Dr. Scott Carter is an animal health and nutrition expert with over 20 years of experience in the application of new nutritional health technologies for livestock. Connect with Dr. Carter via linkedin at: www.linkedin.com/in/scottdcarter.
Cooperation within the microbiome and with the host greatly affects bird health, and we now beginning to understand just how important this activity is.
There is more to the poultry gut microbiome than simply bacteria, its lesser-known components could offer new routes to improve poultry welfare and performance
Increasing knowledge of the viral and fungal members of the poultry microbiome not only increases our understanding of their impact on chicken health and nutrition but opens the doors to new product development.
A better understanding of the causes of dysbiosis would lead to better flock health management, but poultry health is still lagging advances made in the human sector.
Managing inflammation will be increasingly important for successful antibiotic-free poultry production, but more work is needed to ensure interventions are correctly chosen.
Egg producers around the world are playing an important role in achieving the UN Sustainable Developments Goals, from slowing climate change to alleviating poverty.