Poultry producers collect a lot of data. New technology that combines the internet of things (IoT), causal analysis and generative AI could put that data to work to help optimize decisions affecting bird health, production and overall profitability.

At the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit, Evan Sadlon, data science manager, MTech Systems, discussed how this technology could provide more accurate answers to questions such as: What are the effects of different pre-heating regiments on average daily gain?; How does the amount of starter per bird change the inflection point of the growth curve?; and, When should I be running different ventilation programs to minimize feed conversion ration (FCR)?

To illustrate what causal analysis is, Sadlon shared a chart that links drownings to watching Nicholas Cage movies. “According to this chart, all we have to do to save lives is bar Nicholas Cage from starring in any more movies,” he said. “How do we separate Nicholas Cage drowning people into actual causation? That’s what casual analysis is. It seeks to find what actions actually lead to specific outcomes.” Poultry producers can make the same mistakes at their farm with data collection. Sensors in the poultry house use IOT to collect information on a variety of factors, from bird health to environmental conditions within the house. But, without causal analysis, producers may not be able to actually use this data to help improve outcomes, he said.

The addition of generative AI can improve the decision-making process even more. This technology is commonly described as the next generation of artificial intelligence because it can build on the data it collects. Generative AI can help poultry data scientists build on and improve the coding and analysis that they use to make decisions about how the birds are raised and fed.

An active live yeast called Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii could improve food safety, reduce Salmonella colonization and boost intestinal health and maturity when added to poultry diets.

“I’ve been taking this kind of live active yeast and looking at the past, taking it all the way to the current and some recent new data on how this active yeast could potentially be a great tool for some forms of production,” Bill Potter, Ph.D., food safety technical advisor, Elanco, explained at the 2023 Poultry Tech Summit conference.

Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii was originally discovered in the quest to improve wine processing. In 1920, Henry Boulard traveled to IndoChina to search for new strains of yeast that can be used during the fermenting process. Unfortunately, this visit occurred at the same time as a cholera outbreak at the time. “He noticed that some of the natives in the area were going to certain plants, particularly the lychee fruit,” said Potter, noting that tea from this fruit provided relief from intestinal tract problems caused by the cholera. “As they say, the rest is history,” he added.

The active live yeast has three modes of action; impact on microbiome balance, improvement in natural defenses and improvement in gut integrity. One of the most unique characteristics of Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii is that it can sequester oxygen. In other words, it takes away oxygen that can otherwise by used by Salmonella, E. coli and other pathogens in the poultry gut, improving food safety.

In commercial trials, broilers supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii showed significant reductions in pathogen colonization. Similar decreases in E. coli were seen in a layer operation during another study. Saccharomyces cerevisiae boulardii isn’t a silver bullet, Potter cautioned, but when the yeast is fed in combination with other management strategies, food safety can be improved.

A fast, safe method of analysing bone density in live hens could help poultry producers select the optimum birds with which to breed, to improve animal health and welfare. Scientists at the Roslin Institute have developed a digital X-ray procedure that takes around 45 seconds to conduct, is practical for hens and poultry workers, and delivers reliable, reproducible results.

Their novel method presented in British Poultry Science enables breeders to consider bone density in their selection of laying hens, which are at risk of fractures from biological changes linked with laying eggs. Recent advances in digital X-ray technology have enabled researchers to develop their technique to capture and interpret images relating to bone density. Their method involves quickly capturing digital X-rays of live hens, from which their leg bone density can be calculated, and data digitally shared. Researchers optimised their method to ensure a clear image in minimal exposure time. Their approach was validated by comparing results from chicken X-rays with those from analysis of chicken leg bones.

The procedure, which takes about 45 seconds, offers a fast, practical alternative to conventional imaging techniques such as Dual-energy X-ray Absorptiometry, Digitised Fluoroscopy and CT scans. Strong bones offer improved health and reduced risk of fractures in birds that have freedom to move around their environment. The keel bone, or sternum, of hens is particularly prone to damage and previous research by the same team has shown that leg bone density is genetically related to that of the keel bone, and to fracture risk. The new practical way to measure bone density also has animal welfare implications, as it could help reduce the number of animals needed for research into nutritional and management aids for bone health.

Global poultry market growth in 2023 is expected to be slow, reaching only 1%, according to a recent report from Rabobank. Global poultry markets are well positioned to gradually improve in Q4 2023 and early 2024, although the level will depend on how well-balanced they are. After a period of slow poultry consumption growth due to a weak global economy and rising prices resulting from cost increases, global demand has room for some recovery, driven mainly by lower feed costs and, therefore, lower chicken prices. Markets will stay highly price-driven, but poultry should be able to benefit from its relatively competitive pricing in many markets compared to other proteins like beef, pork, and alternative proteins. Rabobank sees improving market conditions in the US, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Indonesia, and China. However, the situation in Indonesia and China will be fragile.

