FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens
Ian Dunn
University of Edinburgh
Darren Karcher
West Lafayette, IN
Year Awarded 2018
Program Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program
Grantee Institution Purdue University
Maja Makagon
Davis, CA
Year Awarded 2018
Program Layer Hen Keel Bone Health Program
Grantee Institution UC Davis
The three grant awards are the result of a competitive call for innovative proposals for research to reduce keel bone fractures in egg-laying hens. Bone fractures are one known challenge to raising hens in cage-free housing systems and are particularly prevalent in the keel, or breastbone.
Why this research is important
Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates of the number of hens needed to meet existing cage-free pledges, including pledges by all top 25 U.S. grocers, this research has the potential to improve the welfare and productivity of approximately 225 million hens by 2025.
The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research is pleased to support innovative approaches to reducing bone fractures in egg-laying hens, a phenomenon that harms both productivity and hen health. Today’s farmers and ranchers face new challenges arising from a changing production environment and cutting-edge research remains critical to providing producers with science-based solutions to those challenges.
Sally Rockey, Ph.D.
FFAR Executive Director Emeritus
Details About this Research
- Ian Dunn, Ph.D., a research scientist at the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute and collaborators at the major poultry genetics companies Hy-Line and Lohmann Tierzucht, will lay the groundwork for breeding hens with stronger bones by developing a novel X-ray based measurement system adapted for on-farm use.
- Darrin Karcher, Ph.D., Purdue University assistant professor and Extension specialist, along with collaborators will conduct research to determine the impact of nutritional interventions on the gut microbiome in addition to management interventions that help producers to reduce keel bone fractures in laying hens housed in cage-free systems.
- Maja Makagon, Ph.D., UC Davis assistant professor, will lead a team of collaborators from UC Davis, University of Bristol, University of Bern and Iowa State University. The team will explore the impacts of poultry housing design, particularly vertical space, on the prevalence of keel bone injuries in egg-laying hens.
How This Research Contributes to Our Mission
FFAR’s Advanced Animal Systems Challenge Area supports research that improves animal health and welfare and pioneers practices that sustain our food system.
Matching Funders
These grants were funded by a partnership with Open Philanthropy Project designed to improve the welfare and productivity of egg-laying hens and commercially raised pigs. The partnership, which supports producers’ ability to adapt to a changing animal production landscape, is funded with a $1 million grant from Open Philanthropy Project matched by a $1 million investment from FFAR.
array(1) {
["latest"]=>
array(3) {
["tax"]=>
array(2) {
[0]=>
string(1) "2"
[1]=>
string(3) "163"
}
["research"]=>
array(3) {
["title"]=>
string(0) ""
["image"]=>
bool(false)
["promo_text"]=>
string(37) "Read the latest project breakthroughs"
}
["latest"]=>
array(3) {
["title"]=>
string(10) "The Latest"
["sections_show"]=>
array(4) {
[0]=>
string(8) "insights"
[1]=>
string(4) "news"
[2]=>
string(6) "events"
[3]=>
string(13) "breakthroughs"
}
["additional_past_events"]=>
string(0) ""
}
}
}
The Latest
Insights
Our Insights highlight unique perspectives from across the food and agriculture community.
See all Insights
Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions from Dairy Cattle
Dr. Francisco Peñagaricano and Dr. Guillermo Martinez Boggio
Let’s Raise a Glass on National Milk Day to the Power of Agriculture Research
Krysta Harden
President and CEO U.S. Dairy Export Council
Building Team Chemistry: The Bigger Picture Behind Cows & Climate
Conor McCabe
Animal Biology Graduate Student, UC Davis
Insight on Livestock Methane Mitigation
Dr. Rod Mackie, Professor, Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL
FFAR Vet Student Fellow Research Spotlight
Anna Schaubeck
2021 FFAR Veterinary Student Research Fellow
Celebrating Innovation on National Egg Day
Paul Montgomery
Director of Communications, United Egg Producers
How Heat Stress Impacts Swine Health
FFAR Fellow, Lauren Anderson
North Carolina State University
Dairy Cattle Metabolic Capacity: Milking It for all It’s Worth
Linda Beckett
2019-2022 FFAR Fellow
Climate change and Dairy Farming: Beating the Heat
Ananda Fontoura
2018-2021 FFAR Fellow
Research is Critical to Preventing the Next Pandemic
Tim Kurt, DVM
Scientific Program Director, October 2016- September 2022 Advanced Animal Systems
Vitamin A, Healthy Cows and Less Antibiotics
Jaime Strickland
2018-2021 FFAR Fellow
A Look at Maine Aquaculture
Tim Kurt, DVM
Scientific Program Director, October 2016- September 2022 Advanced Animal Systems
News
The latest news and updates from FFAR.
See all News
FFAR Names Sixth Cohort of Veterinary Fellows
FFAR-Funded Research to Prevent African Swine Fever Virus
Greener Cattle Initiative Opens Call for Enteric Methane Emission Research
FFAR & AAVMC Open Applications for 2024 FFAR Vet Fellows
Japanese Encephalitis Virus Research Protects U.S. Swine
FFAR & Open Philanthropy Announce Egg-Tech Prize Finalists
ICASA Grants Seek to Address Liver Abscess Formation in Cattle
ICASA Awards Grants to Address Antimicrobial Resistance in Cattle & Swine
Cattle Industry Consortium Funds Research Aimed at Reducing Enteric Methane Emissions
SHIC Wean-to-Harvest Biosecurity Program Funds Additional Research
Improving Layer Hen Welfare with Better Bone Health
Cattle Industry Consortium Awards First Grant to Curb Enteric Methane Emissions
FFAR Awards Fifth Cohort of Vet Fellows
Building a Common Language for Antimicrobial Resistance Between Human & Animal Health
FFAR Grant Investigates Naturally Occurring Compound to Reduce Enteric Methane Emissions
Grant Supports Production of Sustainable, Cost-Effective Feed Supplements
FFAR & AAVMC Open Applications for 2023 FFAR Vet Fellows
Grants Improve Antibiotic Use in Livestock
FFAR Grant Develops Vaccine to Protect Farm-Raised Fish
FFAR Grant Develops Additional African Swine Fever Vaccines
Breakthroughs
Tools, technologies and strategies from the research we fund.
See all Breakthroughs
Unlocking Genetic Heat Tolerance in Cattle
Breakthrough for Precision Bred Adaptation of Elite Taurine Breeds of Beef & Dairy Cattle
Radiography could transform poultry breeding
Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $1.4 Million to Purdue University, University of California, Davis and University of Edinburgh Researchers to Improve Health and Productivity of Egg-Laying Hens
Research Pinpoints Why Dairy Cows Produce Less Milk in Warm Weather and Develops Nutrition-Based Solution
Breakthrough for FFAR Grant Helps Heat-Stressed Dairy Cows Weather Increasing Temperatures
Feed Additives Stop Viral Disease Spread, Researchers Find
Breakthrough for FFAR-Funded Research Finds Feed Additives Stop the Spread of Viral Diseases
Initial Successes in Ending Surgical Castration of Swine
Breakthrough for FFAR Awards $500,000 Grant to Improve Swine Health and Well-Being