Poultry meat and eggs are the most popular animal products in the South Pacific region but domestic production is insignificant and does not meet demand. High cost of inputs (feed, day-old chicks and equipment) and access to market are major constraints which limits poultry production in most countries of the region. The local industry is mainly traditional, based on ‘family poultry’ (FP) with few large scale commercial systems. The result of this has been massive importation of poultry products mainly from Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. This paper presents the current state of poultry industries in selected countries (Fiji and Samoa) of the region. Major challenges and opportunities of the industries are discussed.

The food processing industry is faced with complex challenges that are, among other things, associated with changes in the global environment. The goal of this paper is to gain knowledge about millennials (those born at the end of the 20th century) perceptions of locally sourced and produced fresh poultry in a developing economy, and to understand the influenced factors in the locally food market development. The research showed that this sector expresses a positive attitude towards locally sourced and produced fresh poultry. Additionally, there is a significant tendency towards purchasing fresh poultry of domestic origin because of its quality and safety. These results are particularly useful for product marketing and future product development in the locally sourced and produced poultry sector, as they provide an indication as how it can better reach and satisfy millennials. Our study shows significant opportunities, challenges and potentials in the development of the locally sourced and produced food market.

Chlamydia psittaci, depending on its serovar, can infect humans, birds, and other animals and livestock. Its economic impact on poultry production, especially on turkeys and chickens, and potential zoonotic risk have driven the search for an effective vaccination protocol to prevent and control the infection and shedding of the organism. Currently, no vaccine is approved for use against avian chlamydiosis despite efforts in the past decades. The present genomic era presents an opportunity to establish an effective vaccination scheme, taking advantage of the major outer membrane protein (MOMP) as the major protective antigen of C. psittaci. The plasmid DNA expressing MOMP can be coupled with optimisation of controllable factors during vaccination such as codon optimisation (through formation of polyplexes and lipoplexes), route of administration, vaccination schedule, addition of adjuvants/co-stimulatory factors such as cytokines and CpG motifs, and recombination with other poultry pathogens such as viruses. The development of an effective vaccine against C. psittaci will protect susceptible poultry from infection and production performance losses and reduce the zoonotic risk and minimise the emergence of antibiotic-resistant C. psittaci strains.

Manganese (Mn) is an element required in nutrition, functioning largely in the enzyme systems involved in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism. It plays an important role in growth, bone development, perosis prevention, optimal eggshell quality and performance maintenance of poultry. The current NRC (1994) guidelines recommend 20 and 60 mg/kg of Mn for laying hens and broilers, respectively. In practical poultry feeds, however, the dietary requirement of Mn is considered higher than these values. Traditionally, Mn is added to the diet in the sulphate form, which is typically used as the standard in nutritional studies. However, in recent times, other, more natural forms have been made available to the feed industry, e.g. organic chelates. From this current review of published data, it appears that inorganic Mn supplementation up to 200 mg/kg is ineffective on the performance of both laying hens and broilers but at lower levels it improves eggshell quality. The dietary Mn requirement of laying hens and broilers appears to be 90 mg/kg, and the availability of Mn-sulphate is higher than that of other inorganic Mn sources but lower than its organic sources. More studies should be undertaken to determine the optimum Mn requirement in its various forms for laying hens and broilers.

Since 2006, when the European Union imposed a total ban on the use of antibiotic growth promoters, scientific interest has focused on natural feed additives that might be positive to both production performance and animal health. Inulin is a prebiotic, which occurs naturally in many plants as a storage material. The specific structure of inulin underlies the fact that it is not digested by the host digestive enzymes. Unchanged, the prebiotic reaches the large intestine, where it undergoes fermentation and becomes a substrate for some strains of healthy bacteria. Current literature contains information on the effects of inulin on broiler performance and laying performance of hens. It may be concluded from data available that inulin is beneficial in the production of poultry meat and eggs. Inulin may improve feed intake and conversion, stimulate weight gains, strengthen the skeletal system, improve carcass yields and the production and quality of eggs. However, reports on the subject are scarce, and the results they present vary substantially. The mode of action of inulin appears to be complex, multidirectional and is not yet fully understood. The ambiguous character of inulin may result from the fact that its effectiveness in poultry nutrition depends on a number of factors. Despite these unresolved issues, the positive properties of inulin may be of benefit to the poultry industry.

