aviNews International, THE NEW MEDIA WITH THE WORLD POULTRY INFORMATION by Grupo agriNews

Issue Nº 4

March 2021

USING PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO IMPROVE

HATCHERY PERFORMANCE Edgar O. Oviedo Rondón

p. 30

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POINTING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

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EGGCELLENT PROPERTIES

n egg is an egg. Truly this is, no more, no less. And not for the purpose of reproduction, eggs are excellent food. Long time blamed because of its suggested high cholesterol rate. Yet, reality is quite different. Providing a high-quality source of protein, the nutritional value of the egg is undeniable, and experts from the International Egg Nutrition Centre (IENC) have identified five reasons to eat more eggs. The facts: An egg contains 14 essential nutrients including vitamins A, B, D and E, as well calcium, selenium and iodine. Along with six grams of protein, eggs are one of the most nutritious foods available globally. Eggs contain choline which plays an important role in building cell membranes, impacting a number of vital functions within the body,. Not only does it aid healthy brain development, it also plays a role in liver function and metabolism and has been found to substantially reduce the risk of breast cancer. Studies have found that eating eggs can lower the risk of heart disease in healthy people. Despite containing cholesterol, eggs contain high density level (HDL) or ‘good’ cholesterol and research shows that people with higher levels of HDL generally have reduced risks of heart disease. Vitamin A deficiency is one of the leading causes of blindness across the globe, and eggs are a great natural source of vitamin A.The yolks also contain powerful antioxidants that can counteract some degenerative processes affecting eye health.

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Eggs are a great source of nutrition at any age. From providing the building blocks during foetal development, to containing the level of nutrients needed to sustain energy throughout the day, eggs are a healthy source of protein that should be enjoyed by all ages. For these clear reasons, chairman Suresh Chitturi of the International Egg Commission (IEC) launched the ‘Environmental Sustainability Expert Group’. The aim of this group is to enhance continuous development and improvement of sustainable practices throughout the egg value chain. It supports the Global Initiative for Sustainable Eggs (GISE), which is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by the IEC to stimulate discussion and action that will carve the way for sustainable egg production for future generations. Its objective is to support the industry to continue to improve the environmental sustainability of global egg businesses by identifying and addressing areas of development to achieve the industry’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. According to Chitturi, this expert group will support the egg industry to continue to lead the way in global animal protein production, as the industry strives to continue to deliver an affordable, safe, sustainable and accessible form of nutrition for the planet’s growing population. The “eggcellent” properties of eggs offer a bright outlook for egg production across the globe. Read the interview with Suresh Chitturi and other interesting articles in this edition of aviNews.

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3 aviNews International April 2021

Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

Michael Czarick Extension Engineer University of Georgia Athens, GA USA

Properly ventilating poultry houses is an art in itself. Is it wise or not to ventilate on foggy days? Relative humidity and other factors play an important role to provide a good climate and growing conditions inside the house. 10

Update on Solutions for Wooden Breast Research Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Chicken processing: Managing with the senses Eduardo Cervantes López

International Consultancy - Productive and Innovative Management in Poultry Processing

Chicken processing is a relatively fast activity: In less than 30 minutes, a shipment can be processed and sent to the cooling zone, regardless if using water or air systems. For this reason, plant managers must hone their senses of: Observing, listening, smelling and touching, in order to have a real-time and detailed view on how the processes are progressing. 24

Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance Winfridus Bakker

Wooden breast (WB) continuous to be the main syndrome affecting the meat quality of broiler chickens. Significant advances have been made in understanding the myopathy’s cellular, histological, metabolic, and physiological effects. This article attempts to summarize the new conclusions and how they are related to previous results and practical observations.

4 aviNews International March 2021

World Technical Support Services Cobb-Vantress

The management and nutrition of breeders are important for the performance of the birds in order to achieve the maximum number of vigorous and viable chicks. This article summarizes some important aspects for optimizing chick quality.

Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Hatcheries have pivotal roles in poultry production systems. The data generated in this process can be better utilized with predictive analytic techniques to address common issues that affect hatchability and hatchling quality by supporting planning, preventive maintenance programs, and personnel interventions.

Guillermo Zavala, DVM, MAM, MSc, PhD, Dipl. ACPV Adjunct Professor, University of Georgia President, Avian Health International, LLC Flowery Branch, Georgia (USA)

Professional poultry farming goes along with a well balanced vaccination program. Usually that includes vaccination against Marek’s disease (MD). Due to changed growing conditions, vaccination against this disease should be reconsidered.

63 The direction of poultry welfare: layers

Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Producing eggs in a sustainable way, creating jobs and making eggs accessible to every world citizen. One egg a day for everyone, how simple is that? In a nutshell these are the long term objectives of Suresh Chitturi, Chairman of the International Egg Commission (IEC). An IEC expert group has been formed to support these goals.

The responsibility for the articles, reports, press releases and communications falls exclusively on the authors. The editor is only responsible for his articles or editorials. Neither the publisher nor the authors assume any responsibility for the damages that may be generated, whatever their nature, as a consequence of the use of the data and information contained in this magazine.

Guillermo Tellez-Isaias1* and A. Gregorio Rosales2 1Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701 2 Poultry Health Consultant, Athens, Alabama

Inflammation is the body’s response to cellular injury and a final stage of the stress process, regardless of its origin or nature. Stress and inflammation are nonspecific defense mechanisms involving hormones, neuropeptides, immune cells, and molecular mediators that are essential for the survival and healing processes in all living organisms….

TECHNICAL direction

The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

Edgar Oviedo

Extension poultry specialist and broiler management Technical Direction

EDITOR

IEC Chairman Suresh Chitturi “ One egg a day, how simple is that? “

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Marek’s disease vaccination needed now more than ever

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Editor avinews International

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5 aviNews International March 2021

VENTILATING POULTRY HOUSES ON FOGGY DAYS Properly ventilating poultry houses is an art in itself. Is it wise or not to ventilate on foggy days? Relative humidity and other factors play an important role to provide a good climate and growing conditions inside the house. By Michael Czarick Extension Enginee, University of Georgia, Athens, GA USA

housing

There is a concern amongst many poultry producers that bringing in fresh air on a foggy morning will lead to an increased incidence of litter caking. This is due to belief that the foggy air entering house through side wall inlets contains a large number of small water droplets which will end up being deposited onto the surface of the litter.

The concern is great enough that some producers will decrease minimum ventilation settings on foggy mornings in an effort to keep from bringing in this excess moisture. Though on the surface this practice may sound logical, though foggy air does in fact contain more moisture than non-foggy air, the difference is far less than most would believe and reducing ventilation rates on foggy mornings can in fact dramatically increase the likelihood of litter caking.

6 aviNews International March 2021 | Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

Though foggy air appears to be packed with moisture, it isn’t. First, a droplet of fog is extremely small, roughly 10 microns in diameter (0.0004” / 0.01 mm)1. To put this in perspective, the typical rain droplet is approximately 2,500 microns in diameter (0.1” /2.5 mm), 250 times the size of a fog droplet (Figure 1).

Since a fog droplet is essentially microscopic, it would take roughly 200 million fog droplets just to fill the cap from a plastic soda bottle! There are approximately ten million fog droplets in a cubic foot of air.

Which sounds like a lot, but since they are so small, the actual amount of water they add to each cubic foot (28 liter) of air is insignificant, roughly 0.0002 ounces (0.006 ml) or 0.2 ounces (6 ml) in every 1,000 cubic feet (2.800 liter).

The moisture in the air you can’t see, is far greater than the moisture you can see on a foggy morning. On a cold, damp morning (40oF / 4,5 C0 @ 100% Rh) there is approximately 6 ounces (177 ml) of invisible moisture in every 1,000 cubic feet (2.800 l) of air brought into a house.

housing

If it is foggy outside, the amount of moisture in the air would increase to roughly 6.2 ounces (183 ml), an increase of only 3%.

Figure 1. Relative size of particles (the average fog droplet is roughly the size of a red blood cell)

ZIKA VIRUS 0.045µm T4 BACTERIOPHAGE 0.225 µm HUMAN HAIR 50 - 180 µm

CORONAVIRUS 0.1 - 0.5 µm

FOR SCALE

WILDFIRE SMOKE 0.4 - 0.7 µm BACTERIUM 1 - 3 µm DUST PARTICLE (PM 2.5) 2.5 µm RESPIRATORY DROPLETS 5-10 µm RED BLOOD CELL 7-8 µm

FINE BEACH SAND 90 µm GRAIN OF SALT 60 µm WHITE BLOOD CELL 25 µm GRAIN OF POLLEN 15 µm DUST PARTICLE (PM 10) <10 µm

7 aviNews International March 2021 | Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

AIR DIRECTION IMPORTANT

The amount of moisture in foggy air appears greater than it actually is because we are unable to see through an individual droplet of fog due to light refraction. Up close, even though there may millions of droplets within a foot or two of your nose, they are so small that your sight will not be obstructed. But the farther away you look, the greater the number of droplets you are looking through, each of which is obstructing a very small portion of your view.

housing

Millions of small white dots turn into billions, trillions, quadrillions, quintillions, etc. as you look further and further away. Eventually, the additive effect of all the droplets will totally obstruct a person’s view. The denser the fog, the quicker a person’s view is obstructed. But it is important to keep in mind that even in a very dense fog there is still relatively very little additional moisture in the air.

