Recent trends occurring in broiler primary breeding companies are described. The structure and operation of broiler primary breeder companies are described from pedigree elite populations, through great-grandparent and grandparent generations, down to the parent stock. The relatively low value of fertility and hatchability, compared with yield and feed efficiency as selection traits, is assesse...

In recent years, the commercial broiler breeder industry has reported problems of male aggression towards females [Millman, S.T., 1999. An investigation into extreme aggressiveness of broiler breeder males. Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Guelph]. Although this aggression is shown by the males and is apparently a defect in their behaviour [Millman, S.T., Duncan, I.J.H., 2000. Strain diffe...

Background Vertical integration of the broiler industry allows producers to combine different biosecurity and sanitation practices, housing technologies, and feeding regimens to improve food safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and distribution of Salmonella, to determine the source of Salmonella contaminants, and to reveal the relationships between isolates at ea...

The aim of this study was to determine the presence of genes coding for alpha (cpalpha), beta (cpbeta), epsilon (epsilontx), iota (iotaA), enterotoxin (cpepsilon) and beta2 (cpbeta2) toxins in Clostridium perfringens isolates from broiler chickens and parent broiler breeder hens, using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. The prevalence of C. perfringens in the intestinal segments a...

A study was undertaken to test the effect of 2 commercially available probiotics on the production efficiency of broiler chickens hatched from the same breeder flock at 3 different ages (28, 43, and 57 wk). At each of the 3 breeder flock ages, 1,600 broiler chickens were hatched and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 treatments: 1) no probiotics (control), 2) probiotic 1 administered in the drinking ...

In this study, seroprevalence of avian reovirus (ARV) infections in broiler and broiler breeder chicken farms in Aydin, İzmir and Manisa provinces were investigated. Serum samples (n = 631) collected from 8 broiler breeder and 18 broiler flocks were tested for ARV antibodies using a commercially available ARV Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) kit. The sampled flocks were not vaccinated ...

Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis (Salmonella Enteritidis) has been associated with morbidity and mortality in broiler chickens worldwide. The present study described purulent arthritis of broilers infected with Salmonella Enteritidis and investigated antibiograms and genetic characteristics of Salmonella Enteritidis isolates from epidemiologically related properties such as a hatchery an...

This experiment was one part of a larger study investigating problems of aggression towards females by male broiler breeder fowl. To investigate causal mechanisms, we were interested in determining (1) if feed-restriction during rearing affects behaviour towards females at sexual maturity and (2) if aggressiveness towards females is correlated with general levels of aggressiveness. We compared ...

Contaminated poultry and poultry products are a major source of motile Salmonellae for human salmonellosis worldwide. Local circulation of any motile Salmonella serovar in poultry has a wider public health impact beyond its source of origin for being dispersed elsewhere through poultry trades or human travels. To investigate the status of motile Salmonella serovars in breeder farms in Banglades...

Fertility reduction due to sub-fertile males is a major concern in breeder flocks. Phenotypic traits of broiler breeder males and their relationships with fertility can be used as reliable indicators for identification and removal of sub-fertile males from the breeder flocks. This study was conducted to investigate semen traits (semen volume, sperm motility, sperm viability and sperm count) and...