Early life factors important for broilers .

Early life conditions such as feed and water availability immediately post hatch and housing conditions may influence immune development and therefore immune reactivity later in life.The current study, done by researchers from the Adaptation Physiology Group at Wageningen University, addressed the consequences of a combination of these 2 early life conditions for immune reactivity, i.e., the specific antibody response towards a non-infectious lung challenge.The researchers conclude that the results from the present study show that early life feeding strategy and housing conditions influence a chick's response to an immune challenge later in life. These 2 early life factors should therefore be taken into account when striving for a balance between disease resistance and performance in poultry. Broilers are better protected against a non-infectious lung challenge when the feed, water and housing was optimum during the early life of the animals. read more about research in journal of poultry science.