Poultry, Volume 5, Issue 3 (June 2026) – 12 articles

Pre-incubation sorting for infertile and non-viable eggs could save significant resources in quail farming. Previous research has revealed often contradictory correlations between egg morphometric parameters used to assess incubation success. The current pilot study aimed to identify these correlations for eggs from an F₂ quail resource population. The most significant parameter, demonstrating the highest correlation (R_p = −0.625) with egg fertility (F), was egg density (D). A similar, albeit less pronounced, relationship (R_p = −0.329) was observed between this parameter and hatchability (H). That is, eggs with low D values had a high probability of being either infertile or containing non-viable embryos. A similar relationship was tested for quail eggs from purebred breeds (English White, Radonezh, Estonian, Pharaoh, and Tuxedo), but this did not reveal such a strong relationship. The correlation between D and F was R_p = −0.313, and R_p = −0.201 between D and H. Although results from studies examining the relationship between the morphometric parameters of quail eggs and their fertility and/or hatchability can vary, this may be explained by the fact that different breeds possibly display varying correlations between oological parameters and their incubation properties. Our preliminary findings suggest that more studies are needed in large-scale trials to clarify the relationships between density and morphometrics with egg fertility and hatchability. Full article

Poultry production is one of the most intensive sectors of animal production providing a significant source of animal protein through meat and eggs. However, increasing production intensity has brought challenges related to animal health, welfare, and product quality. In chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus), the sterno-pectoral region represents a key anatomical and functional unit that supports the birds’ body and is essential for locomotion and respiration. This region is particularly susceptible to the adverse effects of intensive selection and production in both broilers, i.e., meat production, and laying hens, i.e., egg production. Skeletal disorders of the sternum, predominantly observed in laying hens, and breast muscle myopathies, primarily affecting broilers, are typically investigated as separate conditions. However, their anatomical co-localization, shared developmental background, and common risk factors suggest they should be considered within a unified framework. The aim of this review is to integrate the current knowledge on skeletal and muscular disorders of the sterno-pectoral region, with emphasis on their interrelationships, underlying mechanisms, and implications for production efficiency and animal welfare. By identifying this region as a critical hotspot for production-related pathology, this review offers a more comprehensive perspective on the biological limits of intensive poultry production and highlights the importance of an integrated approach as the foundation for developing future breeding and production strategies. Full article

Village chickens are essential for rural livelihoods and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa; however, their productivity is constrained by seasonal feed scarcity and suboptimal feeding management. This study evaluated household-level feeding practices and their seasonal variation across three wards in Central Tanzania (Sanza, Majiri, and Iwondo). Data were collected from 852 randomly selected households using structured questionnaires covering flock ownership, feeding frequency, feed types, seasonal feed availability, and gender roles. Feeding practices exhibited marked seasonal variation, with supplementary feeding peaking during the rainy and post-harvest periods because of the increased availability of crop residues and natural feed resources. In contrast, supplementary feeding declined during the dry season, accompanied by increased reliance on scavenging. Feed types varied according to local cropping systems, with millet and sorghum predominating in different wards. Women were primarily responsible for daily poultry management activities, including feeding, but had limited involvement in decision-making related to resource allocation. Flock sizes were small and relatively uniform across the study areas. These findings highlight the importance of seasonally adaptive feeding strategies, improved feed resource management, and gender-responsive extension services for enhancing the productivity and sustainability of village chicken production systems. Full article

Enterococcus cecorum has been identified as causing early sepsis in commercial broilers. We hypothesized that vertical transmission may contribute to the spread of the pathogen. Sampling of 360 commercial broiler eggs from a previously infected flock detected Enterococcus gallinarum and Enterococcus faecalis in yolks of 18-day incubated eggs. Enterococcus avium was recovered by enrichment from 1 of 31 unincubated yolks. Direct sampling without enrichment of 297 egg yolks from a previously infected broiler breeder flock detected E. faecalis, Escherichia coli, Globicatella sanguinis, and E. gallinarum, often in high numbers, or in coinfections. Microbiological sampling of day-of-hatch chicks suggested only the yolk sac was likely to yield bacterial growth, and that yolks could be sampled directly using swabs streaked onto growth medium. The most common isolate from sampling 30 day-of-hatch broiler chicks was E. faecalis from 16 different chicks. Further, E. coli was recovered as a mixed infection with E. faecalis in 3 of those 16 residual yolk sacs. From swab-sampling of residual yolk sacs from 40 day-of-hatch broiler breeder chicks, E. faecalis was recovered from 7 chicks. Thus, yolk infections by Enterococcus species were the primary isolates cultured from commercial broilers and broiler breeders in Arkansas. Identification of these species at high numbers in yolks is likely contributing to reduced hatchability, early chick death, and transmission of bacteria to subsequent flocks. Therefore, the broiler industry needs to pursue methods to identify infected laying hens and management strategies to mitigate vertical transmission. Importance: We were unable to identify E. cecorum being spread from flock to flock via vertical transmission. We did identify specific bacterial species infecting and reproducing within the yolks of developing embryos and day-old chicks of commercial, meat-type chickens. These particular species were detected at low and high levels, indicating growth within the yolk. The implication is that these species colonized the yolk within the hen’s reproductive tract and were vertically transmitted to the chicks and subsequent flocks. Some infections represent only a single species, while others involve two species that may represent cooperative infections. With the removal of the use of antibiotic growth promoters during early development, these species may be reducing chicken reproduction through embryo death or early chick mortality. Full article

