There's a Heifer in Your Tank

Which is better: free range or conventional eggs?

 

 

Do hens listen when a rooster crows?

 

You may know how annoying it is to be woken up at the crack of dawn by the rooster’s familiar crow but there is so much more to chickens than clucks and cock-a-doodles. Contrary to the traditional view of the simple-minded chicken, they do indeed, have a complex communication system. For example, the typical “cock-a-doodle-doo” is thought to be a call that tells other chickens about the individual’s social rank and is also used to claim territory. The hen listens to a rooster, especially when he has something useful to say, usually about food, mating, and danger. Humans should also listen to the rooster because “vocalizations can be an indicator or diagnostic tool for evaluating quality of welfare,” says Dr. Paul Siegel PhD (Animal and Poultry Sciences at Virginia Polytechnic and State University). So the next time you hear a rooster crow, do not think of him as another simple farm animal because he is probably saying something important.

Life, for all species, revolves around food and roosters use this to their advantage. They can produce characteristic food calls to get hens to approach, who find it hard to turn down the opportunity for a free meal. Roosters deliver many quick calls if favored food is found and make slower, less frequent calls if non-favored food is present. Hens are more likely to approach when good food, like mealworms and peas, are offered and are more likely to ignore the calls if the rooster finds lower quality food, like peanuts or nutshells. Roosters call more when hens are present but will call less if another male is around. Other males are just competition so sharing with them is not necessary. Basically, the rooster searches for food, calls the hens over, refrains from eating to let the hens have it, and in return, establishes social bonds with them. What a gentleman!

Have you ever seen a rooster waltz? He performs elaborate mating displays and dances that can also elicit a response from the hen. The “waltz” is a courtship dance where the male drops one wing and approaches the hens with short, shuffling side steps. Wing flapping, strutting, head shaking, feather-ruffling, tail-wagging, and a whining vocalization are also used to get the hen’s attention. The hen will either run away if she is not interested or crouch to allow the rooster to mate with her.

Hens, like most animals, are picky when it comes to mating and they will choose the rooster with the most desirable characteristics. Hens will mate with dominant males most of the time. Dominant males crow more than subordinates, crow at a higher frequency than subordinates, have a higher weight, and have the longest and brightest combs. Roosters guard their flocks and produce different types of alarm calls depending on whether a predator is in the air or on the ground. These calls are very different from one another and the hens respond by showing different types of behavior. Hens will crouch when given an aerial alarm call, whereas they will stand erect when given a ground alarm call. Even though hens respond to both types of calls by surveying the area, they are more likely to look upwards and run for cover when given an aerial call. In these types of circumstances, listening to the rooster may be vital for the hens’ survival.

It is known that chicken communication is beneficial to both the hens and roosters, but why should humans study chicken calls? Michelle Jendral is a graduate student from the University of Alberta, researching how different environments impact the quality of life for layer hens. She believes that “increasing our knowledge and understanding of behaviors, such as vocalizations, will improve our ability to assess welfare, and therefore clarify how welfare can be improved.” She also states that “since behavior is how animals cope with their environment, and many natural behaviors are affected by intensive housing systems, vocalizations (a behavior) are affected too.” Chickens show complex social organization, learning capabilities, and a diverse communication system; performing more than 30 vocalizations. We are starting to realize that chickens are smarter than we originally thought and welfare concerns pressure the poultry industry to provide mental stimulation in their current housing systems. Roosters do more than just cock-a-doodle-doo and wake you up in the morning. They will make different calls about food, mating, and danger which the hens will respond to. Therefore, hens do listen when a rooster crows.

- Gita Gunson, Steve Koeckhoven and Renee Leduc

Bloody eggs!

Are blood spots in eggs developing into chicks?

 

As the fear of fat recedes, and the danger of carbohydrates looms on the horizon, the consumption of eggs is rising. Increasing consumption is followed by increasing questions and concerns about the commercial supply of eggs. One of these concerns regards the existence of blood spots. Many people believe that the presence of a blood spot indicates the beginning of a young chicken. A little known fact is that eggs sold for consumption are usually infertile. According to Dr. Frank Robinson, Associate Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Alberta, “The average person is probably unaware that hens can lay an egg without knowing a rooster at all.” Without the hens being bred, the eggs produced by a chicken are not fertile, and cannot develop into chicks. Another concern is that these eggs are unsafe to eat. This is also untrue. Blood spots are not an indicator of egg contamination.