In many ways, whether litter moisture increases on a cool, damp morning has more to do with where incoming air goes once it enters a house, than the moisture content of the air. If the incoming air quickly falls to the floor upon entering a house, it will chill the birds and remove little moisture from the litter, leading over time to caked litter...after all, it is difficult dry anything with cool, damp air. But, if the same air moves along the ceiling until it just makes it to the center of the house, then gently moves down toward the floor, the story is very different. We want to maximize the distance the incoming air travels before moving down to floor level so it can be thoroughly heated by the warm air collecting at the ceiling that has been put off by the heating system as well as the birds (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Ideal inlet air flow pattern to maximize the warming and drying of the incoming air

40 F 100 %

50 F 75 %

60 F 50 %

80 F 25 %

8 aviNews International March 2021 | Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

KEEP VENTILATING

In fact, for every 20oF (6,7 0C) the temperature of the incoming air increases, the relative humidity is in cut in half due to the increased moisture-holding capacity of warm air and as a result, the ability of the air to remove moisture from the litter is dramatically increased. The more the air can be warmed before moving down to floor level, the more moisture each cubic feet of air can hold, the fewer cubic feet that needs to be brought in to a house to remove the moisture the birds are continuously adding to the litter.

When it comes to litter moisture removal, the “quality” of the air moving over the litter is just as, if not more important than, the volume of the air brought into a house.

Yes, when it is cold and damp outside, exhaust fans are bringing moisture into a house. And yes, it is more difficult to remove moisture from a house on a cold, humid day than on a cold, dry day. But, reducing ventilation rates will not result in drier litter. For instance, if in a 40’ x 500’ ( 12 x 250 m) house the air temperature is 80oF (27 C0 ) and the relative humidity is 50%, there will be roughly 15 ounces (445 ml) of water in every 1,000 cubic feet (2.800 liter) of air in the house (obtained using the Poultry411 app).

housing

During the time the air spends near the ceiling, the temperature of the air increases and the relative humidity of the air decreases, making it easier to remove moisture from the litter without chilling the birds.

Assuming a house volume of 180,000 cubic feet ( 5,000 m3 ) with 9’ average ceiling height (2.75 m) , there would be 2,700 oz (21 gallons / 80 liter) of invisible moisture in the air. If there were 20,000 two-week-old birds in the house, they would add this same amount of moisture, 21 gallons (80 liter), to the house every 45 minutes. If ventilation rates were to be decreased on a cold, foggy morning, though less “outside moisture” would be brought in, it wouldn’t take long for the “inside moisture” being added by the birds to build-up, resulting in caked litter.

9 aviNews International March 2021 | Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

It may be best to think of ventilating on a foggy day in this manner. Your sink is leaking water onto the floor. Someone is handing you dry towels to soak up the water off the floor. A towel gets wet, you get rid of it, and another dry towel is handed you. It gets wet, they hand you another. You are keeping up with the flow of water from the leaking sink. You run out of dry towels and you are handed a a partially dried towel. Do you tell them that you don’t want the towel because it is not perfectly dry? Of course not. It will obviously take more towels to keep the leak from spreading across the floor, but in the end a partially dried towel is better than no towel at all.

housing

When it is cold and damp outside, with or without fog, to keep the litter dry we need to make sure the incoming air is partially dried before it moves down to floor level. Yes, it will not be as dry as it would be on a cold, dry morning but every minute the birds are adding moisture to the litter and conditions can quickly made worse if less fresh air is brought into the house. The fact is, on cold, damp mornings (with or without fog) ventilation rates may need to be increased 10 to 20% to take into account the incoming air contains a little more moisture. But keep in mind the better job you do of warming the incoming air, the better job you will do of drying your “towels,” the fewer of them you will need, and the better chance you will have keeping your litter dry.

NIU Shengjie, et.al. 2010. Analysis of the Micro Physical Structure of Heavy Fog Using a Droplet Spectrometer: A Case Study. Advances In Atmospheric Sciences. Vol. 27 No. 6, 1259-1275. 1

Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

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10 aviNews International March 2021 | Ventilating poultry houses on foggy days

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UPDATE ON RESEARCH SOLUTIONS FOR WOODEN BREAST Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

broilers

Wooden breast (WB) continuous to be the main syndrome affecting the meat quality of broiler chickens. Significant advances have been made in understanding the myopathy’s cellular, histological, metabolic, and physiological effects. The onset of this muscle metabolic disorder has been described, but the specific etiologies or factors that trigger the problem are still unclear. We will review some recent research findings indicating that myopathies are related to particular changes in metabolic pathways.

However, linking the metabolic disorders with nutritional modifications to mitigate WB incidence has not been very successful. These facts give an idea of the complexity to solve the WB issue and indicate that better comprehension of all findings is vital to design strategies to mitigate this myopathy.

This article attempts to summarize the new conclusions and how they are related to previous results and practical observations.

12 aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

THE MUSCLE TISSUE AND MEAT IMPLICATIONS Let’s start understanding the histological modifications observed in WB myopathy There is fibrosis, re-assembling and increase in extracellular matrix proteins, especially collagen type I and III, proteoglycan, and glycosaminoglycans.

The lesions may be observed in some individuals in the first week of age. Some reports have shown similar histological lesions at hatch.

The muscular fibers of affected fillets have variable sizes.

There is interstitial inflammation and frequently mononuclear cell infiltration, especially near small veins.

broilers

The increased fat infiltration, fibrosis, and collagen changes cause the white strips, paler appearance, and more rigid texture typical of the WB.

Many muscle fibers are too large compared to normal muscle and have permanent contraction or necrosis.

The hardness is more evident in the breast muscle’s cranial region, but it occasionally extends throughout the muscle.

Inflammation processes near the muscle’s vascular system reduce oxygenation, increase oxidative stress, and muscle cell death.

A good description of the severity of the pathology with all histological findings is presented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Broiler chicken Pectoralis major showing the WB myopathy scores, 1 – 4. A gradual progression in the diseased tissue can be observed in the images. Lesions consist of muscle fiber swelling, necrosis, degeneration, regeneration, and lymphocytic vasculitis. Diseased muscle fibers become separated and connective tissue develops around the fibers and between muscle bundles.

Score 1

Score 2

Score 3

Score 4

Source: US Poultry and Egg Association Research Project 691. Barnes et al., 2017.

aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

The impact of muscle fiber alterations is not only on texture, but the shear force also increases. This implies that the consumer will feel tougher meat during chewing. broilers

In fact, organoleptic testing panels have confirmed several differences with non-affected fillets.

Additionally, protein and fat ratios are altered in WB muscle and, consequently, meat contains 1.2 to 1.3% more fat. Also, meat pH and water holding capacity (WHC) is reduced. The lower pH is responsible for approximately one-third of the reduction of WHC. The higher contraction degree of WB muscle fibers during rigor mortis could reduce the space for water storage. With lower WHC, the meat has a lower ability to absorb marinades and flavorings.

Consequently, depending on storage time, processing, cooking methods, and consumer taste, the affected meat’s acceptability could be significantly reduced.

14 aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

METABOLIC AND CELLULAR ORIGINS OF MYOPATHIES The findings of the group led by Dr. Behnam Abasht from the University of Delaware published in the past months reveal abnormalities in muscle fat metabolism and a shift from glycolysis or carbohydrate catabolism to the use of lipids.

The modifications using fat in the muscle increases the production of free radicals that damage the muscle cells.

Hypoxia and oxidative stress have always been detected in muscles affected by WB, and now it has a link with the altered lipid metabolism.

The injured muscle signals an immunological response that ends up causing phlebitis or inflammation of the vein’s walls.

The reactive oxygen species

Interestingly, that research group has also found that broilers affected with WB present pulmonary phlebitis, demonstrating that metabolic or immunological changes maybe not be limited only to the breast muscle.

free radicals include changes in

Similarly, a Finnish group from the University of Helsinki linked WB with the more flawed broilers’ gait.

broilers

These alterations were labeled as glucolipotoxicity.

or free radicals are in elevated concentrations in these myopathies. The cellular damage caused by these sodium/potassium-ATPase channels. These ion changes have been confirmed in meat and cause muscle alterations of ion balance that affect calcium metabolism, increasing its intracellular concentrations. The modifications in free calcium and ions explain the excessive muscle contraction during rigor mortis. Together with free radicals, it could be causing mitochondrial dysfunction, abnormal oxidative muscle metabolism, and oxidative instability in WB meat reported recently.

15 aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

ROLE OF GENETIC SELECTION AND ENVIRONMENT In the past years, several studies conducted by Aviagen have demonstrated that breast muscle myopathies’ heritability ranges from 0.04 to 0.25, which is very low and variable. The genetic correlation of myopathies with body weight and breast meat yield ranges between -0.06 to 0.41.

broilers

These values indicated a shallow relationship between myopathies and performance and a low capacity to transmit the disorder from generation to generation. In effect, research conducted by a group led by Dr. John Barnes at North Carolina State University reported that these myopathies could also be observed at a histological level in random-bred genetic lines from the 1950’s when raised under similar conditions with modern broilers. But this disorder does not progress more in those slow-growing birds due to the small size and slow development of their breast muscles. Almost 72% of the variation in myopathies’ incidence is explained by variables not related to genetics.

On the other hand, research has also demonstrated that genetic lines of broilers selected for fast growth and higher meat yield have many metabolic differences with slow-growing animals. High meat yield broilers have reduced capillary blood supply to Pectoralis major and minor. There is less space in the connective tissue between myofibers and muscle fiber bundles, and the myofibers are three to five times larger than those of slower-growing chickens. Larger muscle fibers in modern broilers have more difficulty obtaining oxygen and nutrition and disposing of metabolic waste. Many other studies have shown a greater susceptibility of modern broilers to present muscle damage under normal environmental conditions.