Vitamin D plays many important functions in the animal, as it is necessary for proper calcium (Ca) absorption and use in different biological processes. The aim of several recent experiments with poultry was to evaluate the efficacy of different forms and levels of vitamin D3 in the diets for broiler chickens and laying hens. The results of these studies are presented and discussed in this review paper. Based on these results, the modern high-performing poultry requirement for supplemental vitamin D to maximise mineral digestibility, performance and immunity indices, bone health, and eggshell quality is about 3,000 IU/kg, i.e. much higher than NRC (1994) recommendations. The results of several recent poultry studies have shown that 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) is more efficient in commercial poultry nutrition than the basic form of vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol).

Historically, animal welfare has been defined by the absence of negative states such as disease, hunger and thirst. However, a shift in animal welfare science has led to the understanding that good animal welfare cannot be achieved without the experience of positive states. Unequivocally, the housing environment has significant impacts on animal welfare. This review summarises how cage and cage-free housing systems impact some of the key welfare issues for layer hens: musculoskeletal health, disease, severe feather pecking, and behavioural expression. Welfare in cage-free systems is currently highly variable, and needs to be addressed by management practices, genetic selection, further research, and appropriate design and maintenance of the housing environment. Conventional cages lack adequate space for movement, and do not include features to allow behavioural expression. Hens therefore experience extreme behavioural restriction, musculoskeletal weakness and an inability to experience positive affective states. Furnished cages retain the benefits of conventional cages in terms of production efficiency and hygiene, and offer some benefits of cage-free systems in terms of an increased behavioural repertoire, but do not allow full behavioural expression. In Australia, while the retail market share of free-range eggs has been increasing in recent years, the majority of hens (approximately 70%) remain housed in conventional cages, and furnished cages are not in use. Unlike many other countries including New Zealand, Canada, and all those within the European Union (where a legislated phase-out commenced in 1999 and was completed in 2012) a legislative phase-out of conventional cages has not been announced in Australia. This review came about in light of the current development of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry in Australia. These standards are intended to provide nationally consistent legislation for the welfare of all poultry species in all Australian states and territories. While it is purported that the standards will reflect contemporary scientific knowledge, there is no scientific review, nor scientific committee to inform the development of these standards, and conventional cages are permitted in the standards with no phase-out proposed.

The tri-island state of Grenada, Carriacou, and Petit Martinique's legislative and institutional compliance with the World Organisation for Animal Health's (OIE) guidelines on antimicrobial utilisation in poultry production is reviewed in this paper. This includes legislative and other institutional documents, coupled with interviews with veterinary officers, health officers and managers of the veterinary drug distribution centres were conducted to evaluate the extent of Grenada's compliance with the OIE's Terrestrial Animal Health Code in the use of antimicrobials in poultry production. Five thematic areas were evaluated: 1) legislative and institutional arrangements; 2) surveillance and reporting; 3) risks associated with the importation of poultry meat products; 4) ante- and post-mortem inspection; and 5) procurement and use of antimicrobials. The information revealed that the current legislative framework in Grenada does not adequately address poultry food safety and that there is a need to strengthen the synergies between the agricultural and health sectors to enable a more thorough monitoring of antimicrobials use in poultry production. There is a need to strengthen epidemiology of zoonotic diseases, provisioning of education and information for key stakeholders about the use of antibiotics and the development of a system to monitor antibiotic procurement, distribution and use in Grenada. These findings have implications for other small island states in the Caribbean that have similar limitations in institutional capacity and knowledge deficits in the prudent use of antibiotics.

The objective of the current paper is to review research findings in organic poultry or free-range systems and its perspectives for the tropical Latin America region, including genotypes adapted to production systems in semi-captivity, according to the specific characteristics of each country. Different feeding systems schemes are analysed as well as low cost feed resources that could be used. Most of the studies reviewed for free-range systems propose feeding schemes based on two stages, which are starter (1-5 weeks old) and finisher (5-15 weeks old) diets. Carcass yield and quality are covered; however there is still debate due to the great variety of results observed, depending on age, genotype, feed ingredients and characteristics of the system used. It has been suggested that carcass characteristics improved due to increased activity, which enhances bird comfort and welfare. The findings of this review indicated that producing meat in these systems is feasible in tropical countries. However, it is necessary to establish adequate conditions for every country to ensure viability, on the basis of meat quality and economic variables.

Broiler production in certain countries often suffers from an inadequate supply of local high-quality protein. Increased production of sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus L.) for oil can provide more meal that can provide protein and offset the need for soybean meal, which is often unavailable due to cost. Presently, due to adaptive capabilities in various climatic and soil conditions, sunflower seeds are grown worldwide. Sunflower seed meal (SFSM), a by-product from oil production for human consumption, varies in quality due to variations in oil extraction methods, seed varieties and processing techniques. However, investigators reported that SFSM can replace up to two thirds of the soybean meal protein in the starter and finisher diets of broilers. This review includes the quality of SFSM as related to the effect of processing and as a feed ingredient in broilers diets.

