Chicken Research, Science Issues Explored At Conference

A lot goes into raising chickens, from a science and research perspective.

The Delmarva Chicken Association recently hosted a two-day national scientific conference in Ocean City. Nearly 300 people from a total of 29 states attended, reviewing the latest research, animal health, environmental practices and advances.

The National Meeting on Poultry Health, Processing and Live Production was held virtually in September of last year.

“The National Meeting is an important forum for veterinarians, processing facility managers, grow-out managers, live production managers, flock supervisors, allied businesses, government regulators and officials, research faculty and others involved in the poultry industry to meet and share what’s new in their fields,” Delaware Chicken Association Executive Director Holly Porter said. “We’re pleased that so many attendees were eager to return to this meeting. We’re already planning for the next conference on October 3-5, 2022.”

According to DCA, focal points of the conference included new processing plant technology for reducing woody breast syndrome in chicken, the future of avian vaccines for salmonella and campylobacter, and lessons learned during the Texas freeze of 2021 when power disruptions and cold temperatures affected farmers and processors.

Also discussed were current legal issues that face poultry growers.