It seems that we must get earlier and earlier with preparing issues for the journal – which is something authors can struggle to come to grips with. Typically the WPSJ runs about six months ahead in time for all issues and three months ahead in finalising proofs. This means that Dr Shay Hill and I are currently working on editing papers for the September issue, and I am writing this editorial for the June issue, even though it is only the start of April! There are many reasons for this – one is that we have to get the proofs coded and organised for the printers, which is the slowest part of production. Once this is done then the final papers are sent for online publication, which should be ahead of print publishing. As we still offer print publishing for members who specifically request a copy, this will remain the situation for the future. However many authors, who are used to online publishing (which is normally immediate once proofs are completed and sent back) struggle to see why there is a delay in getting papers out. I do hope this clears things up!

I must thank all of you who have written to me volunteering their reviewing services – this is greatly appreciated as, like all journals, we are increasingly facing time delays in getting papers reviewed so we can process them. I like to think we nag in a nice way – but we would be most grateful to anyone who cannot review to let us know as soon as possible, as not replying adds unnecessary delays.

So enough of the practicalities of publishing – and onto what we have coming up for 2014. There are some major conferences this year – including the nutrition meeting in Norway in June that I am planning on attending. Thanks to Birger Svihus and his team for inviting me along. Please do take a look at the regular events column to see what suits you and do attend – it’s important not only for keeping up to date with the latest science but also for maintaining strong networks between people in the poultry world. Regarding conferences – if any organisers need assistance with preparing proceedings or would like their proceedings published via the WPSA office, please let us know. We have standard templates available that you can send out to authors as well as the opportunity, through publishing contacts, to get proceedings printed.

On a sad note, we have obituaries in this issue – and I’m sure you will join with me in sending our condolences to the families of those valued poultry scientists who have passed on recently.

Dr Lucy Waldron

Editor

The public wants assurances that animals used for food are raised humanely. Conventional cages for egg laying hens do not meet hen's behavioural needs, but cages have potential advantages such as improved liveability and respiratory health because of less aerial ammonia and dust as compared to non-cage systems. Providing amenities to cages might be a compromise that allows hens to reap some of the advantages of conventional cages and also better meet their behavioural needs. This review focuses on the perch as a furnishing and how its design and addition to the cage can affect welfare and production efficiencies of egg laying strains of chickens. Hens should have access to perches because of their high motivation and preference for perching. At night, hens like to perch at the same time which requires a straight perch space of 12 and 15 cm for White Leghorn and brown hybrids, respectively. Besides meeting a behavioural need, perches in cages improve bone strength, but the improvement is not great enough to prevent adult keel fractures and deformities. Perch access improves feather quality for the back but not for other feather tract areas. Foot pad, toe, and nail health are often improved with perch access in cages of smaller group sizes. With the exception of dirty and cracked eggs, perches installed in cages do not deleteriously affect hen performance. Commercial perches are available in different shapes (e.g., round, circular, or mushroom) and compositions (e.g., wood, plastic, or metal). There is no perfect perch relative to its material composition or shape. Wooden perches offer a rougher texture but harbour mites in crevices. Future research should concentrate on perch redesign that avoids slippery surfaces allowing hen's feet to better grip the perch, prevents keel fractures, is easily cleaned, and does not harbour parasites or pathogens.

Decontamination of egg shells is required to improve the microbiological safety of the fresh hen eggs used for human consumption or for hatching. Conventional chemical decontamination methods involving quaternary ammonium disinfectant, sodium hydroxide, phenol, hydrogen peroxide or formaldehyde, leave residues on egg shells that may damage the cuticle layer. Therefore new techniques of egg shells decontamination, such as ultraviolet (UV) radiation, have been developed. This review aims to evaluate the data from available literature and to provide a general review of UV light treatment application for egg shell decontamination. Data shows that UV treatment was effective for the inactivation of the bacterial population present on clean egg shells and recently contaminated shells. Combined treatments such as UV light with ozone or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) improved the inactivation of microorganisms. Recent advances in science and engineering indicate that treatment with UV light has a competitive advantage in comparison with traditional egg shell sanitation treatments for decontamination.