So what are blood spots? The female chicken’s reproductive system contains one ovary and an oviduct, which provide the machinery to form eggs. The yolk is the ovum that is released from the ovary. It passes down the oviduct and is coated in albumen (egg white). Near the end of the oviduct the shell is formed over the egg and then it is laid. Before it is released from the ovary (a process called ovulation), the yolk grows inside a membrane called the follicle wall. This covering ruptures releases the yolk by splitting along a line called the stigma. Normally this line is avascular, meaning that it contains no blood vessels. If there is a vessel crossing this line, it will rupture when the yolk is released. A small amount of blood will adhere to the yolk while the rest of the egg forms over it.

In commercial egg layers, the incidence of blood spots is directly related to the stress level of the laying hens. Stress factors include sudden loud noises, inappropriate housing, feed and water regimes. Careful management prevents most of these stress factors. “Some producers play soft music in their barns to dampen outside noises” states Dr. Robinson. Other factors that may affect the incidence of blood spots include activity level, age, vitamin balance and genetics. There is a slightly higher incidence of blood spots laid in brown eggs. Some research on this topic is being done at the University of Alberta. One study suggests that hens which lay brown eggs produce 25 times more blood spots. Through selection, the levels of blood spots are being reduced in all strains of laying hens. According to Dr. George Ansah, lead geneticist for Hubbard ISA, “All breeding programs in Canada focus on improving internal egg quality in both brown and white egg layers. Genetic selection of hens is one way of improving the final product for the consumer.”

Management and selection greatly reduce the already low level of naturally occurring blood spots, however, there is another reason that very few blood spots are found in commercial eggs. After eggs are collected from the hens, they are moved along a conveyor belt over a very bright light in a process known as candling. The light penetrates the shell and glows through, allowing a spotter to see any defects inside the egg. If a meat spot or a blood spot is seen, the egg is removed from the production line or downgraded to “B”. “Few grade B eggs get to grocery store level. For the most part, such eggs go to further processing – for use in other products requiring eggs” asserts Brenda White of the Alberta Egg Producer’s Board. In brown eggs small blood spots are more difficult to see because the light shining through the shell glows red.

The brown egg market is still small compared to the standard white egg market. Recently it is also losing ground to specialty eggs. Brenda White stated, “For the first time ever in the many years that this research has been done omega-3 eggs were the number two most purchased egg choice of Albertans, positioning brown shelled eggs to third place.”

Eggs with blood spots are removed because they are unappealing to the consumer, not because they pose a health risk. A contaminated egg will generally look perfectly normal, while one with a defect may be safe. The best way to prevent egg-born illness is to properly handle and cook eggs before eating them. Most egg born illness are actually picked up by cross-contamination in the kitchen. Those human illnesses that can be transmitted directly from the hen are destroyed by cooking. If a spot is unappealing, it can be removed easily with the tip of a clean knife before the egg is cooked.

Blood spots naturally occur at a low level as a consequence of the way eggs are formed within the hen. They do not represent the beginning of chick development. In fact, the hens that produce commercially marketed egg are not bred. The eggs they lay areusually infertile and could never mature into chicks. The exception is when there is an over abundance of hatching eggs, and some of these eggs may end up in the table egg market.

- Ken Lopes, Ken Schur, Chelsea Whittaker

Eggs: effective, essential...engineered?

 

Eggs simple, easy, versatile ... life saving? How can an egg save your life? In addition to the nutrients and vitamins they already contain, eggs have essential compounds in them called Omega-3 fatty acids. The amount that’s actually in eggs is quite small, but when they’re enriched it increases to a quantity high enough to satisfy our body’s needs. Omega-3s have an amazing effect on the human body: they lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer over time—and they’re extremely easy to get, for both people and chickens.

Humans require 1.35g of Omega-3 fatty acids daily: we can’t make or store them on our own, which means that we need to get a little creative. Unfortunately, the options are limited to various food sources (including leafy green vegetables, cold-water fish, flaxseed, and enriched eggs) and capsule supplements. Some of these sources are not as practical as eggs due to the rising risk of mercury poison in fish, personal preference, allergies, cost, and the fact that the human stomach has difficulty digesting flaxseed. An interesting fact about the intake of Omega-3s is that another essential fatty acid family, Omega-6s, plays a key role in how much Omega-3s an individual requires. A healthy balance of the two is a 1:1 ratio, but due to the fact Omega-6s are found in a wider variety of foods the current ratio for most people sits at 1 Omega-3 for every 50 Omega-6s. This is a startling realization that is beginning to be linked to blood clots, constricted arteries, and other health problems. Thankfully, Omega-3s are available to the public in a source that’s very easy to incorporate into any meal: enriched eggs.