Similar damages have been observed in samples of unaffected chickens’ muscles, but WB affected broilers had just more lesions.

Research in genetic selection has also proven that it is possible to reduce in 18% WB incidence while increasing in 1.02% breast meat yield.

16 aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

Research led by Dr. Craig Coon from The University of Arkansas has determined that modern broilers also naturally have a higher muscle degradation rate.

Then, genetic selection may play a role in the increased myopathy incidence more as a factor that causes susceptibility to myopathies than as the cause or origin of these myopathies. Modern high-yield broilers are just more susceptible to environmental stresses

Heat stress has been one of the environmental factors more related to muscle damage, metabolism alterations, and even some myopathies. Birds can face elevated temperatures even during embryo development.

Suboptimal incubation conditions may cause some eggs in commercial setters and hatchers to endure stressful situations that affect all tissues and organs. Other metabolic disorders like ascites have been proven to have an origin and solutions during incubation.

The hypothesis that temperature and hypoxia stresses during incubation could influence myopathy incidence and severity was discussed recently by our group at NC State University and Dr. Sandra Velleman from The Ohio State University. This information was published in a chapter of the e-book Avian Muscle Development and Growth Mechanisms: Association with Muscle Myopathies and Meat Quality. Several pieces of evidence demonstrated that myopathies could be triggered by perinatal heat stress or even hypoxia during pipping at hatching.

broilers

The change in the rates of muscle anabolism and catabolism in fast-growing birds can make them even more susceptible to myopathies when muscle regeneration mechanisms are affected.

Myopathies or muscle damage caused by heat stress during brooding or due to high stocking density during grow-out has been published in numerous studies in the past three years. Ventilation, cooling capacity, and lighting may affect the chicken activity and thermal comfort that influence muscle development.

Minimizing failures in optimal environmental conditions may help reduce the severity and incidence of the WB, but more research is needed in this area. 17

aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

ROLE OF NUTRITION When a disease issue has metabolic implications, the logical conclusion is that the primary mechanism to control it could be a nutritional intervention. Several dietary interventions have been tested to minimize the incidence of the WB. All methods that reduce growth rate and muscle yield can partially mitigate the severity of myopathies in the same way that processing at an early age or by lowering slaughter body weight.

LYSINE RATIO

broilers

Strategic feed restriction during the grower phase, or reducing the amino acid density, especially lysine, has shown benefits in myopathies while maintaining borderline targets of performance and yields. Probably the most impacting benefit of reducing lysine is the increase in the arginine: lysine ratio.

GUANIDINO ACETIC ACID AS FEED ADDITIVE Another feed additive that has been tested with some success is the guanidino acetic acid that also has decreased myopathies while enhancing performance and meat yield. The guanidino acetic acid has arginine sparing functions and direct effects on muscle energy metabolism.

ARGININE : LYSINE RATIO Arginine is an amino acid essential to nitrogen metabolism and nitric oxide production in the tissues, an important vasodilator. It is believed that higher arginine levels may increase the oxygenation of muscle cells by producing more nitric oxide en lugar de by more nitric oxide production. Supplementation of arginine with crystalline sources is now possible at affordable commercial prices. It has recently been proven that arginine: lysine ratios higher than 1.27 could help minimize myopathies while improving performance.

VITAMINS AND ORGANIC TRACE MINERALS Vitamins and organic trace minerals have been tested extensively without observing significant reductions in myopathies incidence. Only Vitamin C has shown to have a positive effect. In a study conducted by the group led by Dr. Jason Lee described in Table 1, Vitamin C supplementation at 94 ppm reduced wooden breast incidence by 41%. Simultaneously, high arginine (1.20 to 1.41 arginine: lysine ratios) only caused a 20% reduction of fillets with medium and severe WB. Vitamin C maintained the live performance of broilers raised to 45 days but decreased breast meat yield by almost 0.6%.

aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

Table 1. Meat quality measurements and woody breast profile of male broilers that are fed diets with a higher ratio of dArg: dLys, vitamin premix, vitamin C, and/or a lower digestible amino acid ratio

Meat quality measurements

Treatment

Woody breast profile

Ave. white striping score (0-3)

Score of 0, %

Score of 1, %

Score of 2, %

Score of 3, %

Score of 0&1, %

Score of 2&3, %

Control

1.84a

1.29

2.81

35.90

37.20

24.40a

38.70c

61.30a

High Arginine1

1.49b-d

1.19

7.90

42.91

41.64

7.73b

50.73a-c

49.27a-c

Vitamin C2

1.25d

1.09

14.50

50.00

32.38

3.50b

64.12a

35.87c

2XVitamin3

1.75a,b

1.30

2.81

37.10

42.90

17.10a,b

40.00b,c

60.00a,b

Reduced AA4

1.53b,c

1.20

13.10

36.45

35.18

15.55a,b

49.18a-c

50.82a-c

Combination5

1.42c,d

1.09

7.16

54.20

27.30

11.40a,b

61.30a,b

38.70b,c

PSEM

0.053

0.031

1.492

2.532

2.592

1.914

3.098

P-value

<0.001

0.548

0.083

0.126

0.451

0.033

0.048

broilers

Ave. woody breast score

a-d Means in columns with different superscripts differ significantly at P ≤0,05 Source: Bodle et al., 2018. Poultry Science Journal.

In conclusion, we have an advanced understanding of the pathobiology of WB, the relations with genetics and environment. Some mitigation options reduce WB severity and should be tested by poultry companies, but the search for better WB control strategies continues.

Update on Solutions for Wooden Breast Research

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19 aviNews International March 2021 | Update on Research Solutions for Wooden Breast

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CHICKEN PROCESSING

MANAGING WITH THE SENSES

procesing

Eduardo Cervantes López International Consultancy - Productive and Innovative Management in Poultry Processing

hicken processing is a relatively fast activity: In less than 30 minutes, a shipment can be processed and sent

to the cooling zone, regardless if using water or air systems. For this reason, plant managers should hone their senses of: Observing, listening, smelling and touching, in order to have a real-time and detailed view on how the processes are progressing.

21 aviNews International April 2021 | Chicken processing: Managing with the senses

Some Everyday Situations Although it’s true that the senses are always at play when evaluating our surroundings, it is recommended to prioritize the tasks to be carried out when one is in the plant supervising the process. Therefore, attention should be focused on one point at a time. This increases the possibility to take in as much information as possible, evaluate them and take immediate corrective

OBSERVE : Chickens frantically flapping once hung on the air conveyor. Consequences: Their stress increases. bleeding, bruising, fractures, etc. occur. LISTEN: Noise level in the environment - fans, motors. etc. Consequences: In the waiting and hanging areas, they cause stress to the birds. SMELL: To determine foul odours, due to improper cleaning and disinfection of equipment and facilities. Consequences: They affect the sanitary quality of the chickens that are being processed. TOUCH: Products in process to get a rough idea of surface temperature and texture..

processing

actions if need be.

22 aviNews International April 2021 | Chicken processing: Managing with the senses

All of the above comprise an effective routine that is carried out during broiler rearing and fattening. This skill is achieved if one draws a mental map of each area of the plant. This requirement becomes critical whether slaughtering at speeds of 1, 2 or 3 chickens/ second. If the pertinent actions are not taken as soon as possible, the losses in quality and yield will lead to an increase in the cost per kilo of processed meat. This consequently affects the product’s competitiveness in the

OTHER MESSAGES TO BE DETERMINED WITH GREATER ACCURACY. With the help of special portable

market.

measuring devices,

Management Actions

internal temperatures

the external and of the birds should be monitored in different

To get the most out of all the information

procesing

parts of the processing:

processed by our senses, it is necessary to implement the following introspective

At the breast level when entering

procedure:

the scalding machine.

What messages that can be derived from what was sensed?

Same process once again, after exiting the scalder. Prior to entering the plucker.

Did they occur at the same time or

After exiting it as well as from the

throughout the processing?

other machines.

Why are they happening? What am I supposed to do now? Take immediate action or analyze a little more, to find a comprehensive solution.

CONTROL TOOLS Digital thermometers Laser thermometers Thermometer environmental hygrometer Lux meter Noise meter

23 aviNews International April 2021 | Chicken processing: Managing with the senses

TEAMS - CRITICAL POINTS By way of illustration, we have highlighted some very important aspects that should be monitored in each of the following equipment. Shackles: Should be filled with chickens. Their legs must be properly supported at the bottom. Reason: To prevent them from falling during the different stages. Stunner: Pre-Shocking should be

If statistical data derived from the

avoided so that chickens don’t flap

yield of chickens processed are not

intensely and pass out.

properly analyzed, its collection

Objective: To reduce risks that can damage the wings

processing

Comparative Database Management

and cause bruises and hemorrhages in the breast, ideally at 100% effectiveness. Scalding machine: Chickens should be brought in completely dead. If this condition is not met, they will die from drowning. their coloration will be reddish after plucking. The birds should move completely submerged. Water

translates into a regrettable waste of time. This will also have a demotivate those who worked rigorously in obtaining them. For this reason, the operational and administrative activities that should be carried out as described: COLLECTION: Obtain the required data and make the calculations to establish the corresponding results that serve as a reference point.

turbulence should be uniform within the

ANALYSIS: Compare the data with the

tank.

management parameters, to determine

Pluckers: Remove more than 95% of the feathers, with a gentle adjustment of the plucker fingers on the chickens. Problems of skin tearing and wing dislocations are reduced.

if they are within standard. If, for some reason, these values are unknown, the results of the previous batches of the same farm can be used as a reference points to conclude if the new batch has: improved, worsened or similar. IMPLEMENTATIONS: Prepare the improvements to be made. Define execution times, budgets and results to be achieved.

