As Thanksgiving Day approaches in the United States, Americans will eat nearly 46 million turkeys during the long weekend, just as Canadians ate 2.5 million turkeys on this occasion in October.

In fact, Canadians consume nearly 7 million turkeys and more than 730 million chickens each year, while comparable figures in the United States are 224 million turkeys and more than 9 billion broilers each year.

For Dr. Karen Schwean-Lardner (PhD) and her research team at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) School of Agriculture and Biological Resources (Tory Shynkaruk and Kailyn Buchynski), the first task is to work closely with industry partners to Ensure the welfare of all poultry, including turkeys, broilers and laying hens on commercial farms.

"We are looking for ways to improve the health of poultry and make their lives on the farm better," said Schwein Radner, an associate professor in the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences.

"We hope that by understanding what happens when we change things, we can find available and relatively simple strategies that farmers can use in their production units." 

She, her team and faculty received a total of US$647,000 through the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Consortium Funding Program for three projects related to poultry welfare and productivity.

The first project was funded by NSERC for US$220,528 and industry partner Evonik Nutrition and Care Co., Ltd. for US$220,529 within four years to determine whether changing the dietary composition of broiler chickens can help them cope with summer heat stress-this question More and more important with climate change. Dr. Denise Beaulieu (PhD) from the same department is a co-applicant.

By studying broiler chickens under simulated thermal conditions at the USask poultry teaching and research facility, Schwean-Lardner and Beaulieu will determine how to precisely formulate diets to provide the appropriate proportions of ingredients. When heat stress changes their metabolism and reduces feed intake, broiler chickens Need to grow.

"This can provide a simple and effective solution to improve poultry welfare and productivity," Schwean-Lardner said.

The second project studied the impact of LED flashing on the health, welfare, productivity and elimination level of turkey hens (birds that are not suitable for food), and won a NSERC award of $130,000 within three years. In addition, the Canadian Poultry Research Council (CPRC) provided US$40,000, Aviagen Turkeys provided US$15,000, and Saskatchewan Turkish Farmers (TFS) invested US$10,000. Dr. Trever Crowe (Ph.D.), Associate Dean of the School of Agriculture and Biological Resources and Professor of the School of Engineering, collaborated with Schwean-Lardner on the project.

Schwean-Lardner is an expert on the effects of lighting on bird welfare. Under the guidance of Dr. Hank Classen (PhD), her doctoral research established a global standard for dark hours in poultry houses. Crowe is providing engineering expertise for LED projects.

"Our work will measure the impact or lack of impact on bird welfare, such as fear, stress, behavior, and productivity, of growing under flickering and non-flickering lights," she said.

If flickering proves to be harmful, producers can take steps to alleviate the problem, and if there is no impact, it will alleviate producers’ concerns about bird welfare.

The third project received US$296,356 from NSERC, US$138,383 from CPRC, and US$10,000 from TFS within three years. It will establish acceptable temperature parameters for turkey transportation and may help redraft The Canadian Code of Conduct on Humane Moving Birds is used for processing. Crowe is a partner in this project.

"Transportation, packing, vibration and noise can put pressure on turkeys, but the extreme weather in summer and winter in Canada may be the most important source of stress," Schwein-Ladner said.

The transportation team will place the turkeys in the environmental chamber for 4 and 8 hours to simulate transportation, and change the temperature and humidity to study the effects on bird welfare and productivity. The goal is to establish upper and lower temperature exposure thresholds.

Schwean-Lardner says the poultry industry insists on improving animal welfare.

"I often hear from producers,'This is the right thing to do.' I like this sentence."

As part of the project, two master students and one doctoral student will receive training.

The main campus of the University of Saskatchewan is located in the 6th Treaty Territory and home to the Métis people.

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