Source: MEATINGPLACE, 6/12/15

With highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) taking its greatest toll on the egg layer and turkey industries, chicken producers are debating the mystery of why broiler flocks so far have largely been spared.

Company executives offered their theories in response to questions posed at recent investor conferences, suggesting broilers’ short growing cycle and location in the Atlantic flyway as well as bio-security measures all may be factors, according to Wall Street analysts.

Protocols that require outsiders to shower and change clothes and shoes before setting foot on broiler farms limit exposure to particles, said BMO Capital Markets analyst Kenneth Zaslow. Trucks also must be washed down before entering, he wrote in a recent note to clients.

Turkey producers, in contrast, tend to outsource some operations and therefore have less direct control over bio-security measures, he said.

Sanderson Farms said migratory birds are spreading the virus along the Pacific and Mississippi flyways where turkey farms and egg layers are located.

Fall migration key
With broiler operations concentrated in the Atlantic flyway, there is a risk of infection when migratory birds begin following this route in the fall, Zaslow noted.

Pilgrim’s Pride proposed a theory that broilers’ relatively short lifespan may reduce the industry’s propensity to contract the virus, Zaslow said.

Stephens analyst Farha Aslam, who also hosted chicken companies at a recent conference, said the key risk period for the broiler industry will be fall, when birds migrate south.

She noted USDA is considering vaccinating poultry flocks for avian influenza, something the chicken industry opposes because it could affect access to export markets.

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