The emergence of thermoregulation in avian species is a complex matter in which neural as well as hormonal processes are involved. In a previous paper, the neural aspects of primary avian thermoregulation were discussed. In this paper the role of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis (HPT-axis) and the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA-axis) in the ontogeny of avian thermoregulation is evaluated. The regulatory mechanisms and different important hormones of both axes, which have stimulatory or inhibitory effects, are discussed. Because the onset of functionality of the thermoregulatory system is of great interest, the ontogeny and functionality of the hormonal axes are clarified. There is a great difference between precocial and altricial birds in hormonal events as well as in neural processes which are involved in the emergence of thermoregulation. In precocial avian species the HPT-axis becomes functional during the mid- to late embryonic period while the same axis only becomes fully functional during the first week post-hatch in altricial avian species.

As early as the sixties, the emergence of homeothermy in chickens was investigated. It was concluded that the thyroid gland plays an important role in the thermoregulatory mechanisms of newly hatched chicks. More recent studies however were not able to show any direct effect of the thyroid hormones on the thermoregulation of day-old chicks, although blocking the conversion of T4 to T3 caused a decrease in body temperature in young chicks. Thyrotropin releasing hormone (TRH) is known to act in thermoregulation in mammals and several authors have found an effect of TRH on the metabolism of young and older chicks. However, the exact mechanism still remains unclear.

Because the HPT- and the HPA-axis show close relationships, the role of the HPA-axis in the ontogeny of thermoregulation is also taken into consideration in this review. In mammals as well as in birds, corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) is involved in the primary thermoregulation.

We conclude that the HPT-axis has an important role in the ontogeny of avian thermoregulation. The exact role of the HPA-axis remains largely unclear although at least CRH is definitely of some importance.

A standard scoring system for turkeys at slaughter that consists of 5 categories based on the size of the lesion was adopted as the recommended classification scheme for FPD in slaughter plants at a meeting of the WPSA European Poultry Federation Working Party Number 10: Turkeys. Each score of the classification scheme is defined and photographs of a minimal lesion in each category are presented. The numbers of turkeys required for scoring to determine the prevalence of FPD, if the target or expected frequency is 10, 20 or 40% respectively are 150, 250 and 400 birds. Assessment of the consecutive right foot for the required number of birds from the middle load of a specific flock with a minimum of 3 flocks from a given site is recommended. The classification scheme will facilitate comparisons across countries and systems of production and allow rational decisions to be made regarding management changes to decrease the prevalence of FPD in Europe.

As a major natural reservoir of influenza virus and an important food source, the duck is of great biological interest, e.g. in the area of host-pathogen interactions. Recently, preliminary genetic and cytogenetic maps of the duck have become available, providing for the first time a glimpse at a comparative map between the duck and chicken. These genetic tools have been used to detect QTLs related to duck growth, carcass and meat quality traits. However, molecular genetic research in the duck is only in its infancy. In the future we can expect the development of new duck resources, including a high-density genetic map, detailed comparative maps with the chicken and other vertebrates - and given the pace of genomics, possibly a genome sequence. These new resources will be used to evaluate the genetic diversity of global duck breeds, to define genetic markers to increase the quantity and quality of egg and meat products, and to aid in the battle against infectious diseases, such as avian influenza.

The following paper reviews the breeding seasonality and its control in the domestic geese. Geese breeds can be classified into 3 types according to their breeding season: Type 1 inhabits higher latitude (40 to 45º N) temperate zones, and breeds during the longer days in spring and early summer. Types 2 inhabits mid-latitude (30 to 40º N) temperate regions, and start their breeding season in autumn and end in the following spring - early summer. Type 3 are the short-day breeding geese, located in subtropical areas (22 to 25º N), which breed from late summer to the following spring. Differences in breeding seasonalities are attributed to adaptations to environment conditions, enabling geese to fully utilize these conditions to achieve maximal reproductive performance and survival. Divergent breeding seasons are caused by the different pituitary secretions of gonadotrophins and prolactin in response to annual changes in photoperiod. In practical goose production, laying seasons can be controlled by imposing artificial photoperiods, with almost opposite photo-programmes for long or short day breeding geese, respectively. In addition, genetic selection and other animal husbandry measures such as timing of gosling stocking and nutritional intake levels can modify, to various degrees, the goose breeding seasonality.

In contrast to detailed projections for the development of plant and animal production, as published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), for a great number of commodities, there are hardly any projections for the development of hen egg production. The OECD publishes projections for the coming decade annually, but the data cover all poultry eggs, the EU Commission gives data only for EU member states. In this paper, a projection for the development of hen egg consumption and hen egg production between 2005 and 2015 is presented. It is based on an analysis of the development between 1995 and 2005 as well as on basic population and socio-economic data, such as population development, age structure of the population, urbanisation of a society, development of the gross national product and the per capita national income. Based on these data, the development of the per capita consumption of shell eggs was calculated for the decade until 2015. These data were then used in combination with the predicted development of the population to calculate the additional egg demand in 2015. It is estimated that the additional egg demand will be as high as 12 million metric tonnes. This will result in a total production volume of 70.9 million tonnes. About 67% of this demand will arise in Asia, 12% in Africa, and 11% in Latin America. These continents will gain shares in global egg production, North America and Europe will lose shares. Whether the required volume of 70.9 million tonnes can be reached, will depend on several factors, e.g. outbreaks of Avian Influenza, higher feed costs because of the booming bio-energy production, and political decisions (e.g. banning of conventional cages in the EU).

