Del.icio.us  Digg  facebook  MySpace  Twitter  Google  Bookmark Me  LinkedIn  StumbleUpon  Permalink

Poultry Research Findings Reported

The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association has released the results of two research projects that widen the knowledge base of poultry and egg production. In one research project, scientists in the Department of Poultry Science at North Carolina State University examined the effect of single stage and multi-stage incubation on broiler performance, the effect of increased CO2 levels in single stage incubation, and the reduction of ventilation levels in multi-staged incubation systems.

The study found that single stage incubation, when compared to multi-stage incubation, gave the most significant and consistent results in improving broiler performance. Although improvement in hatchability was not consistent, improvements were observed in chick quality, body weight, feed conversion, and leg health issues. As for a reduction of ventilation rates in multi-stage incubation and 6-8 day injection of CO2 in single stage incubation, researchers say inconsistent results were regarded to be non-significant between the two incubation systems.

In other research, at the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, scientists studied the effects of light stimulation on male broiler breeders following sexual maturity. Results suggest that light stimulation as early as 18 weeks of age did not have negative effects on reproduction and could lower feed cost as opposed to current light stimulation treatments that start at 21 weeks.