Source:  MEATINGPLACE, 7/1/11

A $4.7 million grant from USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative will fund a five-year study of poultry genetics and management to help chickens deal with increased heat.

Scientists at several universities will collaborate on the project, which will be led by Carl Schmidt, associate professor at the University of Delaware. Research at the University of Delaware will focus on broiler chickens that are raised for meat.

The project will assess commercial hens’ physiological responses to heat stress, including feed efficiency, egg production and egg quality.

Participants include scientists from Iowa State University, North Carolina State University, the University of Liverpool and Hy-Line International, based in Iowa.

Researchers at Iowa State University will focus on the effect of genetics on birds’ physiological response to heat stress at different ages.

Susan Lamont, a researcher at Iowa State, said recurrent high temperatures and humidity cause heat stress in Iowa as well as other areas around the world where chicken production is increasing
“Most animals used for food production are really performing at a very high level,” she said. “They’re pushed pretty hard in regards to their physiological performance, so if a different stress is added to them it will be an issue for their health as well as productivity.”

The researchers will work with the University of Liverpool to study diverse kinds of chickens native to Africa for genetic signatures that may be related to their reactions to heat.

North Carolina State researchers will focus on the role of epigenetics, a relatively new field that studies genetic impact that is the result of conditioning of the parents.

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