$650K USDA Grant to Support Study of Chickens’ Health in Increasingly Popular ‘Backyard’ Farms

As the popularity of small- and medium-sized antibiotic- and chemical-free farms has risen in the U.S., so has the re-emergence of poultry diseases among chickens raised on these farms. In addition, these farmers face the challenge of producing profitable yields without growth hormones, hormone promoters or chemical additives.

Now, a $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture will support a University of Maryland researcher’s work to tackle both issues. Professor Debabrata Biswas from the Department of Animal and Avian Sciences and the Center for Food Safety and Security Systems will investigate the transmission pathways of major bacterial and viral diseases to control mortality in chickens raised on these farms. Biswas will also explore the use of probiotics (live microbes to improve health) and prebiotics (substances to support healthy gut microbes) to enhance poultry immunity and improve growth for greater production.

Biswas is studying two common poultry diseases: infectious coryza caused by Avibacterium paragallinarum and infectious bronchitis virus. Recent reports show they are on the rise in backyard farms and small- to medium-sized integrated farms, which produce a mix of livestock and crops, and tend to use organic farming practices. In addition, many larger farms are shifting from using chemicals or antibiotics to sustainable prevention or therapeutic options.

“We have this environment where there are so many microbes, not only chicken microbes, but sheep and pigs, or plant microbes if the farmers are growing vegetables, too,” he said. “And although we test each for their own type of diseases, these animals and plants are exchanging microbes. So, we need to understand that environment.”