To sustain egg production and gut health in aging flocks, the poultry industry seeks alternative synbiotic feed supplements. This study aimed to optimize Pediococcus acidilactici V202-fermented rice bran (PFR) and evaluate its effects on nutrient digestibility and cecal microbial populations in aged laying hens. In experiment 1, solid-state fermentation conditions (substrate particle size, moisture, and temperature) were optimized for viable lactic acid bacteria (LAB) counts. In experiment 2, in vitro assays were used to assess cecal fermentation kinetics. Subsequently, an in vivo trial involving twenty 80-week-old Hy-Line Brown hens evaluated the impact of PFR supplementation on nutrient digestibility and microbial profiles compared to a control diet. For experiment 1, the optimized fermentation conditions consisted of 40-mesh rice bran, a 30:70 bran-to-water ratio, incubation at 39 °C for 12 h, and drying at 40 °C, which produced the highest viable LAB counts. For experiment 2, PFR enhanced in vitro cumulative cecal gas production. In vivo, compared to the control, PFR supplementation significantly increased the apparent digestibility of dry matter (82.69% vs. 77.03%; p = 0.014), crude protein (82.75% vs. 75.38%; p = 0.016), crude fiber (36.30% vs. 23.10%; p = 0.015), ether extract (86.70% vs. 82.91%; p = 0.016), and gross energy (78.31% vs. 74.99%; p = 0.026). Furthermore, PFR beneficially modulated cecal microbial populations, increasing LAB while reducing Salmonella spp. In conclusion, these findings suggest that optimized PFR could be a promising synbiotic supplement to improve digestive efficiency and support beneficial cecal microbial populations in aged laying hens. Full article

A 42-day trial compared rice hulls and rubberwood shavings as broiler litter applied at an equal rate (7.5 kg/m²) in a house equipped with an evaporative cooling system. A total of 552-day-old male Ross 308 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to two treatments, with 12 replicate pens per treatment and 23 birds per pen. Body weight, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were assessed during the starter (0–14 d), grower (15–35 d), and finisher (36–42 d) phases. Footpad dermatitis (FPD), litter moisture, and complete blood counts were evaluated on days 14, 35, and 42, whereas infectious bronchitis (IB) antibody titers were measured on days 14 and 35. Rubberwood shavings increased body weight and feed intake during the grower and finisher phases and improved FCR during days 36–42 (p < 0.01). The FPD scores were lower with rubberwood shavings on days 35 and 42 (p < 0.05), although litter moisture was numerically higher on day 42. Hematological responses were transient, and IB antibody titers were unaffected. Economic analysis showed higher net profit (p < 0.01) and marginally higher return on investment in broilers reared on rubberwood shavings, with the economic advantage becoming more evident after footpad downgrade loss was considered. Full article

Although lightweight deep learning models have shown promise for livestock monitoring, there is still limited evidence regarding their comparative performance and practical deployment under real broiler production conditions characterized by high stocking density, severe occlusion, and constrained computational resources. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate three lightweight object detection architectures for broiler monitoring and to determine their suitability for low-cost edge deployment in settings relevant to small and medium-sized producers. A novel dataset, publicly released through Zenodo to support reproducibility, was constructed from images acquired in both a prototype farm and a high-density commercial facility. These environments captured the visual complexity of intensive broiler production, where overlapping individuals and frequent occlusion challenge detection performance. YOLOv10s, Faster R-CNN, and EfficientDet-D0 were trained and evaluated for detection accuracy and computational efficiency. YOLOv10s achieved the best results, with a mean Average Precision (mAP) of 0.95, whereas Faster R-CNN and EfficientDet-D0 were less suitable for crowded scenes due to region proposal saturation and limited feature-extraction capacity. The selected model was further implemented on a Raspberry Pi 5, achieving a stable latency of 392.17 ms. These results demonstrate that YOLOv10s provides a robust balance between accuracy and efficiency for local broiler monitoring on affordable hardware, while also indicating that active thermal management is necessary to maintain operational stability under real-world conditions. Full article

This study evaluated the nutritional composition, nutrient digestibility, and effects on small intestinal morphology of feather meal (100% feather meal) and a mixed meal consisting of 90% feather meal and 10% offal meal. A total of 300 twenty-two-day-old male Ross 308 broilers were randomly allocated into two dietary treatment groups (93% feather meal- or mixed meal-based diets). Each treatment had six replicates of 25 birds in each replication, and the experiment lasted 7 days using a direct feeding approach for nutrient digestibility evaluation. Data were analyzed using the General Linear Model (GLM) of the Statistical Analysis System (SAS), and treatment means were compared using a two-sample t-test (5%). Results showed that feather meal had higher crude protein and gross energy, while mixed meal contained greater ash, crude fiber, and unsaturated fatty acids. Feather meal was rich in methionine and lysine, whereas mixed meal had higher levels of valine, leucine, and serine. Standardized ileal digestibility was higher for fiber and most amino acids in the mixed meal, while protein digestibility and metabolizable energy were similar (p > 0.05) between treatments. Additionally, birds fed the mixed meal exhibited improved intestinal morphology, with greater jejunum and ileum villus height. In summary, the mixed meal showed better digestibility and gut morphology, indicating greater potential as a sustainable protein source. Full article