This review provides a comparative analysis on the unenriched and alternative cage systems used in commercial egg production as required by the directive (99/74/EC) of the EU Council on animal welfare in terms of technical performance indicators, distribution of cost items, egg sales revenue, and profitability. Unenriched (conventional) cages are commonly used in Turkey. However these cages don't provide for the laying hens natural needs. The comparison was taken from data regarding Lohmann Brown Classic and Lohmann LSL Classic laying hybrids kept in two caging systems. The rearing period was composed of 399 days starting when 16-week-old commercial pullets were put into unenriched and alternative cage systems and ending at the end of their 73rd weeks of age when laying hens were removed from production. The average shares of the some important cost items in the total cost in the production period were calculated to be as follows for unenriched and alternative cage systems, respectively: pullet 22.17% and 21.17%; feed 61.31% and 58.29%; labour 2.67% and 2.55%; veterinary and health 0.74% and 0.98%; egg packaging 3.23% and 3.48%; maintenance and repair expenses 1.50% and 2.29%; and depreciation costs 5.48% and 8.35%. The average cost of producing one egg was found to be 0.094 US$ and 0.097 US$, respectively. It was determined that investment costs in alternative cage systems was 14.93% higher and the production cost per hen was 2.03% higher than that in unenriched cage systems. In Turkey, on January 1, 2023, all systems will be converted to alternative cages. Investment amounts and production costs for the alternative cage systems are very important in this transformation process. Therefore the present review is to examine the available information on the production data of laying hens reared in the unenriched and alternative cages and to make economic feasibility conclusions under Turkey conditions.

The application of novel feedstuffs in poultry diets, especially in developing countries, has received attention in recent years. Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) is a non-edible oil seed, and its meal is a rich in protein. Jatropha meal (JM) has been characterised as a potentially useful animal feedstuff due to its high content of crude protein level (35-50%), essential amino acid and mineral content. However, jatropha kernel contains high amounts of phytate, ranging from 7 to 10%, which would require phytase supplementation for it to be used in feeds. Jatropha contains toxic compounds and anti-nutritional factors, including lectin, tannin, saponin, phorbol esters and trypsin inhibitors, which require different treatments (physical, chemical or biological) to make it suitable for poultry diets. As a result of the presence of detrimental compounds, only low levels of jatropha in feed are recommended from animal trials. It may be used to partially substitute soybean meal, but not maize. It has been suggested in the literature that, after physical or chemical treatment of jatropha seed meal, it may have other benefits, including as an immunomodulant and antioxidant, as well as hypocholestermic, antihypertensive, hepatoprotectant, antiretroviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antibacterial properties. It appears that heat and enzyme treated jatropha could be used in poultry diets without detrimental effects on productive and reproductive performance and may promote health status in poultry.

Avian influenza virus (AIV) type A subtype H9N2 usually causes mild asymptomatic infections, and is mostly undetected and is, therefore, under-reported. This has allowed the virus to rapidly evolve via mutations and reassortments in its genome with other avian influenza subtypes especially H1N1, H5N1 and H7N3 thereby introducing new variant strains and producing severe disease. It has been reported that the AIV H9N2 donated its internal genes for the devastating 1997 Hong Kong outbreak and furthermore, it may be the cause of the next influenza pandemic. There are many factors such as its wide host range, ability to cross the species barrier, ecological diversity, antiviral resistance and zoonotic importance that make it an excellent candidate for the next influenza pandemic. These and other factors like ineffective vaccination, negative immunological pressures, lack of surveillance, which contribute to its continuous persistence and evolutionary dynamics are discussed in this paper. It is important to take the necessary measures to control and prevent its unchecked circulation to prevent the future outbreaks.

Aspergillosis is an infectious, non-contagious fungal disease caused by species within the ubiquitous opportunistic saprophytic genus Aspergillus, in particular Aspergillus fumigatus. In poultry, infection by A. fumigatus may induce significant economic losses particularly in turkey production. A. fumigatus develops and sporulates easily in poor quality bedding or contaminated feedstuffs in indoor farm environments. Inadequate ventilation and dusty conditions increase the risk of bird exposure to aerosolised spores. The respiratory tract is the primary site for A. fumigatus colonisation, leading to severe respiratory distress and associated granulomatous airsacculitis and pneumonia. It infects the respiratory system of many kinds of birds, leading to a range of disease manifestations from acute to chronic infections. Acute cases are seen in young birds following inhalation of spores, causing high morbidity and mortality. The chronic form affects older birds and appears more sporadically. Treatments for infected poultry are non-existent; therefore, prevention is the only way to protect poultry. The mechanism of host-pathogen interaction, early diagnostic methods and antifungal treatment schedules need to be further studied in order to control this disease.