The following paper reviews the current data regarding the physiological origins of variations in feed efficiency, and the effects of genetic selection on energy balance parameters. Effects of diet composition on response to genetic selection are considered by focusing on three feed factors: protein concentration, energy concentration and utilisation of specific ingredients. Analyses of effects of genetic selection on responses to diet composition highlight the problems associated with the increased dietary protein concentrations needed by the latest commercial broilers as a result of genetic selection. The advantages and disadvantages in producing lean birds are discussed from the point of view of feed efficiency and adaptation to feed variation. Lastly, the problems of variation in digestibility resulting from broiler selection are discussed.

Domestic chickens produce eggs that contain at almost equal proportions female and male embryos. For many centuries, domestic chickens were bred as dual-purpose birds for both egg and meat production. In contrast, commercial hybrid chickens are selected for one purpose only; either eggs or meat. Surplus day-old male chicks of the layer type are currently without significant commercial value and are at best used as food for e.g. carnivorous animals. All attempts to raise male chicks of the layer type for meat production have resulted in high consumption of feed and poor meat yield which is difficult to market at competitive prices. Ethical views alongside commercial considerations are now confronted with a serious dilemma regarding the limited and reasonable utilization of newly hatched male hybrid chicks from laying strains. An abundance of scientific and practical efforts have been made in both past and present times to detect the sex in eggs pre-incubation and in embryos as early as possible. These studies include attempts to determine the sex in eggs prior to and during incubation and in day-old chicks. Various manual and instrumental morphological, enzymatic and molecular methods were used. This paper reviews these methods and discusses their relevance for practical breeding and production purposes.

These observations report on the outbreak of mild to moderate Newcastle disease following LaSota vaccination at many commercial poultry layer farms in India. It is believed that this happened due to the presence of complicating pathogens in the birds, mainly mildly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (MPAI) and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Of the two, the principal role appeared to be that of MPAI. The reasons for the precipitation of Newcastle disease are discussed. In such cases, administration of cloned vaccine both live and killed yielded remarkable results and prevented losses. In time, the birds fully recovered. It is suggested that high titres following live and killed cloned vaccine against Newcastle disease may also protect the birds against MPAI.

Approximately 110 million birds from nineteen documented indigenous, heavier and lighter bodied chicken breeds and numerous non-descript types are bought and sold at unorganized meat markets in India. Improving the economic production profile for poultry farmers had been a focus since independence. Genetic improvements by selection over seven generations in non-descript chicken breeds has resulted in 19 more eggs and 4 g higher egg weight. Indigenous exotic crossbreds have shown an increase of 24-45 eggs, which has been associated with increased body weight and earlier age of sexual maturity. Heterosis for egg number ranged from 15-23 percent. Hybrids of the Aseel and Delhem Red breeds produced more eggs than either of the parents. Exotic crossbreds, including the Vanraja, Giriraja, Nadanum, Kuroiler (semi-broiler types) and Krishna-J, Grampriya, Krishipriya, Hit-CARI, Up-CARI (lighter weight) were introduced to scavenging in small scale poultry operations by both public and private sector organisations. The production of the Kalyani-DK and Satpura-Desi synthetic hybrid prototypes, which resemble indigenous fowl in body conformation, multi coloured plumage, dull shanks, pink skin and single comb have generated new opportunities for poultry production in rural areas. The Satpura-Desi attained 1.0 kg bodyweight in 8-9 weeks with 2.45 kg feed. In the ‘quick return’ scheme for free range flocks the 200-300 g birds grew to marketable weight in another 50-60 days and were worth 150% in market price compared to the broiler chicken. Whereas, in a gradual income scheme, the egg produced, surplus cockerels and culled hens resulted in a net gain of US$64-70 annually; the quick return scheme for meat chicken produced a net income of US$96 for village women which exceeded the gradual financial returns generated from egg production. Small scale poultry farmers, raising 100-2000 Satpura-Desi chickens, have been able to capitalize on its acceptance as an indigenous breed in the local meat markets, which has been apparent from the sale of 0.67 million chicks in last 12 months.

Newcastle disease is a major constraint to poultry production in Africa, in both commercial and village rearing systems. A ten-year review (January, 1996-December, 2005) of case reports in respect of Newcastle and other poultry diseases diagnosed at the veterinary clinics in Kaduna, Nigeria was conducted. A total of 3164 outbreaks were documented with 1050 outbreaks diagnosed as ND. There were significant (P>0.05) associations in the distribution of Newcastle disease and age, breed, season, type of bird and management system of poultry in Kaduna. ND outbreaks were most prevalent during the dry season (December – March). Poultry kept in confined conditions, broilers, pullets, layers and birds between 3-4 weeks and 13-15 weeks of age were at greatest risk of suffering from ND outbreaks. Single vaccination had a significant effect (P<0.05) on reducing incidence of disease compared to birds that were not vaccinated or had multiple ND vaccinations. These findings have an impact on the correct approach to immunization practices using to control disease under African conditions.