Mango (Mangifera indica) is an important fruit crop grown in the tropics mostly for its pulp. Mango seed, which represents between 20-60% of the fruit, has limited food or industrial use in most producing countries and is therefore wasted. The kernel contained in the seed (mango seed kernel: MSK) is a good source of carbohydrates (58-80%), contains moderate quantities of proteins (6-13%) and fat (6-16%). The protein of MSK has a good essential amino acid profile and its oil is a good source of stearic and linoleic acids. However, despite these attributes MSK contains a number of anti-nutritional factors (e.g. tannins, phytate, cyanide, antitrypsin, oxalate and saponins) which limit its utilisation in poultry diets. Amongst these factors, tannins are largely responsible for the poor nutritional value of MSK. Several processing methods have been used to reduce the concentration of anti-nutritional factors in MSK and improve its utilisation by poultry. The following paper reviews the composition (nutrients and anti-nutrients) of MSK, recommendations for its use in poultry diets and processing methods to enhance its utilisation by poultry.

The meat industry is one of the most competitive international branches and is currently in its mature stage of development. This paper concentrates on the prospects for European meat market trends and on results from primary quantitative research which was carried out using a method of individual personal interviews in a sample of 800 poultry meat consumers, aged between 18 and 65 years and in Slovenia. The aim of this paper is to present trends and projections on production and consumption of poultry meat, regardless of the fluctuations in the previous years, and to enable a better understanding of consumers' attitude and perception towards poultry meat. Taking into account that research has been conducted in the poultry sector in Slovenia generally and on consumer perceptions specifically, the results of this research may be used for planning further marketing activities.

The purpose of the present review is to examine the available data on the prevalence of some major axial skeleton pathologies in broiler chickens, which have a negative effect on welfare Data from literature and from our own research on the incidence of spondylolisthesis, spondylosis, spondylitis and scoliosis are included. Although it has a lesser extent on welfare compared to other skeletal abnormalities (mainly associated with leg problems), the axial skeleton pathology has a definite impact on broiler chicken flocks. Although some reports claim that skeletal abnormalities in broilers chickens are related to the genetic background of the birds and can be decreased by selection, they are still an important cause of pathology cases in the broiler chicken industry. The analysis of available literature has suggested that the prevailing axial skeleton abnormality in commercial broiler chickens was spondylolisthesis, followed by spondylosis, spondylitis and scoliosis.

Genomic selection is a recent paradigm shift for both animal and plant breeding. The availability of hundreds of thousands of markers covering the entire genome has provided an opportunity to increase the accuracy of estimated breeding values, better manage genetic variation and shorten generation intervals. This paper summarises how these new technologies can be applied to poultry breeding programmes to enhance genetic improvement.

The world poultry industry is under great stress due to parasitic diseases; coccidiosis being one which is responsible for substantial economic losses worldwide. In 1948 the first research paper was published about the treatment of coccidiosis with sulphaquinoxaline. After six decades, researcher's attention has focused on DNA vaccination, especially as certain anticoccidials have failed due to drug resistance and residues. Thus far vaccination is partially successful but is accompanied by disadvantages: e.g. instability, inferiority control, cost-effectiveness, and inefficiency in opposition to a large number of coccidian strains which are prevalent in different geographical areas. Due to developments whereby genetically engineered DNA can be administered in vaccine form to provoke cellular and humoral immune responses; there has been huge development in the practical application of this field. In the last decade a number of DNA vaccines employing different strategies have been tested to produce appropriate immune responses against coccidiosis. The DNA fragments taken from all the four important species, E. tenella, E. necatrix, E. maxima and E. acervulina were able to provoke appropriate immune responses against challenging infections with homologous species; however, most of them were not able to provoke a response with heterologous infection. The shared DNA antigen in two different species of Eimeria; E. tenella and E. acervulina was able to produce sufficient immune responses, not only against these species but also against E. necatrix, but not against E. maxima. E. maximum is the biggest and most complex of all the seven species and it has come ahead as a challenge for DNA vaccine researchers.