24 aviNews International April 2021 | Chicken processing: Managing with the senses

Management Parameters They are a set of data established to evaluate the operations of a process. These values are benchmarks, which can be likened to world records. They are surpassed at any

In summary, in order to develop an Effective

time, as a result of the continuous

Management using the SENSES as a natural

will of the operators to improve

working tool, the following basic aspects

their performance. As a guide, the

must be known:

following are listed below:

Administration

Asphyxiated (dead) chickens

Raw Material: Chickens

dremoved from cages and/or

Anatomy

containers:

procesing

Physiology

Hot climate: 0.05% - 0.1%

Environment

Cold climate: Less than 0.05%

Operational Environment

Seizures (Seconds): 0.1% of the total chickens processed. Waste (Parts fallen to the floor during cutting and / or deboning): Less than 0.005% of the total kilos processed. Dry yield of the carcass without neck and legs, leaving the abdominal fat: 74% Count of live chickens hanging from the overhead conveyor Taken out of the cages at a rate of: 1800 chickens/ hour - worker. Badly bled chickens (red): 0.03% of the total of processed chickens.

Chicken processing: Managing with the senses

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25 aviNews International April 2021 | Chicken processing: Managing with the senses

INFLUENCE OF

breeders

BREEDER NUTRITION & MANAGEMENT ON FLOCK PERFORMANCE Ing. Winfridus Bakker Cobb World Technical Support Team

he management and nutrition of breeders are important for the performance of the birds in order to

achieve the maximum number of vigorous and viable chicks. This article summarizes some important aspects for optimizing chick quality: Breeding uniformity Conditioning of the female - muscle development and fat reserves at the time of light stimulation Importance of health programs Quality of fertile eggs

26 aviNews International 2021 | Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

Reference guide for the evaluation of muscle development in the breast of heavy breeders during breeding.

Egg uniformity In broiler farms, uniform chicks from not too young breeders are preferred to prevent them from being too small

and less viable. Conditioning (Fleshing) (%)

This factor will depend on the uniformity of the eggs and the

Week

management of the breeders,

70%

30%

especially during rearing.

45%

55%

14%

20 21 STD 21 Weeks

Pelvic fat

79%

41%

69%

25%

76%

56%

41%

87%

50%

90%

The uniformity in the size of birds is achieved mainly during the first 8 weeks. From 16 weeks on, uniformity in muscle development (fleshing) and fat deposits become more significant in achieving good sexual uniformity.

Egg uniformity

84 65 82

Egg weight

Egg uniformity

Egg weight

Figure 1 illustrates an example of the correlation between uniformity and egg weight for Cobb 500 FF (fast feather) hens.

Table 1 shows the expected rapid changes in muscle development (70% with grade 2 fleshing at 12 weeks; 79% of females with grade 3 fleshing at 18 weeks; and 97% of birds with a grade 3 or 4 at 21 weeks).

The average uniformity is 88.2%, with a spread of +/- 10%. This means that the chicks should show > 80% uniformity at hatch, which is very acceptable.

50 25

Figure 1. Monitoring of egg weight and uniformity in a flock of Cobb 500 FF breeders

At 25 weeks, eggs weighing more than 50 g reach a uniformity> 80%, and this stabilizes at approximately 89%.

27 aviNews International 2021 | Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

breeders

Table 1. Conditioning (Fleshing) and pelvic fat of females

Light stimulation Normally there is a positive correlation

Chick feed conversion and growth

between the total amount of feed

can be improved simply by selecting

consumed and the body condition of the

broodstock that show better fleshing

females at the end of rearing - 21 weeks of

and a correct proportion of body fat,

age. This directly influences chick viability,

which is critical at the time of the first

at least during the first 6-8 hatches.

lighting stimulation, with the following objectives: Good sexual timing in females High peak and persistence of production High hatch rate, quality and vitality of chicks from an early age Reduction of mortality at the beginning of production

breeders

Progeny of breeders that did not receive enough nutrients or when a poorly balanced formula has been used may show higher early mortality.

28 aviNews International 2021 | Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

12 weeks

It’s not easy to get the correct amount of total body fat just by measuring

Females should acquire age-appropriate conditioning

abdominal fat. After 12 weeks of age, females should acquire age-appropriate conditioning, expressed through the level of muscle development and the degree of

At the level of muscle development

At the level of degree of accumulation

accumulation of pelvic fat.

It is important to analyze weekly weighing data along with feed consumption and uniformity, as well as observations on the birds themselves and the houses.

Evaluate the condition of the females (fleshing) 16, 19 and 21 weeks of age: evaluate the conditioning (fleshing) of the females. 19 and 21 weeks: assess pelvic fat stores.

A lower feed intake during rearing in productivity. Overly restricting feed for example, results in an incorrect

breeders

25, 30 and 40 weeks: assess the level of abdominal fat stored to more accurately calculate reductions in feed consumption.

can produce very negative results

> 50 females at the aforementioned ages should be examined to assess and weigh abdominal fat and count the number of follicles > 2 cm in diameter.

body condition in females when stimulating them lightly, which is a catastrophic error.

It is extremely important to have fat storage.

No of follicles 9

3,0

7 6

2,5

5 4

2,0

3 2

1,5

1 0

Abdominal fat 48

1,0

Number of birds

Figure 2. Relationship between the number of follicles and abdominal fat in 25-week-old female breeders

29 aviNews International 2021 | Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

Abdominal fat (%)

We must develop a feeding program that guarantees that at the time of light stimulation, more than 95% of the females have a muscular development of grade 3-4 (scale from 1 to 5 see Table 1), and more than 90% of the females must have sufficient pelvic fat.

3,5

Number of follicles

The age at which the breeders will start production must be determined (23-24 or 25 weeks of age) -

Egg production (HD %) Feeding of females (g) Male weight (g) Female weight (g) Average egg weight (g)

90 80

Percentage

7,0 6,5 6,0

5,0

4,5

4,0

3,5

3,0

2,5

Figure 3 shows the performance of the flock up to 60 weeks with the body weight curve in females and males, the weights of the eggs and the amounts of feed supplied.

5,5

Weight (kg)

60 weeks - 164,6 HE/HH 65 weeks - 172 HE/HH

100

2,0 20

Weeks

Figure 3. Performance of a breeder flock up to 60 weeks of age HH = Housed females; HE = hatching eggs 4000

2,7

Body weight

3900

2,6

breeders

3800 3600

2,0 3560

3500

1,7

3300

3280

3200

1,5

3100 25

1,4

Abdominal fat

1,2 1,0

Hen age (weeks)

Figure 4. Percentage of abdominal fat and body weight during production

Females mobilize energy reserves from fat stores to meet their energy requirements. It is critical to start the production cycle with sufficient fat storage, but without confusing a sufficient amount of storage at the start of the lighting program with excess body weight.

A higher body weight is not necessarily equivalent to a higher amount of fat reserve. If the energy reserves at the beginning and during the peak of production are low, the feeding amount must be reduced more slowly. Fat reserves are essential to obtain a good performance of the breeders

Figure 2 shows data from 36 females at 25 weeks with an average abdominal fat of 2%, which is considered adequate as an energy reserve. There is a tendency to have a greater number of follicles in birds with a higher percentage of fat.

2,0

1,6

Standard body weight

3020

2,2

1,8

1,7

3400

3000

3680

3640

and a very good chick quality via the transfer of nutrients through the egg yolk.

30 aviNews International 2021 | Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

Abdominal fat (%)

2,4

3700

Body weight

Females would be losing body fat up to 40 weeks of age (Figure 4), and then begin to accumulate fat again if feed intake is maintained or if feed reductions occur slowly.

2,8

Health program The deterioration of the quality of the shell indirectly affects the quality of the chicks. Vaccination programs should

The management of fertile eggs should keep the main objective to achieve a shell of optimal structure and cleanliness.

prevent diseases such as Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis or avian influenza, which affect the external quality of the egg.

Shell contamination

Consider the following: Disinfect fertile eggs immediately Simplify the program as much as

after collection to avoid bacterial

possible

contamination

Give vaccines correctly

Implement a program to reduce

good immune response Vaccinations induce stress in the feeding program, diverting the necessary nutrients for the development of the females Vaccinate with inactivated vaccines in the groin to reduce stress

floor eggs to <1% due to a 10% lower hatch rate and higher bacterial load Correct distribution of equipment and correct conditioning and percentage of pelvic fat so that females are inclined to use the nests more

breeders

Distribute vaccinations to achieve a

Maintain optimal litter quality so that nests are kept clean

Implement an immune system surveillance program Periodically review the vaccination program and implement any necessary modifications

For the chicks to have excellent viability and achieve good body weight in the first week of life, it is essential that they be of excellent quality. The latter will depend on uniform breeders

Shell quality

with correct conditioning and sufficient fat reserves at the time of light stimulation.

Protect the shell against diseases that affect its integrity. Avoid ingredients that affect hatch and shell quality.

