USPOULTRY and the USPOULTRY Foundation recently announced the completion of a funded research project at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in which researchers used a laser for broiler house enrichment.
The research was made possible in part by an endowing Foundation gift from Ozark Mountain Poultry and is part of the Association’s comprehensive research program encompassing all phases of poultry and egg production and processing.
A brief summary of the completed project is shown below. A complete report, along with information on other Association research, may be obtained by visiting USPOULTRY’s website, www.uspoultry.org.
The project summary is as follows.
Project #703: Validating Current Broiler Welfare Auditing Programs and Advancing Enrichment
(Dr. Elizabeth Bobeck, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa)
Dr. Elizabeth Bobeck and colleagues at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, recently completed a research project in which they examined the feasibility of using a novel laser device in a broiler house to stimulate enhanced bird activity. It was found that bird activity increased but also weight gain and feed conversion significantly improved when this laser enrichment device was used. The authors also make recommendations on improving the guidelines for broiler welfare audits.
