Samson Oladokun

Efficient feces and litter management remains a critical challenge in modern poultry production systems. Traditional deep-litter systems present several challenges, including high labor requirements, hygiene concerns, and welfare issues associated with wet litter. These issues may be alleviated by using a semicircular grooved-floor design that separates birds from accumulated feces, allowing feces to be mechanically removed from the production area through robotic operation. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the daily feces removal efficiency of a robotic cleaning prototype and develop a computer-vision algorithm to estimate fecal volume for potential health monitoring applications. Grooved floor panels were placed underneath battery cages to collect fecal samples from laying hens. A mobile system equipped with rotatory brushes was developed to remove feces. A LiDAR camera was used to scan the floor surface before and after feces removal. Experimental trials showed that the mobile system removed 88.24 ± 2.37% of accumulated feces at 24-hour collection intervals. The feces removal rates were similar (P > 0.05) under different stocking densities and cleaning intervals. In addition, fecal volume showed a strong correlation with fecal weight (R2 = 0.97, MAPE = 3.04%). Both fecal volume and weight had significant differences (P < 0.05) between the different stocking densities and collection durations. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of robotic feces removal from grooved-floor surfaces and indicate that 3D-derived fecal volume may provide insights into birds’ health status such as assessing the temporospatial density in grooved floor system or estimating number of live birds in caged system.

Necrotic enteritis (NE), primarily associated with Clostridium perfringens, remains a major enteric disease in poultry production, particularly under reduced-antibiotic and antibiotic-free systems. Natural adsorbents, including biochar, clay minerals, and graphite-based materials, have attracted interest because of their capacity to interact with toxins, microbial metabolites, pathogens, and the intestinal environment. This conceptual review synthesizes current evidence on the physicochemical and biological properties of these materials and evaluates their potential relevance to NE mitigation. Biochar and clay minerals have stronger poultry-related evidence, particularly for mycotoxin adsorption, gut microbial modulation, and performance responses, whereas graphite remains an emerging candidate supported mainly by in vitro, non-poultry, and graphite-derivative literature. Across all three adsorbent classes, direct evidence for NetB-specific adsorption is currently absent, making this a central research gap rather than an established mechanism. Therefore, this review proposes a structured evaluation pipeline integrating material characterization, in vitro toxin-binding and epithelial response assays, and in vivo poultry NE outcomes such as lesion scores, CP burden, barrier integrity, inflammation, oxidative stress, microbiome shifts, and growth performance. Overall, natural adsorbents should be viewed as promising but incompletely validated candidates requiring standardized, NE-specific testing before therapeutic or commercial application.

Necrotic enteritis (NE), caused by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens), presents a challenge to the global broiler industry. Evidence suggests that Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands can enhance the immune responses in chickens and protect them against infectious diseases. This study investigated the protective effects of TLR21 ligand class B CpG oligonucleotides (ODN) against NE in broiler chickens. On day 21 of age, chickens were injected with 50 or 100 μg CpG intramuscularly, and one group was injected with 50 μg CpG followed by a booster dose on day 22. Subsequently, birds were orally challenged with C. perfringens twice daily for three days, starting on day 22. On day 22, intestinal samples were collected for gene expression analysis. On day 25, all birds were euthanized, intestinal lesions were scored, and tissue samples were collected from the intestine for gene expression analysis, lymphocyte subset determination, and histomorphological analysis. Cecal contents were also collected for microbiome analysis. The results demonstrated that CpG pre-treatment, either at a single dose of 100 μg or two doses of 50 μg per bird, reduced lesion scores compared to the positive control. C. perfringens infection increased crypt depth in both the jejunum and ileum in the positive control group compared to both the CpG-treated group. At 22 days of age, CpG administration at doses of 100 μg per bird enhanced expression of TLR21, interleukin (IL)-2, CXCL8, IL-10, and interferon (IFN)-γ mRNA transcripts in both the jejunum and ileum. Additionally, at 25 days of age, the group pretreated with two doses of 50 μg of CpG per bird showed increased expression of all cytokines in both the jejunum and ileum compared to the control groups. The percentage of intestinal lymphocytes was not affected by CpG pre-treatment. However, CpG pretreatment at doses of 100 μg resulted in a higher abundance of the members of families Lactobacillaceae and Bacteroidaceae, which are crucial for maintaining gut health. In conclusion, our findings suggest that pretreatment of chickens with intramuscular administration of CpG may be effective in maintaining gut health during C. perfringens infection.

This study evaluated the effect of the delivery of a commercial essential oil blend containing the phytonutrients star anise, cinnamon, rosemary, and thyme oil (via different routes) on broiler chickens’ ileal and ceca microbiota and liver transcriptome compared to an antibiotic growth promoter. Eggs were incubated and allocated into three groups: non-injected, in ovo saline, and in ovo essential oil. On day 18 of incubation, 0.2 mL of essential oil in saline (dilution ratio of 2:1) or saline alone was injected into the amnion. At hatch, chicks were assigned to post-hatch treatment combinations: (A) a negative control (corn-wheat-soybean diet), (B) in-feed antibiotics, (C) in-water essential oil (250 mL/1000 L of drinking water), (D) in ovo saline, (E) in ovo essential oil, and (F) in ovo essential oil plus in-water essential oil in eight replicate cages (six birds/cage) and raised for 28 days. On days 21 and 28, one and two birds per cage were slaughtered, respectively, to collect gut content and liver tissues for further analysis. Alpha and beta diversity differed significantly between ileal and ceca samples but not between treatment groups. In-feed antibiotic treatment significantly increased the proportion of specific bacteria in the family Lachnospiraceae while reducing the proportion of bacteria in the genus Christensenellaceae in the ceca, compared to other treatments. Sex-controlled differential expression of genes related to cell signaling and tight junctions were recorded. This study provides data that could guide the use of these feed additives and a foundation for further research.

This study evaluated the effect of an essential oil blend and its delivery routes on broiler chicken growth performance, blood biochemistry, intestinal morphology, and immune and antioxidant status. Eggs were incubated and allotted to 3 groups: non-injected group, in ovo saline group, and in ovo essential oil group. On day 18 of incubation, essential oil in saline or saline alone was injected into the amnion. At hatch, chicks were assigned to post-hatch treatment combinations (1) in ovo essential oil + in-water essential oil (in ovo + in-water EO); (2) in ovo essential oil (in ovo EO); (3) in ovo saline; (4) in-water essential oil; (5) in-feed antibiotics (Bacitracin methylene disalicylate) and (6) a negative control (NC; corn-wheat-soybean diet) in 8 replicate cages (6 birds/cage) and raised for 28 day. The in ovo EO group reduced (p < 0.05) chick length and hatchability, all groups recorded no difference in growth performance at 0–28 day. The in ovo + in-water EO treatment reduced (p < 0.05) blood creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase levels whilst increasing (p < 0.05) total antioxidant capacity in birds. The in ovo + in-water delivery of EO might represent a potential antibiotic reduction strategy for the poultry industry but more research is needed to address the concern of reduced hatchability.