When it comes to actually eating eggs, however, one or two isn’t enough. Omega-3s occur in eggs naturally, but in so small of an amount that one would have to eat 10 to 12 eggs a day to get the recommended daily intake of 1.35 grams. One of the easiest solutions to this problem lies in enriched eggs: eating just six of them a week will fulfill the body’s requirements and then some. Finding them in a supermarket, however, might prove a bit more of a challenge with the rising market demand for value-added products. A young consumer, Cody Anderson, 19, had no idea what he was getting into when he decided he wanted to try Omega-3 eggs: “You’d think that if they’re so popular, Edmonton would be better stocked – it took me forever to find one carton!”

Although Omega-3 fatty acids are present in eggs in a low concentration, they can easily be increased by the incorporation of a higher percentage of flaxseed in a hen’s diet: a 20% increase in flax boosts the Omega-3 production by almost 10%. There’s no genetic engineering, drugs, or medical intervention required, making eggs a safe and easily obtainable source of Omega-3s: just 3 enriched breakfasts a week and the body will have what it needs.

Going out of the way to obtain these nutrients is not without its rewards, of course: Omega-3s help prevent breast and prostate cancer, reduce the risks of heart disease and stroke, improve memory and concentration skills, and provide anti-inflammatory benefits. There are also some clinical trials being done to test the theory that Omega-3’s are important for neo-natal development. Yanning Peng a market analyst of consumer demand at Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development stated that, “approximately 10% of the eggs produced in Canada are enriched and this number is likely to rise as people learn more about the benefits of Omega-3 fatty acids.” Of course, the risks that come with these fatty acids are basically the same as those for all vitamins: you abuse, you lose. Too high a concentration of Omega-3s (over three grams a day) can cause immune suppression, heightened cholesterol, and an increased risk of hemorrhagic stroke.

Overall, Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids can be easily obtained, and a diet that includes the proper amount is not hard to formulate. They provide us with incredible benefits that can’t be found in any other substance, and they do it without the aid of any kind of genetic or medicinal alterations. Since they’re essential for the body, it’s just as well that we can get them without much difficulty and enjoy our breakfast in the process.

- Lacey Fowler, Lauren Murdock, Peter Rollheiser and Meredith Wasney

Sisterhood of the cow and chicken

Does a cow or hen metabolize more calcium?

 

 

How are cows and chickens similar? Both produce products high in calcium (milk and eggs), have similar calcium production curves (Figure 1), and can sometimes suffer from metabolic diseases related to calcium deficiencies.

Comparing daily feed intakes, a cow consumes 140 grams of calcium while a hen consumes 4.2 grams. However, when taking into account body mass, which metabolizes more calcium – a chicken or a cow? To answer this question, we calculated a ratio of the daily percent of calcium metabolized to the calcium in the body. A cow’s milk has 720 grams of calcium while its body contains 8.0 kg of calcium. Thus the percentage of daily calcium metabolized to the amount of calcium in the body is 0.88%. The egg shell a hen produces contains 2.18 grams of calcium. The amount of calcium in a hen’s body is 50.3 grams thus, the percent of calcium metabolized daily as compared to the calcium caontained in the body is 4.3%. Therefore, the hen relatively metabolizes more calcium.

 

Demands for calcium in a cow are highest during the finals months of pregnancy when the cow needs calcium for producing colostrum. According to Dr. Lorraine Doepel of the University of Alberta, colostrum is the milk that lasts a few days after calving and contains one-third more calcium than the average milk. With this high demand for calcium, cows can become ill with hypocalcemia, better known as milk fever. According to Dr. Jim Lawrence, a veterinarian from Westlock Alberta, milk fever is a metabolic state in which the circulating calcium falls below a critical level needed for skeletal muscle function. As a result the cow shows signs of weakness which may be severe enough to be fatal. This condition can be treated by administering calcium intravenously. Minutes after treatment, symptoms are dramatically reduced. Also, a good diet can prevent this weakness; when cows are not lactating, a low calcium diet allows the calcium regulatory system to become more efficient at absorbing calcium.

 

When a hen does not absorb enough calcium from her diet to meet calcium demands for egg production she begins to suffer from cage layer fatigue; the hen takes stored calcium from her bones making them soft and prone to fractures. According to Dr. Doug Korver, a professor at the University of Alberta, cage layer fatigue is like osteoporosis. This onset is caused by a lack of exercise because the hens are housed in small cages, and/or insufficient calcium in its diet. By managing these factors, cage layer fatigue can be avoided.

