P=0.30-0.43) in reduction efficacy among the PM sizes (i.e., PM1, PM2.5, PM4, PM10, and total suspended particulates). For NH3 emissions, spraying 75 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 generated 5-6 times greater NH3 emissions when compared to 25 mL [kg dry litter]-1 d-1 due to difference in LMC (22.6% vs. 13.0%). Meanwhile, spraying AEW of pH7 yielded 2-3 times higher NH3 emissions than AEW of pH3 at the same dosage. Ammonia emissions of all spray treatments were found to be higher than those of the control, albeit no significant difference between control and the 25 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 dosage at pH3 or pH5 (P=0.81, P=0.47). Pearson correlation coefficients between NH3 and spray dosage (0.82) and pH value (0.46) indicated that the spray dosage is more linearly correlated to NH3 emissions than pH value (P<0.05). The results suggest that use of 25 mL [kg dry litter]-1d-1 dosage at pH3 is a prudent combination to control PM levels without causing the undesired elevation in NH3 emissions in the litter-based aviary hen houses. This lab-based finding provides the basis for field verification testing.   IA also looked at mitigating ammonia emissions. A number of restaurant chains, retailers, and grocers in the US have pledged to source cage-free (CF) eggs only in the foreseeable future (e.g., by 2025 or 2030) due to marketing reasons or concerns over animal welfare. However, CF housing has some inherent challenges and a predominant one is poor air quality (ammonia gas – NH3 and particulate matter – PM) and increased emissions. The high NH3 levels primarily arise from the extended accumulation of manure on the litter floor, whereas the high PM levels are generated from dustbathing and foraging activities of the birds on the litter. Spraying liquid agent such as electrolyzed water (EW) has been shown to effectively suppress PM from litter of CF hen houses. However, liquid spray could enhance NH3 emissions as it increases the litter moisture content (LMC). Application of low pH liquid to the litter would help control NH3 while suppressing PM, but concerns arise about the potential corrosive effect of acidic liquid on the housing equipment. The PLT application rates were 0.3, 0.6, and 0.9 kg m-2, denoted as Low-LA, Med-LA, and High-LA, respectively. The litter samples were placed inside dynamic emission chambers (DECs) and stirred to mimic hen scratching. PLT was topically applied onto the litter on day 1; NEW was sprayed daily for 11d, followed by a 3-d non-spray period (i.e., 14 d per trial); and each regiment was replicated four times. Ammonia emission rate (ER) of the control-no LA, Low-LA, Med-LA, and High-LA regimens (mean±SE) was 0.76±0.05, 0.55±0.06, 0.37±0.04, and 0.16 ±0.02 g (kg dry litter)-1d-1, respectively, namely 28-79% reduction by the treatments. The NH3 reduction efficiency is linearly proportional to the PLT® application rate, with higher application rate resulting in significantly lower litter pH (P<0.05). On the last day of each trial (d14), the Med-LA and High-LA regimens continued to show relatively low NH3 emissions, suggesting the need for a longer measurement period in the field verification that will follow. The NEW spray increased LMC by up to 60% after 11 once-a-day sprays, which reduced PM2.5, PM10, and TSP levels from 3.83, 6.39, and 7 mg m-3 to 0.07, 0.14, and 0.15 mg m-3, respectively. After a 3-day spray suspension, the PM levels rebounded to 0.72, 1.02, and 1.12 mg m-3 for PM2.5, PM10, and TSP due to decreased litter moisture. The trade-off between NH3 emission reduction and the cost associated with the litter additive application needs to be assessed under commercial CF production conditions.   IA looked at using an electrostatic air filtration system for reducing incoming particulate matter of a hen house to control any future high pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks. The removal efficiency of particulate matter (PM), the carrier of airborne pathogens, by such filtration systems has not been investigated. This field study was, therefore, conducted to evaluate the PM removal efficacy by an electrostatic air filtration system (consisting of a low-grade air filter and an electrostatic particle ionization or EPI system) installed at the inlet of a commercial high-rise hen house. The evaluation was performed in two test rounds over a one-year period. Results show that average PM removal efficiencies in rounds 1 (spring to summer) and 2 (late fall to spring) were respectively 66% and 29% for PM1, 66% and 30% for PM2.5, 66% and 31% for PM4, 68% and 36% for PM10, and 68% and 45% for total PM. Removal efficiency became unstable when the EPI system was inactivated (i.e. when solely relying on the filter for PM removal). House static pressure and ventilation rate indicated considerable clogging of the filter media by dust accumulation and the need for replacement after ~16 weeks of use in spring-to-summer time (round 1); however, clogging was not an issue during the entire late fall-to-spring sampling period (round 2, 24 weeks). The appearance of the filter changed gradually as dust accumulated with time, which can be captured by image analysis and used to judge filter dirtiness and lifespan. Findings of this field study provide insight into the efficacy of PM removal by such a low-cost air filtration system, which will help egg producers in their decision-making for disease prevention strategies.   Bird Health and Welfare. CA looked at keel bone damage of hens in cage-free housing. In the last year my lab completed a study of risk factors for the development of keel bone damage by hens housed in enriched colony cage systems. The work was conducted in collaboration with Darrin Karcher (Purdue University) and Mike Toscano (U. Bern, Switzerland). In addition to raising animal welfare concerns, keel bone damage (KBD) in laying hens can increase hen mortality, and decrease egg quality, and carcass value. We aimed to determine the causes of KBD - fractures and deviations - in laying hens housed in enriched colony systems. We evaluated 1) the impact energy experienced at the hens’ keels as they navigate their environment, 2) behaviors and cage locations associated with these impacts, and 3) how impacts and behaviors relate to KBD development. Data collection focused on 10 of 60 Hy-line W-36 hens housed in each of 12 environmentally enriched cages (4 rooms of 3 cages). Changes in keel bone integrity was evaluated for each of the 120 focal hens from CT scans taken at the start and end of 2 3-week data collection periods (4 scans per hen). The impacts sustained at the hens’ keels were evaluated using tri-axial accelerometers; behavior was transcribed from video recordings made continuously over the course of the study. In total, 14,516 impacts were recorded. Of these, 52.37% had summed accelerations under 20G, 22.27% between 20 and 40G, 9.3% 40–60G, 4.94% 60–80G, 3.03% 80–100G, and 7.99% > 100G. Video recordings were matched with 7,887 impacts. The majority of impacts under 20G were linked with maintenance behavior (e.g., grooming), unlikely to cause major KBD. Collisions accounted for 80.22% of impacts with summed accelerations over 20G. Aggressive interactions among hens, scattering behavior, grooming and wing flapping accounted for 10.48%, 3.20%, 3.06% and 2.48% of impacts over 20G, respectively. Hens collided with the perches (74.35%), the wire floor (11.44%), other hens (6.92%), support beams (4.14%), the feeder (2.09%) and cage walls (1.06%). Collisions were most often the result of hens trying to navigate onto a perch, or being pushed by a cage mate. Binary logistic regressions (R, v.3.3.2) were used to determine the relationships between keel bone damage, number of collisions, and number of impacts < 20G experienced at the keel. No relationships were found, though statistical trends were found between the number of collisions a hen experienced and the incidence of keel bone fractures (P = 0.061) as well as the incidence of overall damage (P = 0.054). We conclude that issues pertaining to perch navigation are a key risk factor for keel bone damage, particularly the development of fractures, sustained by laying hens housed in enriched colony cage systems.   IA examined perching needs of laying hens as a welfare requirement. The objective of the study was to evaluate perching behaviors of laying hens as affected by horizontal distance (HD) between parallel perches. A total of 48 Lohmann white hens in three groups (16 hens/group) were used, 68 weeks of age at the experiment onset. For each group, hens were housed in an enriched wire-mesh floor pen (120 cm L×120 cm W×120 cm H) equipped with two round galvanized tube perches (120 cm long × 32 mm diameter, an average of 15 cm perch space/hen). HD was varied sequentially at 60, 40, 30, 25, 20 and 15 cm and then in reverse order. A real-time monitoring system was developed to continuously record hen’s perching behaviors. The number or proportion of perching hens, perching duration, and perching trip and frequency were analyzed using an automated VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) program developed in Microsoft Excel. Heading direction of the perching hens and pattern of the perch occupancy were determined manually by video observation. Results showed that reduction of HD to 25 cm did not restrain hens’ perching behaviors, whereas HD of 20 or 15 cm restrained perching to some extent. Specifically, at HD of 25 cm, hens perched interlacing with one another to maximize use of the perches during the dark period. As a result, the proportion of perching hens and perching duration for HD of 25 cm were not reduced as compared to HD of 30-60 cm. However, the proportion of perching hens was significantly reduced at HD of 15 cm (P = 0.001-0.025). HD of 15 and 20 cm also significantly reduced daily perching time of the hens. In contrast, perching trip or frequency and heading direction of the perching hens were not influenced by HD (15-40 cm) except for HD of 60 cm. The results suggest that although 30 cm is the recommended minimum HD, 25 cm may be considered for situations where additional perches are necessary to meet all hens’ perching needs.   IA studied enriched colony housing (ECH) as a relatively new egg production system. As such, information is lacking on design parameters to ensure the well-being of the hens and optimal utilization of housing resources. A new system has been developed at Iowa State University that enables automated monitoring and quantification of feeding and nesting behaviors of individual hens in ECH. Ultra-high-frequency radio frequency identification (UHF RFID) is employed to track individual animals. The UHF RFID system consists of four components: antennas, tags, readers, and a data acquisition system. The antennas for monitoring feeding behavior are placed inside the two feed troughs and covered with plastic boards. Each feed trough has six antennas aligned in series covering the length of the feeder. Four additional antennas are placed inside the nest boxes to monitor the nesting behaviors. All 16 antennas are connected to five 4-channel readers, two per feed trough and one for the nest boxes, that are further connected to the hosting computer via Ethernet. Feed and water consumption and egg production are continuously monitored using load cells. This article describes the development and testing of the RFID system for monitoring feeding and nesting behaviors and provides sample data. The system has proven to be able to characterize benchmark feeding and nesting behaviors of individual hens in ECH, such as daily time spent at the feeder and in the nest box, daily frequency of visiting the feeder and the nest box, number of hens feeding and nesting simultaneously, and variability in these behaviors among individual hens. Future applications of the system include assessing the impact of resource allocation and management practices on feeding and nesting behaviors and on the well- being of the hens. This information will provide a scientific basis for optimal design and management of alternative hen housing systems.   IA also examined feeder space allocation for laying hens. Animal welfare guidelines mandate enough feeder space (e.g., 12.0 cm/hen) so that all birds can feed at the same time. However, such guidelines remain justified or validated as it is unclear whether group-housed birds need or want to feed simultaneously. This study was conducted to assess the impact of feeder space on feeding behavior of 60 individual laying hens (W-36 breed) in an enriched colony housing (ECH). The feeder space investigated included 12.0, 9.5, 8.5 or 6.5 cm/hen, with 12.0 cm/hen being the “guideline” value. The target feeder space was achieved by blocking portions of the overall feeders while keeping the same number of birds and thus stocking density in the colony. Each feeder space treatment, randomly assigned over the course of the experiment, lasted for 5 consecutive days. Feeding behaviors of each hen were characterized as daily time spent at the feeder (TS, min/d-hen) and daily frequency of visits to the feeder (FV, #/d-hen). Monitoring of the individual hens in the ECH group was achieved using a newly developed RFID monitoring system. At the group level, the number of birds feeding simultaneously – maximum (MNB, %) or average (ANB, %) was quantified. In addition, group-average daily feed intake (FI, g/hen-d), water use (WU, g/hen-d), and hen-day egg production (HDEP) were measured. The results to dates show that there were no differences between 12.0 cm/hen and 9.5 cm/hen treatments in terms of TS, MNB or ANB; but differences were observed between 12.0 cm and the two lower feeder space treatments. No impact on FI, WU or HDEP was detected among all the feeder space levels. Hence, the current recommended feeder space of 12.0 cm can be lowered without compromising feeding behaviors or performance of W-36 laying hens in ECH. The results also demonstrate that it is not necessary to provide enough feeder space for all hens to feed simultaneously in ECH.   IN conducted experiments to address objective. A pullet molt study was conducted to evaluate the impact of an early production molt as a way to extend pullet-stay in the grower house in an event of disease outbreak. Results indicated that hens that were molted did not completely cease egg production, but molting hens at 10% production may prove advantageous to maintain pullets for a longer period of time in the pullet house during a disease quarantine scenario, resulting in sufficient egg production post-molt with little impact on egg safety once birds are moved into a multi-tier aviary. Another experiment evaluated the impact of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (Bio-D) on production, egg, and skeletal characteristics in early or late phase production of laying hens. Pullets were placed on 2 treatments either a control diet (con) or control + 500.5 µg of Bio-D/kg diet (BD). Bio-D supplementation did not have an impact on egg or skeletal characteristics but resulted in 16 more eggs per hen housed when introduced at 45 wk. of age. Lastly, an experiment examined the nest substrate preference (AstroTurf® flooring, bare wire flooring or plastic- coated wire flooring) of Hy-Line W36 hens in a cage-free housing system. The majority of eggs were laid in nests containing AstroTurf® (82.5 ± 2.4%), followed by the floor (10.7 ± 1.5%), in nests with plastic coated wire (4.2 ± 0.8%) and in nests with bare wire flooring (2.7 ± 1.4%), indicating that hens preferred nests lined with AstroTurf®.   Experiments were also conducted to address objective 2. As part of a larger USDA NIFA grant (Grant no. 2016-67015-24457) awarded to Drs. Sally Noll, Mike Hulet and Darrin Karcher, experiments were conducted to 1) determine baseline gait and force distribution in visibly unimpaired growing turkey hens and 2) evaluate the effects of stocking density and bedding source on the behavior and well-being of turkeys. To collect baseline gait data, 5 wk old turkey hens were walked across a pressure-sensing walkway (PSW, Tekscan, Boston, MA), one to three times and weighed at 5, 6, 8, 10 and 11 wk of age. Results demonstrated that some data were influenced by the hen’s adjustment to the materials or stage of growth; in contrast, some temporospatial data (gait cycle time) did not coincide with age. The PSW could be used to detect locomotor issues in commercially produced turkey hens providing another tool for assessing well-being. To examine the effects of stocking density (LOW: 4.2 birds/m2, MED: 5.3 birds/m2, HIGH: 7.1 birds/m2) and bedding source (pine shavings or giant miscanthus grass) on the behavior of turkey hens, behavior of turkeys at 13 and 14 wk of age was analyzed. Behavior was affected more by bedding source than by stocking density, with turkeys on pine shavings being more active than turkeys on Miscanthus grass.       MI has focused NE 1442 research effort on Objectives 2 and 3 with respect to laying hen performance, health, and welfare as it relates to alternative housing systems. Research effort has focused on skeletal development, maintenance and health as it relates to hen genetics and housing (enriched colony and aviary) with special emphasis on the keel bone; hen genetic strain differences in egg production, safety and quality, and space and resource use in aviary housing; and the general performance of hens of different strains in an aviary system. Two studies focus on the impact of hen strain on how birds (at the group and individual level) use the space, tiers, perches and nests in aviaries and access litter (Siegford). Data collection is also being completed on whether hens can adapt to aviary housing if they are retained in pullet housing beyond the start of egg laying. Janice Siegford is collaborating with A. Stratmann and M. Toscano at the University of Bern to examine impacts of housing design during rearing on keel bone fracture in laying hens.   Results from previous work completed on the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply project and research completed on turkeys (M. Erasmus now at Purdue) relating to fearfulness and its impact on meat quality and mitigation of PSE meat was published. MSU faculty participation over the past year includes Darrin Karcher (now at Purdue), Janice Siegford, Dana Campbell (former post-doctoral trainee), Cara Robison (Research Associate), Janice Swanson, and Mick Fulton. Cooperators on projects and publications include UC Davis (Makagon, Mench, Blatchford), Purdue (Karcher, Erasmus), USDA-ARS (Jones), NC State (Anderson) and the University of Bern (Toscano). The 2016 – to date publications include 15 journal articles and 12 abstracts/presentations related to the NE 1442 project.   KY worked on objectives 2 and 3. Some of the research conducted during the last 12 months included metabolizable energy (ME) values and ME corrected for nitrogen for different feed ingredients. Specifically, studies were conducted to evaluate the effect of diet matrix (or sources of energy in a complete diet) on the ME and MEn of corn and wheat middlings in broiler chickens. The reference diets used in these studies included SBM-orts and SBM-wheat based. Furthermore, the effects of drying methods, drying temperature, and sampling methods on apparent ileal amino acid digestibility were evaluated. Results from these studies show that the diet matrix (i.e. dietary energy sources) do influence the ME and MEn values of individual heed ingredients (in this case corn and wheat middlings. In the second study, however, the drying method, drying temperature, and sampling method did not influence apparent ileal amino acid digestibility in broiler chickens.   KY also evaluated pasture systems for the raising of chickens for meat production. The effect of pastures on the nutritional needs of the birds and the impact on meat quality and sensory evaluation were determined. The effects of heritage breeds and strains were evaluated for pasture systems. The results of these studies indicated that heritage breeds were slower growing, had poorer feed efficiency and poor breast meat yield. However, the nutrient requirements were less for these birds. An untrained panel evaluated skinless breast meat samples. There was no significant effect of the parameters on tenderness. There was a significant interaction of breed, sex and location on juiciness of the breast meat with the broilers raised with or without pasture having a lower score than the heritage breeds. There was no consistent effect of sex across breeds or location. Birds finished on pasture had a more detectable off flavor compared with floor- raised birds. Females had more of an off flavor than males. This sex difference was also evident with chicken flavor with females having a stronger chicken flavor. For overall acceptability, there was a significant effect of location with birds raised inside having a higher score than those finished on pasture. The breed, method of rearing as well as sex of the bird can influence the cooking loss and sensory evaluation of chicken meat.   VA worked on objective 2 this past year. An experiment was completed to understand the effects of feeding hulless barley to growing broiler chickens. This research quantified the nutritional value of the barley and also explored additional value of feeding the small barley grains in a whole form to reduce the cost of grain processing and to explore potential benefits from a gut health standpoint. The hypothesis of this research was that feeding whole hulless barley would increase the size and function of the gizzard resulting in slower passage rate, increased exposure of feed to low pH and overall a healthier intestinal tract. Results indicate that hulless barley does have appreciable nutrients and can be fed to growing broiler chickens, but it appears that the hull (fiber) is involved with the development of a larger gizzard associated with the feeding of intact small grains in poultry.   Additional research was conducted on the effects of high dietary Ca on the digestibility and utilization of various oil sources. Both DDGS derived corn oil and soybean oil were evaluated in growing broiler chicks at both commercial and higher dietary Ca concentrations. Overall the AMEn values of both oils were reduced by the high Ca diets, but corn oil AMEn was reduced at a greater rate when high concentrations of dietary Ca were present. This might indicate that corn oil would be a less available source of energy in laying hen diets that contain higher concentrations of dietary Ca.   Objective 3. Establishing parameters influenced by the production system and strains utilized within the poultry industry.  This collaborative research will encompass the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety and quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems. Nutrition. WI looked at characterizing turkey selenium (Se) requirements, PCR was used to clone and sequence full transcript sequences for 9 turkey selenoproteins, 3'UTR portions for 15 additional selenoproteins including SECIS element sequences in 22 3'UTRs, and to identify in-frame Sec (UGA) codons for 19 selenoproteins. In addition, the missing sequence for the turkey Sec-tRNA was cloned and sequenced, showing that 24 selenoproteins are expressed in the turkey, not just predicted (Sunde et al., 2015). To determine turkey Se requirements, poults were fed graded levels of dietary Se as selenite from 0.005-1.0 μg Se/g for 4 wk; minimum dietary Se requirements were 0.05 μg Se/g for growth, 0.3 μg Se/g for tissue GPX1 and plasma Gpx3 activities, and 0.05-0.15 μg Se/g for selenoprotein transcript levels, indicated that the NRC turkey requirement should be raised to 0.3 μg Se/g (Taylor and Sunde, 2016). Analysis of Se concentration in thigh, breast, kidney and liver in these same poults, and well as selenoprotein enzyme activities and mRNA levels, suggests that NRC chicken requirement for poults should be raised to 0.4 μg Se/g (Taylor and Sunde, 2017). To determine chicken Se requirements in a parallel study with chicks fed 0.005-1.0 μg Se/g for 4 wk, minimum dietary Se requirements were 0.025 μg Se/g for growth, 0.1-0.13 μg Se/g for GPX1, GPX4 and Gpx3 activities in liver, gizzard and plasma, 0.03-0.21 μg Se/g for tissue selenoprotein transcript levels, but 0.3 μg Se/g for GPX1 and GPX4 activities in pancreas, indicating that the NRC chicken requirement should be raised to 0.2 μg Se/g diet to provide a margin of safety (Li and Sunde, 2016). When these avian requirements were compared to those obtained previously in mice, rats, and lambs, it is clear the chicken requirement is 1.5-2X that of mammals, and that the turkey requirement is 3-4X that of mammals (Sunde et al., 2016). Differences in selenoprotein transcript expression between avians and mammals appear to underlie these differences. In these studies, no selenoprotein activities nor mRNA levels were effective biomarkers for super nutritional selenium status. Food Safety and Quality. NC also estimated the demand functions for conventional eggs and chickens where the presence of organic prices as the right-hand-side variables enable us to obtain cross-price elasticities of conventional demands with respect to organic prices. In line with the extant literature, our results show highly inelastic and statistically significant own price effects for both conventional chickens (elasticity equals -0.117) and conventional eggs (elasticity equals -0.139). The cross-price elasticities of conventional chicken meat demand with respect to the price of organic chickens and the cross-price elasticity of conventional eggs demand with respect to organic eggs price, which are rarely found in the literature, confirm the intuitively expected result that the conventional and organic varieties of the same product are substitutes. The estimated cross-price elasticity of conventional chicken meat demand with respect to organic chicken price equals 0.217 and the cross-price elasticity of conventional eggs demand with respect to organic eggs price equals 0.679.   Laying Hen Performance and Economic Returns. NC conducted collaborative research that encompassed the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety, quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems. The NCLP&M Program is conducting the 40th North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test (NCLP&MT) with the current flock entering its 61st week of production. To date the Hatch and Grow Reports have been published the, 40th NCLP&MT Reports Vol 40, No. 1 and 2. The NCDA&CS Piedmont Research Station-Poultry Unit Layer facilities have been updated to remain relevant to the egg industry evaluating, conventional cage, enrichable cage, enriched environmental housing system, cage-free and free-range production environments that are used in the US. Though molting in the US egg industry is declining over 60% of the hens are molted with increasing use in cage free and free-range systems and remains a viable management tool used to extend the productive life of the hen and enhance the production planning needed by the producers. Molting practices are expanding into the Cage-free, and Free-Range production systems both here in the US and in Europe so looking at molting with the inability to restrict light is increasing in demand.   NC also evaluated VSD as a humane depopulation method. This project provided an evaluation of VSD, VSD combined with heat (VSDH) and CO2 (VSDCO). We developed chambers to profile individual hens in environmental conditions of temperature, relative humidity (RH), and CO2 recordings to understand the dynamics within the environment for each method. We determined the duration to time of death (TOD) and profiled environmental conditions associated with the methods. Using the parameters from Phase 1 of Environmental temperature 107 ºF and RH to 66.0%, and in VSDCO level of CO2 at 31.5%. We scaled up the processes to evaluate the effectiveness of VSD, VSDH, and VSDCO in a multi-tier cage system was conducted using white leghorns housed in 2-tier stair step cage system at industry densities (72 in2/hen). The environment was a force ventilated negative static pressure room sealed to prevent air exchange of any type. An inner chamber around the cages emulated the building volume per hen found in the industry. The data collected included CO2, RH, environmental temperature profiles, CBT, and HSP70. We found that VSD by itself did not result in 100% euthanasia of the flock with 4% of the hens surviving. When we added heat or CO2 to the VSD system we accomplished 100% mortality. The duration to TOD was no different between VSDH and VSDCO. Based upon field studies, VSDH and VSDCO appear to be the most humane methods of depopulating large numbers of poultry. NC also looked at the organic food market. Organic foods are one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the food market. Organic price premiums and patterns of substitution between related organic and conventional products are important for organic products certification and market entry and expansion decisions of organic producers. In this project, we analyzed price differentials (premiums) between organic and conventional eggs and between three categories of organic and conventional chicken products: whole birds, boneless breasts and whole legs. Farm level prices for delivery to first receivers for the period January 2004 and December 2013 show that, in absolute terms, the highest average organic premium is commanded by boneless skinless breast meat followed by organic eggs. USDA-ARS GA conducted within the Egg Safety and Quality Research Unit of the USDA-ARS US National Poultry Research Center focused on the impact of hen housing systems and management practices on egg safety and product quality. A study was completed to assess the physical and functional quality of eggs from 4 genetic strains of laying hens housed in commercial aviary systems. Eggs are stored for 12 weeks and assessed every 4 weeks. The study was conducted for a full 50 wk. production cycle (Michigan State). A study was conducted to assess when during early lay phase consistent egg physical and functional quality data could be attained. Beginning at 19 wks. of age, eggs were evaluated each week thru 25 wks. of age. Three genetic lines each of brown and white egg layers were compared. A full profile of egg physical and functional quality measurements were conducted each week (NCSU). A study is underway to determine the influence of various shell egg processing methods and storage temperature on egg physical quality during extended storage. Each week, eggs from various processing and holding conditions are assessed for physical quality characteristics (Purdue). A study was conducted to determine the influence of various strategies for holding pullets on-farm during disease quarantine conditions and the resulting impact on egg physical quality. A full profile of physical egg quality parameters was assessed during the on-farm holding phase and subsequent move to cage-free aviary housing (Michigan State, Purdue, NCSU).   A study was initiated to determine the impact of 4 hen housing systems and 3 genetic strains of laying hens on egg and environmental microbiology. Samples are being collected every 8 wks. from a collaborative commercial style research farm. Indicator populations (total aerobes, Enterobacteriaceae, and yeasts and molds) are enumerated. Pathogen (Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria) prevalence is also being determined (NCSU). A study is in progress to determine the impact of 4 housing systems and 3 genetic strains of laying hens on Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Listeria shedding. Beginning at hatch, fecal samples are collected monthly and assessed for pathogen prevalence (NCSU). A study is in progress assessing the impact of 4 hen housing systems and 3 genetic strains of laying hens on egg physical quality parameters. Bi-monthly egg samples are evaluated for egg shape, shell characteristics, interior quality, and yolk physical characteristics (NCSU). A study is in progress examining the influence of hen housing system on functional characteristics of eggs. Eggs from a single genetic brown egg strain of laying hen are collected bi-monthly and assessed for foaming, emulsification, and coagulation functions in food matrices. Consumer quality traits are also compared (NCSU).

