New Canadian research projects look at broiler diets, turkey lighting, and transportation

Published Nov 15, 2023

Tridge summary

Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada have been awarded a total of $647,000 to fund three projects focused on poultry welfare and productivity. The projects aim to improve bird welfare and productivity, including determining how altering the diet composition of broiler chickens can help them cope with heat stress and studying the effects of LED light flicker on the health and welfare of turkey hens. Another project will establish acceptable temperature parameters for transporting turkeys, potentially contributing to revisions of Canada's codes of practice for humane bird transportation.

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Original content

As Thanksgiving rolls around in the US, Americans will gobble up nearly 46 million turkeys over the holiday long weekend, just as Canadians devoured 2.5 million of the birds on this occasion in October. In fact, Canadians consume nearly 7 million turkeys as well as more than 730 million chickens annually, while the comparable US tallies are 224 million turkeys and more than 9 billion broiler chickens per year. For Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner and her research team at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) College of Agriculture and Bioresources, Tory Shynkaruk and Kailyn Buchynski, the priority is working closely with industry partners to ensure the welfare of all poultry, including turkeys, broilers and laying hens on commercial farms. “We look at ways to improve poultry well-being and make their lives better while they are still on the farm,” said Schwean-Lardner, associate professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Science. “We hope to find usable and relatively simple ...

Source: Thepoultrysite