This will be a sign that there has been a good incorporation of nutrients that will eventually be transferred to the fertile egg and will ultimately contribute to the vitality

For crumbs, use fine-grained limestone.

and productivity of the newborn chicks.

Use > 50% coarse limestone rock (2-3 mm). Supplement with coarse calcium particles in the afternoons on the litter, particularly from 10 weeks before a substantial deterioration in the quality of the shell takes place.

Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

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31 aviNews International 2021 | Influence of breeder nutrition and management on flock performance

USING

PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS TO IMPROVE HATCHERY PERFORMANCE Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Hatcheries have pivotal roles in poultry production systems.

hatchery

The data generated in this process can be better utilized with predictive analytic techniques to address common issues that affect hatchability and hatchling quality by supporting planning, preventive maintenance programs, and personnel interventions.

We will discuss the current status of data management and analysis in hatcheries, challenges and opportunities, tools available for improvement, and call attention to improve training necessary to apply advanced data analytics.

32 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

CURRENT STATUS OF DATA MANAGEMENT IN HATCHERIES There is a significant variation in the technological level of hatcheries around the world. Despite these differences, the hatchery is one of the poultry chain segments with more control and data generation. Hatchery data comes from monitoring egg and supply inventories, equipment operation, breeder reproductive performance, and incubation outcomes.

Egg flows, fertility, hatchability Cause of embryo mortality obtained in egg breakouts

The digitalization of hand-written records is still tricky in many hatcheries, and typing errors are still common. Data quality always requires close attention.

Quality grades

The preferred method of data warehousing is Excel files with a single table or multiple tables or spreadsheets.

And records of the average machine and room temperature

Data should always be organized in continuous columns and rows.

Humidity, and pressures

Unfortunately, spaces are frequently left intentionally to add notes, complicating the data analysis.

Hatchling output

hatchery

Most frequent hatchery data includes:

Identifying hatcheries, farms, breeder flocks, machines, and other descriptive variables should be consistent across the time to make an accurate analysis. Some variables like egg storage time are often not well defined, and approximated ranges are entered variably.

33 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

The data analyses are most of the time conducted in Excel.

It would be better to segregate results by specific days or hours of storage or predetermine specific storage ranges that can be systematically analyzed.

Visualization of the data in a graph is critical to detect patterns and unusual extreme values. This is the step were typos and outliers should be seen and corrected. Our experience with data collected worldwide shows that plots are included in these Excel files, but obvious typos are not always investigated or fixed.

hatchery

Sorting and filtering the data may also help determine possible unexpected values.

The great majority of data analyses are currently limited to: Compare one on one the individual average results of a hatch, embryodiagnosis, or period with a standard value of the breeder genetic line guidelines by age. Track inventories of eggs, hatchlings, and materials.

Use Excel pivot tables and charts to organize data by breeder flocks, farms, machines, and hatcheries. Eventually, compare multiple average results in a dashboard where either tables or graphs can be compared.

34 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

The great majority of data analysis in hatcheries summarize what already happened. The methodologies of analysis used typically help describe those past facts. The information obtained in these analyses has been proven to help hatchery managers understand the main factors that affect incubation or what caused an issue. Based on the experience acquired in this way, managers have drawn plans of action. In general, the ordinary and unusual variability of hatchery results is not taken into consideration. Consequently, there is no clear notion about reducing or controlling that variability. But hatcheries are becoming bigger, consolidated, with modern incubator machines bringing new monitoring capabilities. Many electronic sensors are currently available to monitor many more environmental parameters in the hatchery rooms and inside the incubators.

The migration to single-stage machines carries the need to determine the optimum incubation profiles for each condition. Poultry scientists have reported that optimum conditions may vary depending on the breeder genetics, hen age and nutrition, and egg storage time or treatments during storage. When multistage incubation was predominant, very little was possible to modify in the setters environment to achieve better hatchability. In single-stage machines, we can now change multiple parameters like temperature, humidity, CO2 concentrations, and turning for each embryo development phase. Any intervention has variable outcomes that should be quantified to determine the best actions to take.

hatchery

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Since the whole poultry business has become more demanding, any improvement in hatchability and chick quality has significant monetary impacts. In the US is known that a one percent improvement in hatchability is equivalent to approximately $33,000 per year in a broiler complex producing one million birds per week. Reducing costs by one cent per chick equals saving $547,000 per year in a similar broiler operation.

Telecommunications and the internet of things provide distance monitoring and real-time connectivity with almost all critical equipment in a hatchery.

35 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

The new data technologies provide an opportunity to advance more in hatchery productivity and especially hatchling quality. Incubation performance data is currently seldom correlated with records of machine setpoints and actual environmental conditions within specific machines.

hatchery

This is the type of relationship necessary to establish which conditions optimize hatchability for particular groups of eggs.

Generally, improvements in hatchability are well correlated with chick quality, lower mortality, better live performance, and meat yields. Even the incidence of some health and welfare issues can be reduced. Hatchling quality is well known to be necessary to achieve the genetic potential of all poultry species.

The benefits obtained by improving hatchery performance have a positive snowball effect in a poultry operation that justify investments in data analytics.

The general concepts of what machine settings could be better for some eggs are known by experience and published research. However, there are multiple combinations of factors affecting the hatchability in a commercial hatchery.

Prediction tools allow determining where and how to make timely and meaningful interventions to obtain the best results if current or previously known conditions are maintained. These predictive tools can be obtained from the same data records currently used and all the incoming data from electronic sensors. These predictive analytical tools have been available in many statistical software for a couple of decades. Regrettably, there has been low application in commercial hatcheries.

36 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

TOOLS AVAILABLE ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS

Among them, the artificial neural networks (ANN) have been tested in several opportunities to predict egg hatchability in chickens. The ANN are non-linear parametric models that imitate human brain processing mechanisms. This computational technique includes mathematical algorithms that provide the ability for continuous learning from examples of data. The ANN includes three main processing units, an input layer, an intermediate or hidden layer, and the output layer where the solution is obtained. In the input layer, the following factors have been used: Breeder age Egg storage time Air temperature Air relative humidity Concentrations of carbon dioxide and oxygen All with their respective standard deviations

The input layer includes the complete records of environmental data during the 496 or 504 hours of incubation obtained from setters and hatchers’ electronic sensors. The output layer consists of the respective hatchability or embryodiagnosis data.

hatchery

Several data analytic strategies have been under development for poultry production in the past two decades due to the creation of technologies for precision livestock farming.

The continuous data logging of temperature, humidity, gas concentrations, and the records of time and frequency of heating, cooling, and humidification produce data in signals. Signal processing analysis is a technique that should be applied to evaluate electronic sensors or machine performance. Software like MATLAB, JMP, R, and SAS, among many others, can develop this type of analysis together with ANN.

The complete analyses of hatchery data require integrating signal processing with numerical analysis. The ANN has been proven to provide the best predictions possible. The ANN developed with hatchability data (Bolzan et al., 2008; Chamsaz et al., 2011) can be used to simulate the best set of conditions for eggs with specific combinations of age and storage time.

37 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

STATISTICAL PROCESS CONTROL Another analytical technique that has not been explored to estimate interventions and control variability in the hatchery processes is statistical process control (SPC).

The SPC can avoid the frequent comparisons of individual observations with one standard value, allowing margins that are tolerable within the natural variability. The SPC also proposes reachable goals to improve a process by reducing variability. The methods determine the minimum and maximum limits and a statistical level of confidence statistically.

The implementation of these techniques may assist in the continuous improvement of performance by reducing variability. It can help detect when preventive maintenance must enter in place.

hatchery

Maintenance is programmed chronologically in hatcheries, but electronic sensors and engines may present failures in these rough environments.

Control charts and process capability indices are some of the major SPC tools. In Figure 1, we can observe how a control chart looks and the parts described. Control charts help identify occurrences of accidental assignable causes to plan corrective actions. The unusual or sporadic causes of variation can be detected and removed.

Detecting when early maintenance is necessary can save money and assure quality in the process.

Capability indices compare the spread of the values recorded of one parameter in the process to the width of specification limits considered acceptable.

Figure 1. Anatomy of a control chart indicating the Center Line (CL), Upper (UCL), and Lower (LCL) Control limits. The graph also represents the recalculation of control limits when the process changes.

Anatomy of a Control Chart

12.5

Defected Rate

10.5

The index can be calculated using statistical software.

UCL

Upper Control Limit

10.22

8.5 6.5

4.5 2.5

LCL

5.84 Center Line Lower Control Limit

Highligths Unstable Trends 1.46

2.88

Jun1 Jul- 6 16 Aug Sep 16 -16 OctNov 16 Dec 16 -16 Jan1 Feb- 7 Mar 17 Apr- 17 May 17 Jun- 17 1 Jul- 7 17 Aug Sep 17 -17 OctNov 17 Dec 17 -17 Jan1 Feb- 8 Mar 18 Apr- 18 May 18 Jun- 18 1 Jul- 8 18 Aug Sep 18 -18 Oct18

0.5

Recalculate control limits at Process Change 5.65 4.27

Month aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

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Figure 2 shows an example of how is the process control for chicken body weight at hatch. The indices are calculated according to the formulas described in Figure 3. These indices allow determining whether the process or the machines are on target or not and stable or unstable.

hatchery

The SPC could be applied to each of the environmental parameters monitored in an incubator machine, chick quality, egg or chick weights, embryo mortality overtime, or any other process or parameters measured overtime.

Figure 3. Equations to determine process capability ratios for statistical process control.