The EU market has been strong, but high levels of fresh chicken imports are creating pressure. Brazil and Thailand face more challenging conditions and will need more supply growth discipline in oversupplied domestic markets. Global trade is expected to stay strong in 2H 2023 after reaching a record-high 7.2 million tonnes in the first half of the year, driven entirely by increased trade of raw poultry meat, while trade in processed poultry meat dropped sharply. Amid more price-driven markets, consumers’ product preferences are changing, and this trend is expected to continue in 2H 2023 and into 2024. Government interventions driven by food security, geopolitics, and sustainability will continue to impact markets and create volatility in global trade. Avian influenza will remain an important factor that could suddenly impact global markets, from both a local supply perspective and a trade perspective, especially if Brazil’s southern states are hit. Producers should maintain focus on the operational side.

Although we believe feed prices will drop slightly, operational costs are still at historic highs, and risks of further volatility exist in grain prices (due to El Niño) and in energy prices and availability. Ongoing leadership in terms of costs and procurement will remain key. Additionally, producers should fine-tune supply to changes in poultry demand related to products, distribution, and market development.

Global poultry market growth in 2023 is expected to be slow, reaching only 1%, according to a recent report from Rabobank. Global poultry markets are well positioned to gradually improve in Q4 2023 and early 2024, although the level will depend on how well-balanced they are.

After a period of slow poultry consumption growth due to a weak global economy and rising prices resulting from cost increases, global demand has room for some recovery, driven mainly by lower feed costs and, therefore, lower chicken prices. Markets will stay highly price-driven, but poultry should be able to benefit from its relatively competitive pricing in many markets compared to other proteins like beef, pork, and alternative proteins.

Rabobank sees improving market conditions in the US, Mexico, Japan, South Africa, Indonesia, and China. However, the situation in Indonesia and China will be fragile. The EU market has been strong, but high levels of fresh chicken imports are creating pressure. Brazil and Thailand face more challenging conditions and will need more supply growth discipline in oversupplied domestic markets.

Global trade is expected to stay strong in 2H 2023 after reaching a record-high 7.2 million tonnes in the first half of the year, driven entirely by increased trade of raw poultry meat, while trade in processed poultry meat dropped sharply. Amid more price-driven markets, consumers’ product preferences are changing, and this trend is expected to continue in 2H 2023 and into 2024.

Brazil is expected to benefit the most as a cost-price leader in raw chicken meat, while Thailand and China need to refocus on raw chicken trade, which will challenge these exporters’ value position.

Government interventions driven by food security, geopolitics, and sustainability will continue to impact markets and create volatility in global trade. Avian influenza will remain an important factor that could suddenly impact global markets, from both a local supply perspective and a trade perspective, especially if Brazil’s southern states are hit.

Producers should maintain focus on the operational side. Although we believe feed prices will drop slightly, operational costs are still at historic highs, and risks of further volatility exist in grain prices (due to El Niño) and in energy prices and availability. Ongoing leadership in terms of costs and procurement will remain key. Additionally, producers should fine-tune supply to changes in poultry demand related to products, distribution, and market development.

In a recent press release, USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation announced the completion of a funded research project at the University of Arkansas in which researchers evaluated the effects of variable light intensity programs on broiler welfare. David Caldwell, head of the Department of Poultry Science and director of the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science at the University of Arkansas, and his team recently completed the project. The aim of the project was to determine the effects of variable intensity lighting and natural lighting programmes on behaviour, gait score and stress hormone (corticosterone) compared to constant light intensity programmes in commercial broiler farms. Other objectives of the study were to investigate the effect of enrichment hut on broiler behaviour, gait score and stress in the different lighting programmes. The results showed that the variable light intensity lighting programme stimulated dust bathing behaviour and voluntary movement of the birds. In addition, litter moisture content and footpad lesions were lowest in the variable light programme house.

