INNOVATIONS IN THE INDIAN POULTRY FARMING – SYSTEMIC APPROACH
N.Balamurugan1, M.Hariharan1, S.Gurusaran1, M.Nithya Quintoil2 and A.Varun2
1Field Veterinarian, Puducherry
2Assistant Professor, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Veterinary Education and Research
INTRODUCTION:
The poultry industry in India has reached a massive height in the past decade with improved farming practices and technologies. These improved technologies and innovations have played an important role in shaping the poultry sector by improving the feed efficiency, growth rate, carcass quality, egg and meat production, disease resistance and genetic parameters. This sector is one of the fast-growing in the Indian economy. India ranks third in egg production and fifth in meat production with an increase of 16.8 percent in poultry sector growth in the past 5 years. It is a major livestock production sector that involves various classes of breeding, broiler, and layer farms with different levels of benefits. Several advancements has been occurred over the years such as different types of housing from thatched sheds to automated, environmentally controlled sheds, normal feeders to automatic feeders and regular channel watering systems to automatic cups and nipples, automatic egg collection, refrigeration systems, nutraceuticals, medicine and vaccine manufacturing units, mechanical components to electronic gadgets required for various functions. This progressive growth in the poultry industry is due to the major innovations and inventions in nutrition, management, and health care systems. Previously the farmers were not very educated and unaware about the process and adoption of new innovative technologies. But over the years the successors of them are now highly qualified with abundant knowledge in the field of poultry science with a high state of mind for adopting and innovating new methods and technologies.
NUTRITIONAL INNOVATIONS:
Egg and chicken meat are rich in highly essential amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins such as A, B6, B12, amino acids, and minerals involving iron, phosphorus, selenium, choline, and zinc. To produce these kinds of energy-rich livestock products proper nutritional supplements must be supplied to the birds. The. major expenditures in the poultry sector are mainly on the feed cost, around 80% of the total expenses are usually covered by the feed cost. To reduce these problems, various innovations have been implemented in the poultry sector for the past six years. Nutraceuticals are one of the best innovations in the poultry feed industry which enabled a reduction in mortality and disease incidence. Symbiotics which are a combination of probiotics and prebiotics are used as new antibiotic alternatives, especially for antibiotics that act on gut bacteria. Symbiotic helps in increasing the healthful microbial activity and survival in the guts of birds. The limited supply of amino acids produced in feed ingredients is prepared using new biotechnological methods. Through biotechnological methods like the metabolic process of microbes like yeast, a limited supply of amino acids is produced in feed ingredients. These microorganisms can manufacture these limited amino acids because their genomes have been modified to include particular genes. Artificial intelligence (AI) and improved digital tools can help poultry farmers optimize the decision-making process in the area of feed management and assessing the health of the gut microbiome. AI-powered tech can provide recommendations on how to improve the feed composition, and farm management practices with the goal of improving performance and health of the flock.
MANAGEMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS:
Every farming outcome depends on various factors such as raw sources, better managemental practices, resources, and genetic traits. Management in the poultry sector is a very important factor as birds are easily prone to managemental disease conditions such as foot pad lesions due to an increase in ammonia level in the poultry house, cage layer fatigue due to independence, and insufficient space in the cage system. Overfeeding and underfeeding can now be corrected by employing Artificial intelligence which calculates the needs of birds as per the climate, age, and requirements so that the appropriate requirements for the poultry can be met easily. Ventilation and heat management systems can now be operated by new technologies involving AI assistance which can reduce the mortality of chicks by managing the high humidity and heat inside the poultry shed. Automatic incubators with advanced technologies and computers help in breeding farms for better hatchability. Infra-red cameras and acoustic sensors are now employed in the monitoring of the health of birds. These sensors help to identify the abnormal movements and behaviours of the birds which indirectly assess the physical and psychological conditions of the birds. Poultry sensors are also used to evaluate the weight, flock uniformity, and performance of birds. They can also help solve labour issues and improve worker retention and food safety when used as wearable sensors for employees. Collaborative robots, also known as ‘cobots’ are designed to work safely alongside human workers. Typically, the robot is responsible for any repetitive task, freeing up the human worker to perform more complex, thought-intensive tasks.
GENETICAL DEVELOPMENTS:
Genomics plays a major role in the performance of the poultry birds as their gene codes play a major role in the expression of characters and performance. For the past decades, we have seen incredible advancements and significant revolutions in the poultry sector through genetic engineering and genomic selection. These genetic evolutions in the poultry industry can lead to improved genetic traits like high feed conversation efficiency, better carcass quality, muscle mass, and increased disease resistance. Developing genetic markers and genomic tools enables scientists more faster for the accurate selection of desirable traits. Genetic engineering techniques like gene editing using CRISPR-Cas9 enable the desirable modifications for the better egg production and high disease resistance. Advancements in the genomics enable to introduce genes from other species of special characteristics in the poultry growing birds for getting desirable characteristics. Through genomic selection, scientists can identify the problematic physiological traits even before the crossing of selected individuals. Genetic engineering also made it possible to produce environment-friendly chicken by reducing the phosphorus content in their wastes. Genetic modifications also helped to achieve a higher fertility and hatchability percentage, with increased breast muscle weight. Genetical improvements in poultry have resulted in a 4.6-fold increase in the growth rate in broiler chickens and a 2.2-fold increase in the turkey growth rate. Identification of genetic markers in the poultry sector helps in a deep analysis of specific traits that can be modified for beneficial effects in the future. The use of Artificial insemination and MOET methods helps the genetic drive in a required manner. Genomic conservations for all the Species of birds can help to prevent the pure line with certain traditional traits which can be revived back with the help of genetic engineering.
VALUE ADDED PRODUCTS:
Although the chicken and egg are the major products of the poultry industry, processed poultry foods has a special and unique demand in the urbanizing world. The processed meat-based products have a high value in the world market, especially in urban areas where people are more rely on ready-to-eat foods. Rapid urbanization, industrialization, rising disposable income, changing food habits towards processed products, and higher middle-income groups are major positive factors in boosting up processed food markets. To produce the rich omega 3 fatty acid in egg and meat the supplementation of omega 3 fatty acids is enriched in the diet of birds which influences the level of omega 3 fatty acid in the products. Another method of increasing the value of the food is by adding the needed ingredients in the processing of products. Smoking, curing, and sausage preparations are the usual methods of processing which adds value to the meat products and make them as consumer preferences by increasing their palatability. Nowadays large amounts of investments are made in this section in order to promote the livestock products which could be transported anywhere without much conditions since the processing methods involve HACCP practices.
CONCLUSION:
Since poultry produces a cheap source of protein with lesser environmental alerts, most of developing and developed countries rely on the poultry industry for their protein needs. Eggs are the better protein source at a low cost which could fill the nutritional imbalance in the poor people. By 2030 poultry industry is predicted to achieve a massive height than other food sectors since its need keeps increasing as the demand for poultry products increases. Although a lot of innovations and inventions have happened in the past six years in the poultry sector, various lacunae in this industry could question its sustainability. One of those is global climatic change is challenging most of the livestock for its sustainability in coming years. Innovations are in need in various aspects of the sector which include Disease prevention, feed processing, climatic adaptations, and improvement in feed production.
Innovative Technology & Practices Transforming India’s Poultry Farming Sector