Publications

KY   Pescatore, Anthony, McKenzie Bear, Gregg Rentfrow, Jacqueline Jacob, Tatijana Fisher, Marquisha Paul, and Michael Ford. 2017. Sensory evaluation and cooking yields of chicken meat from Heritage breeds or broilers reared on pasture or in floor pens. Presented at the PSA meeting in Orlando, FL. July 16-21. Fisher, Tatijana, Anthony J. Pescatore, Jacqueline P. Jacob, Austin Cantor, Michael Ford and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Effect of sex and feed ingredients on carcass yields of commercial broilers and Rhode Island Reds. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):7 Fisher, Tatijana, Anthony Pescatore, Jacquie Jacob, Austin Cantor, Mike Ford, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Effect of feed ingredients and breed of chicken on meat quality. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):172 Jacob, Jacqueline P., Anthony J. Pescatore, Michael J. Ford, Tatijana M. Fisher, Sunday A. Adedokun, and Tuoying Ao. 2016. Growth performance of broiler chickens and heritage breeds raised on pasture. Poult. Sci. 95(E- Suppl. 1):125 Paul, Marquisha, Anthony Pescatore, Tuoying Ao, Michael Ford, and Karl Dawson. 2017. Effects of broiler breeder dietary zinc source on the tibia characteristics and performance of broiler chick offspring. Presented at the PSA meeting in Orlando, FL. July 16-21. Dudley, Megan M., Ryan S. Samuel, Michael J. Ford, Anthony J. Pescatore, and Kristen M. Brennan. 2016. Interaction of dietary microalgae and trace mineral source in 14-day old broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):133 Ao, Tuoying, Marquisha A. Paul, Lizza M. Macalintal, Anthony J. Pescatore, Austin H. Cantor, Ryan S. Samuel, Mike J. Ford, and Karl A. Dawson. 2016. Total replacement of inorganic micro minerals with reduced levels of proteinates in laying hen diets: Effect on productive performance, egg characteristics, and bone quality. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):155 Ao, Tuoying, Lizza Macalintal, Marquisha Paul, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, Mike Ford, and Karl Dawson. 2016.Effects of dietary supplementation of Actigen® and Allzyme SSF® on the performance and carcass yield of broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):290 Macalintal, Lizza, Tuoying Ao, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, P. Glenney, Michael Ford, and Karl Dawson. 2016. Maternal dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidant compound affect levels of trace minerals in eggs and docosahexaenoic acid content in progeny tissues Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):297 Adedokun, Sunday, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, Michael Ford, Jacqueline Jacob, Tuoying Ao, and Ariane Helmbrecht. 2016. Energy source and not dietary electrolyte balance influenced ileal endogenous amino acid losses in 21 d-old broilers fed nitrogen-free diets. Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):287 Adedokun, Sunday, Anthony Pescatore, Austin Cantor, Jacqueline Jacob, Michael Ford, Tuoying Ao, and Ariane Helmbrecht. 2016. Examining the effect of dietary electrolyte balance, energy source, and length of feeding of nitrogen-free diets on ileal endogenous amino acid losses in broilers Poult. Sci. 95(E-Suppl. 1):242   IA Chai, L., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, T. Wang, A. Atilgan, M. Soupir, K. Liu. 2017. Reduction of particulate matter and ammonia by spraying acidic electrolyzed water onto litter of aviary hen houses – a lab-scale study. Transactions of the ASABE 60(2):479-506. Li, L., Y. Zhao, J. Oliveira, W. Verhoijsen, and H. Xin. 2017. A UHF RFID system for studying individual feeding and nesting behaviors of group- housed laying hens. Transactions of the ASABE 60(4): (in press) Lin, X., R. Zhang, S. Jiang, H. El-Mashad, and H. Xin. 2017. Emissions monitoring of ammonia, carbon dioxide and particulate matters in two Californian cage-free layer houses. 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Selenoprotein transcript level and enzyme activity as biomarkers for selenium status and selenium requirements of turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo). PLoS. ONE. 11: e0151665. PMID: 27008545 Sunde R. A., Li J. L., Taylor R. M. 2016. Insights for setting of nutrient requirements, gleaned by comparison of selenium status biomarkers in turkeys and chickens versus rats, mice, and lambs. Adv. Nutr. 7: 1129-1138. PMID: 28140330 Taylor R. M., Sunde R. A. 2017. Selenium requirements based on muscle and kidney selenoprotein enzyme activity and transcript level in the turkey poult (Meleagris gallopavo). Exp. Biol. Med. (submitted 8/29/17) Sunde R. A. 2016. Selenium regulation of the selenoprotein and non-selenoprotein transcriptomes in a variety of species. In: Selenium: Its Molecular Biology and Role in Human Health (Hatfield D., Schweizer U., Tsuji P. A. & Gladyshev V., eds.), pp. 175-186. Li J. L., Sunde R. A. 2015. Selenium status biomarkers and selenium requirements of chickens (Gallus gallus). FASEB J. 29: 759.4. (abs.) Taylor R. M., Sunde R. A. 2015. Selenium status biomarkers and selenium requirements in the turkey (M. gallopavo). FASEB J. 29: 122.7. (abs.) Sunde R. A., Taylor R. M., Li J. L. 2016. Selenium requirements in rats, mice, lambs, chicks and turkeys based on selenoprotein enzyme activity and transcript level. FASEB J. 30: 148.8. (abs.) Taylor R. M., Bourget V. G., Sunde R. A. 2016. Selenoprotein mRNA as biomarkers of selenium status in the turkey. FASEB Trace Elem Biol Med #52. (abs.) Taylor R. M., Bourget V. G., Sunde R. A. 2017. Minimum selenium requirements based on muscle and kidney glutathione peroxidase activity in the turkey. FASEB J. 31: 802.19. (abs.) Sunde R. A. 2017. Selenium requirements and upper limits in mammals and avians from enzyme and molecular biomarkers. Intl. Symp. Se Biol. Med. O9 (abs.) Taylor R. M., Sunde R. A. 2017. Selenium requirements of the turkey based on enzymatic biomarkers and next-generation sequencing. Intl. Symp. Se Biol. Med. O13 (abs.)   MS Linhoss, J.E., J.L, Purswell, and J.D. Davis. 2017. Radiant flux preference of neonatal chicks during brooding. Trans. ASABE (under review). Zhao, Y., L. Chai, B. Richardson, H. Xin. 2017. Field evaluation of an electrostatic air filtration system for reducing incoming particulate matter of a hen house. Trans. ASABE (Under review). Harmon, J.D., S.J. Hoff, T.J. Baas, Y. Zhao, H. Xin, L.R. Follet. 2017. Evaluation of conditions during weaned pig transport. Trans. ASABE (Under review). Chai, L., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, T. Wang, M. Soupir. 2017. Mitigating airborne bacteria emissions from litter of cage-free hen houses by spray of acidic electrolyzed water: A laboratory study. Biosyst. Eng. (Under review). Li. L., Y. Zhao, J. Oliveira, W. Verhoijsen, H. Xin. 2017. A UHF RFID system for studying individual feeding and nesting behaviors of group-housed laying hens. Trans. ASABE (Accepted). Linhoss, J.E., J.L. Purswell, J.D. Davis, and Z. Fan. 2017. Comparing radiant heater performance using spatial modeling. Appl. Eng. Agr. 33(3): 395 – 405. Chai, L., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, T. Wang, A. Atilgan, M. Soupir, K. Liu. 2017. Reduction of particulate matter and ammonia by spraying acidic electrolyzed water onto litter of aviary hen houses – a lab-scale study. Trans. ASABE 60(2): 497-506. Shepherd, T.A., H. Xin, J.P. Stinn, M.D. Hayes, Y. Zhao, H. Li. 2017. Ammonia and carbon dioxide emissions of three laying-hen housing systems as affected by manure accumulation time. Trans. ASABE, 60(1):229-236. Zhao, Y., H. Xin, J. Harmon, T.J. Baas. 2016. Mortality Rate of Weaned and Feeder Pigs as Affected by Ground Transportation Conditions. Trans. ASABE 59(4):943-948. (ASABE Superior Paper Award) Zhao, Y., D. Zhao, H. Ma, K. Liu, A. Atilgan, H. Xin. 2016. Environmental assessment of three egg production systems – Part III: Airborne bacteria concentrations and emissions. Poult. Sci. 95:1473-1481. Ma, H., H. Xin, Y. Zhao, B. Li, T.A. Shepherd, I. Alvarez-Castro. 2016. Assessment of lighting needs by W-36 laying hens via preference test. Animal 10(4):671-680. Long, H., Y. Zhao, H. Xin, H. Hansen, Z. Ning, T. Wang. 2016. Effect of light-emitting diode (LED) vs. fluorescent (FL) lighting on laying hens in aviary hen houses: Part 2 – Egg quality, shelf life and lipid composition. Poult. Sci. 95:115-124. Long, H., Y. Zhao, T. Wang, Z. Ning, H. Xin. 2016. Effect of light-emitting diode (LED) vs. fluorescent (FL) lighting on laying hens in aviary hen houses: Part 1 – Operational characteristics of lights and production traits of hens. Poult. Sci. 95:1-11.   MI Campbell, D.L.M., A.B.A Ali, D.M. Karcher, and J.M. Siegford. 2017. Laying hens in aviaries with different litter substrates: behavior across the flock cycle and feather lipid content. Poult. Sci. doi: 10.3382/ps/pex204. Villanueva, S., A.B.A Ali, D.L.M. Campbell, and J.M. Siegford. 2017 Nest use and patterns of egg laying and damage by four strains of laying hens in an aviary system. Poult. Sci. 96:3011-3020. doi: 10.3382/ps/pex104. Hunniford, M.E., C. Woolcott, J. Siegford, and T.M. Widowski. 2017. Nesting behavior of Hy-Line hens in modified enriched colony cages. Poult. Sci. 96:1515-1523. doi: 10.3382/ps/pew436. Ali A.B.A., D.L.M. Campbell, D.M. Karcher, and J.M. Siegford. 2016. Influence of genetic strain and access to litter on spatial distribution of four strains of laying hens in an aviary system. Poult. Sci. 95:2489-2502. doi: 10.3382/ps/pew236. Campbell, D.L.M., D.M. Karcher, and J.M. Siegford. 2016. Location tracking of individual laying hens housed in aviaries with different litter substrates. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 184:74-79. doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2016.09.001. Campbell, D.L.M., S.L. Goodwin, M.M. Makagon, J.C. Swanson, and J.M. Siegford. 2016. Failed landings after laying hen flight in a commercial aviary over two flock cycles. Poult. 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Welfare Symp., Ploufragan, France.(Abstr.) CT Indu Upadhyaya, H.-B. Yin, M. Surendran Nair, C.-H. Chen, R. Lang, M. J. Darre, and K. Venkitanarayanan (2016) Inactivation of Salmonella Enteritidis on shell eggs by coating with phytochemicals. Poultry Science (September 2016) 95 (9): 2106-2111 first published online June 1, 2016 doi:10.3382/ps/pew152 GA Harris, C. E., K. A. Gotilla, D. V. Bourassa, R. J. Buhr, and B. H. Kiepper. Impact of scalding duration and scalding water temperature on broiler processing wastewater load. International Poultry Scientific Forum, Atlanta, Georgia, January 30-31, 2017. Harris, C. E., L. N. Bartenfeld, D. V. Bourassa, B. D. Fairchild, B. H. Kiepper, and R. J. Buhr. Evaluation of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) on water usage and Salmonalla retention in broilers following feed and water withdrawal. PSA Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, July 16-20, 2017. Bourassa, D.V., J. B. Hess, A. Tigue, and J. Elmore. Methods, equipment, and considerations during training for backyard chicken processing. PSA Annual Meeting, Orlando, Florida, July 16-20, 2017. Hess, J.B., W. D. Berry, D. V. Bourassa, C. M. Kwon, and R. W. Wallace. Can a dried Chlorella vulgaris algae / duckweek feed ingredient enhance skin pigmentation for chicken skin and egg yolks? XVII European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products and XXIII European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, September 3-5, 2017. Bourassa, D.V., B. C. Bowker, H. Zhuang, and R. J. Buhr. Impact of low atmosphere pressure stun/killing of broilers on breast skin Salmonella and Campylobacter post-defeathering and breast fillet meat quality. XVII European Symposium on the Quality of Eggs and Egg Products and XXIII European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK, September 3-5, 2017. Bourassa, D. V. Perdas no abate por “sinovite” associada à “fraqueza nas pernas”: rupture do tenadão gastrocnêmio. aviNews Brasil. P38/42, Março 2017. Bourassa, D. V. Decomisos por “synovitis” asociada a “patas verdes” – rupture del gastrocnemio. aviNews A. Latina, Marzo 2017. Bourassa, D. V. Raw Poultry Products. What do all those labels mean? ACES ANR-2386. Bourassa, D.V. Wooden Breast – Emerging Technologies for Identification. WOGS Newsletter, May 2017. Bourassa, D.V. Pre-Scald Removal of Fecal Contamination. WOGS Newsletter, June 2017. Bourassa, D.V. Stormwater Runoff – Minimizing Escherichia coli. WOGS Newsletter, July 2017. IL Candido, M.G.L., Y. Xiong, R.S. Gates, and K.W. Koelkebeck. 2017. Effects of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels on turkey poult performance. Poult Sci. 96 (submitted).

Impact Statements

Research projects conducted by the NE-1442 poultry research collaborators will add to the knowledge of how poultry shold be managed in various poultry facilities and environments in order to provide for maximum productivity, health, and welfare

Date of Annual Report: 10/05/2018

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 08/06/2018 - 08/07/2018
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2017 - 09/30/2019

Participants

• Kelley Wamsley - Miss State - nutrition
• Janice Siegford - Michigan State – laying hen non-cage;
behavior, welfare, monitoring
• Prafulla Regmi – NC State - laying hen welfare and behavior
• Rajesh Jha – U Hawaii – poultry nutrition and gut health
(absent)
• Birendra Mishra- U Hawaii- Poultry reproduction
• John Linhoss – Miss State - Biosystems engineering
• Tayo Adedokun - U Kentucky - poultry nutrition
• Lizza Macalintal – U Kentucky – poultry nutrition
• Darrin Karcher – Purdue - laying hens
• Sally Noll – Minnesota - turkey nutrition and management
• Ken Koelkebeck U of Illinois – since 1987, laying hens,
broilers turkeys, 4-H
• Tony Pescatore – U Kentucky - Nutrition and Mgmt, Extension
• Pratima Adhikari – Miss State - Nutrition
• Rich Gates – U Illinois - Ag Engineering
• Brett Ramirez – Iowa State - Biosystems Engineering
• Shawna Weimer – Purdue – PostDoc, broiler welfare and
management
• Dianna Bourassa – Auburn – Processing food safety and
welfare
• Ken Macklin – Auburn - disease and management
• Marissa Erasmus – Purdue
• Heng Wei Cheng – USDA ARS

Brief Summary of Minutes

NE-1442 Annual Meeting:

Poultry Production Systems and Well-being: Sustainability for Tomorrow

August 6-August 7, 2018

Purdue University

West Lafayette, IN

Monday, August 6, 2018

The meeting was called to order by Dr. Kelley Wamsley at 8:40 am.

Introduction of Participants:

Kelley Wamsley - Miss State - nutrition

Janice Siegford - Michigan State – laying hen non-cage; behavior, welfare, monitoring

Prafulla Regmi – NC State - laying hen welfare and behavior

Rajesh Jha – U Hawaii – poultry nutrition and gut health (absent)

Birendra Mishra- U Hawaii- Poultry reproduction

John Linhoss – Miss State - Biosystems engineering

Tayo Adedokun - U Kentucky - poultry nutrition

Lizza Macalintal – U Kentucky – poultry nutrition

Darrin Karcher – Purdue - laying hens

Sally Noll – Minnesota - turkey nutrition and management

Ken Koelkebeck U of Illinois – since 1987, laying hens, broilers turkeys, 4-H

Tony Pescatore – U Kentucky - Nutrition and Mgmt, Extension

Pratima Adhikari – Miss State - Nutrition

Rich Gates – U Illinois - Ag Engineering

Brett Ramirez – Iowa State - Biosystems Engineering

Shawna Weimer – Purdue – PostDoc, broiler welfare and management

Dianna Bourassa – Auburn – Processing food safety and welfare

Ken Macklin – Auburn - disease and management

Marissa Erasmus – Purdue

Heng Wei Cheng – USDA ARS

Welcome from Purdue Administrators

Alan Mathew (Purdue - Chair of Animal Science) emphasized importance of multistate projects and the rewrite.

Start of Business

Kelley called meeting to order, Ken M. second.

Cameron Faustman referred us to Richard Rhodes who suggested we remain a NE project.

Through retirements there has been a loss of ties in the North East, so the question was raised previously about moving the project to another region. Kumar Venkitanarayanan is the new administrative contact for our project. Richard Rhodes recommended staying in the North East region. Although the rewrite document would be similar to a new project, concern was expressed regarding initiating a new project in a new region. Darrin moved to stay in the North East, Ken K. seconded. Tony contacted Kumar regarding intent to submit a rewrite. Kumar is an Associate Dean at U Connecticut and is a food safety microbiologist working with plant extracts. He indicated he would attend the next meeting.

Approval of Meeting Minutes

John asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the 2017 annual meeting in Athens, GA. Ken M. seconded. John asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the midyear meeting in Atlanta, GA. Ken K seconded. Minutes were approved by unanimous vote.

Industry Participants

Alex Corzo from Aviagen has been added to our industry contact list. Kelley asked for additional suggestions.

Current

Neil O’Sullivan - Hy-Line (director of research and development)

Kevin Roberson – Michael Foods (layer nutrition)

Curtis Novak – Purina Mills (nutrition)

Suggestions

Josh Payne – Jones Hamilton - suggested by Tony, Ken K. will contact

Ryn Divine - Kelley will contact

Roddy Sanders – Peco Foods - suggested by Ken M.

Rocky Latham – Tyson - suggested by Kelley

Karen Christianson – Tyson - suggested by Kelley, Ken K. will contact

Jennie O - Sally Noll to check with potential people

Wisconsin Energy – suggested by Rich

Equipment manufacturer – suggested by Brett/Darrin, concern raised about finding the right person with interest in the poultry commodity

Lisa Bielke – Ohio State

Joe Moritz – West Virginia

Dan Donahue – Arkansas

Annie Donahue – USDA-ARS

Christine Alvarado – Texas A&M

Anne Fanatico – Appalachian State

Greg Archer (Texas A&M): garcher@poultry.tamu.edu (broilers, animal behavior & welfare)

Zac Williams (Michigan State University): will3343@msu.edu (broilers, litter management)

Leonie Jacobs (VA Tech): jacobsl@vt.edu (broilers depopulation, laying hens red mites, animal behavior & welfare)

Kelley will reach out to current and new industry participants.

John will be the new senior executive for 2019. A nominating committee is needed to nominate a new Jr. Executive.

The nominating committee was appointed by Kelley - Ken K., Ken M., Sally, and John

Meeting location for 2019

Chonqing, China – In conjunction with the International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare meeting on Oct 21-23. Paul Patterson suggested presenting at the China meeting. Rich described the potential to be an invited speaker and the interest of the location including potential for international ties and the opportunity to tour some facilities. Mid semester timing is an issue for some participants.

Honolulu, Hawaii – Rajesh to host – Good place for a meeting but not much in the way of animal facilities. Flights are estimated at $1,200 from the East coast. On campus housing ($70ish) would be available and less expensive than hotel ($200ish). The meeting time could be scheduled before the semester starts. Potential dates were discussed.

Other meeting location ideas

Norway ISAE

Meat & Egg Turkey

Poultry Health Management – May Iowa State

PAACO NC State August

Ken K suggested we meet where someone can coordinate the details

Location vote tabled until next day.

Break at 10:00

Ken K will submit the station report to NIMMS site due around Oct 7. Kelley will email the group with a last-minute opportunity to add to the report. The suggested format is a paragraph of 500 words plus a list of publications (not included in the 500 words). Kelley, John, and Ken K. will go over the report to format and put together a full report.

Station Reports

Auburn University – Change in multistate programs. Now encouraging everyone to have a separate Hatch project which will lead to less participation in the multistate. Auburn has moved away from FFA to invest more time in 4-H. Jeremiah Davis (Ag Eng), Joe Hess (Nutrition), Wilmer Pacheco (Feed Milling), Dianna Bourassa (Processing). All have 50-75% extension appointments. Joe and Ken – phytogenetics, probiotics, necrotic enteritis modeling, Salmonella routes of contamination, microbiome. Wilmer – Salmonella survival during pelleting, amino acids during pelleting. Jeremiah – NPTC, brooders, fans, engineering. Dianna – primary processing food safety, semicarbazides, stunning animal welfare.

University of Hawaii – Honolulu – Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Science. Two people working on poultry. Rajesh – Poultry nutrition and gut health. Mishra –genes for egg formation, heat stress on egg production, antioxidants.

University of Illinois – Ken K and Carl Parsons, Rich and Angela Green, Hybrid turkeys poults impact of carbon dioxide during growout. They are looking for collaboration for using environmental chambers. New clinical extension professor (non tenure track). N Dennis – mortality composting with spent hens and biochar using tracer virus. Extension schools for composting. Gas sampling – effects of ammonia on poultry (laying hens). Hen aversion to ammonia work – hens lack aversion.

Purdue – Marissa – Turkey, broiler, duck, and laying hen work. Laying hen bed bugs. Darrin – Food safety implications of fowl mites working with USDA-ARS Richard Gast. Keel bone project – nutritional implications, management strategies. Turkey gait project with Sally Noll. Orange corn carotenoid deposition, egg yolk, cocci challenge.

Iowa State – Dong Ahn – Dust mitigation, heat stress, electrolyzed water spraying, air filtration, feeding space and behavior. Brett - Management strategies for cage free, deterring floor eggs, heat exchange manure belt drying. Iowa State building new poultry farm with 30-35K sqft. Multiple layer system types, broiler rooms, pedigree research, multi-use space.