 - Alison Kumpula, Brian Cheung and Eric Lawrence

Double Trouble?

Do double-yolked eggs hatch two chicks?

 

Sometimes when you eat breakfast in the morning you get a special bonus: a double-yolked egg. This rarity happens frequently and naturally in nature. Getting these double-yolked eggs in your breakfast brings up the question: if they were fertilized, would there be two surviving chicks? Unfortunately the answer is no; an egg that has two yolks rarely if ever hatches two chicks. Mammals can successfully deliver healthy twins, so why can’t a double yolked egg hatch two chicks? The answer lies in how an egg is formed and hatched.

How is an egg made? An egg’s production starts when a yolk drops from the ovary into a funnel-like structure called the infundibulum. The yolk then takes a 26 hour journey through the hen’s oviduct, where the albumen, or egg white, and various membranes are developed and deposited around the yolks. A hard calcium shell is deposited in the shell glands to complete the egg. Finally the egg exits through the chicken’s rear orifice, or cloaca.

For an egg to hatch a baby chick it has to be fertilized when it is formed. Fertilization occurs after a yolk is released from the hen’s ovary and is deposited into the infundibulum. Rooster sperm, which can be stored in the infundibulum for up to one month, fertilizes the follicle. The egg then forms normally and the yolk serves as the main supply of energy for the developing embryo. Embryos can grow only to a limited size due to the restricted space in an egg. When a chick hatches, it taps into an air cell which is built into the egg to provide oxygen for the chick. How do we get double-yolked eggs? Double-yolked eggs occur when the ovary releases two follicles simultaneously. These two yolks then complete the same process as regular eggs, producing what appears to

be a slightly larger egg. According to Brenda White, the Marketing and Communications Manager at Alberta Egg Producers, double-yolked eggs are often produced by young hens whose egg production cycles are not yet completely synchronized or by hens which are old enough to produce extra large eggs.

When two yolks are fertilized and develop into a double-yoked egg, restricted resources and space are the main factors which limit its hatchability. Unfortunately, the egg cannot expand to provide enough space for both chicks as a mammalian uterus could. There is also a problem when two chicks try to hatch because of the existence of only one air cell in the egg. The probabilities of both chicks surviving the hatching are very low because of this lack of oxygen. Consequently, when a doubleyolked egg is fertilized, with the limited resources available, sometimes only one chick survives. Often the two developing embryos compete with each other so much that the egg doesn’t even hatch and neither embryo survives.

So besides the pleasant surprise during breakfast, what benefits do double-yolked eggs have? Unfortunately, a double-yolked egg will sometimes hatch only one chick due to limited resources, space, and oxygen supply in the egg, and often this natural wonder won’t even hatch one chick!

Jorge Gallegos, the Manager at Lilydale Hatchery in Edmonton, says that the hatchability of double-yolked eggs is very low, making it not economically feasible to hatch them. It appears that a double-yolked egg is best left to be enjoyed at our breakfast. Next time you crack a double yolked egg, consider yourself lucky and enjoy!

-Jason Welsh, Rodrigo Fuentes, Rob Kyle and Blend Bardhi

Does size really matter?

Why is a cornish game hen and why is it so small?

 

When shoppers set foot in a grocery store, there is an array of poultry products to choose from. The hardest part will be to decide which product will best suit their needs for dinner. From the freezer to the refrigerated aisles, there are literally hundreds of products to choose from. This includes the Cornish Game Hen.

Some consumers believe that the Cornish Game Hen is a poultry product imported from some foreign country. Angie Tran, a Save-On Foods deli employee, thought Cornish Game Hesn were imported and then processed here in Canada for the Canadian poultry market. This misconception is prominent because the poultry industry has emphasized and priced the Cornish Game Hen in such a way to lead consumers to perceive it in this manner. Simply, it’s nothing more than a young, small domestic broiler chicken that can be found at local farms. The name

Cornish Game Hen is misleading as well, since the chicken is not actually a game bird. Like every other broiler chicken, it is raised on a farm for its meat. In order for a bird species to be deemed “game”, it either has to be wild or of wild bird species descent. For instance, geese, duck and Guinea Fowl are considered to be “game” birds.

