Two introduced rat species (brown rats, Rattus norvegicus; black rats, Rattus rattus) cause major impacts in intensive livestock production industries (e.g. pork and poultry) in rural areas of Australia. The key economic impacts include direct contamination of feed, infrastructure damage and transmission of rodent-borne diseases. Current management of rats relies largely on anticoagulant rodenticide use but this has become problematic due to potential non-target residue issues. Our project, mainly funded by Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry with contributions from New Zealand L ..read more

Dr Amy Moss from the School of Environmental and Rural Sciences has been awarded the UNE 3Rs award for 2023 for an animal trial investigating effective enrichment in cage layer research facilities. The annual 3Rs award forms part of UNE’s commitment to the ethical principles of the Australian Code of Practice for Care and Use of Animals for Scientific Purposes, and is designed to reward and promote the implementation, discovery or development of methodologies and/or technologies that enhance 3Rs principles. Replacement of animals with alternative methods. Reduction of the number of ..read more

Poultry Hub Australia is currently conducting a capacity survey to capture and report on the current capacity of poultry researchers within Australian universities and research organisations. This is an extremely important activity as it will identify the strengths and also the gaps present in Australian poultry research. This information will play a key role in planning for the future and ensure that we continue to develop and support poultry research in Australia. Our objective is to capture researchers who have conducted any poultry related research within their career in all fields such as ..read more

Poultry Hub Australia is once again holding the Annual Ideas Exchange Conference, this year the conference will be held in sunny Brisbane on the 22nd and 23rd of October. Ideas Exchange is a great avenue for industry personnel and researchers to come together and develop relationships and collaborations that benefit the entire industry. This year, the conference will focus on Biosecurity and will feature panel discussions, presentations from researchers and industry bodies as well as the ever-popular Q&A “Brains Trust” session. Following the success of last years conference, our annual Pos ..read more

Recently, I had the honour of serving as a guest speaker at the 2nd International Conference on Women’s Empowerment and Leadership in Agriculture, held in Naga City, Philippines. This two-day event brought together a diverse array of speakers, including trailblazers in agriculture and advocates for women’s empowerment in the field. Through panel discussions, workshops, and lively debates, participants explored avenues for driving positive change. My own presentation centred on the crucial intersection of food security and leadership, highlighting the importance of achieving gender balance with ..read more

In late February, Poultry Hub Australia and Professor Pesti conducted a workshop for 15 higher-degree research students and post-doctoral researchers affiliated with the Poultry Research Group at the University of New England (UNE). Prof Pesti is well versed to present such a workshop with more than five decades of expertise, he has authored three books and published over 200 journal articles in the fields of poultry nutrition and statistical analysis. Gene, based in Georgia, USA, graciously dedicates six months of each year to collaborating with Poultry Hub Australia and sharing his extensive ..read more

The PIX, AMC and APL program committees have worked hard finalising each program. The program outline provides you with an idea of timings and session topics. PIX topics will cover both meat and egg production as well as shared sessions relevant to all delegates and plenary presentations from Bernard Salt and Melissa Clark-Reynolds. If you would like to attend PIX you’ll have to get in quick, early bird registrations close this Thursday 7th March. For more information on the program, or to register, visit www.pix.au The post PIX Program Outline Released and Early Bird registrations closing soo ..read more

Ideas Exchange 2024 will be held on the 22nd and 23rd of October in Brisbane QLD. Ideas Exchange is a great avenue for industry personnel and researchers to come together and develop relationships and collaborations that benefit the entire industry. The theme of the conference and expressions of interest will be released in an upcoming eCHOOK and on the Poultry Hub website. The post PHA Ideas Exchange 2024 save the date! appeared first on Poultry Hub Australia ..read more

Dr Natalie Morgan from Curtin University has a bit of a sweet tooth… Following on from her successful research in broiler chickens, Natalie’s recently funded project ‘Evaluation of the prebiotic effects of xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) in laying hens” is looking at the small chain sugars and how they fuel microbiota and stimulate fermentation in the gastrointestinal tract. Numerous recent studies have proven that supplementing broiler poultry diets with XOS improves bird performance, gastrointestinal health, and nutrient utilisation. However, this has yet to be investigated in laying hens. The X ..read more

The 2024 APSS conference organised by the Poultry Research Foundation (PRF) was a roaring success. The conference broke every record with the most delegates, papers and sponsorship in their 35 year history. Congratulations to the PRF team. Prior to the first session of APSS we had the pleasure of hosting a Mentoring Session in collaboration with PRF and the Nutrition, Gut Health and Environment Consortium. The session was aimed at providing mentees with some early connections with some seasoned mentors who could ‘babysit’ them throughout the conference, ensuring they could meet new people and ..read more