University of Kentucky - Tayo - Laying hens feeding supplements, metabolizable energy after challenge, heat stress on broiler genes, heat shock proteins. Tony - DHA supplementation for broiler breeders, pasture raised meat bird sensory evaluation. Lizza – In ovo administration of probiotics for intestinal colonization. Student - microstructure of eggshell. Finishing up work on impact of shade on bird movement. CAST report - Impact of Free-range Poultry Production Systems on Animal Health, Human Health, Productivity, Environment, Food Safety, and Animal Welfare Issues. http://www.cast-science.org/file.cfm/media/products/digitalproducts/CAST_IP61_Freerange_Poultry_7ED476A8DE169.pdf

Michigan State – Janice - Layer bird behavior for alternative housing systems, sensing technologies. Janice Swanson now on faculty, CAST report ag animal teaching and research programs. Zac Williams joined in June, working on managing disease transmission through litter.. Mick Fulton finishing up coalition sustainable egg supply work related to disease/pathology of hens in different housing systems.

Minnesota – Sally and Anup Kollanoor Johny – Partial slotted flooring system presented at PSA, impact on breast blisters, decrease amount of litter maintenance, no differences in systems through the plant. Density vs floor space requirement for these flooring systems. Collaborative project with Darrin and Mike Hullet. Johny – Challenge model for Salmonella in turkeys. Work with Tim Johnson on gut health and microbiome in turkeys. Biosecurity work, amino acid work.

Mississippi State – Pratima – Laying hen production tibia ash, carotenoids, design for laying hen housing types, hen and egg microbial profiles, keel bone assessment, parasitic profiles, optimal levels of calcium and impact on gene expression. Yang Zhao – robotics in the broiler industry. John –Characterization of light intensity, fan shades work will without restricting air flow, biochar as a litter amendment improved footpad scores, bleed off valves on evaporative pads to reduce mineral buildup. Daniel Chesser – precision ag, insulation in poultry houses. Kelley – Cobb new cross 500xNB digestible lysine, energy levels, performance, economic analyses, antibiotic alternatives, optimal particle size for feed quality during feed phases on performance metrics, values for digestibility diet calculations, enzyme inclusion rates, phytase enzymes and matrix values.

NC State – Ken Anderson – Layer performance and management test including animal welfare, ventilation shutdown, aviary molting. Prafula – Keel study omega fatty acids and vit D with lighting, keel fractures and foot pad dermatitis relation to mortality, turkey aggression microbiome.

New Project Objectives

Discussion on changes to objectives. Expand on bullet points. Potential to have one objective remain the same with the remaining being new. Guidance from administration would be helpful for formatting the rewrite. Clear concise objectives with justification that shows collaboration.

Old titles for the project

1042-Optimization of poultry welfare and production systems for the 21^st century

1442-Poultry production systems and well-being: Sustainability for tomorrow

Potential titles

Impact of poultry production systems on productivity, environment, food safety, sustainability, and animal welfare issues

Poultry production systems: Impact of technology, management decisions on the environment

Enhancing poultry production systems through emerging technologies and husbandry practices

New title for the project

NE-1942- Enhancing poultry production systems through emerging technologies and husbandry practices

Group Discussion

Objective 1 – Technology

Equipment Efficiency, Facility Design, and Energy Use Modeling for Sustainability

Resource allocation

Precision livestock farming

Sensors (biosensors, environmental sensors, RFID)

Automation/Robotics

Production Systems and Management (Waste management)

Objective 2 – Husbandry – Systems evaluations (extensive/intensive)

Identification and Alteration of Nutritional and Physiological Mechanisms

Strains

Welfare/Behavior

Environment

Economics

Animal Health

Waste Management?

Nutrition and Feeding

Poultry Products, Food Safety and Processing

Breakout Session – Objective 1

Group 1

Integrating technological advances in poultry production

The collaborative efforts will further expand the concept of precision livestock farming. This will include the use of automation and robotics, equipment efficiency, facility design, energy and resource allocation and various sensors throughout the poultry supply chain

Group 2

Develop and evaluate technology as related to poultry production and processing design

Group 3

Integrating technology

This will include joint collaborative efforts on resource allocation, which includes optimization of nutrition feeding strategies; automation and robotics; monitoring and control of poultry environments and well-being; and waste management

Group 4

Incorporation of engineering and technology to enhance production efficiency and environmental sustainability through infrastructure development for block-chain production that would lead to sustained profitability and traceability of the final products

Follow up discussion

Integrating technological advances into the poultry supply chain

Incorporation of engineering and technology to enhance system efficiency and sustainability through infrastructure development of block-chain production to provide poultry products for a diverse and changing demographic population.

Add to rewrite text - Adapting precision livestock farming techniques to poultry production systems. The collaborative research efforts will further expand the concept of precision livestock farming for poultry. This will include the use of automation and robotics, equipment efficiency, facility design, energy and resource allocation.

Nominating Report

John will move up to Sr. Exec in 2019

Dianna will continue as secretary in 2019

Tayo nominated for Jr. Exec in 2019

Breakout Session – Objective 2

Group 1

Establishing and adapting husbandry practices to a changing industry landscape

The joint research effort will evaluate husbandry practices on a holistic approach of system evaluation, animal health and welfare, nutrition and feeding, food safety, waste management, and economics.

Group 2

Enhancing extensive and intensive poultry production systems through research in nutrition, behavior, health, food safety, manure management and breeding

Group 3

Maximizing poultry husbandry practices

Identification and alteration of nutritional, environmental, physiological, and behavioral responses to conventional/alternative production systems in order to improve poultry production, welfare, and profitability

Group 4

A multi-disciplinary approach to create a vibrant poultry production system through the optimal use of inputs and management of outputs in an ethically responsible manner that strengthens birds’ health, welfare, and productivity

Follow up discussion

Establishing and adapting husbandry practices to a changing industry landscape

A multi-disciplinary approach to create a vibrant poultry production system through the optimal use of inputs and management of outputs in an ethically responsible manner

Guest Speaker - Dean Karen Plaut – Was chair of Animal Science Department at Michigan State. Purdue Animal Science Department is in a brand new building named for Creighton Brothers. First endowed chair in animal sciences working on ducks. Purdue is a comprehensive university with #9 ranked college of agriculture 2800 undergrads 700 grad students. Strongly Indiana based students. Animal Science has about 700 students. Building $65 mil, $50 mil from the state. Excellent relationship with stakeholders. Indiana is #1 in duck production, top 5 for egg production. Forestry is the #1 ag industry.

Farm tour moved to Monday evening due to people needing to leave Tuesday.

Meeting adjourned at 5:00 pm.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

The meeting was called to order by Kelley Wamsley at 8:30 am.

Ken K – Most station reports are in. September 28 is the submission deadline. Please include publications with your reports.

Also need to put together a full report. Kelley will send out a deadline.

Revisit Objectives for Rewrite

Objective 1

Integrating technological advances into poultry systems

Incorporate engineering and technology to enhance system efficiency and sustainability through infrastructure development of blockchain production.

Save for rewrite text - to provide poultry products for a diverse and changing demographic population.

Objective 2

Establishing and adapting husbandry practices to a changing industry landscape

A multi-disciplinary approach to create a resilient poultry production system through optimal management of inputs and outputs in an ethically responsible manner

Darrin moved to accept objectives, Ken K seconded.

Guest Speaker - Dan Krouse Midwest Poultry Services, General Manager

Egg Farming in 2018, a Not So Cage Free Future

Family business, started with laying hens in 1960’s, 9^th largest egg producer in 2018 with 9 mil layers with both conventional (80%) and cage-free eggs (20%). Eggs are produced close to cheap grain. In 1970s 10,000 egg farms, 2016 150 egg farms (99% of eggs). Egg consumption is increasing. Retail at 53%, further process 32%. Market prices are very volatile. Cage-free commitments are not realistic. Today at 17% cage-free, commitments at 74% in 7 years, actual trend estimated to be 26% in 7 years. Retailers predicted to back out of commitments. California does its own thing. 2008 Prop 2 (116 sqin/bird Jan 2015). 2018 AB-3021 (144 sqin/bird Jan 2020), Prop 12 for (100% cage free Jan 2022). California will be 7.5 mil hens short in 2020, 30 mil hens short by 2022. Cage free designs are developing rapidly (floor, aviary, combination). Choosing requires lots of trial and error. Rely on Big Dutchman for design. Combination systems have lots of issues are not particularly popular. Increases in cage free drives research needs including system design based on bird behavior, ventilation and dust control, environmental sustainability, and probiotics and other antibiotic replacements. Dust is big problem due to respiratory issues. Cage free is the opposite of sustainable.

Q/A

Cage free only 15-20% white eggs

Vaccinating for cocci

Implement worming treatments based on mortality surveys- safeguard

Fair price for cage free costs, long term contracts needed

Aviary ventilation – lower density helps with heat stress, misting systems helpful in conventional systems, in winter close to needing to supplemental heat

Floor eggs about 1%, bird training

Mortality about 12% in cage free (double conventional)

Light intensity between systems about the same

Dust control – about 1 inch of litter helps

Nutrition – cage free all veggie based on Kroger request, cage free consume more

Manure management – manure belts, floor - shovel every 3-4 weeks or shovel a little every day, scraper system working well

2019 Location Discussion

Chongqing, China - October 21-23, 2019

Votes - 3

Honolulu, Hawaii – July 29 – Aug 2, 2019

Votes – 10 + 3 remote

John motioned to hold the meeting in Hawaii, Heng Wei Cheng seconded.

Dates will be finalized in the future, either at the beginning or the end of the week.

Guest Speaker – Zach Tucker Maple Leaf Farms Live Production Audit and Research Project Manager

Duck production started 1873 Long Island, 17% remain in New York, 68% in IN and WI, 25-30 mil head in North America, MLF >40% market share and larger than next 4 companies combined

Founded by Donald Wentzel in 1958 in Milford, IN, produced 280,000 ducks in first year, passed to Wentzel’s son-in-law Terry Tucker in 1968

Moving towards the idea of integration

Started Serenade Foods in 1976 to market fully cooked duck

Built feed mill and hatchery in late 70s

Became #1 producer in North America in 1981

Formed Down Inc. for feather/down bedding products in 1984

Constructed biosecure hatchery and breeding farm in 1990s

Formed MLF Biotech in 2004

Formed international division, joint venture in China 2010, world headquarters in Leesburg in 2011

Welcomed fourth generation in 2013

Launched The DuckMobile sampling kitchen in 2015

10-15 mil White Pekin annually, IN, WI, CA, Mich, Mexico, China

150+ family farms, open barns, plastic floors due to liquid manure, moving to covered lagoons

Fed corn, soy, wheat with no animal proteins, hormones, antibiotics

Given probiotics, antibiotics only to treat illness, minimal vaccination due to management and biosecurity

Farms audited through Trident Stewardship Program

Duck Facts – not fatty/greasy cooking can eliminate up to 70% of fat, low calorie compared to beef pork chicken, red meat still pink on the inside, low in saturated fats with similar properties to olive oil

Eurasia Feather Co. sells feathers for clothing products, Dow Inc. manufactures high quality bedding products, 1/5 lb feathers per duck

Milford Valley Chicken – chicken entrees to help get plant going, stuffed chicken breast, patties strips and nuggets, chicken strips and sticks

MLF Biotech – general lab services for safety testing, Liv-Pro probiotics

International Division – based in China and Bulgaria, looking to move to Germany

Employment – about 1000

Farms Production – 150 family farms, make own feed

Charitable Giving

IN poultry industry – 5.7 bil economic impact, 28,400 jobs

Breeds – Pekin most widely used in the world mild tasting and white feathers, Mallard small specialty sometimes used in crosses, Muscovy widely used in Europe gamey, Moulard Muscovy x Pekin used for foie gras

North America 25 mil ducks, Europe 300 mil, China 3 bil

Joint Ventures – YHML, INDUX

Shandong Province in China, agriculture is the largest industry

Peking/Beijing Roast Duck best known duck dish

First MLF ducks in Europe Jan 2016 – AI was an issue, move from Bulgaria to Germany

Q/A

Current Chinese production – MLF 250 mil

Do not do duck egg production

Impact of synthetic down – Patagonia decided to recycle down from old products

Chinese live production – some farms taken by the government, little meat duck production, mostly parent/gp flocks

Promoting eating duck – DuckMobile, product locator, USPEEC promoting duck

Guest Speaker – Duane Murphy Farbest Farms, Inc. veterinarian turkey production and health Worked at Purdue, diagnostic lab, then Farbest

IN 22 mil turkeys per year, IN #3 in production, 900 mil lbs meat per year, 385 family farms, 2100 processing employees, 22 mil bushels corn 300K ton soybean meal

Farbest 4^th in turkey production

Turkey production – Brooder farm 5 wks, Growout farm

Heavy toms 20 weeks 43 lbs, Light hens (whole birds) and heavy hens, heavy for cutup

Both conventional and ABF (industry is 10% ABF)

Since VFD average mortality up 2% to 15%, main causes coccidiosis (no vaccines available), respiratory disease (ORT – needs research, bordatella avium, Newcastle, avian metanual virus) always leads to E. coli, clostridial dermatitis, reovirus

US Animal Health Association – Turkey report of most important diseases

Histomoniasis is a big research need. No legal drug available >50% mortality. Connection between farms located close to broiler farms. Hetarakis galinarum not a big issue for turkeys. What are other carriers that might be causing disease? Flies? Darkling beetles?

Early detection of blackhead disease crucial, cull any sick birds, top dress to cover droppings

Farbest doesn’t has its own product line, sells to Boars Head with their judicious use of antibiotics

One Health Certification – Mountaire Farms heading trying to develop a label to balance welfare and ABF concerns

CO2 is not much of an issue, but ammonia may or may not impact turkey production depending who you talk to

Project Rewrite

Kelley will email everyone a request for your vision for next 5 years, where you fit into the objectives, brief literature review, methodology, and research objectives.

Motion to adjourn the meeting 11:46 am by Janice, seconded by Tayo.

Tour of new Purdue Animal Science building.