Multidrug-resistant E. coli was found in 40% of supermarket meat samples tested in a Spanish study. E. coli strains capable of causing serious human infections were also highly prevalent, according to this year’s European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID 2023, Copenhagen, 15-18 April). Antibiotic resistance is reaching dangerously high levels worldwide. With drug-resistant infections killing an estimated 700,000 people worldwide each year and projected to kill 10 million by 2050 if no action is taken, the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified antimicrobial resistance as one of the greatest public health threats facing humanity. Multi-drug resistant bacteria can spread from animals to humans through the food chain, but due to commercial sensitivities, data on the levels of antibiotic resistant bacteria in food is not widely available. To find out more, Dr Azucena Mora Gutiérrez and Dr Vanesa García Menéndez from the University of Santiago de Compostela-Lugo, Lugo, Spain, together with colleagues from other research centres, designed a series of experiments to assess the levels of multidrug-resistant and extraintestinal pathogenic Enterobacteriaceae (Klebsiella pneumoniae, E. coli and other bacteria that can cause multidrug-resistant infections such as sepsis or urinary tract infections) in meat sold in Spanish supermarkets. They analysed 100 meat products (25 each of chicken, turkey, beef and pork) randomly selected from supermarkets in Oviedo in 2020. The majority (73%) of the meat products contained levels of E. coli that were within food safety limits. However, almost half (49%) contained multi-resistant and/or potentially pathogenic E. coli. Of these, 82 E. coli isolates were recovered and characterised. In addition, 12 K. pneumoniae isolates were recovered from 10 of the 100 meat products (7 chicken, 2 turkey and 1 pork). Forty of the 100 meat products contained multidrug-resistant E. coli (56 of the 82 E. coli characterised). These included E. coli that produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs), enzymes that confer resistance to most beta-lactam antibiotics, including penicillins, cephalosporins and the monobactam aztreonam. The authors of the study call for regular assessment of the levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including ExPEC E. coli, in meat products. 

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has overshadowed reports from Brazil in recent months, but there is still plenty of good news from the country’s poultry sector. Take, for example, the excellent performance of Brazilian egg exports. As a low-cost, disease-free producer, Brazil is well placed to meet global demand for eggs, and figures released in July suggest that new highs can be expected this year, although exports may not reach the peaks of a decade ago. In the first six months of 2023, exports of shell and processed eggs increased by 150% in volume terms to 16,600 metric tonnes (MT). In value terms, the figure was more than 222% higher at USD 41.2 million. In June alone, volumes increased by over 901% and value by over 608% compared to June last year. According to the Brazilian Animal Protein Association (ABPA), these are the best figures for the first half of the year in more than a decade, and with the high average for the second quarter – the best on record – new highs could be expected for 2023 as a whole. The main destination for Brazilian exports is Japan, where the HPAI outbreak has led to a significant reduction in the laying hen population and a consequent shortage of eggs. Between January and June, it bought 6,900 MT of eggs from Brazil, an increase of 1,304% on the same period last year. Next on the list was Taiwan, which bought 5,400 MT, having imported none last year. For any consumers in Brazil who are worried that they may not be able to buy eggs as they all disappear overseas, the ABPA has reassured them that there will be no local shortage. Exports, it says, account for less than 1% of the country’s local production.

French animal health group Ceva has withdrawn a legal challenge to a tender to supply avian flu vaccine to France, in which it lost out to Germany’s Boehringer Ingelheim. France chose Boehringer Ingelheim to supply 80 million doses of bird flu vaccine needed for its first vaccination campaign in ducks, due to start in October. The plan will make France the first country in the European Union to vaccinate poultry against the virus that has ravaged flocks worldwide. Ceva has decided to drop its appeal against the outcome of the tender in order to avoid any delay in the vaccination campaign for the livestock sector, the company said in a statement late last week. The company is continuing discussions with the authorities on subsequent phases of the vaccination campaign and has already produced more than 10 million shots of its avian influenza vaccine for ducks, Ceva added.

Results from a Wageningen University & Research, Animal Breeding and Genomics (WUR-ABG) study published in Poultry Science suggest that both natural antibody (NAb) levels and resilience indicators are heritable and are under polygenic control in a brown layer line. Resilience is the capacity of an animal to be minimally affected by disturbances or to return quickly to the state it was in before exposure to the disturbance. Given that livestock are continuously exposed to environmental disturbances, for example fluctuations in temperature or pathogens, breeding (disease) resilient livestock is important for the sustainability and profitability of livestock production. Measuring general resilience of animals is not easy. However, the increasing availability of longitudinal production data allows estimating resilience indicators based on deviations observed from expected production levels. To evaluate an animal’s general disease resistance, levels of natural antibodies (NAbs) can be used as an indicator trait.

The researchers performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) to identify genomic regions influencing NAbs and resilience indicators in a purebred Rhode Island layer line. Results suggest that both resilience indicators and NAbs are heritable and under “polygenic control”, meaning that they are influenced by many genes with a small effect. These observations provide further insight in the genetic architecture underlying resilience, which, in turn, may facilitate genetic improvement for resilience in layer lines. According to the authors, there is currently no simple interpretation of any of the resilience indicators and it is important to further refine and validate them in order to verify their practical relevance and to implement them in management and breeding practices.