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Professor Geoff Hinch (University of New England) is researching new approaches to assessing welfare and behaviour of free-range laying hens. This joint University of New England/CSIRO project, supported by the Poultry CRC, harnesses behavioural demand techniques and judgement bias to measure birds’ use of outdoor space and to find out how they ‘feel’. Determining a reliable, objective measure

Veterinarian, Miss Sheridan Alfirevich, has recently commenced a Poultry CRC supported internship with poultry health consultancy, Zootechny Ptd Ltd under the supervision of Dr Peter Groves. “My interest in poultry stemmed from an interest in aviculture and companion birds from a very young age” said Sheridan. “During my final year at University, my thinking was geared towards eventually

Professor Henry ‘Hank’ Classen, from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon in Canada, is currently in Australia on four months sabbatical leave. Hank is Head of the Department of Animal and Poultry Science in the University’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources. While in Australia Hank has spent some time here at Poultry CRC headquarters. As he says, he has known

Welcome to our first edition of eChook for 2012! In this edition we hear from a recent Masters graduate who sees a bright future for herself in the poultry industry, catch up with the University of New England’s PICSE program and look to major events across the 2012 calendar year. Sad news has also reached us of the passing of Big

Upon the completion of her Higher School Certificate, Miss Mary Tran commenced an undergraduate Bachelor of Animal and Veterinary Bioscience degree at The University of Sydney. With support from the Poultry CRC over the past year, Mary has recently graduated with Honours Class II, Division 1. Her Honours project focussed on the influence of incubation conditions on (commercial)

A poultry egg research laboratory at the University of New England (UNE) has been the workplace for 17-year-old Morgan Murtagh of Armidale for one week.  Morgan, who is about to commence year 12, has been given first-hand insight into primary industry careers through a pro-active programme aimed at addressing the critical decline in interest among young people

Jack DeWitt, who founded Big Dutchman in 1938 with his brother, Dick DeWitt, passed away at his home in Zeeland, Michigan (USA) on January 6th, 2012. While Jack was only 24 days away from turning 101, Big Dutchman, now a worldwide leader in automated poultry and swine production systems is almost ready to celebrate its 75th birthday. Jack

Welcome to another edition of eChook! The free range sectors of the poultry industry are growing rapidly in Australia, representing 28.4% of all eggs sold and approximately 15% of chicken meat produced in 2010. These sectors are expected to continue to expand as some consumers express their preference for free range production. In this edition,

On some free range egg and broiler (meat bird) farms the outdoor range is a fenced open field with no overhead cover for birds. This does not allow the birds the opportunity to seek shade/shelter while in the range. The number of birds in the range depends on the availability of overhead cover and it is possible

Recently, the Poultry CRC undertook two projects aimed at making life easier for school teachers wishing to teach Poultry in Schools. The first was to revise and update the existing Secondary School teaching materials, the second, to develop new teaching materials for Primary Schools. The Secondary materials were reviewed and re-formatted by retired University Lecturer, Garry Clark.

Are you passionate about the future of farming? Do you have a story to tell about your own career in agriculture? What are your ambitions for agribusiness? We know that you belong to a group of people already pro-actively networking in rural Australia. We want to talk to you… Australian Year of the Farmer is looking for talented committed communicators to help raise

While modern farming (like other industries) has been greatly aided by technology, research and development, many consumers feel disengaged with these practices and do not recognise the modern farm as aligning with their minds-eye view of how a farm looks and/or operates. Bridging the gap between these mental images and the realities of the modern

Welcome to another edition of eChook! In this edition, I would like to talk about the delicate balance between discovery of new knowledge and the industry relevance of that new knowledge. It is often difficult to assess the impact of research outcomes on industry, despite attempts to link research outcomes to economic measures. For applied