Accomplishments

Objective 1. Energy/resource efficiency. This will include collaborative efforts on feed and fuel energy sources for poultry and facilities by geographical region; facility design, equipment efficiency, management, and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Environmental Lighting. IA - Examination of the behavioral response of W-36 chicks to supplementary UVA light was conducted. They found that supplementation of LED light with 15% UVA was found to have attractive effect on chicks, as evidenced by more time spent and feed intake under the lighting regimen. Management. IA - The impact of partial full litter access (with or without experienced hens) in aviary housing on floor eggs, hen welfare and environment was conducted. Compared to full (continuous) litter access, partial litter access (5 hours after lights on) was shown to have no adverse effect on hen welfare or body weight uniformity, but significantly reduced floor egg incidences, litter accumulation on floor or litter caking, and ammonia levels in winter. MS - A stationary vision-based mortality identification system was validated in Dr. Yang Zhao’s lab. With image processing algorithm, this system was able to identify the dead birds from the flock and outputted the relative coordination in the image. The current accuracy of this system is high for broilers younger than 5 weeks of age. The Zhao’s team is still working on improving the accuracy for identifying mortality of older broilers. PA - Documentation of vegetative buffers on poultry farms were used for 5 conservation practices 1. Landscaping, 2. Poultry Environment Modifier (windbreak, snow fence and shade), 3. Water Quality, 4. Air Quality and 5. Biomass Production. Recent/current biomass projects evaluated switchgrass, Miscanthus and biomass sorghum and willows as bedding for broilers and pullets with best results with shorter particle sizes less than 2cm for breast and paw quality and litter parameters. Some bedding was tested in conjunction with litter biomass incineration and gasification as field demonstration/research sites. Facility Design. IA - Particulate matter (PM) suppression and heat stress relief in cage-free hen housing was examined. The spraying of water on open litter of aviary house, once a day, was shown to reduce PM generation by 37-51% in wintertime without causing increase in ammonia generation. The same system was shown to reduce surface temperature of hens by 6-7°C immediately after spray when the inside temperature was 35°C and RH was 32%. They also examined particulate matter (PM) filtration of inlet air in a commercial laying hen house. The low-grade air filter coupled with an EPI system showed PM removal efficiency of 29% (PM1) – 68% (PM10 and TSP). Removal efficiency became unstable when the EPI system was inactive. In addition ventilation performance and flock production traits of a wide cage-free layer facility was examined. Data collection is ongoing that characterizes ventilation system performance and flock production traits of a large-scale cage-free henhouse. MS - They recently completed two studies investigating the use of biochar as a potential beneficial litter amendment for broiler production. Results from the first study indicated that biochar as a litter amendment does not significantly affect performance or final litter nutrient content. Footpad scores were better in the biochar amended litter, which may be a result of improved litter quality due to biochar’s ability to absorb water. The second study showed that the water-holding capacity (WHC) of biochar is higher than that of pine shavings (5.8 g H2O/g dry matter vs 2.7 g H2O/g dry matter) and that a 20% addition of biochar by weight to pine shavings can increase WHC by 38%. MS - They also completed a study that evaluated the performance of high-efficiency fan shades in reducing light leakage and spatial variation of light intensity in commercial broiler houses. Non-uniform light intensities can impair the ability to control photoperiod, introduce variations in feed and water consumption, and decrease carcass quality. Fan shades significantly reduced mean illuminance (P ≤ 0.05) when compared to houses without fan shades. Maximum illuminance was 168.9 lx in houses without fan shades and 12.3 lx in house with fan shades. Houses with and without fan shades experienced light intensities higher than the 2.5 lx grow out setpoint. MS - They also determined radiant flux ranges preferred by broiler chicks during the first eight days of brooding. Identifying the ranges of radiant flux that chicks prefer would allow for improved management of the thermal environment. Heat lamps were used to create radiant flux zones of 30, 70, 175, and 450 W·m-2 in each pen. Chick location was recorded with a camera at 5 min intervals.  Chicks exhibited a preference for decreasing radiant flux with age. The mean maximum preferred radiant flux for all trials decreased from 409.4 W·m-2 at 1 d to 304.4 W·m-2at 8 d. The mean minimum preferred radiant flux for all trials decreased from 114.5 W·m-2 at 1 d to 31.4 W·m-2 at 8 d. MS - Dr. Yang Zhao, investigated the interactions between poultry and robotic vehicles. The poultry-robot avoidance distance tests were performed at different running speeds of the robot, and was compared with poultry-human avoidance distance. Density. MS - This station has been collaborating with USDA-ARS Poultry Research Unit and working on feeding and drinking behavioral monitoring of broilers as affected by the stocking density and antibiotic-free feed. To that end, a robust radio frequency identification (RFID) system has been developed and was used to register the behaviors of individual 2kg broilers at different treatments. A high definition video system was also used to identify the broiler frustration behaviors near the tube feeders, which could be a result of competitions among broilers at high stocking density.  Antibiotics and Antimicrobials.  AL - Auburn - Investigations by the poultry health and poultry management/nutrition specialists have been determining the role of probiotics and phytogenic products and their suitability as an alternative to antibiotics in both improving growth and in mitigating disease. To date several hundred candidate bacteria have been screened in the lab for efficacy against Salmonella, C. perfringens and Avian Pathogenic E. coli (APEC). The best candidates among those showing efficacy against the mentioned bacteria had been tested in birds that were challenged with these bacteria. Results to date have been promising, though none of the candidate isolates proved as effective as antibiotics or commercially available probiotics.  The phytogenic products that have been screened have shown promise in helping to stimulate improved growth and feed conversion. A third project these two investigators have been involved with is a novel method for sanitizing hatching eggs in storage as well as in the incubator. These results had shown that the technology used lowered bacteria and fungal counts significantly and had a positive effect on both the hatch and first ten days of growth. Nutrition.   AL A&M - This station evaluated the effect of feed restriction on the concentrations of ghrelin in turkeys and broilers. Full-fed turkeys (FF; n = 10), were fed ad libitum, while restricted birds (RES; n =11), were placed on a restricted diet. Initially, the restricted feeding regimen consisted of one-third of the quantity of feed per unit of body weight given to birds in the FF treatment. Subsequently, adjustments were made to allow for an average daily gain of 10.0 g per day from 4 to 12 weeks of age (WOA). Blood samples were obtained once a week beginning at 4 WOA until the end of the experiment (12 WOA). On average, concentration of ghrelin in FF birds (89.4 ± 2.6 pg/mL) was greater than that observed in RES animals (68.7 ± 2.7 pg/mL). A similar approach was used in broiler chickens. Blood samples were collected at 1h intervals for six consecutive hours from day 0 (D0) to D6. On D1, birds were feed restricted and remain on feed restriction until the end of the experiment (D6). The restricted feeding regimen used consisted of one-third of the quantity of feed consumed per day by birds during the week preceding cannulation. There was a significant increase in ghrelin concentrations starting 4 days after feed restriction. The differential effect of feed restriction on ghrelin concentrations in broilers and turkeys provides ideal models to assess the effect of ghrelin in feed intake and pulmonary hypertension  AL - Auburn - The feed milling specialist has been determining if corn particle size has an influence on bird growth and what the economics of these differences would mean to an integrator. In addition his research program has looked at feed form and amino acid densities and how differences in these can lead to observed differences in the final processed product. HI - Dr. Jha’s lab research emphasizes on “dietary manipulation to improve the gut health of monogastric animals,” and “evaluating novel feedstuffs for their nutritional value and functional properties in pigs and poultry” using both in vivo and in vitro digestion and fermenation models. Of particular interest is “early nutrition programming in broiler chickens” using an in ovo inoculation model. IN - Two layer projects and one of two broiler projects have been conducted working with a company that markets an orange corn. The layer projects evaluated the inclusion of orange corn into the diet and impact on egg quality parameters and yolk color. The orange corn resulted in darker yolks when measured by the DSM yolk fan and colorimeter compared to yellow and white corn. The first of the broiler projects evaluated the impact of orange corn diet on a cocci challenge reporting an impact on the severity of the lesion score in certain segments of the small intestine. The final broiler project will be a grow-out study evaluating the impact of orange corn when broilers are in an environment that promotes poor footpad quality. Feed Mill Management.  AL - Auburn - Extension projects that the AU participants in NE 1442 include educating feed mill managers on the best management practices that should be in place for proper storage and manufacturing of feed in order to minimize any potential animal and human health issues that may arise. This is being coupled with on-site visits to further reinforce these concepts. One of the team members is involved with getting an article out every month in Feed Stuffs and another publishes a newsletter with topics pertinent to processing to an email list. This team has been involved with specialists spanning several disciplines and universities on speaking to consumer groups about GMO’s. Additionally this group has been active in educating backyard/small flock poultry producers on how to raise and manage their animals, proper handling, slaughter and meat/egg storage. Objective 2. Evaluating commercial poultry production systems.  This will include collaborative efforts on the characterization of the performance of conventional, alternative, and organic poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management, acoustic environment, and animal health and welfare. Air Quality and NH3 Emissions. IL - This station subjected tom turkey poults (commercial Large White Hybrid Converters) to different constant levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) on their growth performance and behavior. In three consecutive replicate trials, a total of 552 poults were weighed post-hatch and randomly placed in three environmental control chambers, with 60 (Trial 1) and 62 (Trials 2 and 3) poults housed per chamber. They were reared with standard temperature and humidity levels for 3 weeks. The poults were exposed to three different fixed CO2 concentrations of 2,000, 4,000, and 6,000 ppm that were kept constant throughout each trial. Following each trial, the CO2 treatments were switched and assigned to a different chamber in order to expose each treatment to each chamber. At the end of each trial, all poults were sent to a local turkey producer to finish growout. For each trial, individual initial and weekly poult body weight, and weekly group feed intake were measured. Poult mortality and behavioral movement were also recorded. Variables were tested for difference using one-way ANOVA, Tukey mean separation, and linear contrast. Results of the analysis indicated that wk 3 and cumulative body weight gain of poults housed at 2,000 ppm CO2 was greater (P<0.05) than those exposed to 4,000 and 6,000 ppm CO2. Feed intake and feed conversion were unaffected by different CO2 concentrations. No significant difference in poult mortality was found between treatments. In addition, no effect of CO2 treatments was evident in the incidence of spontaneous turkey cardiomyopathy for turkeys processed at 19 wk of age. Poults housed at the 2,000 ppm CO2 level demonstrated reduced activity and movement indices compared with those exposed to the two higher CO2 concentrations. Health and Welfare. AR - This station evaluated the effects of weather and management practices on the thermal microenvironments during commercial transport of market broilers in the U.S. We monitored temperature (T), relative humidity, wind speed in gridded locations of 28 fully-loaded commercial live haul trailers over 2-year period. Transit time varied from 45 minutes to over two hours, with average length of loading, transit and holding period around three hours. Weather-dependent trailer mitigation measures employed by collaborators, including side boards screwed on modules in winter, fan trailers used during loading in summer, were analyzed for their effect on altering micro-environment of the trailers. In winter, on-board T ranged from -10˚C to 18˚C on 11 completely boarded trailers with recorded ambient T in the range of -16˚C and 11˚C. While complete boarding increased on-board T from ambient level, they remained low in extremely cold conditions, indicating a need for better heat retention measures. Spatially, interior portion were up to 4˚C warmer than exterior portion of the trailers with complete boarding, and top tiers were colder than the rest of loads on trailers. As completely boarded transporters traveled from farms to processing plants, on-board T at all locations decreased several degrees. In summer, trailer T ranged between 31˚C and 36˚C on eight transporters loaded with fan trailers providing convective cooling and misting on farms, during which the recorded ambient T were in the range of 29˚C to 36˚C, The heat mitigation measure maintained the trailer T within 4˚C of corresponding ambient T. A fraction of the load on trailers experienced lower-than-ambient T condition during the first 15 minutes in transit due to the retained water evaporating from farm loading. Spatially, the top of trailer modules were consistently 1˚C to 3˚C warmer than the rest of trailer loads. Trailer uniformly gained approximately 2˚C during 45-minute transit from farms to plants. For longer trips, current on-farm heat mitigation may not be sufficient to prevent T from rising above ambient level in the trailer, and could lead to dangerous thermal environment. AR - They also developed a physical model to simulate the sensible heat loss of a live broiler. The simulated chicken (or E-chicken) is a self-contained, temperature-controlled heat source with a thermostatically controlled power source to maintain the internal T at 41 °C. The E-chicken can respond to varying thermal environments by changing its heat production, similar to what an actual chicken would do. We have the capability to measure and record the dynamic heat production of E-chickens during an event or heat stress scenario. Based on literature-reported sensible heat loss under thermoneutrality, it was determined that the measured air T inside the live-haul modules on the trailer in the range of 11°C - 25.1°C during transit (outdoor T range of 1.7°C – 22.2°C) would allow the live chickens to regulate heat by their metabolism and stay comfortable. CA UC-Davis - Data was collected to evaluate the role of early experiences on subsequent space use and incidence of keel bone damage in laying hens. New funding was obtained to support further work in this area. The group obtained additional funding to validate the use of commercially available sensors for automated tracking of poultry. An assessment of the variation in housing and welfare related animal based measures was conducted for backyard hens in rural and urban environments. An online training tool was also developed to aid in training auditors (as well as producers and the general public) to assess animal based measures for laying hens. The biology and welfare effects of chicken red mites on laying hens has also been examined. The potential for using essential oils to combat northern fowl mite infestations was also evaluated. CA UC-Davis - The development of keel bone fractures has been recognized as an important issue affecting hens in alternative housing systems. Cage-free housing, which is projected to be the primary housing type for laying hens by 2025, has been associated with high incidences of keel bone fractures. Information gained through the study of keel bone fracture risk factors will guide the industry’s transition to cage-free systems while reducing keel bone fracture risk. CA UC-Davis - This station also looked at the problem of Chicken red mites that have been economically devastating for European egg production in the past couple of years, with the banning of conventional cage systems. As the US moves toward a majority of cage-free systems, red mites are likely to become a serious pest concern here as well. Understanding the basic biology of the mite, and host-interactions will be important in understanding appropriate control measures. Northern fowl mites are currently a main ectoparasite affecting laying hens in the US. Infestations pose a hen welfare and an economic concern as they have been associated with decreased egg production and weights. During the review period an in vitro study was completed, which identified thyme and cade essential oils as effective against norther fowl mites. CA UC-Davis - Animal based measures of welfare are increasingly being adopted as a means for assessing the welfare of poultry on farm. These measures are often subjective and auditors can have poor reliability within and between assessments. The online training tool developed for laying hens allows trainees to learn how to assess these measures while testing their reliability. This tool can be accessed by anyone with an interest in this area.  IN - There are several projects that this station has started in 2018 related to laying hen housing systems. The Northern Fowl Mite and Keel Bone studies are being conducted in cage-free housing. The laying hens for the NFM project are 21 weeks of age and will be exposed to mites at 23 weeks of age. The project will be evaluating behavior, performance, welfare and food safety measures over the course of the 85 week single cycle. The collaborators consist of Drs. Erasmus (Purdue University), Gast and Jones (USDA-ARS). The Keel Bone project has pullets at 12 weeks of age that will be evaluating nutritional strategies to mitigate keel bone fractures and breaks. The pullets were just placed onto the different diets and will have skeletal parameters measured through 52 weeks of age. The collaborators consist of Drs. Kim (University of Georgia) and Regmi (North Carolina State University). IN - The turkey gait project is beginning to wrap up with on-farm data collection complete. Gait data is in the process of being analyzed while the litter samples and other tissue samples have been transferred to Dr. Noll (University of Minnesota). This project is part of a USDA funded project for Dr. Noll. Management and Behavior. IA - They looked at the effects of feeder space on feeding behavior and production performance of laying hens in enriched colony housing. Feeder space of 12.0, 9.5, and 8.5 cm/hen in enriched colony housing showed no difference in time spent at the feeder. A maximum of 59.0±1.4% hens fed simultaneously; and synchronous feeding did not increase with increasing feeder space. All the feeder spaces tested (12.0, 9.5, 8.5, and 6.5 cm/hen) showed no difference in production performance in this lab-scale study. MI - Janice Siegford’s group continues to explore the response of hens to aviaries, including assessing differences among strains, variation in how individual hens behave, the use of sensing technology to monitor hen behavior and welfare, and the influence of rearing environment on hens’ transition to aviaries. In the past year, her team characterized the amount of space needed by four common strains of laying hens (2 white and 2 brown), including descriptions of space used for perching (~18-22 cm), wing flapping (~2800-3450cm2) and dust bathing (1000-1190cm2). To our knowledge, these are the first direct characterizations of physical space needed for perching and dust bathing for any laying hen strain and the first kinematic assessment of several of the more popular commercial brown laying strains. Collaborations between Siegford’s team and the Center for Proper Housing of Poultry and Rabbits at the University of Bern are underway examining use of ramps in rearing and laying aviaries to reduce keel damage and preliminary results have found reductions in keel damage and improvements in bone strength for birds given ramps in both rearing and laying aviaries, with intermediate results for birds receiving ramps either at rear or at lay, and the poorest results for birds with no access to ramps in either phase. MN - Partial slotted flooring system for market turkeys was examined by this station. Market turkey toms were reared on a partial slotted floor system from 5 to 18 wks age and compared to an all bedded system. Measurements included live performance, footpad and gait scores, feather dirtiness, breast defects (live and plant processing), and behavior (feeding, drinking, resting). Essentially no differences were noted among the flooring types and with an all bedded system. MS - The determination of egg production, egg quality, tibia strength and tibia ash on hens at a later stage of production (53 to 74 weeks of age) was completed. The study was conducted in MS State University Poultry Research Farm Unit. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of conventional cage (CC) and enriched colony cage (EC) systems over hen age on both external and internal egg quality parameters, hen-day egg production (HDEP), and tibia breaking strength in two commercial laying hen strains, Hyline Brown (HB) and White Leghorns (WL). Hens were sampled once in 4 weeks to determine the egg production, egg quality, immune status as well as bone health in two different cages. This study concluded that the egg production and egg size in hens housed in the CC system were greater than that of hens in the EC system. WL hens housed in CC had better production than the HB hens housed in either type. Tibia breaking strength did not differ between the house type or hen. MS - They also are planning a a study to look at egg production, egg quality and bone quality (strength, ash, and dimensions) in White Leghorns W-36 and Hy-Line Brown housed in three housing types (conventional, enriched and floor pen with outdoor access). Egg production and egg quality will be determined once every 6 weeks. Feed intake and egg/dozen will be calculated once every 6 weeks. Microbiology of hens housed in three different cage types (culture and molecular) will be assessed. Welfare assessment of hens housed in three cage types will be performed. Meat and Egg Quality. MI - Janice Swanson completed work on the CAST report on farm animal welfare and co-authored a chapter on agricultural animals used in teaching and research programs. She continues to serve on the United Egg Producers’ Scientific Advisory Committee. Mick Fulton serves as an ex officio member of the board of the Michigan Allied Poultry Industries and is preparing publications on the health responses of hens as part of the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply study comparing hens in conventional, furnished and aviary systems. Zac Williams joined the MSU Department of Animal Science as a poultry extension specialist in June and will be focused on management practices of poultry production to control diseases of both poultry and people. In particular, he is interested in exploring new pre-slaughter management techniques aimed at reducing the spread of disease causing agents and improving flock performance such as litter or bedding management to reduce pathogen transmission from one flock to the next.   KY - This station examined the sensory evaluation of pasture raised meat birds and SEM evaluation of egg shell structure. MN - Footpad dermatitis (NE 1442 collaborators Karcher, Hulet) was researched at this station. Factors influencing the prevalence of footpad dermatitis in field and research pen settings are being examined. Penn State conducted a pen trial using a model of bird density and bedding type which resulted in a large difference in foot pad scores. Samples are currently under analyses. Nutrient Management. PA - Current poultry production systems were recently evaluated for their nutrient concentration and production. Litter/manure N, P, K, moisture and kg/bird from commercial turkeys, broilers, pullets, hens, broiler & layer breeders in conventional & alternative production systems were sampled and results submitted to the Penn State Agronomy Guide and the Chesapeake Bay Litter Subcommittee. Nutrition.  VA - Dr. Mike Persia from Virginia Tech conducted an experiment to understand the effects of dietary ingredient selection on the performance and efficiency of egg production. In total three dietary treatments were formulated, mixed and offered to chickens in both the pullet and laying hen phases, including an animal product free corn-soybean meal diet, an animal product free corn-soybean meal diet that included an approximate 5% reduction in soybean meal replaced with a vegetable protein supplement and finally a diet that used animal products including replacement of approximately 5% soybean meal with a meat meal. During the pullet phase, there were no differences in body weight gain, feed intake, or feed conversion, but the two all-vegetable diets resulted in a reduction in pullet performance variation in comparison to the diet that contained meat meal. These diets were feed over peak egg production and again resulted in no differences in egg production, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Overall it was concluded that all-vegetable diets either soy-based or reduced in soybean meal can result in performance similar to that of diets that contain animal-based products, although the inclusion of high concentrations of did increase the water content of excreta over laying hen phase and reduced the fat content of laying hens after researching peak egg production. Both of these observations are important when we consider the use of these diets in alternative production systems. The increased excreta water content of high soybean meal fed laying hens could increase the water content of litter content in cage-free egg production possibly resulting in reduced dustiness in these production systems, a potential benefit. Contrary to the potential benefit of increased litter moisture in certain production systems, the reduced fat content of laying hens fed high soybean meal diets suggest that the energy value used for formulation overestimated the energy the hens received from the soybean meal and could have ramifications in open systems where maintenance energy requirements could be increased due to increased activity. Objective 3. Establishing parameters influenced by the production system and strains utilized within the poultry industry.  This collaborative research will encompass the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety and quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems. Nutrition.  KY - This station evaluated the effects of different feed enzymes on laying hens subjected to heat stress. Also, studies evaluating the effect of different feed enzymes on metabolizable energy (ME) values of different diets in broiler chickens was conducted. They also evaluated the effect of DHA from algae and organic zinc on broiler breeders and their progeny. Additionally, in ovo administration of pre and probiotics was investigated. MN - Antimicrobial potential of a dairy-origin probiotic bacteria, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, against multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) in turkey poults was determined in the current study. Employing in vitro experiments, two strains (subsp.) of P. freudenreichii: P. freudenreichii freudenreichii B3523 (PF) and P. freudenreichii shermanii B4327 (PS) were tested for their ability to resist low pH (2.5) and bile salts (0.3%). In addition, the ability of the strains to adhere to and invade avian epithelial cells was determined after exposure to Propionibacterium strains followed by SH challenge. Results revealed that PF, a non-host gastrointestinal tract-derived probiotic, could be an antibiotic alternative to prevent the early colonization of SH in poults, improving the preharvest safety of turkeys. MN - The evaluation examined the efficacy of pimenta (Pimenta officinalis Lindl.) leaf essential oil (PEO), and its nanoemulsion in reducing Salmonella Heidelberg attachment on to turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) skin during simulated scalding (65°C) and chilling (4°C) steps in poultry processing. Results showed that PEO and the nanoemulsion resulted in significant reduction of S. Heidelberg attachment on turkey skin. In addition, PEO and PNE were effective in reducing S. Heidelberg on skin during short-term storage at 4 and 10°C (temperature abuse) (n = 6; P < 0.05). PEO or PNE could be utilized as an effective antimicrobial agent to reduce S. Heidelberg attachment to turkey skin during poultry processing. MS - The effect of a pronutrient (Alquernat Nebsui L) on feed consumption, egg production, egg quality and total carotenoids in laying hens supplemented via drinking water was examined by MS. The study was conducted in MS State University Poultry Research Farm Unit to determine the effects of drinking water application of a phytogenic compound on HDEP, egg quality, and egg carotenoids in laying hens. Hens were housed in conventional cage types. The two treatments consisted of either with or without a water additive, Alquernat Nebsui L provided via drinking water (0.5 mL/ liter). Hens were housed in conventional cage and fed ad libitum commercial layer feed and water. Egg weight, Haugh unit (HU), yolk%, yolk color score, albumin weight, albumin% were recorded. The results of the study suggest that Alquernat Nebsui L may be incorporated via water in laying hens without any negative effects on production and egg quality thus improving total yolk carotenoids. MS - Evaluate of nutritional strategies to maximize the performance of Cobb 500 × MV broilers (a new commercial strain) was done. The results suggests that for BW and BWG, the dLys requirement for Cobb MV × Cobb 500 male broilers from D0-14 is approximately 1.28%. The dLys requirement for FCR was not met in the levels evaluated and could only be calculated to be approximately 1.48%. These results suggest that dLys requirement are higher than previously reported. In another experiment, the carryover effect of feeding varying levels of dLys from 0-14 d to these male broilers on growth performance and carcass yields during a 42 d grow-out was looked at. The results found that no significant differences (P > 0.05) were observed in BWG or carcass weight and yields at 41 days of age when birds were fed a minimum of 1.20% dLys from 0-14 d. Benefits in BW, BWG, and processing characteristics were found when birds were fed a minimum of 1.20% dLys during the starter period. In another trial the impact of feeding varying dLys and AME levels from 0 to 14 d on performance and processing yields of these broilers at 42 d was examined. The starter diet dLys was 1.18% or 1.28% and AME was 2,890; 2,980; 3,070; and 3,160 kcal/kg. The results showed that early performance differences were observed (0-14; 0-28); however, overall growth performance and processing data did not demonstrate any dLys x AME interactions, nor significance for the main effects. MS - The potential for interactive effects of copper hydroxychoride (Cu-H) in conjunction with a commercially available probiotic on d 0-42 broiler performance was studied. The objective of this study was to evaluate the individual/interactive effects of supplementing Cu-H at 0, 125, and 250 ppm with or without Bacillus licheniformis (1.6 million cfu/g) from 0-42 d of age on live production variables and Salmonella/E. Coli reduction using Ross x Ross 708 male broilers. They found that supplementing probiotics and Cu-H into diets can interactively effect performance. Feeding 250 ppm of Cu from Cu-H increased BWG during the finisher feeding phase. Inclusion of Cu-H reduced the presence of E. coli in cecal contents (d 42), but did not influence the presence of Salmonella. MS - Determination of optimal starter particle size for improved starter and overall broiler performance was also researched. The objective was to determine the effects of feeding two broiler strains varied crumble particle size and intact pellets (d 0-18) on starter and overall (d 0-62) performance, d 63 processing, and gastrointestinal development. They found that feed form and FQ influenced d 0-18, BWG and FCR. Carryover effects due to d 0-18 FF and FQ influenced d 0-32 and 0-46 FCR; optimal FF/FQ from d 0-18 may vary depending upon grow-out, desired market, and GS implemented. Broilers of HY strains should be provided 2210 µm or 80% IP from d 0-18; FG broilers should be provided 40% IP from d 0-18.  Gastrointestinal development was influenced by FF and FQ; the majority of effects were demonstrated. PA - Slow growing, single breasted turkeys were fed natural feedstuffs (black soldier fly larvae, earthworms, mushrooms, alfalfa, June berries, blue berries, Hazelnuts, chestnuts and acorns in addition to commercial feed and compared to birds fed only commercial feed. Body weight, feed conversion and processing yield of males and females were not affected by dietary regimen. These feedstuffs were also evaluated for their methionine concentration as possible substitutes for synthetic methionine for organic poultry. Corn particle size (PS) (600, 900 1200 and 1500 um) was evaluated in broilers, pullets and laying hens for feed intake, growth, digestibility, performance, mill costs and efficiency. Performance was improved when smaller PS was given to small birds and larger particles to larger birds. Black soldier fly (BSF) larvae, meal and oil was fed to laying hens and nutritional (methionine), feed intake, conversion, production and egg quality was evaluated. The hens ate the BSF products well and they supported normal performance, however yolk color was impacted by the dietary treatments.  Agaricus blazei mushroom extract was administered to broiler chickens as a water supplement and evaluated to 3-weeks of age at 3 dosage levels. No impact on water or feed consumption, feed conversion or livability was noted indicating neither a deleterious or favorable impact on the birds. Food Safety and Quality.  MN - The study objective was to develop a S. Heidelberg challenge model to determine the cecal colonization, dissemination to internal organs, and the potential for skeletal muscle deposition of an MDR S. Heidelberg isolate from the 2011 ground turkey outbreak in the United States after the experimental oral challenge of poults (young turkeys) and adult turkey hens. The results indicated that, in turkey poults, the recovery of MDR S. Heidelberg was highest in the cecum followed by spleen, liver, thigh, drumstick, and breast. All tested inoculum levels resulted in more than 3.5 log10 CFU/g colonization in the poult cecum. The cecal colonization, dissemination to internal organs, and tissue deposition of MDR S. Heidelberg were high in poults. CA - UC-Davis - At this station the meat program is evaluating the effect of chilling methods (water chilling vs. air chilling) on the shelf life of bone-in and boneless chicken breast. A novel microbiome tool will be developed to determine the shelf life of chicken product from this project. AL - Auburn - The poultry processing specialists involved with this project has made contributions to poultry processing food safety and quality through assessment of sampling methodology and antimicrobial use both on farm and in the processing plant and the downstream impact on poultry product and food safety. Some of this research includes using neutralizing buffered peptone water for improved recovery of food borne pathogens at the processing plant, looking at broiler chicken respiratory tracts to determine if they are a potential source of food borne pathogen entry into the bird, and determining the role of organic acids in controlling S. Typhimurium in broilers. CA - UC-Davis - A systematic evaluation of the two chilling methods will be provided to poultry industry. The evaluation will include shelf life of chicken, energy usage and economic impact. Industrial partners will have a better idea based on the scientific evidence provided from this project to make the decision if they want to shift the chilling method from one to another. Laying Hen Performance.  HI - Dr. Mishra’s lab is focused on improving the laying persistency and egg production traits. We identified the novel genes and biological pathways involved in the egg production in the oviduct of laying hens. Further, we delineated the mechanism by which environmental heat stress affects the egg production, and egg quality in the oviduct of laying hens. NC - The major problem continues to be the rapid change in the egg industry towards extensive production systems to meet the desire of consumers. These changes do not necessarily improve welfare or safety of food produced by animals in production systems which are more humane. The problem is that the consumer is far removed from production agriculture and does not understand the inherent issues associated with animal production and the risks to the animal in more extensive systems. The North Carolina Layer Performance and Management Test extension program has been on-going for 60 years in cooperation with the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Primary Breeders of Commercial Egg Strains. The 40th NCLPMT First Cycle Report Vol 40 No. 3 was published April 2018 and the 40th NCLP&MT Single Cycle Report Vol. 40 No. 4 is in review. The purpose of the test is to provide strain evaluations in a multiple production systems to egg producers in North Carolina and throughout the world. The test provides support to the egg industry companies to understand common problems they experience related to the management of the different genetic strains of white and brown egg layers that are commercially available in production systems used in the US and Europe. The hens are being used in VSD+ Research at the close of the flock to help the egg industry in depopulation in disease outbreaks.  This research is being conducted by house and will provide valuable data related to viability of the process and data for the AVMA Mass Depopulation Committee. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Increased information to the International Breeder Companies and the producers located around the world. The increased electronic communications have enhanced the reach of the project and continues to expand. The reports are maintained on a web site and open to the regional, national, and international egg producers. The information is also used as the basis for training at regional and national meetings for the egg industry. What was accomplished under these goals? The 40th NCLP&MT just completed its 109th week of the production completing the second cycle. In the 40th NCLP&MT the non-feed-withdrawal program developed at the Piedmont Station, will be implemented in all production systems in Brown egg layers in the research project without the use of any light restriction. The hens experienced a respite from egg production with a 20% body weight loss. The NCLP&MT will examine and document the method for molting extensive production systems in Brown Egg Strains. The hen blood chemistry, stress physiology, livability and subsequent productivity of the hens having undergoing the non- anorexic molt are the key aspects along with taking into account the costs of feed and management. These costs may be more than compensated for by the expected reduction in mortality and increased salable eggs produced under the non-anorexic program which would provide additional monetary returns. A pilot Molting project was conducted in a small flock to evaluate blood chemistry from caged hens. The US practice remains to molt over a large percentage of the national flock in all production systems and the molting rate in alternative systems is growing rapidly. As such in the U.S.A. Molting remains a viable management tool used to extend the productive life of the hen and enhance the production planning needed by the producers. Behavior, Health, and Welfare. IN - Turkey research is being conducted in collaboration with Jiqin Ni (Purdue Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering) to validate the use of micro-data loggers (accelerometers) (TechnoSmArt, Italy) to measure activity levels of turkeys and to identify early indicators of stress in turkeys. We recently completed our first study, the objectives of which were to 1) determine the effects of accelerometers and habituation to accelerometers on turkey gait and welfare, 2) determine age-related changes in gait and welfare, and 3) assess the validity and reliability of the accelerometers. Welfare was assessed prior to video-recording birds as they walked across a Tekscan® pressure pad at 8, 12 and 16 wk to determine effects of habituation on step time, step length, step velocity, maximum force, impulse, and gait time. Results indicated that micro-data loggers are accurate and sensitive enough to detect turkeys’ activity levels, but turkeys need to be habituated to wearing the accelerometers. In addition, some aspects of accelerometer reliability and validity are affected by turkey age. Turkey welfare (body condition, feather condition, footpad condition and body weight) was not affected by the presence of the accelerometer. Data collection is ongoing to evaluate how turkeys’ activity levels and vocalizations change due to heat stress and an immune challenge. IN - This station is also conducting several laying hen projects aimed at increasing our understanding of hen behavior in cage free systems, the influence of ectoparasites on hen behavior and productivity and differences in behavior among different genetic lines of laying hens. Research is currently underway to examine the influence of poultry bugs (bed bugs) on hen behavior, welfare and productivity. This research is being conducted in collaboration with Ameya Gondhalekar (Purdue Department of Entomology). We are also examining the effects of probiotics (Bacillus subtilis) on feather pecking and aggressive behavior in white and brown laying hens in collaboration with Heng-wei Cheng (Purdue Department of Animal Sciences). IN - Duck research is also being done at this station. Research is being conducted on commercial duck farms to characterize feather picking in Pekin ducks and develop strategies to mitigate feather picking. Behavior and Environmental Temperature. IN - Broiler research in collaboration with Jay Johnson (USDA ARS) is being done to examine behavioral changes of broiler chickens in response to heat stress and to examine the relationship between infrared thermography and implanted data loggers to evaluate broiler chicken body temperature. Implanted data loggers were validated for measuring core body temperature in chickens. In addition, we determined that core body temperature measured with implanted data loggers is correlated with facial temperature measured on thermal images. Video analyses are underway to identify specific changes in behavior that are associated with changes in core body temperature. Management and Economics. NC - This station is looking at estimating effects of hatchery practices on early poult mortality using turkey industry field data. Early poult mortality is a widespread problem in the turkey industry resulting in potential loss of profits and animal welfare concerns. In this study, factors related to pre-placement mortality (PPM), first week mortality (FWM) and cumulative early mortality (CEM) were investigated. Field data collected from six US hatcheries over a 22-month period, were analyzed using the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis. PPM was found to be significantly related to a particular hatchery, season and distance traveled from hatchery to farm and FWM and CEM were found to be significantly related to hatchery, season, hatch day, gender, breeder age and distance traveled. Assuming the average truck delivery of 17,000 poults and the average poult cost of $2.00, the counterfactual cost analysis showed that the extra production costs from poult mortality due to young stage breeders ranged from $60 to $128 and each 500 miles of travel from hatchery to brooder farm costs an extra $170 per truck delivery. The results indicate that modifications in management practices coordinated between breeder farms, hatcheries and brooder farms could reduce early poult mortality, leading to cost savings and increased profitability. NC - This station is also conducting a study to determine how to pay for animal welfare. In this project we rely on the precise and accurate company level data on unit prices and quantities of all fresh eggs sold in all company stores spread throughout the country of Croatia during one calendar year period. Since the European Union banned the use of barren-battery cage systems for the husbandry of laying hens for the purposes of table eggs production on January 1, 2012, Croatia who joined the EU in 2013 was also required to convert its predominantly conventional cage production systems into the enriched colony systems. So, most of the eggs currently sold in Croatia come from this new type of cage production systems, whereas cage-free, free-range and other animal friendlier productions systems are gaining steam but still exist on the fringes of the egg market. Reflective of this situation, we analyze price differentials between cage and cage-free eggs based on estimating the hedonic price equation. Our most trusted results showed that pure cage-free premium amounts US$ 0.25 per dozen eggs or 10.2%. Relying on several different model specifications we interpret the findings to imply that the estimated premium for cage-free versus cage eggs is unlikely to be caused by the presence of unmeasured brand-specific characteristics because the price premium for cage-free eggs over cage eggs survives in different model specifications, and in fact even increases, after the inclusion of brand specific dummy variables. However, the positive price premium effects of certain labels geared towards enhancing perceptions of a better tasting or a healthier products disintegrate after the inclusion of brand-specific dummy variables indicating possibly false marketing strategies on part of these producers.