Potencial Capability

Process Capability Ratios

We encourage the readers to review this process to obtain the benefits of this methodology.

Actual Capability

Figure 2. Control chart with all Potential Capability Indices calculated for evaluation and detection of variability.

40 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

IMPROVE TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE IN ANALYTICS These predictive analytic techniques used in the manufacturing, service, financial, and health care sectors can help us extract more value from the hatchery data.

hatchery

However, the main difficulty of implementation has been the lack of trained personnel that also understand the hatchery process and all data available that should be integrated.

This article seeks to stimulate the desire to explore and invest in these techniques. There is a lot to learn, but a significant promise to obtain valuable insights from these analyses to improve hatchery performance.

Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

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41 aviNews International April 2021 | Using predictive analytics to improve hatchery performance

THE

DIRECTION OF POULTRY WELFARE:

LAYERS

layers

Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón

Demands for animal and poultry welfare continue to grow around the world. Poultry welfare receives attention from interest groups, multinational poultry companies, local consumers, commercial retailers, food chain companies, restaurants, and governments. In the past two years, South American and Asian countries have either implemented regulations or set plans for adopting international standards of animal welfare.

Layer production receives a lot of consideration by groups interested in animal welfare due to the cage systems, the high productivity of these birds, and other management practices not well understood and consequently not accepted. Egg producers have been very proactive in answering concerns and adapting to customers’ suggestions and new governmental legislation. Many animal welfare certifications have been created with robust training and auditing programs.

It is expected to observe a greater standardization of those Certifications and Auditing process in the years to come 42 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

STARTING AT THE HATCHERY Layer production is under scrutiny from the hatchery to the end of the life cycle. The culling of day-old male chicks by layer breeding companies has been one of the most controversial issues. Recent news indicates that this practice will be banned in Germany starting in January 2022, becoming the first country to do so. There are chances that similar legislation spread across Europe and other countries like it already happened with cage systems.

Several companies are developing in ovo sexing technologies around the world. The approaches vary in the methodology to obtain the data necessary to sort the eggs by sex. Some technologies require to open a hole in the egg, while others don’t, and some can differentiate the gender earlier than others. The detection can be done by spectroscopy. Generally, the accuracy of sexing in some of these systems is over 98.5% at rates higher than 30,000 eggs per hour.

Solutions are already under implementation: The market of growing male layer chicks for their meat is growing, especially in Western Europe. On the other side, the in ovo sexing systems in the last phases of development will have to start commercial tests sooner. For example, Agri Advanced Technologies GmbH announced a successful application of their in ovo sexing machine Cheggy in HyLine Italy a few weeks ago.

layers

Sex can be determined as early as the 4th day of incubation, but the most common is the 9th. All machines use embryo culling systems approved by many welfare and scientific agencies.

Based on this accuracy, performance, the acceptable size of prototypes, and many companies providing innovations, it could be expected that this welfare issue has been solved. But there are concerns that not all markets will adopt in-ovo sexing technology since some may face welfare activist groups that consider that life is still disrupted. However, the selection by sex will be made in an invertebrate that probably could be more acceptable by the public.

43 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

HOUSING SYSTEMS

There is a significant tendency and sometimes even commitment of table egg producers to end any caged systems in almost all countries.

layers

The common issue to solve in transforming production systems is how to do it to genuinely improve bird welfare and, consequently, the industry’s sustainability. Moving from conventional cages or furnished cages to any cage-free system may take several years or decades in the whole industry. The social pressure is so intense that it will force some layer housing modifications. Very soon, all conventional cage systems will have to allow more space per hen. Most likely, egg producers interested in using cages will have to move to furnished cages with access to the nest, perch, and an area with some litter for pecking, scratching, and dust-bathing. Most of the studies have demonstrated that hens’ extensive housing systems do not outperform furnished cages in all possible aspects evaluated The cage-free or range egg production systems also have a more considerable environmental impact.

Nevertheless, promoters of cage-free systems focus on providing what they perceived as housing conditions that allow expression of expected behaviors and provide freedom of discomfort, fear, distress, pain, injury, and disease. It has been promoted that cage-free is the solution for these potential concerns.

Curiously, evaluations conducted around the world by non-related research groups have concluded that layers in cage-free systems end up with more diseases, mortality, and lower productivity. The data and experiences with layer flocks do not match the professed expectations of welfare activists.

Despite the evidence, most of the research and commercial evaluations of layer welfare continue to be focused on measuring behavior, feather pecking, cannibalism, a multitude of health indicators, and mortality. The primary behavioral priorities are nesting, perching, dust bathing, and foraging. Consequently, housing systems that do not provide material, space, or equipment to perform these behaviors area not well accepted.

44 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

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Nest and perches are generally not an issue since both furnished cage systems and free-run systems provide the necessary equipment and space. But, dust bathing and foraging become a continuous challenge because the materials needed are rapidly depleted in any system by the hens.

Other problems related to group size in cage-free systems are cannibalism and suffocation or smothering of pullets or hens when unpredictable crowding occurs. Studies in the UK have reported that smothering can occur in almost half of the flocks, and each incident, on average, 25 birds can be lost.

In behaviors, the aggressive interactions increase in groups bigger than 100 hens due to interactions to establish a pecking order.

layers

Feather damage caused by pecking is greater in cage-free systems, contrary to what will be expected by welfare groups. We can observe some of the data in Table 1.

There are some benefits of cage-free systems like improved skeletal strength, especially in leg bones, mainly due to increased activity in most of the flock. But, as a result of the constant falls and collisions, hens in cage-free also present more fractures. Keel-bone fractures in free-run systems range between 48 and 90%, while hens housed in furnished caged only 25 to 54%.

Table 1. Housing System and Laying Hen Welfare. Mean percent flocks with feather damage in 4 housing systems, conventional cage (CC), furnished cage (FC), barn (B) and free-range (FR).

Variables

Skin damage

0.59

1.05

1.31

1.68

Vent & abdomen plumage damage

1.96

2.19

2.55

2.15

Furthermore, hens in furnished cages mainly suffer from compression lesions that are less likely to produce pain. In contrast, the keel bone deviations observed in free-run systems are moderate to severe, causing more acute and chronic pain.

Significant housing effects on both variables (P ≤0,05) Sherwin et al. (2010) The reason is that once the pecking behavior is learned, it is transmitted faster and remains for a more extended time when flocks are large.

46 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

Hens in free-run systems like aviaries and barns have more contact with feces. Table 2. Housing System and Laying Hen Welfare. Occurrence of diseases (divided into main categories) in laying hen flocks to the Swedish National Veterinary Institute in 2001-2004

The same situation increases the incidence of parasitic diseases not observed in cage systems. There is a tendency to increase range egg production, but most of the flocks are indoors during inclement weather, making almost all facilities aviaries during part of the time.

Diseases Parasitic Cannibalism Viral

Housing

Bacterial

Cages 1

65.0%

30.0%

10.0%

5.0%

Litterbased 2

72.9%

11.6%

17.8%

18.6%

Free range

73.9%

4.4%

21.7%

26.1%

layers

They are likely to develop footpad dermatitis and bumblefoot that, on occasions, may affect locomotion.

Includes conventional cages and furnished cages.

Includes single-tiered floor systems and multi-tiered aviary systems. Sherwin et al. (2010) 2

In aviaries, dust is at least six times higher than in cages. Consequently, airborne pathogens, small dust particles, and ammonia are five to seven times higher than in cage systems. Respiratory diseases are more probable to occur under these air quality conditions. Infections caused by bacteria, viruses, and red mites are more common in litter-based housing systems (Table 2). These reasons partially explain why cage-free systems always have had more mortality in paired comparisons with furnished cage systems. In many studies, predators have become the leading cause of mortality for cage-free systems.

In conclusion, despite cage-free systems are preferred by those promoting layer welfare, the challenges to maintain health and avoid mortality are bigger. Cage-free systems provide hens the opportunity to express a couple of natural behaviors more than furnished cages, increase activity and leg bone strength, but increase all other potential health issues and jeopardize livability. Improving cage-free housing may become the most significant welfare challenge for egg producers in the future.

47 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

MEASURING WELFARE

Many welfare markers remain very subjective. Then there is a considerable amount of resources invested in developing reliable biomarkers or monitoring systems.

In consequence, molecular techniques based on PCR to measure welfare are also under development. Commercial applications may take longer unless innovative techniques solve difficulties with contaminants, equipment, and processing time. Nevertheless, there are biomarkers that could be utilized with more relations to stress and pain mechanisms.

Among the tools explored, corticosterone in feces or pulp of feather has had great potential because they are considered

layers

non-invasive and non-disruptive. Feather corticosterone only reflects hormone exposure during feather

Monitoring behavior is a growing methodology in poultry welfare evaluations

growth and, when sampling

Visual monitoring is challenging due

during molt, corticosterone titers

to the number of birds that must be

may not be representative.

observed simultaneously and the time required to evaluate multiple behaviors.

There are high intra and inter-individual variations.

Then, sound data is becoming a better method to detect small

The average values observed are

modifications in behavior that can

75.2 pg/mg ± 38.58 pg/mg.

provide early signs of welfare issues.

The intraindividual variation is due to the type of feathers that are evaluated. There is still concern that corticosterone in feathers or feces may not be well correlated with hen behavioral disorders.