Recent progress has been achieved in the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and candidate genes, and they have been found to be very important for the production of chickens with more desirable meat characteristics. The major economic traits of chicken meat production were divided into two major categories, namely growth and carcass condition. In this paper, the QTL locations and candidate genes for the above mentioned traits are reviewed. The results presented here will provide guidelines for the selection of high quality and highly productive chickens through the marker assisted selection (MAS), which should be extensively used by poultry breeders and companies.

The aim of this paper is to provide up-to-date information about the status of broiler production in Flanders (the northern region of Belgium) and the opinion of Flemish broiler producers on animal welfare. Our review revealed that intensification of Flemish broiler production has continued, as characterised by a decreasing number of production plants with up-scaled production. Results of a quantitative survey of Flemish broiler producers showed that the typical broiler house is 21 years old and houses 35,000 mixed-sex Ross broilers indoors on wood shavings or straw. The commonly-used modal management implies thinning one-fifth of the flock at the age of 35 days. The remaining broilers are slaughtered when they are 42 days old and weigh an average of 2.4 kg. The median unassisted mortality rate is 2% and another 0.5% are culled. Further scaling-up of production units is not viewed favourably by producers, particularly as related to consumer acceptance. Producers state they place great importance on animal welfare and do not agree that broiler welfare is poor. A small minority of producers plan to invest in improving broiler welfare in the near future. They see few advantages in paying more attention to broiler welfare or providing outdoor access to improve their public image and consumer acceptance. Producers define animal welfare mainly in terms of good health, feeding and housing and consider aspects that relate to the birds’ ability to express appropriate behaviour as less important. We discuss how this concept of ‘animal welfare’ corresponds to that reported by other people with farming backgrounds. Unfortunately this belief contradicts the perception of citizens and consumers and the assumptions underlying the proposed European standards for monitoring farm animal welfare as developed by the Welfare Quality® consortium.

Hydropericardium syndrome (HPS) is a fatal disease of broiler chickens causing high mortality and heavy economic losses in various countries. More than 100 million birds have been affected by this destructive disease in less than two years worldwide. As it is a viral disease, the only solution is to vaccinate chickens. Different types of vaccines are being used against this disease in different areas of the world. Liver organ inactivated vaccines are more extensively used to control the disease initially. These vaccines have many drawbacks regarding their dose, un-predictable immune response and secondary bacterial infections. Following this, oil adjuvant vaccine was used to control the disease, however the handling stress and the formation of granuloma at the site of injection remains a problem. Consequently there is a need for cell culture adapted and attenuated vaccines, which can be administered through oral routes. A chicken embryo-adapted inactivated vaccine has shown good results but requires a continuous supply of specific, pathogen-free chicken embryos and a continuous life killing process. The continuous cell lines are a more promising solution for the production of cell culture-adapted and attenuated vaccines, which are safer, more economical and easy to administer. The following review discusses the development of modern HPS vaccines.

Similar to omega-3 eggs, chicken meat has great potential to become a functional food for humans. In India, chicken meat is preferred due to its perceived health benefits and affordability. The balance between omega 3 and 6 fatty acids is crucial for its usefulness in animals. At present commercial chicken meat has low omega-3 fatty acid content and higher omega-6 fatty acid content. Published research shows that it is possible to modify the lipid profile of commercial chickens by manipulating the broiler diet. The modern human diet is deficient in n-3 FAs, which has been linked to the increase in several degenerative diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, arthritis, cancer and mental illness. Therefore omega-3 chicken meat may be an effective means of increasing n-3 FA in the human diet. There are several problems associated with the commercial production of omega-3 chicken meat related to the choice of source of fatty acids in the feed, cost of production, consumer acceptability and stability of the chicken meat that need to be tackled. The present article briefly reviews the studies carried out in this respect, the possible impact of omega-3 chicken meat production on the poultry industry, and on human health.

Infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) is one of the foremost causes of economic loss within the poultry industry. IBV is a commonly occurring, economically significant pathogen of commercial chicken. Economic consequences to the poultry industry comprise mortality, growth retardation and high condemnation rates in meat-type birds. In addition, decreased egg production, reduced internal and external egg quality, and reduced hatchability have been documented in layers and breeders affecting the performance of both meat-type and egg-laying birds. Apart from this some nephro-pathogenic strains cause kidney damage. Secondary pathogens can complicate the disease resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Being a single stranded RNA virus, IBV has an enormous capacity to change both by spontaneous mutation and by genetic recombination resulting into the emergence of new variants. Since the first isolation of virus in 1937, it has been found almost all over the world. In addition, most countries are now known to have their own indigenous IBV variants. Despite the use of currently available live and inactivated vaccines, one of the most important difficulties to control IB is related to emergence of variant strains. The following paper reviews the current status of research into IBV.

This review is a first attempt to give a comprehensive historical account on the evolution of the Maltese Black chicken breed. The initiative consolidates available information to propose hypothesis on the origins of the breed, and to develop a comprehensive breed standard in conformity with the format of the American Breed Standard. The Maltese Black was established in 1950 as a rustic, dual purpose breed capable of producing adequate egg and chicken for consumption. In the 1960's, it was replaced with commercially available stock, marginalising the breed and restricting its existence to small dispersed populations. An initial attempt to have an in-situ conservation of the Maltese Black started in 1998 with a small flock of about 400 chickens that were later relocated to the Agricultural Research and Development Centre in Malta with the intention of maintaining a nucleus flock as a measure for a long term ex-situ conservation strategy. A recent survey highlights that the present population has drifted significantly away from standards first published in 1950. In efforts to consolidate the breed standard definition of the Maltese Black, the breed standards of related Mediterranean breeds, as confirmed by molecular markers, were consulted to translate and address the missing gaps in the previous breed standards. The updated breed standard presented will act as the bench mark against which all future breeding and selection programs are compared.

Assam is a region in the North–East of India and is known for the different groups of indigenous ducks reared by farmers under traditional systems (Islam et al., 2002). Previous surveys (Mahanta et al., 2001; Islam et al., 2002) have shown that the Pati breed constitute the majority (85.6%) of the duck population in Assam, but has poor egg production, with only 80-90 eggs per duck per year (Islam et al., 2002). In order to improve productivity and profitability from duck farming, a field study was conducted in 2003 in association with the Centre for Advance Studies in Poultry Science, Kerala Agricultural University regarding the duck production system in Kerala. Following this study, Chara-Chemballi ducks from Kerala were introduced by the State Institute of Rural Development (SIRD) for feasibility studies and performance evaluation under a range of conditions in Assam. These studies showed that the agro-climatic conditions of Assam are highly suitable for the Chara-Chemballi Ducks. SIRD implemented a special project for rearing Chara-Chemballi ducks by 1600 self help groups (SHGs) especially those involving women, in different districts of Assam. It has been reported that the average annual income from the SHGs involved was increased through back yard duck farming (Anon, 2005-2006). Following the successful implementation of this project for rearing Chara-Cemballi Duck, the Government of Assam has sponsored similar projects with all-women SHGs since 2006. The overall objectives of these projects were to improve the socio-cultural dimensions of poverty and the livelihood of the rural masses, especially women, in a sustainable manner through scientific management of Chara-Chemballi ducks of Kerala. The following paper reviews these projects and the milestones they represent.

The World’s Poultry Science Journal is indebted to Prof J.A. Castello, Prof D.K. Flock, Dr D. Grastilleur, Dr S. Cherepanov and Prof N. Yang for the translations of these summaries.