Publications

AL Bourassa, D.V., J.L. Lapidus, A.E. Kennedy-Smith, and A. Morey. Efficacy of neutralizing buffered peptone water for recovery of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Enterobacteriaceae from broiler carcasses at various points along a commercial immersion chilling process with peroxyacetic acid. Accepted to Poult. Sci. 07/08/2018. Harris, C.E., K.A. Gottilla, D.V. Bourassa, L.N. Bartenfeld, B.H. Kiepper, and R.J. Buhr. Impact of scalding duration and scalding water temperature on broiler processing wastewater loading. Accepted to JAPR 06/27/2018. Bourassa, D.V., K.M. Wilson, B.D. Fairchild, M. Czarick, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Microbiological status of broiler respiratory tracts before and during catching for transport to the processing plant. J. Appl. Poult. Res. Epub ahead of print. Pfy029. Wilson, K.M., D.V. Bourassa, B. McLendon, J.L. Wilson, and R.J. Buhr. 2018 Impact of skip-a-day and every-day feeding programs for broiler breeder pullets on the recovery of Salmonella and Campylobacter following challenge. Poult. Sci. 97:2775-2784. Bourassa, D.V., K.M. Wilson, C.R. Ritz, B.K. Kiepper, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Evaluation of the addition of organic acids in the feed and/or water for broilers and the subsequent recovery of Salmonella Typhimurium from litter and ceca. Poult. Sci. 97:64-73. Velasquez, C.G., K.S. Macklin, S. Kumar, M. Bailey, P.E. Ebner, H.F. Oliver, F.S. Martin-Gonzalez and M. Singh. 2018. Prevalence and antimicrobial resistance patterns of Salmonella isolated from poultry farms in southeastern United States. Poultry Science, 97 (6), 2144-2152. Starkey, J., R. Shirley, A. Welsher, O. Tejeda, L. Spencer, D.V. Bourassa, and C. Starkey. 2018. Effect of dietary protein source and litter condition on growth performance and meat yield of broiler chickens reared to 46 days of age. PSA Annual Meeting, July 23-26, 2018. San Antonio, TX. Linares, L., M. Rebollo, A. Fireman, D. Neves, A. Grove, D.V. Bourassa, J. Hess, and W. Pacheco 2018. Effect of digestible lysine levels and metal-amino acid complexes on performance and breast meat characteristics in broilers. PSA Annual Meeting, July 23-26, 2018. San Antonio, TX. Buhr, R.J., D.V. Bourassa, and K.M. Wilson. 2018. Impact of egg holding temperatures on the recovery of inoculated Salmonella from eggshells and stainless steel coupons. PSA Annual Meeting, July 23-26, 2018. San Antonio, TX. Bourassa, D.V., C.E. Harris, L.N. Bartenfeld, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Assessment of stabilized hydrogen peroxide as an antimicrobial agent for use in reducing Campylobacter prevalence and levels on broiler chicken wings. PSA Annual Meeting, July 23-26, 2018. San Antonio, TX. (Oral/Poster). Bourassa, D.V., I.B. Wise, J.L. Lapidus, M. Johnson, and A. Morey. 2018. Efficacy of neutralizing buffered peptone water on broiler whole carcass rinse Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Enterobacteriaceae following commercial treatment with peroxyacetic acid. International Poultry Scientific Forum, January 29-30, 2018. Atlanta, GA. (Oral) Harris, C.E., M.L. Teo, L. Lu, C.T. Mou, K.A. Gotilla, L.N. Bartenfeld, D.V. Bourassa, B.D. Fairchild, B.H. Kiepper, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Evaluation of water treatments during feed and water withdrawal on water usage and Salmonella prevalence in broilers. International Poultry Scientific Forum, January 29-30, 2018. Atlanta, GA. Rubio, A. A., J. A. Lopez. J. B. Hess, W. D. Berry, W. A. Dozier III and W. J. Pacheco. 2018. Effects of feed form and amino acid densities on productive and processing performance of broilers. Poult. Sci. 107, E-Suppl. 1:16. Rubio, A. A., J. A. Lopez. J. B. Hess, W. D. Berry, W. A. Dozier III and W. J. Pacheco. 2018. Effects of corn particle size during the finisher period on broiler growth performance. Poult. Sci. 107, E-Suppl. 1:499p. Linares, L., M. Rebollo, A. Fireman, D. Neves, A. Grove, D. Bourassa, J. Hess, and W. Pacheco. 2018. Effect of digestible lysine levels and metal-amino acid complexes on performance and breast meat characteristics in broilers. Poult. Sci. 107, E-Suppl. 1:500p. Rubio, A. A., J. C. Aranibar, H. Fuentes, and W. J. Pacheco. 2018. Feeding whole corn as an alternative to reduce electrical costs and improve growth rate and meat accretion of broilers. March 2018. Oral Presentation. This is Research Student Symposium, Auburn, AL Rubio, A., J. Aranibar, H. Fuentes, and W. J. Pacheco. 2018. Effect of different inclusion levels of whole corn on productive and processing performance of broilers. Abstr. M79. Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting. Bortoluzzi, C., A. Rubio, J. Aranibar, T. Applegate, and W. J. Pacheco. 2018. Effect of whole corn inclusion in the diets of broiler chickens on ileal and cecal microbiota. P189. Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting. Berry, W.D., J.B. Hess and K.S. Macklin, 2018.  Novel method for sanitation of hatching eggs during egg storage and incubation. International Poultry Scientific Forum, Atlanta, GA, Jan. 29-30 (abstr.) Bourassa, D.V. Salmonella prevalence and diversity are impacted by sampling methodology. Engormix Technical Articles. June 13, 2018. Accessible at <a href="https://en.engormix.com/poultry-industry/articles/salmonella-prevalence-diversity-are-t41730.htm?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=0-1-0">https://en.engormix.com/poultry-industry/articles/salmonella-prevalence-diversity-are-t41730.htm?utm_source=notification&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=0-1-0</a> Bourassa, D.V. Broiler respiratory tracts: A route for Salmonella? WATT Poultry USA. May 2018. Fahrenholz, A. C., W. J. Pacheco, and C. R. Stark. 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Pescatore, M.D. Lindemann, and S.A. Adedokun. 2018. Phytase and a combination of xylanase-glucanase increased apparent metabolizable energy value of barley in 21-day old broiler chicken. Submitted to IFPS meeting held in Atlanta. Jan30 to Fe 2, 2018. Olojede, O.C., A.J. Pescatore, T. Ao, and S.A. Adedokun. 2018. Effect of stress induced by dexamethasone and two sodium sources on biological functions in broilers. Submitted to IFPS meeting held in Atlanta. Jan30 to Fe 2, 2018. Adedokun, S. A., B. Bryson, and M. Bedford. 2018. An evaluation of the effect of two sources of sodium and exogenous phytase supplementation on diet acid binding capacity, digesta pH, and blood clinical chemistry in 22-day-old broiler chickens. Presented at PSA meeting held in San Antonio, TX. July 23-26, 2018. MI Riddle ER, Ali ABA, Campbell DLM, Siegford JM. 2018. Space use by 4 strains of laying hens to perch, wing flap, dust bathe, stand and lie down. PLoS ONE. 13(1): e0190532. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0190532 Ali ABA, Siegford JM. 2018. An approach for tracking directional activity of individual laying hens within a multi-tier cage-free housing system (aviary) using accelerometers. Measuring Behavior 2018 Conference Proceedings: 11th Annual Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research. 11:178-180. Campbell DLM, Ali ABA, Karcher DM, Siegford JM. 2017. Laying hens in aviaries with different litter substrates: behavior across the flock cycle and feather lipid content. Poultry Science. 96:3824-3835. doi: 10.3382/ps/pex204. Croney C, Mench J, Muir W, Anthony R, Golab G, Hofacre C, Hulet M, Johnson AK, Lusk J, Olynk Widmar N, Schinkel A, Shearer J, Swanson J, Varner G, Vizzier Thaxton Y. 2018. Scientific ethical and economic aspects of farm animal welfare. CAST Report R143. Council for Agricultural Science and Technology, Ames, IA. Swanson JC, Chapin LT, Hankenson FC,. 2018. Agricultural animals. In: Management of Animal Care and Use Programs in Research, Education, and Testing. 2nd Edition. Eds: Weichbrod RH, Thompson GA, Norton JN. CRC Press, New York, NY. Stratmann A, Guggisberg D, Siegford J, Toscano M. Accepted. Providing ramps during rearing improves bone strength in laying hen pullets. XV European Poultry Conference, Dubrovnik, Croatia, September 17-21, 2018. (talk) Ali ABA, Toscano MJ, Siegford JM. 2018. Enriching floor pens mitigates the effects of extended pullet housing on subsequent resource use and activity of individual laying hens in an aviary system. Proceedings of the 52nd Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology. 52:172. (talk) MacLachlan SS, Ali AB, Toscano MJ, Siegford JM. 2018. Enriching floor pens mitigates effects of extended pullet housing on subsequent distribution of laying hens in an aviary. Proceedings of the 52nd Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology. 52:171. (talk) Ali AB, Campbell DLM, Karcher DM, Siegford JM. 2018. Health, production, and resource use by laying hens in an aviary: A risk assessment. Poultry Science 97(E-Supplement 1):74. (talk) MacLachlan SS, Ali ABA, Stratmann A, Toscano MJ, Siegford JM. 2018. Prevalence of keel bone damage in laying hens can be influenced by using ramps in pullet rearing and laying hen aviaries. Poultry Science 97(E-Supplement 1):45. (talk) MN Divek V. T. Nair, Jijo Vazhakkattu Thomas, Sally Noll, Robert Porter Jr., Anup. Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Effect of various inoculum levels of multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg (2011 ground turkey outbreak isolate) on cecal colonization, dissemination to internal organs, and deposition in skeletal muscles in commercial turkeys after experimental oral challenge. Frontiers in Microbiology 8: 2680. Divek V. T. Nair and Anup Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Dairy-originated Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. freudenreichii reduces multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in turkey poults. Frontiers in Microbiology 9: 1475. Divek V. T. Nair, and Anup Kollanoor Johny. 2017. Food Grade Pimenta Leaf Essential Oil reduces Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg (2011 Ground Turkey Outbreak Isolate) Attachment on to Turkey Skin. Frontiers in Microbiology 28: 2328 IF 4.076 https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2017.02328 MS Hirai, L. Mejia, C. Coto, J. Caldas, C. D. McDaniel, and K.G.S. Wamsley. Evaluating the response of Cobb MV × Cobb 500 broilers to varying amino acid density regimens for a small bird program. J. Appl. Poult. Res. Submitted. Lemons, C. McDaniel, J.S. Moritz, and K.G.S. Wamsley. Effects of Crumble Particle Size on D0-14 Starter Growth Phase Performance. J. Appl. Poult. Res. In Revisions. Lemons, C. McDaniel, J.S. Moritz, and K.G.S. Wamsley. Influence of feed form (FF) and diet phase effects on 0-46d broiler performance. J. Appl. Poult. Res. Submitted. M.E. Lemons and K.G.S. Wamsley. 2018. Determining Optimal Broiler Starter Particle Size.  Proceedings of Advancing Poultry Production Massey Technical Update Conference, Monogastric Research Centre, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand. Vol 20. p 88-101. R.A. Hirai, L. Mejia, C. Coto, J. Caldas, C.D. McDaniel, and K.G.S. Wamsley. The impact of varying starter digestible lysine and energy levels on male Cobb 500 × MV broilers 0-42 d growth performance and 42 d processing. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. E. Lemons, C. D. McDaniel, J. S. Moritz, and K .G. S. Wamsley. Determining the effects of feeding two broiler strains varied crumble size and intact pellets (d 0-18) on starter and overall (d 0-62) performance. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. quality of presentation at the Annual Poultry Science Association Meeting in San Antonio, TX. E. Lemons, C. D. McDaniel, J. S. Moritz, and K .G. S. Wamsley. Determining the effects of feeding two broiler strains varied crumble size and intact pellet (d 0-18) on d 63 processing characteristics. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Ashley Ruzicka, Mark E. Lemons, Courtney E. Ennis, Christopher D. McDaniel, Joseph Moritz, and Kelley G.S. Wamsley. Determining the effects of feeding two broiler strains varied crumble size and intact pellets (d 0-18) on gastrointestinal measurements. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Brown, M. E. Lemons, K. Perryman, A. Kiess, and K. G. S. Wamsley. Interactive effects of probiotics and copper inclusion on 42 d male broiler performance. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Andrew Brown, Omar Gutierrez, Mark Lemons, Staci Loop, and Kelley Wamsley.  Effects of nutrient density and enzyme inclusion strategy on 0-60d Ross x Ross 708 broiler performance, foot pad dermatitis, woody breast severity, and breast yield. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Rosana Hirai, Leonel Mejia, Ceasar Coto, Justina Caldas, Christopher McDaniel, and Kelley Wamsley. The impact of feeding varying starter digestible lysine levels to Cobb MV x Cobb 500 male broilers on growth performance and processing yields.  2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Rosana Hirai, Leonel Mejia, Ceasar Coto, Justina Caldas, Christopher McDaniel, and Kelley Wamsley. Determining the digestible lysine requirement of Cobb MV x Cobb 500 male broilers during the first fourteen days of age.  2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Courtney Ennis and Kelley Wamsley. Growth performance and amino acid digestibility coefficients of broilers fed vegetarian versus conventional diets reared in a commercial setting during a 62 day grow-out. 2018. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Mark Lemons, Christopher McDaniel, Joseph Moritz, and Kelley Wamsley. Effects of crumble particle size on d 0-14 Ross × Ross 708 male broiler performance. 2017. Poult. Sci. 96 (E-Suppl. 1): 2 NC Krista N Eberle-Krish, Michael P Martin, Ramon D Malheiros, Sanjay B Shah, Kimberly A Livingston, Kenneth E Anderson. 2018. Evaluation of Ventilation Shutdown in a Multi-level Caged System.  J Applied Poult. Res. 27: , pfy036, https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfy036 Novoa-Rama, E., Bailey, M., Jones, D. R., Gast, R. K., Anderson, K., Jagpinder, B., Taylor, R., Oliver, H. F., and Singh, M. Prevalence, persistence and antimicrobial resistance of Campylobacter spp. from eggs and laying hens housed in five commercial housing systems. Foodborne Path. Dis. Accepted 03/23/2018. Akbari Moghaddam Kakhki, Bakhshalinejad, Anderson, K.E. and Golian A. 2018. Effect of High and Low Stocking Density on Age of Maturity, Egg Production, Egg Size Distribution in White and Brown Layer Hens; A Meta-analysis. Poultry Sci. J 2018, 6(1): 71-87. DOI: 10.22069/psj.2018.14112.1292 Akbari Moghaddam Kakhki, Z. Mousavi & K. E. Anderson. 2018. An appraisal of moulting on post-moult egg production and egg weight distribution in white layer hens; meta-analysis, British Poultry Science 59 (3):278-285, DOI: 10.1080/00071668.2018.1432032 Heflina, L. E., K. E. Anderson, L. K. Johnson, and S. K. Raatz. 2018. Mineral content of eggs differs with hen strain, age and rearing environment.  Poultry Science 96: 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pey025 Eberle, K. N., M. P. Martin, S. Shah, R. D. Malheiros, K. A. Livingston, and K. E. Anderson. 2018. A novel non-invasive method for evaluating electroencephalograms on laying hens. Poultry Science 96:1–5 http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/ps/pex391 Braxton Whitaker, Lynn Worley-Davis, Sara Brierton, Jason Osborne, Kenneth Anderson, Kimberly Livingston. 2017. Evaluating the Poultry Science Summer Institute (PSSI) as a Recruitment Tool for High School Students from North Carolina Counties to Enter the Prestage Department of Poultry Science. NACTA Journal 61: (4) 279-283. PA Barkley, A. M. and P. H. Patterson, Vegetative Buffers for Biomass. 2017. Penn State Extension, University Park, PA. Barkley, A. M. and P. H. Patterson, Alternative Broiler Bedding Materials Fact Sheet. 2017. Sustainable Agriculture Research Education (SARE). Patterson P.H. and L.D. Kitto. 2018. Corn Milling And The Impact Of Corn Particle Size On Pullet Growth And Hen Performance. 6/26 /2108 FeedInfo News Service: <a href="https://www.feedinfo.com/pages/Corn_Milling_And_The_Impact_Of_Corn_Particle_Size_On_Pullet_Growth_And_Hen_Performance/5957964">https://www.feedinfo.com/pages/Corn_Milling_And_The_Impact_Of_Corn_Particle_Size_On_Pullet_Growth_And_Hen_Performance/5957964</a>. Ouyang, B., A. Demirci, and P. H. Patterson. 2018. Pulsed UV light inactivation of E. coli in liquid egg white. NABEC 2018, Northeast Agricultural Biological Engineering Conference, Morgantown, WV, USA. July 15- 18, 2018. An ASABE Meeting Presentation, Paper Number: 18-034. A poster presentation and 10 pp proceedings paper. Fabian-Wheeler, E., L. Chen, D. Hofstetter, P. Patterson, and J. Cimbala. 2018. Modeling Hen House Ventilation Options for Cage-free Environment: Two-Dimensional Case. An ASABE Meeting Presentation DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/iles.%20ILES18-145">https://doi.org/10.13031/iles. ILES18-145</a> Paper Number: ILES18-145. 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X), Sponsored by ASABE, Omaha, Nebraska, USA. September 25-27, 2018. Gall, H.E., D. Schultz, T.L. Veith, S.C. Goslee, A. Mejia, C.J. Harman, C. Raj, and P.H. Patterson. 2018. The effects of disproportional load contributions on quantifying vegetated filter strip sediment trapping efficiencies. Stoch. Environ. Res. and Risk Assess. DOI 10.1007/s00477-017-1505-x. Kitto, L.D., G. Roth, R.M. Hulet and P.H. Patterson, 2018. Corn particle size separation and hammer mill performance.  International Poultry Sci. Forum, Atlanta, GA. Miller, K., L. Kitto, A. Barkley, D. Greenawalt and P.H. Patterson   2018.  Dietary prebiotics and probiotics to decrease manure moisture and ammonia emissions from broilers. International Poultry Sci. Forum, Atlanta, GA. Ferguson, A.D., L.D. Kitto, E.M. Rogers, S. Bieber, H. Sciubba, C. Ruffin and P. H. Patterson  2018. Production of heirloom turkeys with native, natural feedstuffs.   International Poultry Sci. Forum, Atlanta, GA. VA Foltz, K., K. Karges, M. Hashim, and M. Persia. 2018. Effects of all-vegetable and animal protein supplements for Hy-Line W-36 pullet development and layer performance.  Presented July 22-26, 2018 at Poultry Science Association summer meeting, San Antonio, TX, USA. Barrett, N., N. Lee, and M. Persia.  2018. Effects of various concentrations of phytase on the performance and bone ash, of 14-day old broilers. Presented July 22-26, 2018 at Poultry Science Association summer meeting, San Antonio, TX, USA.

Impact Statements

The impacts of the nutrition studies completed by several stations will provide poultry producers with increased knowledge about the benefits of feeding probiotics to broilers and natural feedstuffs to turkeys.

