Poultry plays an important role in the livelihood of rural communities in developing countries. Rural poultry (RP) accounts for about 80% of the world's poultry stocks in many developing countries. Thus, RP production is a valuable asset to the local human population despite its relatively low productive performance of 40 to 60 eggs per year and 1.5 to 1.7 kg body weight at maturity. RP contributes significantly to rural livelihood and overall population well-being by providing cash income, satisfying religious and socio-cultural needs, utilising spare family time and satisfying the family's nutritional needs. Efforts are therefore needed from all stake-holders for active participation in RP, geared towards strengthening and improving the development of RP production which had continuously proved to be an effective tool in fighting poverty, providing food security and improving rural livelihood.

For approximately the past ten years, the European poultry sector has faced both competition from new poultry-exporting countries and growing societal concerns about animal welfare, food safety, and environmental impacts of production systems. On a global scale, poultry production increased nearly 4% per year during that period. Although it increased slightly in the European Union (EU) as a whole, largely owing to the integration of new EU member states, in some EU countries such as France it decreased by up to 20%. This caused concern among public and private stakeholders, especially poultry farmers, about the future of poultry farming in their countries. To help French stakeholders design strategies for the future, a technical institute (ITAVI) and a research institute (INRA) conducted a scenario-building exercise. Based on interviews with stakeholders and an 18-month-long series of discussions by a panel of poultry experts, four future scenarios were developed. Rather than simply extending current trends, they took into account uncertainties such as potential shifts in European policies and regulations, consumer attitudes, and stakeholder strategies. The main economic, social, environmental, and food-safety lessons of this exploration are presented here from a European perspective. More specifically, the implications of these scenarios for future research are highlighted. Although no scenario envisages strong production growth by 2025, all emphasise the importance of multidisciplinary research to characterise the quality and sustainability of poultry production, which in turn can improve its competitiveness.

The study was carried out by the Department of Dakoro in Niger, where the main characteristics of small-scale family poultry farms were described. One hundred and forty seven farms were surveyed between November 2007 and February 2008 and 15 others were further added. In 78% of the farms, men were in charge of the poultry flocks. The main species raised were chickens (78%) and guinea fowls (18%). A representative flock had 43 hens and ten guinea fowls and would include a rooster, six hens and 35 young (two females and 22 guinea fowl keets). Millet grains and/or bran were used as feed materials by 99% of farmers for their poultry. Chicks and guinea fowl keets received starter feeds based on local products in 78% and 76% of farms, respectively. In 138 farms, drinking water from wells and boreholes was distributed. Sexual maturity was reached at approximately 24 to 25 weeks of age for roosters and hens and 32 weeks for guinea fowls. Hens laid an average of 55 eggs (97 for guinea fowl) in 4.4 clutches of 12 each. Hatchability fluctuated between 81% and 93% and reported mortality rate was as high as 33%. Rudimentary poultry houses based on stem grass were reported in 117 farms. One hundred and forty five farms had clay bell-shaped drinkers and recycled utensils were used as feeders in 120 farms. Poultry veterinary products were used in 25% of the farms surveyed, along with human medicines (21%) and traditional pharmacopoeias (16%). The major causes of mortality were undiagnosed diseases (72%), poor housing (13%), predation (8%) and lack of feed (6%). Own consumption (46%) was the main destination for poultry products followed by sales (43%) and donations (11%). Increasing awareness among farmers to aid in better management of their flocks and the promotion of the production and consumption of poultry products, characterization and better utilisation of available feed resources and more adequate housing were proposed to improve family-based poultry farming.

The following review considers the history of poultry breeding to date, and the contribution of both traditional and molecular genetic methods in the selection of breeding stock and in performance improvements. The genetic aspects of eradicating disease and stress-related problems in broilers are discussed in detail.

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.

The development of drug resistance in Eimeria is common because of extensive use of anticoccidial drugs for the control of avian coccidiosis. The significance of chemotherapy is evident from the fact that, in spite of advancement in the field of immunological, biotechnological and genetic methods, prophylactic chemotherapy with anticoccidial drugs is still widely used for the control of coccidiosis. In such situations, new drugs should be available to replace the older ones against which resistance has developed, however it takes a long time to develop any new compounds. It is therefore currently necessary to develop strategies to minimise the emergence of resistance in Eimeria strains and to prolong the effect of available anticoccidial drugs. This paper summarises the resistance status of Eimeria species in different parts of the world and reviews different types of resistance, mechanism of resistance development, factors involved in the development and spread of resistance, management of resistant strains and strategies to preserve the efficacy of the available anticoccidial drugs. Use of vaccines, synthetic and botanical anticoccidials and educating farmers about recommended coccidiosis control practices are discussed in this review, along with the integration of currently available options for the management of drug resistance and, ultimately, the control of coccidiosis.

