Mycoplasma synoviae (M. synoviae) is a major worldwide poultry pathogen that causes serious economic losses in the poultry industry. This study was designed to detect M. synoviae through culture isolation and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay to demonstrated the involvement of M. synoviae infection in trachea and the lung/air sac samples taken from commercial broiler chicken farms in 3 m...

This study was conducted to evaluate the relative bioavailability (RBV) of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) to cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) in 1- to 21-d-old broiler chickens fed with calcium (Ca)- and phosphorus (P)-deficient diets. On the day of hatch, 450 female Ross 308 broiler chickens were assigned to nine treatments, with five replicates of ten birds each. The basal diet contained 0....

Data from a large commercial-scale experiment in which 10 major broiler producer companies stocked whole houses of birds at 30, 34, 38, 42, and 46 kg/m2 were analyzed to identify 1) temperature and humidity profiles achieved throughout the growth cycle, 2) management practices and equipment that contributed to observed variation in environmental conditions, and 3) the extent to which environmen...

Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC) bacteria are a significant challenge to the poultry industry. Bacteriophages (phages) have the potential to control APEC strains, increasing animal welfare and economic productivity. Here, we report the isolation of an E. coli-infecting phage, APC_JM3.2, isolated from the cecum of a broiler chicken in Ireland.

Co-products from distillation of cereal grains for alcohol production have been available to poultry and livestock producers for many years. Although the co-products were considered better suited for ruminants because of their relatively high fiber content, Morrison (1954) suggested that chick diets could contain up to 7% or 8% distillers grains and that diets for laying hens could contain up t...

A free-range broiler breeder flock was studied in order to determine the natural patterns of Campylobacter colonization over a period of 63 weeks. Campylobacter sequence types (STs) were not mutually exclusive and on average colonized only 17.7% of the birds tested at any time. Campylobacter STs typically reached a peak in prevalence upon initial detection in the flock before tailing off, altho...

1. Studies on the sensory profiling of male broiler breast meat were carried out to evaluate the effect of two very different broiler breeds (JA757 and New Hampshire), two different feed types (broiler and grower feed) and age at slaughter (82 and 110 d). 2. The sensory profiling consisted of a pilot study, 4 training sessions, and finally the assessment. During the training session a panel of ...

Numerous studies have shown that, despite many generations of selection for various traits, the behavioural repertoire of domestic animals is almost identical to that of their wild ancestors. A broiler chicken has a similar demand for dust bathing as a jungle fowl. A thoroughbred racehorse has the same demand for social contact as the Przwalski horse. These are just two of many other examples. ...

Use of antibiotics as feed additives in poultry production has been linked to the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in farm workers, consumer poultry products and the environs of confined poultry operations. There are concerns that these resistant bacteria may be transferred to communities near these operations; however, environmental pathways of exposure are not well documented. We ass...