Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
500 S LIMESTONE 109 KINKEAD HALL
LEXINGTON,KY 40526-0001
Performing Department
Animal & Food Sciences
Non Technical Summary
The view of animal agriculture is changing and teh industry has to adapt in order to make sure the need, as well as the concers of the consumers of poultry products, are met/addressed. The issue of how birds are raised and what they are fed are some of the issue that the poultry industry has to address in the next couple of years (5 to 10 years). In order to address (scientifically) theseissues, there is the need to generate sufficient unbiassed science-based data.This project will evaluate ways in which performance and productivity of poultry are enhanced with a decrease in nutrient excretion and a net increase in return to investment. This may include studies that examine ways to improve ventilation inpoultry houses, better use of excreta (or manure) from poultry, The effect of an alternative production system (laying hens) on bird performance, welfare, and the quality of eggs will be evaluated.With an increase in the demand for meat and eggs from all-vegetable fed birds, there is the need to adjust the conventional feed given to our birds in order to meet the demands of the consumer. Feeding anall-vegetable diet may necessitate the need to increase the inclusion level of crystalline amino acid beyond the level that the poultry industry is accustomed to. Hence, there is a need to determine the level of nitrogen out from these diets.The proposed research will examine how we can furtherrefine feed formulations to better meet the needs of the birds as well as its sustainability. Additionally, this will be conducted indifferent meat bird genotypes and the effect of feed form (pellet vs. mash) will be evaluated. Energy is a significant part of thefeed cost and efforts will be made to address this by conducting research to further refine metabolizable energy (apparent andtrue ME). This will be evaluated in birds under different stressors such as different temperatures. Energy values of alternativefeed ingredients in laying hens will be evaluated.The removal of subtherapeutic use of antibiotics as growth promoters opens another realm of challenge and opportunities that has to be addressed in a timely manner. Part of the studies that will be conducted will evaluateavailable alternatives to antibiotics such as but not limited to direct-fed microbial (probiotics)and prebiotics.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
80%
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Establishing and adopting husbandry practices to a changing industry landscape. This collaborative research will encompass a multi-disciplinary approach to create a resilient poultry production system through optimal management of inputs and outputs in an ethically responsible manner.
Project Methods
Several studies will be designed and executed in line with the second objective of this project. Birds (broiler, broiler breeders, adn laying hens) will be used for these studies. Samples of feed ingredients, diets, excreta, and gastrointestinal contents will be collected and analyzed for nutrients contents/composition as well as digesta viscosity. Intestinal samples and mucosal may be collected for histology measurements and gene expression determination.The output from these efforts will be presented at different fora (local, regional, national, and international meetings) that will have in the audience several poultry producers, industry nutritionists, and poultry stakeholders. Some of the data from these efforts may be presented at extension meetings/fora.Data will be published in journals with wide readership, especially poultry producers