Introducing the latest edition of Poultry World

Interview: ‘Only a few hatcheries will survive’

Beginning on 1 January 2024, all male layer siblings in Germany’s layer industry must remain alive. Keeping in mind that the number of hatcheries has already shrunk since 2021 from 20 to 8, this will be a challenge for the sector and will require major investment in in ovo sexing machines. In this interview with Poultry World, Henner Schönecke, chairman of the German branch organisation for the laying sector, Bundesverband Ei, talks about Germany’s layer industry and the challenges and concerns ahead.

Health officials are preparing for the worst

The world has experienced one of the worst global avian influenza outbreaks on record with tens of millions of poultry culled, huge numbers of wild bird die-offs and a growing number of mammals catching the virus. In February, the death of an 11-year-old was reported, with her father testing positive, too. This has some alarm bells ringing, with questions arising on the possibility of the virus mutating and causing a pandemic in people…

Fighting anti-microbial resistance

Work is being done to remove pathogenic bacteria from the food chain, and trials in the UK are being conducted on a new technology called Guided Biotics, which can selectively identify unique DNA sequences found only in a target bacterial species. Commenting on the study, Professor Martin Woodward, project lead, says that the project is providing “stunning data”. He notes: “We can reduce the biosecurity risk of Salmonella infection by 3 to 5-fold, which is very, very significant”.

‘An extra set of eyes in the poultry house’

Weighing is a crucial but delicate task in daily management of broiler farmers to produce healthy birds with the right final weight as demanded by the processor. With this in mind, the BroilerZoom system has been developed in Denmark to track the exact weight of broilers to estimate the final weight before grow-out.

Controlling egg weight of commercial layers

Eggs can be too big or too small, and while promoting an early increase in egg size has been researched for many years, attempts at controlling late cycle increase in egg size seem to be more challenging. Smart interventions can limit the number of those eggs.

Balancing shape and size in trace mineral nutrition

It is critical that essential ingredients are fully available for use by chickens to support their growth and performance. In terms of selecting trace minerals, several physical and chemical factors should be evaluated. Particle size is a significant factor. Research reveals that getting the trace mineral particle size right can help ensure that more copper, manganese and zinc are available to birds.

Egg producers enjoy higher prices and up production

Because of rising egg prices, a growing number of egg producers in the UK are looking to expand their farms and invest in the future of their business.