Date of Annual Report: 09/27/2019

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/29/2019 - 07/30/2019
Period the Report Covers: 10/01/2018 - 09/30/2019

Participants

• Birendra Mishra- U Hawaii - Poultry reproduction
• John Linhoss – Miss State - Biosystems engineering
• Tayo Adedokun - U Kentucky - Poultry nutrition
• Kelley Wamsley - Miss State – Poultry nutrition
• Janice Siegford - Michigan State – Laying hen non-cage;
behavior, welfare, monitoring
• Ken Koelkebeck U of Illinois – Laying hens, broilers turkeys
• Tony Pescatore – U Kentucky – Poultry nutrition and mgmt,
extension
• Pratima Adhikari – Miss State – Poultry nutrition
• Brett Ramirez – Iowa State - Biosystems engineering
• Shawna Weimer – Purdue – Postdoc, broiler welfare and
management
• Dianna Bourassa – Auburn – Processing food safety and
welfare
• Ken Macklin – Auburn - Disease and management
• Heng Wei Cheng – USDA ARS
• Alex Corzo – Aviagen
• Chris Rude – Devenish
• Jorge Vizcarra – Alabama A&M
• Mary Anne Amalaradjou – U Conn
• John Boney – Penn State
• Wei Zhai – Miss State – Poultry nutrition
• Myrna Cadena - UC Davis, sub for Maurice Pitesky
• Tom Vukina - NC State
• Anup Johny – U Minnesota
• Mike Persia – Virginia Tech

Brief Summary of Minutes

Minutes Attachment:

2019 NE-1442 minutes Final.pdf

Accomplishments

Accomplishments Objective 1. Energy/resources efficiency. this will include collaborative efforts on feed and fuel energy sources for poultry and facilities by geographical region:  facility design, equipment efficiency, management, and modeling energy use in poultry systems. Environmental Lighting. AL - Microbiome changes due to environmental (poultry house) variations were examined. To date we have looked at varying light levels, light duration, brooding temperatures. To date this has yielded interesting results; however, to date the data is too preliminary. MS - The role of LED lighting on egg production and layer physiology has been examined. The experiment is on-going and expected to complete by next year. We are investigating the role of wavelength on egg production and performance parameters. MS - Linhoss - Additional data was collected on multi-year project examining the performance of high-efficiency fan shades in reducing light leakage and spatial variation of light intensity in commercial broiler houses. Light intensities in houses with fan shade were shown to be 10 times lower than in houses without fan shades. CT - Placement of LED lights in a commercial colony cage facility was examined and the data showed that improved egg production in the bottom row of cages were obtained when compared to production in the absence of the LED lights. This information on the use of LED lamps was shared with the poultry farmers in the region through the Connecticut Poultry Association. The results were presented to participants at the National Egg Quality School and at the Aviagen Poultry Management School. Management. MS - The assessment of the microbial profile in laying hens and pullets raised in cage house and cage-free by traditional culture and molecular methods were examined. It was found that hens raised in two housing environments: conventional cage and enriched colony cages were assessed with their microbial profile.  MS - Dr. Linhoss’s research focused on improving efficiencies in poultry housing, equipment, and environmental control through applied research and education. Research on the use of biochar as a litter amendment in poultry houses was recently published and will continue with help from additional USDA funding sources. Another project examining the role of bleed off valves in evaporative cooling systems was recently started. Initial data suggests that bleed off valves reduce the potential for mineral scaling on pads, but the overall economic benefit of their use needs to be explored further. In the fall 2019, research will begin on a study examining how broiler crop fill is affected by stocking density and if it is good indicator of early performance. HI - In Dr. Mishra’s lab experiments were designed and focused on improving the laying persistency and egg production traits of laying hens. They identified the novel genes and biological pathways involved in the egg production in the oviduct of laying hens. Further, they delineated the mechanism by which environmental heat stress affects the egg production, and egg quality in the oviduct of laying hens. Facility Design. AL - Davis - This lab evaluated the thermal performance and are developing BMPs for the use of test pens in on-farm nutritional test trials. We have evaluated pen panel construction and its effect on the thermal environment. Using simulated birds in a wind-tunnel, we found that bird temperatures increase as panel open area decreases. Orientation of pen-pairs was also important. We are in the process of validating the study in an on-farm trial and will develop BMPs to reduce the effect of pen construction on the thermal performance. We have been evaluating evaporative cooling systems and general water management in commercial broiler farms to develop BMPs for growers to improve their operations. MN - Noll - Dr. Noll's research has examined the effect of partial slotted flooring systems on market turkey toms raised from 5 to 18 wks age and compared performance to an all bedded system. Two slotted flooring materials were compared: Red Rooster Double L Classic Plastic Flooring and Tenderfoot Dairy Calf Mesh – Diamond flooring. The two flooring materials where installed to form 30% of the total floor area with the remaining floor area with bedding. The control treatment was 100% of the floor area with bedding. While similar market weights and feed conversion were observed among treatments, the Red Rooster flooring was intermediate in carcass quality with the control have the lowest percentage of skin defects and the Tenderfoot mesh having the greatest amount of skin defects. Based on carcass quality the Red Rooster material was selected as the material for further testing. USDA-ARS IN - In this lab, the use of thermal perches were examined in order to reduce heat stress in colony caged laying hens. The research was conducted in collaboration with Dr. P. Hester, Dr. N. Widmar and Dr. W. Wigle (Purdue University); Dr. M. Makagon (UC Davis); and Dr. R. Gates (University of Illinois). This study was conducted to identify intervention methods to reduce heat stress in egg laying strains of chickens by determining if cooled perches improve thermal comfort and welfare for caged hens during hot weather. In this study, hens were assigned to 3 treatments: 1) Conventional cages with circular perches that were cooled during the summer months of June through September (approximate flow rate of 400 mL/min and chilled to 10o C), 2) conventional cages with the same perches, but with ambient air and no coolant, and 3) conventional cages without perches. The collected results indicate that the cooled perch system is able to assist hens to cope with heat stress. The cost-benefit analysis indicated that although there is an added expense associated with updating housing and cooled perch hens under less heat stress consume more feed, thereby increasing feed expenses, operators should be expected to have revenue available (after covering feed cost), which could contribute to installation and maintenance of the cooled perch system. Thus, egg producers may be able to use caged housing that incorporates perches profitably, depending on the final costs of such a system. MD - Dr. Widmer has an ongoing project with Katy Tarrant at California State University, Fresno and is evaluating environmental enrichment structure design and implementation for commercial broiler chickens. This project is being conducted in the 16,000 ft2 commercial broiler house at Fresno. Weimer serves as the consulting broiler stress and welfare expert. There are three objectives for this three-year project. For objective 1a we determined the most suitable enrichment materials and designs for commercial application. We are currently running flock trials on evaluating platform prototypes. Welfare data is being collected and behavior is being recorded on each flock. Density. MN -  At this research station, footpad dermatitis (FPD) was affected for turkey hens reared at different densities and bedding materials (wood shavings and Miscanthus grass). Litter particle size was correlated with foot pad dermatitis severity (r=.81) with larger particle size increasing FPD severity score at 14 wks of age. Footpad scores were most severe for the combination of Miscanthus grass for bedding and high stocking density. IN - Dr. Weimer performed a study at Purdue University Poultry Unit to evaluate the effects of two stocking densities on broilers from conventional and slow-growing genetic strains in the laboratories of Darrin Karcher and Marisa Erasmus. This project included three areas of research focus which were 1) production, 2) behavior and welfare and 3) carcass and part yield and meat quality. Behavior video is currently being analyzed in the Weimer laboratory at UMD. Antibiotics and Antimicrobials. AL - Pacheco We evaluated thermal inactivation of the Salmonella surrogate Enterococcus faecium ATCC 8459 during extended feed conditioning. USDA-ARS IN - This study examined if a probiotic, bacillus subtilis, prevents injurious behaviors and increases skeletal health in laying hens. This study is being conducted with Dr. M. Erasmus (Purdue University). This project works on prevention or alleviation of social stress in laying hens by developing an animal-friendly method. The objectives of this study are 1) To determine if probiotic, bacillus subtilis, reduces social stress in caged hens via regulating the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic-medullary-adrenal axis; 2) To examine if probiotic, bacillus subtilis, prevents social stress-induced injurious behaviors and osteoporosis in caged hens by regulating the serotonergic system via the microbiota-gut-brain axis; and 3) To determine if probiotic, bacillus subtilis, increases health status and well-being in caged hens via regulating intestinal and systemic immunity. In this study, chicks from white and brown laying hens are used. The chicks are assigned to 1 of 3 treatments: 1) non- beak trimmed chicks fed a regular diet, 2) beak trimmed chicks fed the regular diet, and 3) probiotic-treated chicks (non-beak trimmed chicks fed the regular diet mixed with probiotic). Hens are evaluated for skeletal and foot health, feather quality, egg production traits, feed intake, causes of death, behavior, physiological responses, and gut microorganism. CT - At this research station novel lactic acid strains were characterized for their probiotic potential including their ability to inhibit Salmonella colonization. It was determined that plant derived antimicrobials (PDAs) were found to control Aspergillus growth and aflatoxin production in poultry feed. Nutrition. AL - Pacheco - Dr. Pacheco evaluated the effect of particle size and soy oil inclusion to corn meal and its effect on NIR. MS - Investigation of the role of calcium (Ca) particle size and source in eggshell quality: dividing Ca in two different meals during the day of laying hens was examined. The experiment is on-going with two particle size of limestone: fine and coarse. The study is investigating if feeding coarse Ca later in the day to laying hens will help promote eggshells getting better quality. Egg quality and production data are measured throughout the study. MS - Wamsley - In Dr. Wamsley's lab the effects of superdosing phytase and use of carbohydrase enzymes in low energy diets on 56 day male broiler performance and processing were examined. The objective was to determine the effects of phytase dose (PD) and carbohydrase enzyme (CE) on 0- 56 d broiler performance and d 45 and 56 processing characteristics. The results showed that overall improvements were not observed for the carbohydrase enzyme of fungal origin (B-Mannanase). Feeding a carbohydrase (endo-1,4-beta xylanase) with 1500 FTU/kg of phytase (E. coli 6-phytase; 0.015% Ca and aP release) improved 0-44 and 0-55 live performance characteristics, as well as d 45 processing parameters. In addition, a determination of optimal starter particle size was done. The objective was to determine what the average particle size consumed for two broiler strains from 0-18 d. The results showed that strain was significant from d 0-6 and d 0-18 (P<0.05), with the high yielding birds having a higher average particle size consumed. Interactive effects were found between feed form (crumbles or pellets) and feed quality (low, medium or high) from 0-6 and 0-18 d (P<0.05). These interactions exhibited that when chicks are fed high feed quality, they consume a larger average particle size, regardless of feed form. When chicks were fed low and medium feed quality, they consumed a similar average particle size initially when fed as crumbles, but a decreased average particle size when fed pellets. Significant correlations between bird performance and average particle size consumed for d 0-6 BW, BW gain, FCR, as well as d 0-18 FCR demonstrated as chicks consumed increased average particle size of feed, performance parameters improved (P=0.01; r=0.35, 0.37, -0.38; P=0.04; r=-0.30). These data suggest that feed quality and feed form interactively influence the average particle size consumed. Strain also affect the average feed particle size consumed. Lastly, there is a relationship between increased average particle size consumed and improved BW, BW gain and FCR. Another experiment determine the relationship between average particle size consumed for two broiler strains varied crumble particle size and intact pellets from 0-18 d and resulting gastrointestinal characteristics. The results showed that starting at d 5 and continuing to d 18, high yielding strains had negative correlations of average particle size consumed and gizzard, duodenum, jejunum and ileum relative organ weights. In each instance, as average particle size consumed increased, the relative organ weight decreased (P<0.05, r=-0.423 to r=-0.68). Additionally, the high yielding strain demonstrated a positive correlation with yolk sac weight from 0-10 d (P=0.018; r=0.498). For the fast growing strain, at d 10 correlation data demonstrated that as chicks consumed increased average particle size, relative ileum weight decreased (P=0.026; r=-0.463). Additionally, from 0-18 d, as fast growing strains consumed an increased average particle size, crop fill increased (P=0.0031; r=0.602). These data may be association with chicks proportioning energy positively to affect performance. HI - Dr. Jha's lab has conducted research on nutrition programing to improve the gut health of monogastric animals,” and “evaluating novel feedstuffs and feed additives for their nutritional value and functional properties in pigs and poultry” using both in vivo and in vitro digestion and fermenation models. Of particular interest is “early nutrition programming in broiler chickens” using an in ovo inoculation model.  Fee Mill Management. AL - Macklin - Dr. Macklin's lab evaluated feed mills for microbiological load in ingredients and finished feed. Specifically, we are looking for Salmonella and Clostridium mainly C. perfringens. This has yielded interesting results in that we are finding Clostridium in the finished feed at approximately 102 CFU/g. Interestingly, the species of Clostridium found are typically not associated with poultry diseases; however they are associated with enteric disease in humans. AL - Pacheco - Dr. Pacheco trained more than 120 participants including feed mill personnel, allied industry, and students in 2 trainings in feed processing as well as 2 trainings on GMP’s and hazard analysis and risk based preventive control, which are necessary to comply with the Animal Food Rule of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). We have visited several poultry feed mills visits to determine the presence of Salmonella, E. coli and C. perfringens in feed ingredients, mixed feed, pelleted feed, and finished feeds. Other feed mill visits were focused on improving cooling efficiency by modifying retention time and airflow in the cooler and improving mixer Objective 2. Evaluating commercial poultry production systems. This will include collaborative efforts on the characterization of the performance of conventional, alternative, and organic poultry production systems relative to air and water quality, nutrient management, acoustic environment, and animal health and welfare. Air Quality and NH3 Emissions. IL - At the IL research station we evaluated the interior house environment (ammonia concentrations, carbon dioxide levels, and ambient temperature in 3 commercial layer facilities. The objectives of this research was to:  1) Assess interior temperature, ammonia (NH3), and carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrationsin 3 types of commercial laying hen houses during winter; determine vertical variation for NH3, CO2, and temperature within the houses. We have used successfully before a Portable Monitoring Unit (iPMU) in the past. We have used these units to assess air quality in various animal environments. Thus, in this study we sampled the interior environments of three commercial laying hen facilities, located in Midwest USA. These houses were located on the same farm site. The first house was a stacked enrichable cage system with 2 floors, 168 m (L) x 245 M (W), (12 tiers of cages). This house housed 497,000 Lohmann LSL – Lite hens at 25 wk of age. The bird density was 432 cm2/hen. The second house was an aviary (designated as Aviary 1 (AV 1), and housed 46,400 Lohmann Brown hens at 19 wk of age. The third house was also an aviary (designated at Aviary 2 (AV2), and housed 36,300 Bovans Brown hens at 77 wk of age. Both aviary houses had the same building dimensions of: 159 m (L) x 15 m (W). There was different aviary equipment in each house. The bird density in both houses was 1,114 cm2/hen. The air and temperature sampling schedule was satisfied by installing two iPMUs and two Temp/RH data loggers in each house, at a location of 30.5 m from the end, and at two different elevations. The cage house sampling locations were 1.5 m and 5.3 m, respectively from the floor of the house. For the two aviary housed the sampling locations were 1.5 m and 2.5 m, respectively from the floor. For sampling barn air was measured every 10 sec. Averages were taken every 30 min, and continuous data recording occurred. For data analysis, data was recorded in February, 2019. For data analysis, a student’s t-test (PROC TTEST, SAS 9.4) was used to determine any differences between the top and bottom levels (P < 0.05), in each house. Measurements were compared to management set points and industry guidelines. The data revealed that not all housing types had the same air quality. There was a vertical variation for NH3, CO2, and temperature within the same houses. In addition the aviaries have reduced air quality than the cage house. IA - Air quality/environment evaluation and development of improved management strategies for a novel cage-free egg laying facilities were evaluated. Management. AR - This ongoing study aims to improve productivity while reducing cooling water consumption by incorporating the sprinkler system with the evaporative cool cell system on commercial broiler farms. Sprinklers offer a totally different method of cooling broilers by spraying a calculated amount of water onto bird level for a short duration, turning it off, and letting the fans dry off that water on birds’ surface. The key to promote adoption of sprinkler system on commercial farms is to develop an optimal cooling strategy that growers can follow. A common problem in the field is to run sprinklers without making any change to the cool cell setting. This not only adds minimal cooling to birds, but also risk of getting the litter wet. Trials were conducted on multiple farms by programming the sprinkler system as the first three stages of cooling, delaying onset and frequency of wetting the cool cell pads. Data collection included temperature and relative humidity at pad end and fan end, drinking and cooling water consumption in each house, and facial temperature measurement of birds in week 5.  IA - Quantification and relation of keel bone damage with continuously monitored perching behaviors of individual laying hens was examined. Also, the impact of damaged KB on different nighttime perching behaviors, such as standing, sitting, standing bout, and sitting bout duration, as well as stand-sit shift.  MS - Adhikari - At this research station, the determination of egg production, egg quality and bone biology in White Leghorns W-36 and Hy-Line Brown housed in three housing types (conventional, enriched and cage-free free range) was done. The animal experiment is completed. We evaluated production parameters (feed intake, egg production, body weight and feed conversion ratio) as well as egg quality and bone welfare (long bones and keel bones) in two strains of laying hens. There still needs to be done further analysis to conclude the results. Nutrition and Welfare. KY - A series of experiments were conducted to evaluate the metabolizable energy values of different feed ingredients under different conditions. In addition to this, the movement towards the complete removal of antimicrobial growth promoters in poultry feed has presented the poultry industry with challenges and opportunities. Furthermore, the possibility of the removal of anti coccidia drugs from poultry diets would likely increase the possibility of gastrointestinal challenges in poultry. To this effect, we conducted a series of studies to evaluated the potential of a poultry dietary antioxidant supplement (EconomasE ™®) in mitigating the effect of intestinal inflammation as a result of coccidia challenge and/or dexamethasone challenge on birds health and performance. Results from these studies shows that nitrogen excretion in broilers and laying hens could be reduced by careful control of dietary nutrients during diet formulation. In addition, two studies were conducted to determine the effect of dietary ZnO (inorganic) versus Bioplex Zn (organic) on keel bone damage. Two hundred and forty white egg layers and 240 brown layers were placed on one of five treatments. Diet 1 was a commercial corn-soy diet; 2. Corn- soy (80ppm ZnO); 3. Corn-soy (30ppm ZnO); 4. Corn-soy (80ppm Bioplex Zn); and 5corn-soy (30ppm Bioplex Zn). Birds were place on their experimental diet at 29 weeks of age and were remained on the experimental diet for 36 weeks of lay (65 weeks of age)Keel bone scores were correlated with type of deviation. A score of one was given to a straight keel, with zero deviation from a straight line. A score of two would be anything with a deviation to one side, in one of the four quadrants, or forming a ‘U’ shape, deviations that occurred on one side either left cranial and left caudal or right cranial and right caudal or just one or the other. A score of three was an ‘S’ shape, where deviations that occurred in either the left cranial and right caudal or right cranial and left caudal. Keel bones were scored every 4 weeks on the live bird, with the first scores being taken 2 weeks after the start of the experiment and the final scores taken two weeks after the last weigh date. A greater percentage of keel bones from white egg layers were scored as 1 at the start of the 36-week trial, 63%, compared to the end of the experiment, 82 and 27% to 6% for brown egg layers. Additionally, 0% of the birds had a score of 3 at the start of the experiment, compared to 37% thirty-six weeks later, for the white egg layers; and 3% to 27% of a score of 3 from the start to the end of the trial. Keel bone scores of 2 increased from 37% to 55% for white egg layers throughout the 36 weeks of this trial; brown egg layers stayed consistent throughout the trial, starting at 70% and ending with 67% birds having a keel bone score of 2. For both white and brown egg layers, the ‘U’ shape deviation had significantly less deviation from a straight line, with 22.55 mm and 27.02 mm respectively, compared to the ‘S’ shape deviation for white and brown layers, 42.40 mm a3nd 36.36 mm respectively. Diet had different effect on keel bone deviation, depending on the egg layer. Diet did not have a significant effect on keel bone deviation for white egg layers. However, there was a numerical trend, with keel bones from hens being fed diet 4, as 80 ppm Bioplex® Zn, having a numerically lower deviation of 24.04 mm, compared to the deviation of keel bones from hens on the four diets. On the other hand, keel bones from brown egg layers were significantly affected by the diet they were receiving. Keel bones from hens on diet 3 had significantly higher deviation, 41.08 mm, compared to diets 1, 2, and 4. Keel bones from hens receiving diet 5, had intermediate keel bone deviation of 32.36 mm. This data looks promising for Bioplex® Zn to alleviate keel bone deformation and deviation in laying hens, especially brown egg layers. However, more research in this area is needed to determine the amount of Bioplex® Zn required to alleviate issues with bone health, especially keel bone damage. Environmental Management. AL - Davis - We have developed an erosion simulator to evaluate soil loss along the dripline of commercial broiler houses for given rain events. As houses have increased in size, erosion issues are exacerbated with the increased roof area. We have used the simulator to evaluate surface armoring techniques.  IA - Bioenergetics for a fully open cage-free aviary system with Dekalb White laying hens was conducted. Technical performance and sustainability evaluation of a novel air-to-air heat exchanger for manure belt drying in layer housing was also conducted. In addition, it was determined that poultry houses may require supplemental heat (Hs) during ventilation showdown (VSD) for containment HPAI spread. The amount of Hs depends on housing type, ambient temperature, and housing tightness. Mortalities during VSD are more likely caused by hyperthermia than by hypoxia. Strategies for reducing temperature stratification are needed for improved VSD in some situations. The results showed that Heat Exchanger (HE) temperature-transfer efficiency was 75.07% ±9.4% with an average supply T increased by 10.0°C ±3.4°C and an average of 93.94 ±31 kW heat recovered. Average indoor T (23.1°C ±0.5°C) was warmer, as a function ambient T, and daily average indoor T range was lower with Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV; 1.8°C ±0.7°C) compared to without HRV (22.2°C ±1.2°C; 3.1°C ±1.1°C). Seven days after manure removal, final average manure DM was 40.6% ±3.1% (without HRV) and 60.0% ±3.3% (with HRV). Implementation of HRV positively influenced indoor thermal environment by maintaining less dynamic diurnal fluctuations. Updated bioenergetics data showed mean values of 7.5 ± 0.2 W kg-1 for total heat production rate (THP), 4.8 ± 0.3 W kg-1 for sensible heat production rate (SHP) and 2.7 ± 0.2 W kg-1 for latent heat production rate (LHP). THP reduced by 40% in the dark period (5.1 ± 0.3 W kg-1), as compared to the light period (8.5 ± 0.3 W kg-1). The house-level heat and moisture production data from this study will contribute to updating of the engineering standards or guidelines for efficient design of environmental control systems in modern cage-free layer production. Education - Service.  AL - Davis - We trained 750+ service techs, growers, decision makers from 35 states and 20 countries in 15 hands-on workshops at the NPTC demonstration and teaching facility. We had 10+ off-site grower meetings training 610+ growers across the state. We developed a smartphone app for the use by commercial broiler growers that provides calculations and checklists to assist growers with daily activities. IA - Data-driven development of task-specific educational modules for training layer employees on animal husbandry to elevate management standards was looked at in IA. MS - Linhoss - Dr. Linhoss participated in Extension activities to address the concerns of MS poultry growers. A statewide webinar program was developed to educate MSU Extension agents entitled “Commercial Broiler Production in MS: Methods, Myths, and More”. Five extension agents completed the online training. The Mobile Energy and Environment Laboratory (MEEL trailer) was demonstrated at 6 events and educated over 3,000 youth and adults about commercial poultry production in MS. Articles for trade magazines and popular press were also written on a variety of topics and an undergraduate completed a 10-week extension mentorship under the direction of Dr. Linhoss. NC - The Effects of Californian Battery-cage Ban on Consumer Welfare and Market Equilibrium was examined at NC. The major issue in the egg industry continues to be the rapid change towards extensive production systems that would meet the desire of consumers for improved animal welfare. The shift from cages to cage free egg production started with the passage of the California's Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act (Proposition 2) in 2008. At the beginning of 2015, this act and corresponding Assembly Bill (AB) 1437 eliminated battery cages for egg-laying hens in the state. Whereas Proposition 2 outlawed the production of battery-cage eggs, AB 1437 went further and outlawed the sale of such eggs in the state. Several other states introduced or passed similar measures. This trend is likely going to continue and it is reasonable to expect that more states will adopt similar measures. As the result of the implemented or anticipated regulatory measures banning the conventional cages, the cage-free production of table eggs in the United States is constantly increasing. During June 2018, the U.S. weekly production of table eggs totaled 1.9 billion eggs and table egg flock comprised of 313.8 million layers. Since the USDA started the collection of detailed data on cage-free production in 2016, the size of the cage-free layer flock increased from 10.2% of the total flock in August 2016 to 17.43% in June 2018. During the same time period the cage-free egg production increased from 8.49% to 15.02% of total eggs produced in the country. The production of cage-free eggs almost doubled during this less than two years long time period from 161 million to 288 million eggs weekly. In this project, we are in process of estimating demand and supply models for all type of eggs to be used to predict the effects of imposing stricter standards for egg production on the industry structure and the welfare of market participants (consumers and producers). To evaluate the effects of banning battery cages on market participants, we are estimating a structural model for table eggs demand and supply. Our model is a heterogeneous product oligopoly model where egg producers compete with one another to sell differentiated table eggs to consumers. Depending on how laying hens are treated, table eggs are classified as conventional, free-range, cage-free and certified organic. Of course, different table eggs also differ in other dimensions like color, size and number of eggs per carton. On the supply side of our model, producers compete with one another in a heterogeneous-product oligopoly fashion and each producer decides the average price for each line of their table eggs in each week. We are using Nielsen consumer panel and retail scanner data from Kilts Marketing Center. Bird Health AL - Macklin - At this lab, the understanding and control of necrotic enteritis (NE) through the use of probiotics and synthetic anticoccidials and correlating these different factors to the bird’s microbiome in both NE and non-NE birds was examined. We are trying to develop strategies that may show if a flock is at risk of breaking with NE. This involves sampling farms and determining the cocci as well as C. perfringens levels and if netB is present or not in the C. perfringens samples. This is ongoing and there is no solid data yet. Nutrition and Bird Health MN - A non-host-specific probiotic for Salmonella control in turkeys was examined. We investigated the potential of Propionibacterium freudenreichii (PF), a dairy origin probiotic bacterium, against multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) in turkeys. Employing in vitro and in vivo experiments, the bacterium was tested for its probiotic potential and its anti- Salmonella activity in 2-weeks-old poults and 7-weeks-old growing turkeys. Results indicated that PF exhibited excellent qualities as a probiotic strain in vitro, and significantly reduced cecal colonization of SH and the dissemination of the pathogen to internal organs, compared to the SH challenge controls in poults and growing turkeys. Results revealed that PF, a non-host- gastrointestinal tract-derived probiotic, could be an antibiotic alternative against colonization of SH in turkeys, improving the preharvest food safety. We are investigating their potential in other production poultry. Also, studied was work on host-specific probiotic for Salmonella control in turkeys. In similar studies described above, the effects of turkey-derived beneficial bacteria, L. ingluviei UMNPBX19 and L. salivarius UMNPBX2, were tested on Salmonella Heidelberg (SH) in turkey poults. The two strains were tested for their probiotic potential and their anti-Salmonella activity in 2-weeks-old turkey poults. Results indicated that both strains exhibited probiotic qualities in vitro, and the strains in combination significantly reduced cecal colonization of SH and the dissemination of the pathogen to internal organs, compared to the SH challenge controls in poults. The results indicate that turkey- derived L. ingluviei UMNPBX19 and L. salivarius UMNPBX2 have potential against SH in turkeys. We are investigating their potential in other production poultry for improving preharvest food safety. Drinking water contaminated with Salmonella could serve as a source for cecal colonization of the pathogen in birds. We investigated the efficacy of LGEO against multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg (S. Heidelberg) in poultry drinking water. Farm water with and without added droppings, litter, or feed inoculated with S. Heidelberg was treated and stored with selected concentrations of LGEO for a week at 12.5 and 25oC. LGEO at 0.5% resulted in 5 log10 cfu/ml reduction of S. Heidelberg in water with feces by day 1 at both temperatures. Similarly, LGEO at 0.5% resulted in 5 log10 cfu/ml reduction of the pathogen in water contaminated with litter on day 1 at 12.5oC but needed 7 days for pathogen reduction at 22oC. Also, LGEO at 0.5% resulted in 5 log10 cfu/ml reduction of the pathogen in water contaminated with feed by day 5 at 12.5oC but was not effective at 22oC. Results indicate the potential of LGEO as a natural disinfectant in poultry drinking water. We are currently exploring the potential of LGEO for improving pre- and post-harvest safety of poultry. VA - Persia - An experiment was completed to understand the effects of dietary feed additives on broiler chickens raised on used litter with coccidial spores without antibiotics, a common occurrence in the commercial poultry industry with the new focus on ABF or NAE production.  Treatments included dietary ingredient selection on the performance and efficiency of egg production.  Dietary treatments included a coated butyrate product fed over a 14 or 42 day period, a botanical product fed over a 42 day period, a combination of the two products with butyrate fed 1-14 days and the botanical fed from 15-42 days, a negative control without feed additive and a positive control with a anticoccidial product.  Performance (body weight, feed conversion ratio and mortality were monitored over the 1-14, 1-28 and 1-42 d periods.  The antibiotic treatment resulted in increased performance over the negative control (no feed additive) fed birds validating the model.  All butyrate containing diets (1-14 and 1-42 days and 1-14 followed by botanical for 15-42 days resulted in increased body weight gain in comparison to the negative control birds fed without feed additive and generally similar to the antibiotic control fed birds.  The birds fed the botanical product did not increase performance over the negative control fed birds when fed starting at day 1 or did not improve performance over the negative control fed birds after butyrate was fed over the first 14 days of age.  Feed conversion ratio was highest with the negative control fed birds and lowest with the antibiotic fed birds with the butyrate fed birds intermediate over both the 1-14 and 1-28 day periods, but significance was lost over the 1-42 day period.  Mortality was not significantly different over any time period.  Overall it was concluded that butyrate was effective at maintaining body weight similar to that of the antibiotic, but did not result in the same feed conversion ratio as more feed was needed to main the body weights.  This might suggest that butyrate was able to maintain generate gastro-intestinal health of the birds by facilitating intestinal cell growth, but this did cost the birds by diverting dietary nutrients from growth to maintenance resulting in the differences in FCR. Objective 3. Establishing parameters influenced by the production system and strains utilized within the poultry industry. This collaborative research will encompass the areas of poultry nutrition, physiology, behavior, well-being, food safety and quality, and economic evaluation of poultry production systems. Nutrition. AL - Vizcarra - Feed restriction of broiler breeders is practiced commercially to increase fertility and decreased mortality. However, a prolonged feed restriction is perceived as contrary to present attitudes toward animal welfare. Ghrelin is a peptide hormone predominantly synthesized in the gastrointestinal tract of avian and mammalian species. While ghrelin stimulates feed intake in mammals it does the opposite in birds, as indicated in most studies. We evaluated the effect of Entyce® (capromorelin; a ghrelin agonist) on feed intake in male broiler chickens. Entyce® (distributed by Aratana) is a FDA approved ghrelin agonist used in dogs and available in most Veterinary clinics. Entyce® was orally administered to broiler chickens for five consecutive days by diluting the product in water at a target dose of (0, 6 and 12 mg/kgBW/day). Water intake and BW was measured daily from 3 d before treatments were applied until the end of the experiment. Based on these data, the medicated water concentration was adjusted daily. Measurements of water intake showed that the actual mean dose received by chickens were 0, 4.9 and 9.5 mg/kgBW/day. Our data showed that oral doses of Entyce® were associated with a significant dose-dependent increase of feed intake. Additionally, average daily gain was also increased in a dose-dependent manner, but water intake was not significantly affected by treatments. We also evaluated the effect of subcutaneous (s.q.) administration of a ghrelin antagonist (D- Lys3)-GHRP-6 on feed intake and weight gain in broiler chicken. One-day-old male chickens were reared as recommended by the industry. At four weeks of age, birds were stratified by weight and randomly assigned to three treatments (0, 6 or 12 nM/kgBW/day of the antagonist) for five consecutive days. Doses were selected based on previous work performed in mammalian and avian species. Feed intake and body weight was recorded daily for 5 days. Our results indicate that subcutaneous injections of (D-Lys3)-GHRP-6 decreased feed intake (P < 0.10) in a dose related manner, but had no effect in average daily gain. Treatments that can decrease appetite at critical periods of production (without affecting animal wellbeing) can provide new tools with commercial implications that will result in a direct benefit for the poultry industry. MS - Wamsley - An evaluate of nutritional strategies to maximize the performance of Cobb 500 × MV broilers (a new commercial strain) was explored. The objective was to determine the effects of feeding Cobb MV × Cobb 500 female broilers varying levels of grower dLys (1, 1.08, 1.18%) and AME (2937, 3028, 3116, and 3206 kcal/kg) on 14-28 d performance, as well as 14-41 d performance, processing and economics. The results of the study showed that a dLys × AME interaction was observed at 14-28 d for FCR (P=0.002). This interaction demonstrated that as birds were fed increased AME at each d Lys level, FCR improved; however, there was a slight plateau for birds fed 3018 kcal/kg when increasing dLys of diets from 1.00 to 1.08%. Overall, these data demonstrated that feeding 1.18% dLys + 3,028 kcal/kg AME in the grower phase improved overall performance and processing yield. An economic analysis considering diet costs, production cost per bird, as well as potential gross profit using processing data, demonstrated this feeding strategy to be most economical. Food Safety and Quality. AL - Dr. Bourassa’s lab is focusing on prevention strategies to minimize the occurrence and levels of the foodborne pathogens Salmonella and Campylobacter on poultry and poultry products. We assessed the use of both acidic and alkaline types of peroxyacetic acid (PAA) antimicrobials at various concentrations during a post-defeathering intervention for the reduction of Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella, and Campylobacter. It was determined that alkaline PAA was more effective than acidic PAA at reducing Enterobacteriaceae levels but had similar efficacies for the reduction of Salmonella and Campylobacter. Extension activities included addressing urgent concerns of the Alabama commercial poultry industry as well as the industry nationwide. This included the development of a quarterly HACCP Roundtable meeting where industry personnel and FSIS can come together to discuss current regulatory issues. A Poultry Processing Short Course was given for training industry personnel on the science behind practices utilized during poultry processing. Backyard poultry processing workshops were conducted to train youth and public regarding regulatory requirement and methods for converting live birds to meat products. In addition to serving the poultry industry, both public and youth groups were served through programming including youth poultry judging training and contests (4-H and FFA).

