LOHMANN INFORMATION
Breeding for reduced boar taint
Introduction Intact boars are rarely used for fattening, because consumers would object to the boar taint, which tends to develop with sexual maturity and renders pork inedible. To eliminate this problem, boars are usually castrated at a young age, a practice which is painful and has been criticized repeatedly as not in line with animal […]
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Summary Foot pad dermatitis (FPD) is a common problem in growing turkeys. FPD is an animal welfare issue and accompanied with reduced growth rate (due to lower feed intake) and lameness in severe cases. Nutrition affects directly and indirectly the development of FPD. The litter quality plays also an important role in the incidence of […]
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Valine and Isoleucine: The next limiting amino acids in broiler diets
Drastic genetic changes have occurred in many commercial broiler lines during the last years with regard to performance. This genetic improvement needs a corresponding adjustment of our knowledge about amino acid nutrition in broilers. Additionally, today broiler feed formulators are not only focused on minimising the costs. They also have to take into consideration environmental […]
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Economic aspects of poultry meat production in Germany
Introduction The production of poultry meat continues to expand in Germany as in most other countries. Apart from aquaculture, it is the only sector of the farm animal industry with significant growth rates. Per capita consumption of poultry meat was 18.6 kg in 2009, compared to 23.1 kg of the 27 EU countries and 48.8 […]
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Recommendations for hatching egg handling and storage
Introduction At the time a fertile egg is laid, there is already a small embryo floating on the yolk. The vitality of this embryo must be preserved during storage until the point in time when the incubation process starts. To achieve this, the eggs are handled carefully and temperature fluctuations avoided as much as possible […]
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Ethics in the poultry industry – answering moral questions of society
Summary Keeping animals has become an issue of highly controversial debate. Ethical reflections on animal husbandry must address popular moral intuitions. The paper presents an ethical model based on human responsibility for animals capable of suffering. This pathocentric model differentiates types of action that can be justified with ethical standards. Formulating the essential questions of […]
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Patterns and dynamics of global and EU poultry meat production and trade
Introduction Between 1990 and 2009, global poultry meat production increased by over 50 mill. t or 123 %. No other agricultural product reached such a remarkable relative growth rate. The growth was not homogeneous, however, the highest absolute increase can be found in Asia with 21 mill. t , followed by South and Central America […]
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Improving hatchability in white egg layer strains through breeding
Summary Hatchability is of considerable economic importance for all hatcheries and therefore must be given appropriate attention in breeding programs for commercial layers. The variability between and within strains will tell us whether reproductive performance can be improved by selection within specific lines. The aim of this study was to analyse the genetic variation of […]
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