Animal welfare vital in all cases when poultry is handled

Dr. Sam Christenberry, Phibro Animal Health, discussed animal welfare guidelines related to catching, holding and live haul at the 2014 USPOULTRY Live Production and Welfare Seminar.

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“Whenever birds are handled for any reason, including vaccinations, treatments and movement to new facilities or to processing, handling should be accomplished in such a manner as to avoid injuries. Abuse of the animals is not tolerated under any circumstances,” stressed Dr. Sam Christenberry, poultry technical services manager, Phibro Animal Health, while addressing attendees at USPOULTRY’s 2014 Live Production and Welfare Seminar in Nashville, Tennessee.

In his presentation, Animal Welfare: Live Haul, Christenberry discussed animal welfare guidelines related to catching, holding and live haul, including the need for a documented training program and a written plan for emergency response and recovery. He also discussed best management practices for poultry welfare to minimize loss during live haul.

Solutions needed to produce more eggs per hen

Dr. Sarah Steinlage, poultry technical consultant, Elanco Animal Health, discussed the role the poultry and egg industries and food production play in meeting the growing demand for food around the world in her presentation,  Chew on This … Feeding the World One Egg At A Time. Steinlage observed that the current and projected future hen population is outpacing production. In order to meet future demand, innovative solutions are needed to help produce one more egg per hen per year, saving the industry 113 million tons of feed, 65 million acres of farmland and 74 billion gallons of water.

Monitoring tools aid poultry producers 

In his presentation on Tools for Monitoring Brooding, Dr. Stewart Ritchie, owner-operator of Canadian Poultry Consultants Ltd. and S. J. Ritchie Research Farms Ltd. and assistant adjunct professor at the University of Georgia, discussed the various tools that live production managers have at hand for monitoring poultry health at the brooding stage, including high resolution cameras, trigger panels and tools for monitoring air flow and ventilation.

Benefits to broiler colony systems

In his presentation, New Equipment Technology: Broiler Colony System, Joe Lockinger, area sales manager, Chore-Time Equipment,  provided an overview on the advantages of a broiler colony system, including better health turnout for broilers, lower operating costs and increased overall meat production. In terms of animal welfare, he remarked, “Why does the poultry industry need another innovative solution? Simply because there’s a growing human population that needs the protein we can provide in a more efficient manner. There is a market need for a system that reduces ammonia, manure and farm personnel contact with broilers, which in turn creates a payback with healthier birds and less mortality.”
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