Publications

AL - Vizcarra Ceron-Romero, N, N. Taofeek, A. Thomas, H. Chance, E. Vroonland, M. Verghese, and J. Vizcarra. 2019. The Effect of ghrelin antagonist (D-Lys3) GHRP-6 on feed intake in broiler chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus). STEM Day 2019. Alabama A&M University. Abstract #18. Ceron-Romero, N, N. Taofeek, A. Thomas, J. Johnson, R. Winter, M. Verghese, and J. Vizcarra. 2019. The Effect of Feed Restriction and Mild Hypothermia on Concentrations of Ghrelin, Corticosterone and Pulmonary Arterial Pressure in Broiler Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus). Association of Research Directors. Jacksonville, FL. Vizcarra, F. R., M. Verghese, and J. A. Vizcarra. 2018. Effect of short- and long-term feed restriction on ghrelin concentrations in turkeys. Poultry Science 97(6) 2183–2188. Taofeek, N., F. Vizcarra, M. Verghese, and J.A. Vizcarra. 2018. The effect of Feed Restriction on ghrelin, glucose and Insulin concentrations in male broiler chickens. STEM Day 2018. Alabama A&M University. Abstract #17. Taofeek, N., F. Vizcarra, M. Verghese, and J.A. Vizcarra. 2018. The effect of Feed Restriction on ghrelin concentrations in male broiler chickens. International Poultry Scientific Forum. Atlanta, Georgia. (M3 p 1). AL - Bourassa Bourassa, D.V., J.L. Lapidus, A.E. Kennedy-Smith, and A. Morey. 2019. Efficacy of neutralizing buffered peptone water for recovery of Salmonella, Campylobacter, and Enterobacteriaceae from broiler carcasses at various points along a commercial immersion chilling process with peroxyacetic acid. Poult. Sci. 98:393-397. Harris, C.E., K.A. Gottilla, D.V. Bourassa, L.N. Bartenfeld, B.H. Kiepper, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Impact of scalding duration and scalding water temperature on broiler processing wastewater loading. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 27:522-531. Bourassa, D.V., K.M. Wilson, B.D. Fairchild, M. Czarick, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Microbiological status of broiler respiratory tracts before and during catching for transport to the processing plant. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 27:597-602. Wilson, K.M., D.V. Bourassa, B. McLendon, J.L. Wilson, and R.J. Buhr. 2018. Impact of skip-a-day and every-day feeding programs for broiler breeder pullets on the recovery of Salmonella and Campylobacter following challenge. Poult. Sci. 97:2775-2784. Bourassa, D.V. 2019. Harvesting market age broilers. 5th International Poultry Meat Congress, April 24-28, 2019, Antalya, Turkey. Bourassa, D.V. 2019. Salmonella prevention strategies and influences of sampling method selection. Midwest Poultry Federation, March 14-16, 2019, Minneapolis, MN. Pacheco, W.J., J.B. Hess, K.S. Macklin, D.V. Bourassa, and T.J. Biggs. Effect of zinc methionine and manganese methionine on live performance and breast myopathies of broilers. PSA Annual Meeting, July 15-18, 2019. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Harris, C.E., L.N. Bartenfeld-Josselson, D.V. Bourassa, and R.J. Buhr. Persistence of Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium on hatching eggshells after 1, 6, or 24 hours. PSA Annual Meeting, July 15-18, 2019. Montreal, Canada. Bourassa, D.V., C.E. Harris, L.N. Bartenfeld, S. Richter, W. Daley, K.M. Wilson, and R.J. Buhr. Impact of postmortem holding temperature on feather retention force and broiler carcass microbiology. XXIV European Symposium on the Quality of Poultry Meat, June 23-26, 2019. Cesme, Izmir, Turkey. Lawley, E.O., and D.V. Bourassa. Peroxyacetic acid applied following broiler chicken feather removal minimizes pathogen levels during processing. Auburn Research Student Symposium, April 9, 2019. Auburn, AL. Lawley, E.O., and D.V. Bourassa. Assessment of peroxyacetic acid as a post- defeathering intervention during broiler processing. International Poultry Scientific Forum, February 11-12, 2019. Atlanta, GA. Walker, G.K., D.V. Bourassa, R. Qudsieh, B. Wall, and M.L. Livingston. A scald water detergent combined with an organic acid carcass dip reduces microbial loads on post- harvested broiler carcasses. International Poultry Scientific Forum, February 11-12, 2019. Atlanta, GA. Bourassa, D.V., C.E. Harris, L.N. Bartenfeld, S. Richter, W. Daley, K.M. Wilson, and R.J. Buhr. Impact of postmortem holding temperature on feather retention force and broiler carcass microbiology. International Poultry Scientific Forum, February 11-12, 2019. Atlanta, GA. Bourassa, D.V. and K.M. Wilson. Antibiotic-free production and broiler chicken meat safety. Food Safety Magazine. October/November 2018. Bourassa, D.V. Influence of broiler harvest on respiratory tract bacteria. WOGS Newsletter, June 2019. Bourassa, D.V. Carvacrol as a Potential Antimicrobial on Poultry Parts. WOGS Newsletter, April 2019 Bourassa, D.V. Decreasing food safety risks associated with chicken livers. WOGS Newsletter, March 2019. Bourassa, D.V. Woody breast myopathy impacts shelf life. WOGS Newsletter, January 2019. Bourassa, D.V. One Health Certified Program Label for Meat and Poultry Products. WOGS Newsletter, November 2018. Bourassa, D.V. Red wing tips on broiler carcasses. WOGS Newsletter, October 2018. AL - Davis Linhoss, J.E., J.L. Purswell, and J.D. Davis. 2018. Radiant flux preference of neonatal broiler chicks during brooding. Trans. ASABE. 61(4):1417-1423. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.12775 Purswell, J.L., J.E. Linhoss, C.M. Edge, J.D. Davis, and J.C. Campbell. 2018. Technical Note: Water supply rates for recirculating evaporative cooling systems in poultry housing. Appl. Engr. in Ag. 34(3): 581-590. https://doi.org/10.13031/aea.12652 Wise, J.D. Davis, V. Naranjo, V.D. Hess, and W.A. Dozier, III. 2019. Effects of feeding reduced crude protein diets to broiler chicks while maintaining amino acid concentrations on growth performance, ammonia production, and meat yield. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, July 15-18, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. J.D. Davis, J.C. Campbell, K.E. Griggs, D.L. Brothers and Edge, C.M., 2019. Improving ambient and attic temperature readings in commercial broiler houses. Presentation for the 2019 ASABE International Meeting. July 7-10, Boston, MA. Edge, C.M., J.D. Davis, J.C. Campbell, K.E. Griggs, J.L. Purswell, and D.L. Brothers. 2019. Comparison of old and new evaporative cooling pads on a commercial broiler farm. Presentation for the 2019 ASABE International Meeting. July 7-10, Boston, MA. K.E. Griggs, J.C. Campbell, J.D. Davis, D.L. Brothers. 2019. Development of a mobile app to improve farmer access to poultry housing decision tools and to maintain records of use. Presentation for the 2019 ASABE International Meeting. July 7-10, Boston, MA. AL - Macklin Brooks, L.A. 2019. A Comparison of Sites Colonized in Broilers Challenged Through Various Routes and Feed Administration with Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Heidelberg at Day 14. MS. Auburn University, Auburn, AL, USA. Cloft, S., S. Rochell, K. Macklin, and W. Dozier. 2019. Effects of pre-starter diets varying in amino acid density given to broiler chickens given coccidiosis vaccination at hatch. Poult. Sci. 0:1- 11. Cloft, S., S. Rochell, K. Macklin, and W. Dozier. 2019. Effect of dietary amino acid density and feed allocation during the starter period on 41 days of age growth performance and processing characteristics of broiler chickens given coccidiosis vaccination at hatch. Poult. Sci. 0:1-12. Hauck,R., M. Carrisosa, B.A. McCrea, T. Dormitorio, K.S Macklin. 2019. Evaluation of next generation amplicon sequencing to identify Eimeria spp. of chickens. Avian Dis accepted June 24, 2019. Brooks, L.A., J.T. Krehling, K. S. Chasteen, B. Singh and K.S. Macklin. 2019. Comparison of sites colonized in broilers through various routes when challenged with Salmonella Enteritidis at Day 14. International Poultry Science Forum Abstract M115, Atlanta, GA. Feb. 4-5, 2019. Carrisosa, K. Macklin and R. Hauck. 2019. Establishing monoclonal Eimeria spp. isolates in immunosuppressed chickens. International Poultry Science Forum Abstract P246, Atlanta, GA. Feb. 4-5, 2019. Hess, J.B., W.D. Berry, K.S. Macklin and R. Prasad, 2018. Elemental Sulfur as a feed ingredient to control mites. Poultry Times 65(18) 8. AL - Pacheco Min, B. R., F. Abrahamsen, N. Gurung, J. H. Lee, J. W. Joo, W. Pacheco. 2019. Association of peanut skin in diet alters average daily gain, ruminal and blood metabolites, and carcass traits associated with Haemonchus contortus infection. Accepted in Animal Nutrition Journal. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2019.05.006">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aninu.2019.05.006</a> Rubio, A. A., J. B. Hess, W. D. Berry, W. A. Dozier III, and W. J. Pacheco. 2019. Effects of feed form and amino acid density on productive and processing performance of broilers. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 0:1-11. https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfz032. Hess, J. B., K. S. Mackin, W. J. Pacheco, R. Hauck, and W. Berry. 2019. Current trends in litter management. Midwest Poultry Federation. Minneapolis, MN. March, 2019. Abascal-Ponciano, A. Calderon, J. Flees, D. Patino, S. Leiva, J. Sandoval, M. Presume. Ordonez, L. Avila, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Evaluation of different particle size analysis methods for ground corn. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:7. Avila, M. Presume, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Effect of particle size on near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) nutrient analysis of ground corn. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:8. Patino, E. Mendez, J. Sandoval, J. Flees, A. Calderon, G. Abascal-Ponciano, K. Ordonez, L. Avila, M. Presume, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Effect of ground corn particle size and soybean oil addition on angle of repose and flow time. Poult. Sci. 108, E- Suppl. 1:9. Presume, J. Sandoval, G. Abascal-Ponciano, A. Calderon, D. Patino, K. Ordonez, L. Avila, S. Leiva, J. Flees, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Assessment of angle of repose as a tool to measure the flowability of different particle size ground corn with and without added soybean oil. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:10. Sandoval, S. Leiva, J. Flees, A. Calderon, G. Abascal-Ponciano, K. Ordonez, D. Patino, Avila, M. Presume, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Effect of particle size and oil addition on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) nutrient analysis of ground corn. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:11. Calderon, G. Abascal-Ponciano, L. Avila, J. Flees, S. Leiva, K. Ordonez, D. Patino, M. Presume, J. Sandoval, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Evaluation of different methods for particle size analysis of milled corn with added soybean oil. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:57. Avila, G. Abascal-Ponciano, A. Calderon, S. Leiva, J. Flees, K. Ordonez, D. Patino, M. Presume, W. Pacheco, and C. Starkey. 2019. Evaluation of the Aviagen Turkeys shaker sieve to determine particle size for ground corn with increasing additions of soybean oil. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:58. Rueda Lastres, A. Rubio, C. Starkey, F. Mussini, and W. Pacheco. 2019. Effect of conditioning temperature on broiler performance, nutrient digestibility and processing yield. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:60. Spencer, L. Avila, D. Patino, A. Calderon, W. Pacheco, E. Monu, O. Fasina, L. Bell, and C. Starkey. 2019. Evaluation of differential scanning calorimetry for analysis of starch gelatinization in multi-component animal feed. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:61. E. Monu, W. Pacheco, C. Starkey, and J. Caldas-Cuevas. 2019. Thermal inactivation of the Salmonella surrogate Enterococcus faecium ATCC 8459 during extended feed conditioning. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:202. Pacheco, D. Patino, J. Hess, K. Macklin, D. Bourassa, and T. J. Biggs. 2019. Effect of zinc methionine and manganese methionine on live performance and breast myopathies of broilers. Poult. Sci. 108, E-Suppl. 1:393. Spencer, L. Avila, A. Calderon, D. Patino, W. Pacheco, E. Monu, O. Fasina, C. Starkey. 2019. Evaluation of differential scanning calorimetry to assess starch gelatinization of multicomponent feed processed with different conditioner temperatures and Hygieniser retention times. Abstr. M55. Southern Poultry Science Society Meeting. Fahrenholz, A. C., C. R. Stark, and W. J. Pacheco. Safety as a culture. Feedstuffs, August 2019. Stark, C. R., A. C. Fahrenholz, W. J. Pacheco. Liquid addition at the mixer. Feedstuffs, July 2019. Pacheco, W. J., Fahrenholz, A. C., and C. R. Stark. Recall Plan. Feedstuffs, June 2019. Bourassa, D. V., W. Pacheco, K. Macklin, J. Hess. 2018. Protect yourself from Salmonella in backyard poultry. Small Poultry Flocks. Alabama A&M & Auburn Universities Extension. Fahrenholz, A. C., C. R. Stark, and W. J. Pacheco. Organization key to well-functioning feed mill. Feedstuffs, May 2019. Stark, C. R., A. C. Fahrenholz, W. J. Pacheco. Pellet Quality – What is your method of analysis? Feedstuffs, April 2019. Pacheco, W. J., Fahrenholz, A. C., and C. R. Stark. New grain, feed industry technologies available. Feedstuffs, March 2019. Fahrenholz, A. C., C. R. Stark, and W. J. Pacheco. Students of feed manufacturing. Feedstuffs, January 2019. Stark, C. R., A. C. Fahrenholz, W. J. Pacheco. Feed Manufacturing Technology – The Road Map to the Future. Feedstuffs, December 2018. Pacheco, W. J., D. V. Bourassa, K. S. Macklin, and J. B. Hess. Broiler chicken development, Day 1 to Day 50. Alabama A&M & Auburn Universities Extension. ANR- 2482. Hess, J. B., A. Morey, and W. J. Pacheco. 2018. Insect proteins in poultry feeds. Practical Applications, Alabama Poultry. Pacheco, W. J., J. B. Hess, Fahrenholz, A. C., and C. R. Stark. Integrated approach helps maintain pellet, feed quality. Feedstuffs, November 2018. Fahrenholz, A. C., C. R. Stark, and W. J. Pacheco. Quality assurance best when comprehensive, clear cut. Feedstuffs, October 2018. Hess, J., R. Hauck, W. Pacheco, and D. Bourassa. 2018. 48 hours to processing. Practical Applications, Alabama Poultry. AR Luthra, K., Y. Liang, J. R. Andress, T. A. Costello, S.E. Watkins, and D. Aldridge. 2018. Construction and performance of a self-contained, temperature-controlled heat source (electronic chicken) to quantify thermal load during live haul of broilers. Applied Engineering in Agriculture (accepted). Heymsfield, C., Y. Liang and T.A. Costello. 2018. Computational fluid dynamics model for air velocity through a poultry transport trailer in a holding shed. Proceeding of 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X), Omaha, NE. ASABE, St. Joseph, Missouri. Luthra, K., Y. Liang, J. R. Andress, T. A. Costello, and S.E. Watkins. 2018. Construction and performance of a self-contained, temperature-controlled heat source to quantify thermal load during live haul of broilers. Proceeding of 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium (ILES X), Omaha, NE. ASABE, St. Joseph, Missouri. IL - Koelkebeck Xiong, Y., R. Gates, and K. Koelkebeck, 2019. Interior environment of three laying hen systems during winter conditions. Poult. Sci. 98(E-suppl. 1): presented at the Poultry Science Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada. IA - Xin Zhao, Y., Xin, H., & Li, L. (2019). Modelling and validating the indoor environment and supplemental heat requirement during ventilation shutdown (VSD) for rapid depopulation of hens and turkeys. Biosystems Engineering. 184 (2019) 130-141. doi: 10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2019.06.014. Wang, K., Liu, K., Xin, H., Chai, L., Wang, Y., Fei, T., ... & Ying, Y. (2019). An RFID-Based Automated Individual Perching Monitoring System for Group-Housed Poultry. Transactions of the ASABE. 62(3): 695-704. doi: 10.13031/trans.13105 Goselink, Y. M. & Ramirez, B. C. (2019). Technical performance of an air-to-air heat exchanger for manure belt drying ventilation in aviary layer housing. Journal of Applied Poultry Research. doi: 10.3382/japr/pfz075. Oliveira, J. L., Ramirez, B. C., Xin, H., Hoff, S. J., & Wang, Y. Ventilation performance and bioenergetics of Dekalb white hens in a modern aviary system. Biosystems Engineering. (under review). KY - Adedokun Adedokun S. A. and O. Co. Olojede. 2019. Optimizing gastrointestinal integrity in poultry: The role of nutrients and feed additives. In: S. W. Kim, and R. Jha (eds.). Nutritional intervention for the intestinal health of young monogastric animals. Front. Vet. Sci. 5:348. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2018.00348. Dunaway A. E. and S. A. Adedokun. An evaluation of the effect of choice of reference diets and adaptation length on apparent metabolizable energy contents of corn and wheat middlings in broiler chickens. Submitted to Canadian Journal of Animal Science. (accepted). Olojede, O. C., M. J. Ford, T. Ao, A. J. Pescatore, and S. A. Adedokun. 2019. Effect of dietary supplementation with EconomasE™ and two sodium sources on production parameters, egg quality, and blood electrolyte responses of laying hens exposed to elevated temperatures. Presented at the 2019 Poultry Science Association meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. July 15-18, 2019. Corteel, M. and S. A. Adedokun. 2019. An evaluation of five different sources of trace minerals on manganese, zinc and copper retention in the tibia of 21-day old broilers. Presented at the 2019 Poultry Science Association meeting, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. July 15-18, 2019. (Poster). Olojede, O. C., T. Ao, A. J. Pescatore, and S. A. Adedokun. 2019. Dietary supplementation of an antioxidant (EconomaseTM)to ameliorate the effect of stressors on physiological parameters, intestinal morphology, intestinal permeability, and cellular immune response in broilers. Presented during the International Poultry Scientific Forum meeting, Atlanta, GA, February 11-12, 2019. Olojede, O. C., T. Ao, A. J. Pescatore, and S. A. Adedokun. 2019. Dietary supplementation of an antioxidant (EconomaseTM) and two sodium sources on intestinal permeability (gastrointestinal health) and apparent ileal, total tract energy, and nutrient digestibility in 21-day-old broilers challenged with dexamethasone. Presented during the International Poultry Scientific Forum meeting, Atlanta, GA, February 11-12, 2019. Dunaway, A. E. and S. A. Adedokun. 2019. The effect of exogenous enzyme supplementation on performance and AME in broiler chickens challenged with coccidia vaccine 7- and 14-day post challenge. Presented during the International Poultry Scientific Forum meeting, Atlanta, GA. February 11-12, 2019. KY - Pescatore Ao, M.A. Paul, A.J. Pescatore, L.M. Macalintal, M.J. Ford and K.A. Dawson. 2019. Growth performance and bone characteristics of broiler chickens fed corn-soy diet supplemented with different levels of vitamin premix and sources of mineral premix. Journal of Applied Animal Nutrition, Vol. 7; e6. Pescatore, A. J., Jacob, J. P., Anderson, K. E., McCrea, B., Shaw, D. P. (2018). Impact of Free- range Poultry Production Systems on Animal Health, Human Health, Productivity, Environment, Food Safety, and Animal Welfare Issues. Number 61, July 2018. Council for Agricultural Sciences and Technology. Lauren Nolan, Anthony Pescatore, Tuoying Ao, Lizza Macalintal, Marquisha Paul, Mike Ford. 2019. Keel Bone Deformities in Commercial Brown Laying Hens Fed Different Zinc Sources. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting. Montreal Canada. Lauren Nolan, Anthony Pescatore, Tuoying Ao, Lizza Macalintal, Marquisha Paul, Mike Ford. 2019. Effect of Different Dietary Zinc Sources on Keel Bone Deformation of Commercial White Laying Hens. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting. Montreal Canada. MN - Johny V. T. Nair, J. V. Thomas, G. Dewi, S. Noll, J. Brannon, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2019. Reduction of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg using a dairy-originated probiotic bacterium, Propionibacterium freudenreichii freudenreichii B3523, in growing turkeys. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 28: 356-363. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfy079">https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfy079</a>. V. T. Nair, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Characterizing the antimicrobial function of a dairy-originated probiotic, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. freudenreichii against multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in turkey poults. Front. Microbiol. 9: 1475. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01475">https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01475</a>. V. T. Nair, J. V. Thomas, G. Dewi, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Effect of a dairy probiotic, Propionibacterium freudenreichii, on Salmonella enterica Heidelberg colonization and internal organ dissemination in commercial turkeys. 