Controlling dietary factors to raise healthy birds

Chickens, kept under commercial conditions aim to efficiently convert feed into meat. Particularly the interaction between nutrition and the microbiology of the gut ecosystem is a means to enhance health, performance and ultimately, profitability. By Dr Salah H. Esmail , Cairo, Egypt Newly hatched chicks are quite often exposed to a 24-72 hour transition between hatching and placing them on the farm, during which time chicks that hatch first are without feed or water. The lack of access to feed