Renewable energy is essential for mitigating climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and strengthening energy security and promoting sustainable development. As an energy-intensive sector, poultry farming must shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy to meet current and future energy demands. This study employed a quantitative, cross-sectional survey to examine factors influencing poultry farmers’ intentions to adopt renewable energy in Bushehr Province, Iran. This study integrates the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), with TAM explaining attitudes through perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, and TPB explains intention through attitude, subjective norms, and Perceived behavioral control. Structural equation modeling using maximum likelihood estimation in AMOS showed that perceived usefulness, attitude, and perceived behavioral control significantly and positively influence farmers’ adoption intentions. Perceived ease of use also positively affects perceived usefulness, which in turn shapes attitudes toward renewable energy. These findings highlight the need to increase awareness of the benefits and efficiency of renewable technologies in poultry farming, provide financial support for high-cost technologies through national and international funding schemes, and encourage future research that incorporating value-based theoretical models.
In this exploratory field study, the effect of a soy-free laying hen diet on animal welfare indicators and performance parameters over the entire laying period (Week of Life (WoL) 18–78) were evaluated. The study included two flocks of 17,500 Lohmann Brown-Lite layers each. One flock was fed a diet containing a reduced content of soybean meal (SBM) (5
Ethiopian local chickens are well adapted to diverse environments but have low production performance. To enhance egg and meat production and improve the lives of subsistence farmers, the African Chicken Genetic Gain (ACGG) project introduced tropically adapted exotic and locally improved breeds into the country. The project evaluated their meat and egg productivity under diverse environments and management systems. The study was conducted in Kelte-Awlaelo and Seharti-Samre districts of the Tigray region. Five breeds: improved Horro, Kuroiler, Koekoek, Sasso, and Sasso-Rhode Island Red (S-RIR) chickens were used. Two villages per district were purposively selected. From each Village, 40 households were selected, and each household received 25 chicks of a randomly selected breed. Data were analyzed using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure in R software. Sasso chickens had higher (P < 0.001) weight at 90, 120, and 150 days, while Kuroiler chickens were superior (P < 0.001) at 180 days and had an average daily weight gain compared to the other breeds. The district significantly (P < 0.05) affected the body weight only at certain ages. Koekoek and Horro were inferior (P < 0.05) in body weight at all ages. Sasso and S-RIR chickens reared in Seharti-Samre district performed better (P < 0.001) than those in Kelte-Awlaelo in most of the growth traits. Except for S-RIR, Horro chicken had higher (P < 0.05) hen-day egg production up to 30 weeks than the rest of the breeds reared in Saharti-Samre. All chicken breeds had higher (P < 0.01) HDEP
The diversity of Ethiopia’s indigenous chicken ecotypes and longstanding traditional breeding practices position the poultry sector as a vital component of the nation’s agricultural system. This review synthesizes data from previous studies to clarify poultry breeding practices, economic evaluations, and the challenges, opportunities, and characteristics of chicken breeding in Ethiopia. A detailed examination of Ethiopia’s poultry breeding industry has produced several important findings. Although Ethiopia utilizes indigenous, exotic, and hybrid chicken types for both meat and egg production, indigenous chickens constitute the predominant proportion of the national poultry population. In metropolitan areas, exotic and hybrid chickens contribute significantly to meat and egg production. Thus, increasing the production of indigenous chickens through improved husbandry and selective breeding is critical. Both genetic and environmental or management factors influence layer flocks. However, careful selection, strategic crossbreeding, and appropriate management can enhance flock performance. Breeding techniques, including selection and crossbreeding, can improve growth performance in indigenous chicken breeds. Feed type and management strategies affect economic characteristics, such as body weight and daily weight gain. Reproductive parameters—fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality, and chick quality—are important for both small and commercial breeder flocks. Chicken genetic background significantly affects feed intake and feed efficiency. Understanding the genetic, environmental, and managerial factors that influence chicken survival is critical for improving poultry production and ensuring flock health.
Far ultraviolet-C (UV-C) irradiation at 222 nm has widely been shown to deactivate bacteria, viruses and fungi in in-vitro experiments. However, there are few studies testing the technology on real life surface. There are no peer reviewed studies on the efficacy and feasibility of far UV-C disinfection in real-life agricultural settings. The aim of this study was to investigate whether far UV-C irradiation installations on UK broiler poultry farms could reduce bacterial surface burden. On two farms one pair of wellington boots was submitted to far UV-C irradiation at 222 nm after staff exiting the bird housing, using a purpose build disinfection box. Swabs (n = 780) were taken from the bottom side of the soles before and after irradiation and from a pair of non-irradiated control boots. In a separate trial wall mounted Far UV-C systems were installed in a poultry anteroom and vestibule. Swabs (n = 615) were taken from irradiated and non-irradiated (control) anteroom floors divided into 4 zones (L1-4), vestibule floors divided into 2 zones (V1, V2) and walls divided into 2 zones (VW1, VW2) and the door handle (VD) leading to bird housing. For both studies surface swabs were taken twice a week during the first 4–5 weeks of a bird crop. This was repeated over 3–4 and 4–5 crops for the wellington trial and the poultry anteroom trial respectively. Swabs were plated in the laboratory and the number colony forming units (cfu’s) were determined. Overall, there was a significant cfu reduction between treatments (p < 0.001), after wellington boot exposure to far UV-C irradiation compared to pre-exposure cfu counts and cfu’s on control boots. Despite some technical challenges, across most anteroom and vestibule sampling locations, cfu’s from swabs taken from far UV-C irradiated areas were significantly lower than cfu’s from control area swabs. Far UV-C irradiation in livestock settings could be a promising added biosecurity layer on broiler farms and could be applicable to a range of livestock systems. Further research and development is required in areas such as installation adaptations to farms systems and settings, feasibility of implementation and cost benefit analyses.
