Page 10 - National Poultry Newspaper

Gradual drop in sick birds over coming years
OVER the next few years, the field of animal health care in poultry farming will experience many changes.
The focus will shift more towards welfare, which includes the amount of space per animal in the poultry house and also feed.
ists expect that the use of antibiotics will decrease further.
plying even stricter farm hygiene regulations,” Mr Wijnen said.
Animal health in 2030
increasingly more ac- cess to outdoor space has consequences for animal welfare.
risk of contact with wild birds and other pathogen carriers increases.
Scientific research will provide new insights and possibilities for improving animal health.
Netherlands-based Poul- try Health Centre vet Gerwin Bouwhuis said, “There is much to be gained in the poultry feed area.”
There will be fewer vets who are specialised in farmed animals, which means less poultry vets and the remaining vets will assume more mana- gerial roles.
“Free range is good for the sector’s image,” Mr Wijnen said.
“The location of free- range farms is also impor- tant for the prevention of disease risks.
In addition, societal and political preferences are also changing, which may impact animal healthcare – consider the increasing pressure on the use of an- tibiotics.
“These problems hardly occur now due to better feed and management.
The pharmaceutical in- dustry is working hard to improve the possibili- ties of protecting poultry against diseases through vaccinations.
“There are however, two sides to the health aspect.
“I expect that we will switch to feed with less protein, which will be beneficial to the animal’s gut.
“Right now, the use of antibiotics largely focuss- es on dealing with entero- coccus infections.”
“New vaccines will enter the market in the next couple of years,” Mr Wijnen said.
The use of antibiotics will possibly disappear, and feed and housing quality will gain importance.
“On the one hand, it means more space, fresh air, less animals per square metre and less dis- ease pressure.
“Fortunately, farms in the Netherlands are man- aged well, which leads to health benefits and con- trollable health risks.”
“10 years ago, 60 to 70 percent of antibiotic use was connected to prob- lems in the digestive sys- tem,” Mr Bouwhuis said.
“On the other hand, vaccination offers pos- sibilities to improve the animal’s immune sys- tem.”
A healthy chicken is more resilient to disease.
“Proper hygiene man- agement and design of free range areas are nec- essary.
He expects that the mar- ket will determine the pace in the reduction of antibiotics use.
Free range
“On the other hand, the
Changes in poultry farming will have con- sequences for animal healthcare too, such as the trend to hatch broilers in the poultry house. Animal welfare
The fact that birds have
The attention given to animal welfare has in- creased significantly over the past couple of years.
“This is a positive devel- opment, because chickens are naturally omnivores that eat seeds, herbs, worms and insects,” he said.
Mr Bouwhuis also ex- pects the resistance against so-called iono- phoric coccidiostats will increase in the future.
The possibilities for in- ovo vaccination, or vac- cinating in the egg, will increase in the coming years, even though this is not a suitable application for all diseases.
Chair of the poultry pro- fessional group KNMvD A and vet at poultry vet- erinary practice Noord & Oost of Slagharen in the Netherlands Paul Cor- nelissen said: “This will remain the case for the coming years and will be reflected in the training for veterinarians, with the results leading to a grow- ing number of vets who will focus more on ani- mal welfare within their work.”
Fewer vets
“This means that we have to find other ways to control coccidiosis,” he said.
Future poultry vets may operate in a sector that has more wiggle room than in the past.
“Other people will have to perform tasks such as blood and collecting sal- monella samples.” Antibiotics
“On the one hand, this can be achieved by ap-
“However, the use of such a vaccine is often strongly dependent on possible trade barriers,” Mr Bouwhuis said.
Increased pressure on using antibiotics and changes to poultry farming have con- sequences for animal healthcare. Photo: Lex Salverda
“In addition, to more lo- cally grown protein, and it is also evident that in- sects will become part of the poultry ration in the future.
“I think a reduction to 0 is a very real possibility,” Mr Cornelissen said.
“These are combination vaccines that will protect poultry against multi- ple diseases at the same time.”
Poultry farmers will al- so feel the consequences of the decreasing number of vets that will specialise in farmed animals, mean- ing less poultry vets.
“I propose using a strict schedule with chemi- cal coccidiostats that are alternated with vaccina- tion.”
Whether in-ovo vaccina- tion will really take off largely depends on the costs according to experts.
“This will influence the vets’ work,” Mr Cornelis- sen said.
More vaccines
“Economics also count,” Mr Cornelissen said.
“They will take on more of a managing role.
Netherlands’ Poultry Practice the Achterhoek vet Peter Wijnen con- cludes that a further re- duction of antibiotic use requires poultry to be bet- ter protected against bac- terial pathogens.
