Risk factors for poor health and performance in European broiler production systems.

Abstract

Background Conventional broilers are currently one of the most efficient protein converters. Although decades of progress in genetic selection and feed formulation have lead to high standards of efficient broiler production, still a lot of variability is found between farms and between successive flocks. The aim of this study was to investigate risk- and/or protective factors for poor health and performance in conventional broiler-farms in Europe by developing eight multivariable linear mixed models. Three different models were used to investigate mortality (overall, first week, after first week), three models for performance variables (growth, feed conversion, European production index) and two models were related to slaughterhouse data (i.e. dead on arrival and condemnation rate). Results Several factors related to management and housing were significantly associated with health and performance of broilers. The following factors were associated with increased mortality: floor quality, neonatal septicemia, ventilation type and other professional activities of the farmer. The factors associated with performance were chick sex, coccidiosis infections, necrotic enteritis, dysbacteriosis, light intensity adaptations, ventilation type, comparing daily flock results with previous flock results by farmer, daily check of feed and water system and type of feed. For dead on arrival three risk factors were identified i.e. daily growth, type of light adaptation and type of drinkers system. For condemnation rate seven risk factors were found, i.e. type of drinking system, daily growth, feed withdrawal time, type of ventilation, house size, septicemia after seven days and type of feed. Conclusions These results imply that a multifactorial approach is required with adaptations involving both improvements in management, housing, health programs and an increasing level of professionalism of the farmer in order to improve broiler performance and health.

Centennial Review: Factors affecting the chicken gastrointestinal microbial composition and their association with gut health and productive performance

“…Improving flock productive performance is of major concern for the poultry industry. Although improvements in genetic selection and feed formulation have increased production parameters such as feed efficiency and body weight of broilers, nonuniformity on performance within and between successive flocks is still an issue ( Stanley et al, 2014 ; Van Limbergen et al, 2020 ). Because of that, many nutritional interventions have been developed and their efficacy is usually measured by observing improvements in productive performance ( Yadav and Jha, 2019 ).…”

“…Because of that, many nutritional interventions have been developed and their efficacy is usually measured by observing improvements in productive performance ( Yadav and Jha, 2019 ). However, many factors related to health, housing, and management can influence bird performance such as the source of birds, light regime, ventilation, stocking density, feed, water quality, and diseases ( Van Limbergen et al, 2020 ), making it difficult to disentangle the effect of each factor on the observed performance.…”

Role played by the environment in the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through the food chain

“…With respect to the role of the production pyramid, clonal expansion of E. coli with resistance to 3rd‐generation cephalosporins has occurred in several Nordic countries, despite the lack of usage for poultry in those countries, and is suspected to be associated with international trade in breeding stock and ongoing contamination of the environment within breeding farms, breeder rearing farms and hatcheries (Mo et al., 2014; Myrenås et al., 2018). A European Union study of four broiler parent flocks identified closely related PFGE subtypes of avian‐pathogenic E. coli (APEC), which are normally resistant to multiple antimicrobials and result in reduced performance and disease (van Limbergen et al., 2020), in parent birds, newly hatched chicks and one‐week‐old chicks suffering mortality (European Commission, 2019). In laying hens, ARB introduced with replacement birds reduce during the laying period as birds become older and are rarely medicated, but resistant organisms still persist at a low level between flocks (Koyama et al., 2020).…”

Role of Artificial Intelligence in Livestock and Poultry Farming

“…From the perspective of agriculture and food, presenting this kind of proof to consumers will become a competitive advantage and might not be as difficult in the dairy sector as it is in other agricultural sectors, like cattle, where ownership changes more frequently (Oecd., 2021) The use of artificial intelligence in data collection: Until recently, information was gathered was generalised to a whole dairy farm. AI and other technology can offer unique data for each cow using sensors, enabling farmers to make management decisions with more precision and accuracy (Van Limbergen et al, 2020) Using artificial intelligence to increase the quality of feed When compared to traditional manual harvesting, the usage of robotics is highly efficient and reduces harvesting time. Additionally, the automated equipment continuously determines the yield and moisture content of the harvest of cereals (Neethirajan et al, 2020),…”