2018 Midwest American Society of Animal Science Annual Meeting, March 12 – 14, 2018. V. T. Nair, T. Johnson, S. Noll, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Effect of supplementation of an allochthonous probiotic bacterium, Propionibacterium freudenreichii subsp. freudenreichii, on the cecal microbiome of commercial turkeys, challenged with multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas, July 23 – 26, 2018. V. Thomas, D. V. T. Nair, T. Johnson, S. Noll, C. Cardona, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2019. Effect of turkey-gut derived beneficial bacteria, Lactobacillus salivarius, and Lactobacillus ingluviei on multidrug-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in turkey poults. J. Food Prot. 82: 435-440. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-18-286">https://doi.org/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-18-286</a>. Kollanoor Johny, D. V. T. Nair, J. V. Thomas, G. Dewi, T. Johnson, and S. Noll. 2018. Effects of combination of antibiotic alternatives on the cecal colonization and internal organ dissemination of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Heidelberg in commercial turkeys. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas, July 23 – 26, 2018. Peichel, D. V. T. Nair, G. Dewi, A. M. Donoghue, K. M. Reed, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2019. Effect of lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus) essential oil on the survival of multidrug- resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Heidelberg in contaminated poultry drinking water. J. Appl. Poult. Res. (In press). Dewi, D.V.T. Nair, C. Peichel, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Effect of lemongrass (Cymbopogon spp.) essential oil on the attachment of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Enterica Serovar Heidelberg to chicken skin and meat. 2018 Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting. Chicago, Illinois, July 15 – 18, 2018. Dewi, D.V.T. Nair, C. Peichel, S. Manjankattil, J. Langlie, and A. Kollanoor Johny. 2018. Effect of lemongrass essential oil on Salmonella Heidelberg colonization in commercial broiler chickens. Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting. San Antonio, Texas, July 23 – 26, 2018. Poult. Sci. 97(E-Suppl. 1): 214. MN - Noll Furo, G. (2019). Bedding Material and Stocking Density Influence the Performance, and the Occurrence of Footpad Dermatitis in Turkeys Hens (MS dissertation). University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN. Furo, G., M. Hulet, L. Kitto, C. Cardona, and S. L. Noll. 2018. Bedding material and turkey hen density influenced footpad dermatitis. North Central Avian Disease Conference. Minneapolis, MN March, 2018. Noll, S., K. Janni, B. Hetchler, G. Furo, J. Brannon, J. V. Thomas, and C. Cardona. 2018. Partial slotted flooring system for market turkeys. Poultry Sci. (E-Supplement 1) 97:89. Theis, E., J. Brannon, K. Janni, and S. Noll. 2018. Behavior of market turkey toms in a partial slotted flooring. Poultry Sci. (E-Supplement 1) 97:75. Sally L. Noll, Gabriella Furo, Kevin Janni, and R. Michael Hulet. 2019. Footpad Dermatitis in Market Turkey Hens – Bird Density and Bedding Material Relationships. Midwest Poultry Convention, March 12-14th, 2019. MS - Adhikari Sharma, M., C. D. McDaniel, A. Kiess, and P. Adhikari. 2019. Housing environment and hen strain alter egg production, egg quality and tibia strength as well as eggshell microbiology in post-peak laying hens. Poultry Science Annual Meeting, July 15-18, 2019. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Williams, V., D. Brown, M. Sharma and P. Adhikari. 2019. Effect of house type and strain type on egg production, cracked and dirty eggs. Spring Undergraduate Research Symposium. Colvard Student Union-MSU April 16, 2019.  Williams, V., D. Brown, M. Sharma and P. Adhikari. 2019. Effect of house type and strain type on egg production, cracked and dirty eggs. Third annual summer student science symposium by Mississippi Academy of Sciences. July 11, 2016.   Adhikari, B., S. R. Jun, Y. M. Kwon, A. Kiess and P. Adhikari. Effects of housing types on egg production and cecal microbiota of two different strains of laying hens during the late production phase. Poultry Science Annual Meeting, July 15-18, 2019. Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MS - Linhoss Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., Street, J., & M.R. Rowland. 2019. Evaluation of biochar as a litter amendment for commercial broiler production. J Appl Poult Res. 0:1-10. Purswell, J.L., Olenrewaju, H.A., and J.E. Linhoss. 2018. Effect of light intensity adjusted for species-specific spectral sensitivity on live performance and processing yield of male broiler chickens. J Appl Poult Res. 27:4, 570-576. Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., and J.D. Davis. 2018. Radiant flux preference of neonatal broiler chicks during brooding. Trans. ASABE. 61(4), 1417-1423. Purswell, J.L., Linhoss, J.E., Edge, C., and Davis, J.D. 2018. Water supply rates for recirculating evaporative cooling systems in poultry. Appl. Eng. Agric. 34(3), 581-590. Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., Davis, J.D., Campbell, J. 2019. How Much Water is Your Evaporative Cooling System Using? Mississippi State University Extension Service (in press). Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L. 2019. Proper Earth Grounding in Mississippi Poultry Houses Can Prevent Lightning Damage. Publication 3321. Mississippi State University Extension Service. Linhoss, J.E., Tagert, M.L., and J. Wooten. 2018. Solar pumping for livestock applications. Publication 3236. Mississippi State University Extension Service. Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L. Evaluation of bleed-off valves on mineral scale potential, pad efficiency, and water consumption in poultry housing cooling systems. 2019. ASABE Annual International Meeting. Boston, MA.  Purswell, J.L., Linhoss, J.E. Temporal variability of illuminance in commercial broiler houses. ASABE Paper No. ILES-046. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE (conference paper). Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., Lowe, J.W., & G.D. Chesser. 2018. Performance evaluation of high-efficiency fan shades in reduction of light leakage and spatial variation of illuminance in commercial broilers. ASABE Paper No. ILES-079. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. (submitted, conference paper). Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., Lowe, J.W., & G.D. Chesser. 2018. Performance evaluation of high-efficiency fan shades in reduction of light leakage and spatial variation of illuminance in commercial broilers. 10th International Livestock Environment Symposium. Omaha, NE. (oral). Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., and J. Street. Evaluation of biochar as a beneficial litter amendment for broiler production. 2018. ASABE Annual International Meeting. Detroit, MI. (accepted, oral) Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L., Lowe, J.W., & G.D. Chesser. 2018. Performance evaluation of high-efficiency fan shades in reduction of light leakage and spatial variation of illuminance in commercial broilers. ASABE Annual International Meeting. Detroit, MI. (accepted, oral). Linhoss, J.E., Purswell, J.L. Street, J., & C. Magee. 2018. Evaluation of biochar as a beneficial litter amendment for broiler production. International Poultry Scientific Forum. Atlanta, GA.  Linhoss, J.E. & J.L. Purswell. 2018. Proper Earth Grounding Can Prevent Damage to MS Poultry Houses. Emerging Trends, Mississippi Poultry Association, Issue 1. “Unsafe digging presents liability for farmers”. October 18, 2018. Delta Farm Press Daily. MS – Wamsley Hirai, L. Mejia, C. Coto, J. Caldas, C. D. McDaniel, and K.G.S. Wamsley. Evaluating the response of Cobb MV × Cobb 500 broilers to varying amino acid density regimens for a small bird program. J. Appl. Poult. Res. <a href="https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfz055">https://doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfz055</a>.  Lemons, C. McDaniel, J.S. Moritz, and K.G.S. Wamsley. 2019. Interactive effects of high or low feed form and phase of feeding on performance of Ross x Ross 708 male broilers throughout a 46 d growout. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 0:1-15. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfz012">http://dx.doi.org/10.3382/japr/pfz012</a>. Lemons, C. McDaniel, J.S. Moritz, and K.G.S. Wamsley. 2019. Increasing average feed particle size during the starter period maximizes Ross × Ross 708 male broiler performance. J. Appl. Poult. Res. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/japr/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.3382/japr/pfz004/5305887">https://academic.oup.com/japr/advance-article-</a><a href="https://academic.oup.com/japr/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.3382/japr/pfz004/5305887"> abstract/doi/10.3382/japr/pfz004/5305887</a>. Andrew Brown, Mark Lemons , Chris McDaniel , Joseph Moritz , and Kelley Wamsley. Determining the relationship among average particle size consumed and gastrointestinal characteristics of two broiler strains in the starter phase. 2019. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Courtney Ennis, Mark Jackson, Omar Gutierrez, Staci Cantley, and Kelley Wamsley. Effects of superdosing phytase and use of carbohydrase enzymes in low energy diets on 56 day male broiler performance and processing. 2019. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Rosana Hirai, Leonel Mejia, Cesar Coto, Justina Caldas, Christopher McDaniel, and Kelley Wamsley. Impact of feeding varying grower digestible lysine and energy levels to female Cobb MV × Cobb 500 broilers on 42-day growth performance and processing yield. 2019. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. Andrew Brown, Mark Lemons, Christopher McDaniel, Joseph Moritz, and Kelley Wamsley. Determining the average particle size (APS) consumed between two broiler strains (S) receiving diets varying in feed form (FF) and feed quality (FQ) and the subsequent impact on starter performance (0-6 and 0-18 d). 2019. Poult. Sci. (E-Suppl. 1): Accepted. USDA-ARS Purdue – Cheng Bir, C., N. M. Thompson, W. E. Tyner, J. Y. Hu, and N. J. O. Widmar. 2018. “Cracking” Into the Debate About Laying Hen Housing.” Poult. Sci. 97(5):1595-1604. Hu, J. Y., P. Y. Hester, M. M. Makagon, Y. Xiong, R. S. Gates, and H. W. Cheng. 2019. Effect of cooled perches on physiological parameters of caged White Leghorn hens exposed to cyclic heat. Poult. Sci. 98(6):2317-2325. Hu, J. Y., P. Y. Hester, M. M. Makagon, Y. Xiong, R. S. Gates, and H. W. Cheng. 2019. Effect of cooled perches on performance, plumage condition, and foot health of caged White Leghorn hens exposed to cyclic heat. Poult. Sci. 98(7): 2705-2718. Hu, J. Y., P. Y. Hester, M. M. Makagon, Y. Xiong, R. S. Gates, and H. W. Cheng. 2019. Effect of cooled perches on the efficacy of an induced molt in White Leghorn laying hens exposed to a cyclic heating episode. Poult. Sci. Pii: pez317. F. Yan, G. R. Murugesan, § and H. W. Cheng. 2019. Effects of probiotic supplementation on performance traits, bone mineralization, cecal microbial composition, cytokines and corticosterone in laying hens. Anim. 13:33-41. NC – Vukina Wang, Z. and T. Vukina. Sorting into Contests: Evidence from Production Contracts. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy, 19 (2019) DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2018-0049">https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2018-</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2018-0049">0049</a>. MD - Weimer Weimer, S., S. Zuelly, K. VanDeWater, M. Davis, D. Karcher, and M. Erasmus. Effects of strain and stocking density on broiler yield and meat quality. Poultry Science Association meeting in Montreal, Canada. July 15-18, 2019.  Abraham, M., S. Weimer, K. VanDeWater, E. Rocheford, T. Rocheford, L. Hoverman, and D. Karcher. Use of corn to reduce the prevalence of footpad dermatitis in broiler chickens. Poultry Science Association meeting in Montreal, Canada. July 15-18, 2019. Lopez, R., S. Weimer, and K. Tarrant. Evaluating the effects of three platform enrichments in a commercial broiler house. Poultry Science Association meeting in Montreal, Canada. July 15-18, 2019. Lopez, R., S. Weimer, and K. Tarrant. Comparing platform enrichment usage between conventional Cobb 500 and Ross 708 broilers. Poultry Science Association meeting in Montreal, Canada. July 15-18, 2019. Weimer, S., D. M. Karcher, and M. A. Erasmus. Effect of strain and stocking density on broiler conformation, performance, and welfare. International Poultry Scientific Forum in Atlanta, GA. February 11-13, 2019. Weimer, S. L., C. I. Robison, R. J. Tempelman, and D. M. Karcher. 2018. Effect of stocking density on egg production and welfare of laying hens raised in enriched colony cages. In press. Lusk, J. L., N. M. Thompson, and S. L. Weimer. 2019. The cost and market impacts of slow growth broilers. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. In press. Weimer, S., R. Wideman, C. Scanes, A. Mauromoustakos, K. Chrisetensen, and Y. Vizzier-Thaxton. 2019. Lameness attributed to bacterial chondronecrosis with osteomyelitis (BCO) can be detected by infrared thermography (IRT). Poultry Science. 98:1575-1588. Weimer, S. L., R. F. Wideman, C. G. Scanes, A. Mauromoustakos, K. D. Christensen, and Y. Vizzier- Thaxton. 2018. An evaluation of methods for measuring stress in broiler chickens. Poultry Science. 97:3381-3389. CT Venkitanarayanan, K., Thakur, S., & Ricke, S. C. (Eds.). (2019). Food Safety in Poultry Meat Production. Springer. Amalaradjou M.A. (2019) Pre-harvest Approaches to Improve Poultry Meat Safety. In: Venkitanarayanan K., Thakur S., Ricke S. (eds) Food Safety in Poultry Meat Production. Food Microbiology and Food Safety. Springer, Cham. Arsi K., Donoghue D.J., Venkitanarayanan K., Donoghue A.M. (2019) Reducing Foodborne Pathogens in Organic Poultry: Challenges and Opportunities. In: Venkitanarayanan K., Thakur S., Ricke S. (eds) Food Safety in Poultry Meat Production. Food Microbiology and Food Safety. Springer, Cham. Nair, D., Venkitanarayanan, K., Kollanoor Johny, A. 201). Antibiotic-resistant Salmonella in the food supply and the potential role of antibiotic alternatives for control. Foods, 7(10), 167. Muyyarikkandy, M.S., Alqahtani, F.H., Mandoiu, I., Amalaradjou. M.A. 2018. Draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus paracasei DUP 13076, which exhibits potent antipathogenic effects against Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis, Typhimurium, and Heidelberg. Genome announc. 6, e00065-18. Muyyarikkandy, M.S., Alqahtani, F.H., Mandoiu, I., Amalaradjou, M.A. 2018. Draft genome sequence of Lactobacillus rhamnosus NRRL B-442, a potential probiotic strain. Genome announc. 6, e00046-18. Muyyarikandy, M.S., Amalaradjou, M.A. 2017. Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus paracasei attenuate Salmonella Enteritidis, Salmonella Heidelberg and Salmonella Typhimurium colonization and virulence gene expression in vitro. Int J Mol Sci. 18, 2381. Yin, H.B., Kollanoor Johny, A., Venkitanarayanan, K. (2017). Natural approaches for controlling aflatoxins in agriculture. In Focus on Aflatoxins Research (pp. 91-129). Nova Science Publishers, Inc.. Darre, M. (2018, June). Lighting for Broiler Breeders. Presentation for the Aviagen International Poultry Management School, Huntsville, AL. Participants learned about energy efficient LED lighting for broiler breeders and broiler growers. How to select the proper lamp based on wavelength, intensity and duration. Darre, M. (2018, May). Salmonella in Poultry – Current Control Methods. Presentation for the National Egg Quality School, Indianapolis, IN. Participants learned about the different methods to reduce and control Salmonella in laying hens. This includes vaccination and use of plant derived antimicrobials. VA - Persia  Foltz, K., N. Evans and M.E. Persia.  2019. Effects of FortiShell® on performance and egg shell quality of Hy-Line W-36 laying hens under late egg production (46 to 70 weeks of age). Abstract M82 presented at International Poultry Scientific Forum, Feb 11-12, 2019. Persia, M.E., N. Siman-Tov, H. Yakout. 2019. Effects of butyrate and botanical feed additives on the performance of broilers raised on used pine shaving litter. Abstract M128 presented at International Poultry Scientific Forum, Feb 11-12, 2019. HI – Jha Jha, A. K. Singh, S. Yadav, J. F. D. Berrocoso, and B. Mishra. 2019. Early nutrition programming (in ovo and post-hatch feeding) as a strategy to modulate gut health of poultry. In: S. W. Kim and R. Jha (Eds.), Nutritional Intervention for the Intestinal Health of Young Monogastric Animals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6:82. Jha, J. M. Fouhse, U. P. Tiwari, L. Li, and B. P. Willing. 2019. Dietary fiber and intestinal health of monogastric animals. In: S. W. Kim and R. Jha (Eds.), Nutritional Intervention for the Intestinal Health of Young Monogastric Animals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6:48. K. Singh, U. P. Tiwari, J. D. Berrocoso, Y. Dersjant-Li, A. Awati, and R. Jha. 2019. Effect of a combination of xylanase, amylase, and protease and probiotics on major nutrients including amino acids and non-starch polysaccharides utilization in broilers fed different level of fibers. Poultry Science (doi: 10.3382/ps/pez310). Yadav, B. Mishra, and R. Jha. 2019. Cassava (Manihot esculenta) root chips inclusion in the diets of broiler chickens: effects on growth performance, ileal histomorphology, and cecal volatile fatty acid production. Poultry Science (doi: 10.3382/ps/pez143). Yadav, B., and R. Jha. 2019. Strategies to modulate the intestinal microbiota and their effects on nutrient utilization, performance, and health of poultry. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology, 10:2. Stevens, M.W. DuPonte, and R. Jha. 2019. Nutritional value of agricultural by- products of the Hawaiian Islands to be used as animal feeds. UH-CTAHR Cooperative Extension Service, LM-34:1-9. Yang, R. Jha, W. L. Zhang and I. H. Kim. 2018. Effects of chitooligosaccharide supplementation on egg production, egg quality and blood profiles in laying hens. Indian Journal of Animal Research (doi: 10.18805/ijar.B-881). K. Singh, B. Mishra, and R. Jha. Effects of early feeding with resistant starch during post-hatch on growth performance and gut health parameters of broilers (Poster). PSA Annual Meeting (July 15-18, 2019), Montreal, QC, Canada. K. Singh, U.P. Tiwari, B. Mishra, and R. Jha. Comparative effects of in ovo injection of oligosaccharides (xylotriose, xylotetraose, mannotriose, and mannotetraose) on growth performance and gut health parameters of broilers (Poster). PSA Annual Meeting (July 15-18, 2019), Montreal, QC, Canada. Caliboso, J. Nanquil, S. Yadav, H. Kae, K Neupane, B. Mishra, and R. Jha. Cecal microbiota profile of Hawaiian feral chickens and pasture-raised broiler chickens (Poster). PSA Annual Meeting (July 15-18, 2019), Montreal, QC, Canada. HI – Mishra Mishra and R. Jha. 2019. Oxidative stress in the poultry gut: Potential challenges and interventions. In: S. W. Kim and R. Jha (Eds.), Nutritional Intervention for the Intestinal Health of Young Monogastric Animals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 6:60. Mishra, Sah N and Wasti S. 2019. Genetic and hormonal regulation of egg formation in the oviduct. Poultry, ISBN 978-1-78923-820-4. (Accepted). Sah, D. L. Kuehu, V. S. Khadka, Y. Deng, K. Peplowska, R. Jha, and B. Mishra. 2018. RNA sequencing-based analysis of the laying hens’ uterus revealed the novel genes and biological pathways involved in the eggshell biomineralization. Scientific Reports, 8:16853. Wasti, D. L. Kuehu, N. Sah, A. K. Singh, R. Jha, and B. Mishra. Dietary supplementation of dried plum: A novel strategy to mitigate heat stress in poultry (Poster). PSA Annual Meeting (July 15-18, 2019), Montreal, QC, Canada. (Received "Certificate of Excellence for Best Project in Metabolism and Nutrition Section"). Sah, D. L. Kuehu, S. Wasti, R. Jha, and B. Mishra. New transcriptomic insights into processes associated with formation of egg-white in the magnum of laying hens (Poster). PSA Annual Meeting (July 15-18, 2019), Montreal, QC, Canada. Mishra, N. Sah, D. L. Kuehu, S. Wasti, and R. Jha. Transcriptional regulation of albumen biosynthesis and eggshell biomineralization in the oviduct of laying hens (Oral). PSA Annual Meeting (July 15-18, 2019), Montreal, QC, Canada.

Impact Statements

Studies conducted at various research stations on nutrition and welfare, food safety and quality, air quality and emissions, management of layer, broiler, and turkey housing will provide poultry producers with valuable information and help them to make appropriate management decisions to improve the health and well-being of the poultry they manage. Also, this information will assist them in making correct management decisions to improve the profitability of their operations.