The arrival of a practi- cally usable vaccine that protects poultry against bird flu or avian influenza also seems to be a pos- sibility in the future.
Poultry health special-
Effluent pumps resist abrasion
MOVING effluent and wastewater is a con- tinuing challenge.
contaminated liquids through a vertical lift of 6m.
head capacity.
Using customer feed-
Liquids can be abra- sive and even corrosive requiring flexible op- tions in pump design to combat the issues.
Self-priming means the user never has to worry about priming the suction hose.
back from across the country, Aussie Pumps GMP engineers worked on programs to develop products that would not only pass solids in sus- pension but would offer high heads as well.
Aussie Pumps chief engineer John Hales said, “Our Aussie GMP effluent pumps can han- dle solids in suspension, but in a few applications we see premature wear on cast-iron impellers.”
It’s a simple matter of filling the pump with water and starting the motor.
The pump range starts with 2” ports and go all the way through to 4”.
“That’s why we came up with the stainless- steel impeller option, to avoid premature failure and give longer uninter- rupted service life.”
Silicon carbide seals that are abrasion resist- ant are fitted as stand- ard and every pump in the ST series has a stainless-steel wear plate mounted inside the cast-iron body to protect the castings.
Bare shaft pumps in the same series are available with ports up to 8” that deliver flows of up to 9000LPM.
The pumps are self- priming in design, with the capacity to pull
The company is proud ofitsbig3”and4” pumps, which are now available not only in high flow but also high
For further informa- tion including free tech- nical documentation on Aussie Pumps complete agricultural package is readily available from aussiepumps.com.au
The Aussie GMP semi-trash range of effluent pumps have an option of a stainless-steel impeller for abrasive applications to extend life and perfor- mance.
Fighting pests with fungi in Australian chicken sheds
NEW research sup- ported by AgriFutures Australia is optimising the use of an alternative control measure for the lesser mealworm based on live fungi.
in meat chicken sheds,” Mr Rice said.
over time.
An additional objec-
said the development of an effective fungal- based control for the lesser mealworm has the potential to significantly benefit on the Australian chicken meat industry.
The lesser mealworm, also known as darkling beetle, is a common in- sect-pest to the chicken meat industry due to the damage it can cause to the structure of chicken sheds through tunnel- ling and its ability to carry pathogens.
“We’re conducting field trials currently at two farms in the Ca- boolture area to com- pare the mycopesticide in full litter replacement and partial litter re-use systems.
tive of this latest re- search project is to test the potential of using the mycopesticide in conjunction with insec- ticides to reduce over- all chemical usage and maximise control of lesser mealworm popu- lations.
“With this research we have the chance to not only optimise a new natural control method for lesser mealworm but also increase sustain- able practices in chicken meat production,” Ms Lane said.
Lesser mealworms are often found in poul- try production systems where deep litter and open floor housing pro- vide optimal survival and reproductive condi- tions.
“We’re running the tri- als through the seasons so we can compare the fungi’s impact on the lesser mealworm popu- lations in winter to what happens in the warmer months.
“We’re doing prelimi- nary laboratory trials to see whether the mycope- sticide can work togeth- er with the insecticides currently approved for use to provide a better overall control effect,” Mr Rice said.
“As consumers want more information about the provenance of their food, it’s more impor- tant than ever to explore natural options for pest control and maintain the consumer confidence that makes chicken the number one consumed meat in Australia.”
Following on from preliminary research that developed a proof- of-concept for non-toxic fungus-based pesticides – mycopesticides – to control lesser meal- worm populations, new research is underway to optimise the use of mycopesticides for this purpose.
“The mycopesticide appears to reduce lesser mealworm populations under both litter sys- tems but there’s more research to be done.”
“We hope that the combined results of the field and laboratory work will attract a com- mercial partner that is interested in producing a mycopesticide that will be effective for use against lesser mealworm and have a low environ- mental impact.”
“The initial results look promising.
Approved insecticides are currently used to control the lesser meal- worm pest.
Read more about this project and register to receive updates from the AgriFutures Chicken Meat Program at agri futures.com.au/rural- industries/chicken-meat/
However, insecticides potentially leave resi- dues in the litter and the lesser mealworm builds up resistance to them
AgriFutures Chicken Meat Program manager research Annie Lane
Leading the current re- search project is Depart- ment of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland technical officer Steven Rice.
“What we’re doing now is testing the myco- pesticide under various conditions including dif- ferent litter use practices and different floor types
Page 10 – National Poultry Newspaper, January 2021
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