48 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

There is specialized software to filter the sound collected and eliminate background noises The acoustic signals obtained can be converted into data used by artificial neural networks. These mathematical models use a technique called deep machine learning that can detect behavior changes with an overall accuracy of 97%. In the future, electronic monitoring can probably assist egg producers in detecting pecking and cannibalism early enough to make environmental or management corrections

layers

preventing spread of those negative behaviors in the whole flock.

The direction of layer welfare leads us to apply more technology under the old fashion facilities’ conditions. The animal welfare movement is creating new challenges to table egg producers in housing, genetics, nutrition, veterinary medicine, and management.

The direction of poultry welfare: layers

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49 aviNews International March 2021 | The direction of poultry welfare: layers

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN STRESS AND INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION

Guillermo Tellez-Isaias1* and A. Gregorio Rosales2 1 Department of Poultry Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, 72701 2 Poultry Health Consultant, Athens, Alabama

STRESS AND INFLAMMATION Inflammation is the body’s response to cellular injury and a final stage of the stress process, regardless of its origin or nature (biological, environmental, nutritional, physical, chemical, or psychological). Stress and inflammation are nonspecific defense mechanisms (innate responses) involving hormones, neuropeptides, immune cells, and molecular mediators that are essential for the survival and healing processes in all living organisms.

51 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

pathology

HOW DO BACTERIA BENEFIT FROM INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION?

Biologicals (Virus, bacterias, parasites, fungi) Physical

Chemical Nutritional (Mycotoxins)

STRESS

Psychological

Immunosuppression

Obesity Adrenaline Corticosteroids

Oxidative stress

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Lipoperoxidation Cell Membrane Mitochondrial Membrane During a stressful situation, the hormones (adrenaline and glucocorticoids) prepare all cells in the body to either “fight or fly.” If the stress continues, these hormones remain in circulation, keeping the animal in chronic “survival-mode.”

Environmental (Ammonia, Heat)

Inflammation TNF INF 8 IL-8 etc Disruption of binding proteins in epithelia

Irreversible Cell Damage Hepatic bacterial translocation (“Leaky Gut”)

Under stress, the animal reduces its growth, and a massive oxidative stress response causes chronic inflammation. Oxidative stress damages cell and mitochondria membranes and, consequently, compromises cell physiology in all tissues and organs. For these reasons, chronic stress and inflammation are called “secret killers.”

52 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

INTESTINAL MICROBIOTA AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM Aside from being in charge of absorption and digestion of water and feed, the gastrointestinal tract harbors a diverse and complex microbial community known as gut microbiota.

The intestinal microbiota overpasses the number of somatic cells by ~10:1, and ~ 300,000 genes versus 23,000 genes in the chicken. Also, the enteric nervous system (the second brain) has over 100 million neurons, more than in the peripheric nervous system.

In domestic animals, chronic stress and inflammation have a significant negative impact on health and performance. Poultry is no exemption, especially if we consider that in birds, a primary organ lymphoid, the bursa of Fabricius, responsible for proliferation and differentiation of B cells (humoral immunity), is part of the GALT.

During chronic stress and intestinal inflammation, vital body energy, which under normal conditions the birds’ use for feed efficiency and growth, is utilized to keep the system in “survival mode.”

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The intestine produces over 20 different hormones and approximately 80% of immune cells are in the gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Up to 90 % of all diseases are linked to the gut and stability of the microbiome.

53 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

PATHOGEN-ASSOCIATED MOLECULAR PATTERNS (PAMPS) Living organisms detect an infection by recognizing specific elements of pathogenic bacteria known as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). They include diverse bacterial cell wall components such as lipopeptides, peptidoglycans, and teichoic acids.

OXIDATION-REDUCTION MOLECULES As the first line of the innate immunity, polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes, and macrophages combat pathogens by the production of reactive redox molecules capable of inducing oxidation or reduction reactions. These redox molecules are highly

The endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which is a component of the outer membranes of Gram-negative bacteria, is a

toxic and can easily penetrate the microbial cell wall and cause irreversible cellular damage.

classic example.

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In chickens and mammals, LPS activates the nuclear factor-kB (NF-kB) and subsequent release of proinflammatory cytokines mediators, leading to both beneficial, and detrimental consequences:

Stimulating immune signals not only initiate the production of these redox molecules to intercept and kill pathogens but can also lead to prolonged responses.

In chickens, infections caused by

Redox molecules are immuno-

coccidias in the intestinal mucosa

modulators, and, when overreacting,

cause necrosis and inflammation with

they become immunotoxins

release of proinflammatory cytokines

capable of damaging cells and

that are responsible for inducing fever,

adjacent tissues leading to more inflammation.

depression, reduced feed intake, body weight gain, and death Similarly, in infections caused by highly pathogenic strains of Avian influenza (such as H5 or H7 serotypes), the virus induces a severe and acute immune response causing shock and mortality without clinical signs or lesions. The immune system and the systemic reaction are untimely responsible for the death of the chickens and not the virus.

54 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

THERE ARE TWO CATEGORIES OF REDOX MOLECULES:

Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), is the

Reactive Nitrogen Species (RNS), made

starting molecule, and

from the interaction of Nitric Oxide (NO).

NO/RNS and ROS, are employed individually or in combination, to elicit immune responses and carry out immune regulation. ROS is used to target extracellular pathogens of pathogens that are too large for phagocytosis. RNS targets

intracellular/phagocytosed pathogens, some extracellular pathogens, and tumor

Oxidative stress is a major contributing

cells upon appropriate stimulation.

factor to high mortality rates associated with several diseases in

pathology

mammals and chickens. When regulatory control mechanisms

are overwhelmed, homeostasis fails and dysfunction of significant organs occurs. Further regulatory imbalance leads to septic shock, which is characterized

OXIDATIVE STRESS

by hypotension and vascular collapse, with failure of the major organs within the body, including the heart, kidneys,

Macrophages, the primary producers of ROS and RNS, sense and get activated to eliminate bacterial infection through LPS recognition, a mechanism certainly required and advantageous to the host. However, continued exposure of high doses of LPS triggers prolonged production of inflammatory mediators leading to a harmful condition termed “oxidative stress”.

lungs, liver, central nervous system, and the coagulation system. Viral, protozoa, or bacterial infections may cause significant stress, inflammation, and death by overstimulating the immune system.

55 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

It is essential to recognize that all forms of chronic stress (environmental, nutritional, physical, chemical, or psychological) are also associated with chronic inflammation.

pathology

In the gastrointestinal tract, gut inflammation leads to the disruption of tight junction proteins (the “cellular cement”) between cells in the intestinal lining leading to increased gut permeability (“leaky gut”). This disturbance allows the migration of bacteria and toxins from the intestine to the mesenteric bloodstream and the portal vein to the liver, a process known as bacterial liver translocation, and from the liver, to all the organs, causing chronic systemic inflammation.

HOW SALMONELLA BENEFITS FROM INTESTINAL INFLAMMATION Paradoxically, the growth of Salmonella in chickens is facilitated by the inflammatory responses to pathogenic bacteria in the intestine. These include the release of antimicrobials and epithelial transmigration neutrophils (mammals) or heterophils (avian species) into the intestinal lumen.

This increase of molecular oxygen in the gut lumen causes depletion of important commensal anaerobes such as Bacteroidetes and Clostridiales that play a vital role as butyric acid-producing bacteria.

A by-product of releasing ROS is the oxidation of thiosulfate to tetrathionate. In contrast to the fermenting gut microbiota, Salmonella can use tetrathionate as a terminal electron acceptor to support its growth. Tetrathionate broth is a component of enriched media for the culture of Salmonella in poultry laboratories. Therefore, Salmonella benefits from inflammation by gaining access to new nutrients to outgrow gut commensal organisms. In broiler chickens, coccidiosis can also cause inflammation and changes in the gut microbiome that can enhance Salmonella, posing a food safety risk and growth of enterotoxigenic strains of Clostridium perfringens and the risk of outbreaks of necrotic enteritis.

The migration of heterophils into the lumen induces changes in the gut microbiome (disrupting the balance) and increase the release of ROS and RNS.

56 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

Healthy intestinal lining

Inflammation

STRESS RESPONSE

Damaged intestinal epithelium

Increased permeability Bacterial translocation Toxins

LPS/ Bacterial DNA endotoxin

Undigested particles

Yeast and Fungi

Inflammatory cytokines

Intestinal villi

Splenic vasodilatation Decreased cerebral blood flow

SVR

Intrahepatic resistance

Systemic vasodilation

Hypovolemic effect

Hyperdynamic syndrome

Hepatorenal syndrome

Splanchnic flow

Portal hypertension

Hepatic encephalopathy 57

aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

pathology

Parasites and Bacterias

Innate Immunity

TAKE HOME MESSAGE:

REDUCE THE EFFECTS OF STRESS AND INFLAMMATION

All animals have efficient mechanisms to avoid oxidative stress like glutathione peroxidase or superoxide dismutase.

Although there is no “silver bullet” to prevent the multi-factorial conditions associated with chronic stress, multiple studies have shown that alternative products such as probiotics, directfed microbials, prebiotics, synbiotics, phytobiotics, trace minerals, and vitamins can help improve intestinal microbial balance, metabolism, and gut integrity. Also, these products have shown to have

pathology

anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and enhanced barrier integrity properties. Poultry producers that have removed antibiotics from their production systems commonly use a combination of alternative products in conjunction with improved management practices, strict biosecurity, and effective immunization programs to achieve their health and productivity goals. As mentioned previously, stressful conditions can induce inflammation, oxidative stress, and lipoperoxidation of vital cellular components such as the cell and mitochondrial membranes. Damage to those organelles compromises cell homeostasis, and the

Chronic stress and inflammation can overload the birds’ system, and therefore, using anti-oxidant and antiinflammatory additives could reduce these effects. The inflammatory process is a complex response that can have adverse consequences on the health and performance when it becomes

chronic or excessive.

