Enhancing Sustainable Poultry Production: Innovations in Management and Nutrition

Dear Colleagues,

Poultry production is rather widespread worldwide, as it is not associated with many religious, cultural, or nutritional restrictions. It has demonstrated remarkable adaptability to the concerns and preferences of modern consumers, offering a wide variety of affordable poultry products. Furthermore, with the expansion of various alternative production systems (such as corn-fed, organic, free range, etc.) and the utilization of many different species (including laying hens, broilers, turkeys, ducks, geese, pheasants, quails, etc.), it has proven to be one of the most successful sectors in animal production.

Poultry production has benefited substantially from field research, and this can be easily identified in the level of mechanization of the sector as well as the productivity goals accomplished. However, sustaining and enhancing poultry practices require ongoing research and development efforts that focus specifically on contemporary challenges, such as climate change, animal welfare, and the sustainability of production.

This Special Issue, ‘Enhancing Sustainable Poultry Production: Innovations in Management and Nutrition,’ aims to focus on the recent innovations in poultry management and nutrition mainly (but not exclusively) in the following areas: (a) nutritional strategies for improved performance, (b) environmental sustainability, (c) animal welfare and ethical practices, (d) climate-resilient poultry production, (e) health and disease management, and (f) emerging technologies in poultry farming.

Potential focus areas of papers include the following:

• Alternative protein sources in poultry feed: Assessing the feasibility and sustainability of incorporating alternative protein sources such as insects or plant-based proteins in poultry diets.
• Optimizing poultry nutrition through agricultural by-products: Exploring innovative approaches to incorporate by-products from agricultural industries into poultry diets to enhance nutrition, reduce waste, and improve sustainability in poultry production.
• Welfare-driven housing and management systems: Examining housing and management practices designed to prioritize poultry welfare, such as enriched environments, mobile housing units, and innovative applications in the regulation of the indoor environment of poultry farms, including temperature, humidity, ventilation parameters, and the control of unwanted gases.
• Poultry gut microbiota and health: Exploring the intricate relationship between gut microbiota composition and poultry health, with implications for nutrition and disease management.
• Precision nutrition for poultry: Discussing precision feeding and data-driven approaches to tailor nutrition to the specific needs of individual poultry, thereby optimizing performance while reducing waste.
• Innovative approaches to mitigate thermal stress: Exploring novel techniques to manage and mitigate thermal stress in poultry, considering the impact on both performance and welfare.
• Enhancing poultry performance and product quality: Investigating the use of additives, such as essential oils, acidifiers, enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics, and aluminosilicate minerals, along with the application of low protein diets supplemented with essential amino acids, to improve poultry performance and enhance the quality of meat and eggs.
• Evaluating environmental footprints in poultry farming: Conducting assessments of the water and carbon footprint associated with broiler and laying hen production, and exploring strategies to reduce their environmental impact. This includes considerations for energy-efficient practices and technologies in poultry buildings to minimize the overall ecological footprint.

Dr. Vassilios Dotas
Dr. George K. Symeon
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• poultry production
• nutritional strategies
• sustainability
• animal welfare
• environmental impact
• alternative protein sources
• feed additives
• gut microbiota
• thermal stress
• poultry meat and egg quality