Chicken meat is an economically important part of Chinese food security, but has suffered relatively consistent highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks since 2004. This review evaluates the extent of quantity losses caused by HPAI events on Chinese chicken meat supply and demand (domestic production, consumption, imports and exports) between 2004 and 2013, using a partial equilibrium model. The largest losses were experienced in 2004 and 2005 (4,496,700 tons) which accounted for 38.84% and 33.76% of total respectively. Across the full review period the largest impacts were on per capita consumption (2.7 million tons) followed by production (2.5 million tons), imports (0.73 million tons) and exports (0.21 million tons). Research suggests that higher imports of chicken meat during HPAI events, branding strategies and investment in food safety management through the sector may help to avoid or minimise future HPAI losses in China.

The purpose of this review is to highlight the potential of sweet potato as a feed ingredient for poultry diets. This review discusses in general the metabolisable energy value of this feed resource when compared to maize and its impact on the performance of broilers and layers fed at various inclusion rates. Trypsin inhibitors are the major anti-nutritive factor present in sweet potato; however these are eliminated with heat treatment. Nutrient profile and feeding value of different types of sweet potato meal such as potato root meal, potato peel waste, potato leaf meal and cooked potato meal are discussed. Based on feed cost, this could be an effective alternative feed ingredient in the diets of broilers and layers.

The poultry industry is currently facing a serious problem of controlling coccidiosis, owing to the development of drug resistance against commonly available anticoccidials. Furthermore, an increasing demand in the consumers for drug residue free poultry and poultry products has led to the development of alternative strategies for the treatment and control of avian coccidiosis. In response to the invasion of Eimeria species in coccidiosis, oxidative stress is created by host cellular response which imparts pathology to the host tissue besides damaging the parasite. Hence, in order to alleviate the damage caused by oxidative stress during coccidiosis, the use of essential oils (EOs) rich in antioxidant compounds is being considered as an appealing approach. However, results are very divergent and often not as satisfactory as expected. Essential oils, as natural products, obtained from aromatic plants have the potential to serve as an alternate to anticoccidials. The present work aims to review the current state of knowledge, informative collection of results obtained over the years and to attain a critical decision in aspects of the use of EOs as anticoccidials.

Mycotoxins are secondary fungal metabolites of structurally diverse groups occurring worldwide as contaminants of cereals such as wheat, corn, maize, peanut, and barley, which comprise the main ingredients of poultry diets. Milk thistle (Silybum marianum) has wide range of beneficial properties, including data showing its positive effects in protecting the liver of birds exposed to aflatoxins. Trials have shown that in broilers affected by aflatoxicosis, which adversely affected feed intake, weight gain, feed efficiency, serum biochemistry and immune status, supplementation of diets with silymarin reduced the detrimental effects, thereby improving the productivity and health. Although promising results have been reported, established doses and further research on the standardisation of this herb will increase its uses as alternative to synthetic drugs. The following review discusses several important aspects of the beneficial properties of milk thistle on poultry growth performance in experimentally induced aflatoxicosis.

Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica), the smallest farmed avian species, has become a popular meat source among consumers. From the producers’ point of view, commercial quail farming is a profitable avenue and the volume is increasing significantly. Producing value added quail meat is an important way to improve marketing opportunities. The purpose of this paper is to review slaughter, carcass characteristics, meat quality and meat composition of Japanese quail. The status of Japanese quail meat consumption, along with marketing strategies, such as the development of new products and processing methods is discussed, and in addition, the paper covers adding value to spent Japanese quail meat by means of tenderisation with natural agents.

Health benefits of fatty acids (FA) of the n-3 family have been well documented. The current consumption of n-3 FA by humans is below the recommended intake in Western countries. There are two sources of n-3 FA: α-linolenic acid (18-3 n-3, ALA) from terrestrial sources and long chain 20 and 22 carbon n-3 FA from marine oils. There is an increased interest in developing food products such as eggs and meat enriched with n-3 FA to meet the human requirement. In this context, poultry food lipids are a highly targeted and well-researched food item. Among the different feed sources, flaxseed, owing to its high fat (~40-42%) and ALA (>50%) contents along with other nutritional properties (e.g., metabolisable energy, protein content), is the most common feed ingredient explored for n-3 FA enrichment. This review attempts to bring together the use of flaxseeds in poultry feeds and its role in meeting the human requirements of n-3 FA through n-3 FA enriched foods. The antinutritional factors (ANF) present in flaxseeds and ways to mitigate the negative effects of ANF in poultry feeding are also included.