Inflammation may favor colonization

of the intestine with Salmonella

spp., and other enteric pathogens.

Some of these pathogens can also

penetrate the intestinal barrier and cause systemic infections. Alternative products are being used in antibiotic-free production systems to mitigate the effects of inflammation, risk of colonization, and the transmission of Salmonella spp. Scientific studies continue to provide information required to develop new strategies to preserve health and food safety in poultry production systems.

birds’ health and productivity. References available upon request The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

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58 aviNews International 2021 | The Connection between Stress and Intestinal Inflammation: How Do Bacteria Benefit from Intestinal inflammation?

CMY

MAREK’S DISEASE VACCINATION NEEDED NOW MORE THAN EVER

health

By Guillermo Zavala, DVM, MAM, MSc, PhD, Dipl. ACPV Adjunct Professor, University of Georgia President, Avian Health International, LLC Flowery Branch, Georgia (USA)

60 aviNews International March 2021 | Marek’s disease vaccination needed now more than ever

Why bother with MD vaccination? I cannot emphasize enough that Two circumstances have initiated

abandoning MD vaccination could

reconsideration about the value of

backfire — and badly.

Marek’s disease (MD) vaccination.

In fact, vaccination against MD has never been needed more than it is now.

One is the explosion in no-antibiotics-ever poultry production and concern that in ovo vaccination for MD could lead

health

to increased first-week mortality. There’s some truth to this concern — if needles are penetrating a contaminated eggshell. The solution, however, is not abandoning MD vaccination. It’s improving sanitation throughout the hatchery and especially egg sanitation.

Remember how it was Consider that throughout the poultrydense Delmarva region and Georgia in 1970, condemnations in broilers reached approximately 3%. Nationwide, they were in excess of 1.5%.1. Today, in an industry that produces approximately 9 billion boilers per

The other circumstance that brings

year, leukosis condemnations remain at

the value of MD vaccination into

negligible levels nationwide.

question is the imminent decision by USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service to allow carcasses with MD-induced leukosis lesions to be trimmed instead of discarded.

Leukosis condemnations are as low as they are today simply because industry has been vaccinating 100% of broiler chickens (and layers and breeders) consistently for approximately 50 years.

61 aviNews International March 2021 | Marek’s disease vaccination needed now more than ever

It wouldn’t take long after intentional or accidental When we think about MD, we picture a disease associated with increased mortality and tumors, which constitute

interruption of MD vaccination to see the beginning of a progressively deteriorating situation.

the best-known negative effects of MD

Mortality from MD may

in unprotected chickens.

increase, and evidence of

We tend to forget that MD is a highly contagious disease caused

immunosuppression will become patent at some point.

by one of the most persistent primary immunosuppressive agents in the poultry environment of young and adult chickens. Field viruses of moderate

health

virulence can cause inflammation, mortality and tumors, but the more virulent MD viruses can induce significant immunosuppression.

Although vaccination against MD does not prevent infection, it can prevent or reduce clinical disease, mortality and tumors, and it can prevent MD virus-induced immunosuppression that results in unrelated, opportunistic infections in young and adult chickens.

Broilers raised without antibiotics especially need protection from immunosuppression to help ward off invading bacterial pathogens. A broad variety of diseases can invade immunosuppressed broilers, leading to serious health, welfare and economic problems. Coccidiosis and Escherichia coli are just a couple of examples.

62 aviNews International March 2021 | Marek’s disease vaccination needed now more than ever

Environmentally persistent

If the industry reduces the use

There’s another reason why the poultry

be forced to go back to the use

industry cannot afford to relax MD vaccination, and that’s the environmental persistence of MD viruses. Intense cleaning

of HVT-vectored vaccines, it will of live, attenuated respiratory vaccines that can potentially cause unwanted reactions and various forms of economic disadvantage.

Disinfection Extended downtime Insect and rodent control

Nearly 20 years ago, Richard L. Witter, PhD, a prolific, world-class MD researcher,² said that vaccination

As well as single-age rearing strategies all reduce the concentration of MD virus in the environment.

health

for control of MD has been one of the great successes in veterinary medicine.3 He also said the poultry industry as we know it today could not Taken together, these strategies minimize field challenge, but they never completely eliminate

possibly exist and thrive without the effective vaccines available for protecting chickens against MD.

MD viruses. Virtually every single

Let’s not forget those words.

commercially raised chicken will be

To abandon MD vaccination

exposed sooner or later to MD virus.

would be taking a significant step backward.

Furthermore, protection against various infectious diseases is now accomplished through the use of modern herpesvirus-ofturkey (HVT)-vectored, recombinant MD

Marek’s disease vaccination needed now more than ever

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vaccines that protect against MD and also act as carriers for proteins that induce immunity against respiratory viruses like Newcastle disease and infectious laryngotracheitis.

References 1 Witter RL, Protective Efficacy of MD Vaccines. In: Marek’s Disease, K. Hirai (Ed) Springer Verlag. 2001;57-90. https://link.springer.com/ chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-56863-3_3. Accessed September 28, 2020. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. Source: www.poultryhealthtoday.com

interview

INTERVIEW

IEC CHAIRMAN

SURESH CHITTURI “ONE EGG A DAY, HOW SIMPLE IS THAT?”

“Eggs are the best protein of

According to Chitturi, this expert group will

animal origin”, says Suresh Chitturi.

support the egg industry to continue to lead

“So what can we do to further benefit

the way in global animal protein production,

from eggs in human nutrition?”

as the industry strives to continue to deliver an affordable, safe, sustainable and accessible form

The vice chairman and managing director of Srinivasa Farms in India

of nutrition for the planet’s growing population.

has a clear vision on how to further

“The egg industry has already made tremendous

grow the world egg industry.

progress during the past 50 years”, Suresh Chitturi says. “We managed to achieve a 70 percent reduction of input in feed resources over

“We must realise that over 220 million children under the age of five were malnourished in 2019”, Chitturi says. “And not just that: 45% of deaths among children under five were linked to undernutrition. Moreover, it is reported that 1 in 9 people went hungry in 2018 and 2 billion capita out of the current 8 billion world population

the past 35 years. And yet, there are many more opportunities ahead of us. We expect a further 30 to 50 percent reduction of feed resources in the upcoming 20 to 25 years. Automatically this will substantially reduce the output of manure and hence the burden on the environment. Both factors are extremely important when egg consumption further increases”.

And the world population is to further grow to an expected 10 billion. So as IEC we also have a social responsibility to improve

In India consumption of 75 eggs per capita per year has been achieved and in the

people’s lives through the reduction of

next 12-15 years we expect

these numbers and the egg business can

this to rise up to 180 eggs.

play a fantastic role in this respect.”

interview

are moderately or severely food insecure.

The conditions in our country are to be compared

For this purpose IEC formed the

with the African continent,

‘Environmental Sustainability Expert Group’ (ESEG) in May 2020. The aim of this group

so Africa might become a ‘replica’ of India.

is to enhance continuous development and improvement of sustainable practices throughout the egg value chain. It supports the Global Initiative for Sustainable Eggs (GISE), which is a multi-stakeholder initiative launched by the IEC to stimulate discussion and action that will carve the way for sustainable egg production

Its population also counts over 1 billion, which is substantial. In feeding this growing population, we see tremendous opportunities for eggs.

for future generations. “Its objective is to support the industry to continue to improve the environmental sustainability of global egg businesses by identifying and addressing areas of development to

These are not just an excellent source of protein, eggs also contain many essential vitamins.

achieve the industry’s commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

65 aviNews International March 2021 | Interview with IEC Chairman Suresh Chitturi

And don’t underestimate employment

“We are bringing together independent

which is related to the egg business.

environmental specialists who can share

We must realise that for every additional egg consumed per capita globally, 40.000 jobs are created!

their expertise on environmentallysound food production, in addition to professional sustainability experts with egg specific knowledge, to support us in the sharing of best practice and information to improve the environmental

“Consequently, our job (IEC), is to educate the world on the many benefits eggs offer as a sustainable and affordable source

sustainability of global egg businesses.” The IEC’s Value Chain partner, DSM, is supporting this global initiative as they

of high-quality nutrition.

share a strong interest in supporting

And aid egg producers to continue

Sustainable Development Goals.

to make improvements which support the environment and their businesses through efficiency gains.”

the industry to deliver on the UN

“We recognise that all countries are at their own stage in their sustainability journey, and it is important that we can continue to support all our members

The Environmental Sustainability

interview

Expert Group plays an important role in this respect. It is a task force of 9 people, consisting of leaders in the fields of environment and sustainability who support our industry

to continue to improve sustainability practices. Currently, India and China together represent 50 percent of the world egg production already. In 2040 we expect Asia and Africa to produce 70 percent of the world egg volume”.

in achieving its commitments.

It is important that this growth is done in a sustainable manner, therefore a strong focus of the group will be on these developing regions. This will take time of course, and it is an ongoing process for the next 20 years or so. However, I am confident that we will manage to achieve our goals. And let every world citizen eat one egg a day. How simple is that? Interview with IEC Chairman Suresh Chitturi

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66 aviNews International March 2021 | Interview with IEC Chairman Suresh Chitturi

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