
The principle investigator Dr Mike McGrew, of the University of Edinburgh’s Roslin Institute, said: “Highly pathogenic bird flu is widespread in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and has now spread to South America and is feared to move to Antarctica. The virus has also spilled over into mammal populations, including seals, sea lions and mink, and caused several human deaths. There is concern about the spread of avian flu, which has led to the deaths of hundreds of millions of birds worldwide in the past two years. Preliminary results suggest editing three genes, rather than just one, could prevent breakthrough infections, raising the prospect of introduction in the UK, where gene editing of crops and animals is permitted. “This showed us a proof of concept that we can move towards making chickens resistant to the virus but we’re not there yet.” Prof Wendy Barclay, of Imperial College London, a co-author of the study, which is published in Nature Communications, said: “Under natural doses our gene-edited chickens really seemed to be resistant, but when we took a very high dose, we did see in half of the chickens a breakthrough infection. Some farmers with multiple-house operations have taken advantage of the economies of scale to make their poultry farms the primary source of income.However, infections were not completely blocked, and scientists say this would have to be achieved before genetically engineered chickens could be introduced to farms, due to the risk of the virus evolving to become more dangerous to humans. Running the poultry operation is often a family undertaking. For other families, one partner may stay at home to manage the farm while the other maintains an outside career. See More What’s the financial opportunity?įor many farm families, poultry houses supplement other farm income and can provide the additional income necessary to farm full time. You’ll have to incorporate biosecurity (protecting the flock from diseases) into your daily life.You, or a designated caretaker, must be available to respond immediately to any issue with poultry house systems critical to bird health and welfare.


You’ll need to provide continuous care for the birds, checking them multiple times each day, tracking their health and growth, and maintaining the poultry house equipment.As a contracted farmer working exclusively with Perdue, you’ll adhere to our standards, just as we adhere to the standards our customers set.