Estimating dietary requirements is resource-intensive and often excludes common commercial practices, such as the use of feed additives (FA). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether a factorial–mechanistic growth model-derived feeding program would improve performance and economic efficiency compared to the 1994 NRC recommendations for commercial turkey toms. This applied study used 5248 Nicholas Select toms (day 0 to 140) in a 2 × 2 factorial design comparing two nutrition programs (growth MODEL versus 1994 NRC recommendations) with or without feed additives (FA). Hatch-mate toms were placed across two research farms, with eight replicate pens per treatment at each farm. Growth and efficiency measurements were collected throughout the trial, and carcass yield was measured at 140 days. Data were analyzed using mixed linear models with nutritional model, FA, phase, location, and all interactions as fixed effects. The main effect of the nutritional model was different for body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and lysine to gain (p < 0.030), with the MODEL program demonstrating favorable outcomes except for body weight through the first 42 days, which was the only variable impacted by FA (p = 0.014). Nutritional program by FA interactions affected breast meat yield, feed conversion ratio, and lysine conversion, with FA improving outcomes for toms fed the MODEL feeding program but not the NRC feeding program. These findings support the use of factorial growth models over traditional NRC feeding programs. Full article

Increased demands for protein have led to a search for alternatives to traditional protein sources like soy and animal protein. Black Soldier Fly Larvae can be reared on many feedstocks to produce a high-quality nutrient source for livestock and pets. These insects contain biologically meaningful compounds like antimicrobial peptides, lauric acid, and chitin. This combination of compounds highlights the need to investigate BSFL as a functional ingredient in broilers. This study examined the impact of BSFL inclusion on broiler performance with and without a subclinical Necrotic Enteritis (NE) challenge over two experiments. In both experiments, diets included 0%, 2.5%, or 5.0% BSFL from 0–42 d. During Experiment 2, birds were given a live coccidiosis vaccine at hatch and challenged with C. perfringens at 19, 20, and 21 d. Primary variables include growth performance, lesion scores, and NE-specific mortality. A BSFL inclusion of 2.5% and 5.0% significantly improved feed conversion ratio in both experiments (p < 0.001); 5% BSFL inclusion also significantly improved body weight gain in both experiments (p = 0.014, p = 0.023, respectively). Overall, results indicate that BSFL is an effective and safe feed ingredient option for commercial broiler production, providing biologically relevant improvements in performance with and without disease pressure. Full article

In this study, we evaluated the biofilm-forming capacity of the B. pacificus B630 strain on table eggshells and its behavior in the presence of egg components, in comparison with B. cereus ATCC 14579. Strain B630, previously characterized as nhe⁺ and cytK⁺ and as a strong biofilm producer on glass, was confirmed as motile and positive for protease and phospholipase production. In static assays on disinfected eggshell pieces, B630 formed significantly more biofilm than ATCC 14579, while both strains exhibited comparable numbers of vegetative cells and spores embedded in the biofilm. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis revealed a dense extracellular matrix, altered eggshell crystal morphology, and a reduction in calcite-associated bands in biofilm-positive shells. In brain–heart infusion (BHI) broth supplemented with egg white, growth and spore germination of ATCC 14579 were strongly inhibited, whereas B630 displayed markedly higher tolerance. In an eggshell contamination model with an initial inoculum of 1 × 10⁵ colony-forming units, B630 persisted on the shell for at least 15 days at room temperature, while neither strain was recovered from egg white or yolk. These findings indicate that B. pacificus B630 combines robust biofilm formation with enhanced tolerance to egg white, favoring prolonged persistence on eggshells and underscoring the potential role of highly biofilm-forming B. cereus s.l. strains in table egg contamination. The persistence of strains of the B. cereus s.l. group in the eggshell may compromise the safety of the product. Full article

Bone fractures and keel bone damage as a result of osteoporotic implications on skeletal health due to high rates of egg production are of significant concern in the egg industry. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of two aviary housing configurations and associated exercise opportunities on musculoskeletal health in laying hens. Two commercial aviary designs were compared: Big Dutchman NATURA STEP (STEP) and Big Dutchman NATURA 60 (N60). Musculoskeletal assessments were performed at 60 weeks of age (n = 180), where measurements included CT imaging and radiography, muscle dissections, tibial and humeral biomechanical properties, and bone ash percentage. Results indicated that hens in the STEP aviary exhibited higher tibial breaking strength, humeral stiffness, and heavier muscle groups compared to the N60 system. However, rates of new and old fractures, as well as rates of deviation, were more prevalent in STEP hens compared to N60 hens. These results indicate that housing system design influences musculoskeletal health in laying hens. Full article