Husbandry

Dietary supplements made from plums, probiotics, safflower, and tea strengthen poultry immune systems, according to researchers with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
Poultry infected with the parasite Eimeria maxima usually develop avian coccidiosis, a disease estimated to cost producers globally more than $1.2 billion every year. So Agricultural Research Service (ARS) immunologist Hyun Lillehoj has been [...]

Dermatitis in humans can make skin itch and burn. When it hits chickens, it drastically reduces farmers’ profits and cuts the supply of an Asian delicacy – chicken feet. It also leads to an estimated loss of about $100 million for the Georgia poultry industry each year.
In the last decade or so, chicken paws have [...]

Flies in poultry houses are more than a mere nuisance. They can also spread food poisoning bacteria like Salmonella enteritidis to chickens and their eggs.
Agricultural Research Service scientists have found that the common housefly, Musca domestica, readily picks up bacteria from its surroundings. When the chickens eat the flies, the bacteria get inside the birds.
In [...]

Attic inlets, a ventilation system used for years by hog producers, are saving Georgia poultry houses money on their fuel costs.
Attic inlets attached to a chicken house’s ceiling pull hot air down from the attic space. This leads to improved air and litter quality while saving money on heating, according to University of Georgia engineer [...]