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.

A Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) model was used to evaluate impact of the 2004 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks on Japan's import demand for shell eggs and processed egg products. Egg imports were divided into three classes; shell eggs, dried egg products, and non-dried egg products. The demand for these three products were estimated (conditional on total egg imports) and tested for structural changes caused by changes in Japan's policies toward egg imports. Analysis shows structural change in two of the three classes of egg imports; shell eggs and dried egg products, measured by changes in their estimated coefficients of own and cross-price elasticities. In the post-HPAI period, shell and dried egg products became better substitutes for each other and their demand became more own-price elastic. Results showed a rising import demand for the safer dried egg products, with a simultaneous weakening demand for non-dried egg product and shell eggs. The findings of the CBS model are in concurrence with Japan's post-HPAI statistical data, reporting a rising import-share of dried eggs from 48% in the pre-infection 4th quarter 2003 to 62% in 4th quarter 2009, and declining shares of non-dried and shell eggs from 46% to 34% and from 6% to 3%, respectively.

The following paper was constructed from research assessing the socio-economic impacts of the Avian Influenza (AI) outbreaks encountered between October 2005 and March 2006 on the Turkish village chicken producers, using data obtained from an interview survey on 64 families in six different provinces of Turkey where the outbreak was recorded. The research revealed that: 1) the villagers’ protein consumption was dramatically reduced as most of them could not afford or didn't prefer to purchase chicken products. 2) The income from chicken sales (on average, it accounted for 33% of total income of those selling birds and eggs) disappeared. Moreover, the gender implication of it was notable as the income from chicken sales was generally used by the housewives. 3) 55% of the families stopped consuming chicken products due to the AI fear. However, 97% of them re-started consumption after 9 months of the AI outbreaks. 4) 65% of the families stated that they believe the crisis was artificially manipulated by the commercial chicken firms with the collaboration of the media to wipe out the backyard chicken production. 5) The respondents generally found the government's disease control efforts, organization and timeliness of compensation payments successful. However, 54 of the respondents stated that the amount of compensation payment was insufficient.

Welfare issues and approaches are compared in the following review, for all major meat chicken producing countries. In certain countries, such as the United States and Australia, the industry comprises a small number of integrated, self-regulated companies, whereas in Europe the industry is more diverse, with greater competition, and more government regulation. There is much more meat chicken welfare research and regulation in Europe, and in particular the United Kingdom, than in countries with self-regulated industries, such as the United States, even taking into account the level of meat chicken production in the relevant areas. By contrast, welfare regulation in two of the world's major meat chicken producing countries; namely Brazil and China, is negligible. Some welfare issues are regional, such as high temperatures which are particularly problematic for free range birds, breeds selected for rapid growth and when birds are removed from fully-housed systems. However, similar welfare issues affect intensively-housed birds worldwide, which comprise the majority of animals produced. These include rapid growth rates, predisposing birds to heart and leg problems, especially ascites and sudden death syndrome, and high stocking densities, which inhibit locomotion and environmental exploration, predisposing birds to contact dermatitis. Welfare research in Europe has shown that highly stocked birds spend longer sleeping, congregate around feeders and are more fearful, as well as experiencing higher ammonia levels, which irritate their eyes and respiratory systems. The review concludes that intensive systems present similar welfare issues worldwide; however, European research is more directed to the behavioural and cognitive requirements of the birds, than in self-regulated countries. This will enable their industry to respond better to future welfare requirements from consumers.

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.

Many different methods measuring meat quality traits are available which are based on different principles, and instruments and/or probes. In view of the complexity of meat processes after slaughter and quality trait determination, it is not surprising that the results obtained in different studies and laboratories are not always in agreement. For comparison of results it is therefore necessary to keep strictly to measurable specifications, which is why standardisation is indispensable. The Working Group 5 Poultry Meat Quality group of the WPSA European Federation has been asked to produce a document which would serve as a common base methodology that would permit comparison between research projects carried out by different groups, based on international research programmes. This paper represents the first step of this work including chemical (moisture, total lipids, proteins, ash, fatty acid composition, cholesterol, susceptibility to oxidation, amino acids, collagen and pigments) and physical traits (pH, R-value, colour, water holding capacity, texture and sarcomere length). For the evaluation of chemical composition, there are standard methods available which are largely adopted in the majority of published papers. However, there is still a need to standardise methods for determining the physical traits to facilitate comparisons between studies and to provide reference values.

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.