Summary

This consortium (“Consortium”) integrates innovative broiler and broiler breeder nutrition based on local ingredients (reducing reliance on imported soybean meal) with strategies to potentiate embryonic development and early feeding with the objective of delivering nutrients with precision when they are needed to optimise growth and genetic potential while caring for the environment. The Consortium will deliver outcomes on maternal and in ovo nutritional strategies to nourish the chick with finesse while grooming bacterial symbiosis for a healthy intestinal ecosystem (healthy gut and microbiota). Fostering national and international cross-fertilisation of expertise, this project involves 32 world-class scientists and 10 industry partners from 22 organisations with focus on commercially relevant nutrition and cutting-edge molecular-omics for low-waste energy and protein formulations and mitigation of pathogen and environmental impact. Six programs have been created to address the priorities by: 1) designing broiler breeder nutrition profiles to facilitate the development of the progeny; 2) re-defining amino acid nutrition principles that minimise dietary protein levels; 3) implementing innovative feed formulations that decrease reliance on soybean; 4) seeding a healthy chicken microbiota and nourishing it; 5) selecting bacterial functional signatures of a healthy gut; 6) adapting nutritional principles to improve litter quality and environmental impact. The Consortium will deliver an innovative nutrition program that integrates the broiler production cycle for healthier, faster growing broilers with improved human safety outcomes and environmental sustainability.

Program

Chicken Meat

Research Organisation

The University of Queensland