Chickens are classified based upon their age and weight. According to Dr. Martin Zuidhof, Poultry Research Scientist for Alberta Agriculture, Food, and Rural Development, the Cornish Game Hen is marketed at

28 days of age. On the other hand, the broiler is marketed at 42 days and the roaster at 56 days of age. For a younger and smaller chicken, the price of the Cornish Game Hen is substantially more than that of your conventional broiler and roaster. It is almost double that of a broiler. For corresponding weights and price ranges, see Table 1 for further details. Before the mid-1900s, chickens were bred to produce both meat and eggs. By the 1940s, as the market for poultry grew, breeders began to breed for more specific areas of production (either meat or eggs).

 

Plymouth Rock hens and Cornish roosters were crossed to produce new broiler progeny that showed heterosis. The offspring of this cross showed higher meat yield and better feed-conversion.

Cornish Game Hens are often found as entrées on the menus of fivestar restaurants. Since it is being served at such a high-end place, the Cornish Game Hen may be seen as being a high- quality, rare delicacy. The price of the entrée will also suggest to costumers that they’re paying for something special. Yet, the Cornish Game Hen dinner at a five star restaurant is really no different than a chicken dinner served at Earl’s or Swiss Chalet, except for the price. The Cornish Game Hen may have tasted a little better and was conveniently sized on the plate, but simply, it’s just chicken!

Since the secret about the Cornish Game Hen has been revealed, perhaps you, the consumer, won’t hesitate to try one of these ‘imported delicacies’ at home like a culinary expert. So don’t expect to find the Cornish Game Hen flying around in the woods on your next hunting adventure; instead, you'll find it frozen, ready to cook, in yourneighborhood grocery freezer aisle.

-Sara ito, Taryn Ng and Stefon Beechinor

The colour red, is it just for bulls or do chicks dig it too?

 

Have you ever wondered about the favourite colour of the chicken sitting on your table? It might not seem all that important to you, but for the farmer managing 10,000 birds it might become much more of an issue. Many farm supply producers have attempted to solve that very question. Their answer: Red. If you can get it for chickens you can get it in red.

But what about their competition? As any cartoon watching child will tell you, our feathered friends are not the only clucks in the coop digging red. That’s right, at over 1500lbs, snorting fire , with smouldering eyes, and lance sharp horns, can our common chicken compete with a raging bull? Does the common hen have what it takes to challenge the massive mammal for the rights to red? Surprisingly, the answer is yes.

Science, you see, is considerably more complicated than Wile E. Coyote would like to admit. For example, chickens can see a broader range of the light spectrum than humans can due to the fact that chickens have four types of cones in their eyes and humans only have three, while our friend the bull is essentially colour blind. The dramatic red of the matadors cloak is more for the human audience than the bull who is "more about texture and speed than colour" says Laura Bluck, assistant of Agricultural Production at Olds College. The bull cannot be attracted to a colour it cannot see. So the chicken wins a major victory for the rights to its favourite colour, right?

Well no, not so much.

As it turns out, despite the commercial pressures which say otherwise, red is not a chicken's preferred colour. One experiment involving different coloured nest boxes showed that 50.5% of chickens showed preference to yellow for nesting. Also, blue and green stimulate the hypothalamus of a chicken the most. However, although red is not the most attractive colour to chickens, the light wavelengths penetrate the skull and feathers more effectively and stimulate the hypothalamus. Studies have shown that this stimulation can lead to decreased aggression, decreased consumption, and increased production. Hence the abundance of red chicken squiptment found with suppliers. Jim Weiss, a farmer by Mundare Alberta explains, "Red light sources are used in chicken coops for three months. The red light prevents the chickens from pecking each other which increases productivity. Also, the red light sources are needed longer for laying hens."

One man even develiped red contacts for chickens, a venture which failed since it was found that the chickens struggled to put them in, also, the dust and other particles floating around in a barn would get in the contacts damaging the chicken's eys.

In conclusion, red may not be as popular as blue, green or yellow which chickens, however, the significant effects of the red wavelengths dominate the chicken's preferences to you and your wallet!

- Dustin Banks, Ryan Achtymichuck, Caitlin Edwards and Airell DesLauriers

 

Free-run vs. Free-range; Myth vs. Truth

There seems to be a common misconception that free-range and free-run chickens are the same thing. Although there are similarities between the two, there is one major factor that differentiates one from the other. While both free-range and free-run chickens live in open-concept barns, free from living in a battery cage, only free-range chickens have any access to the outside. In theory this will allow a chicken to live a more "natural" life but in Canada there is little to no requirements regarding the size or conditions of the outside enclosure. It is encouraged that free-run chickens get 144 square inches per chicken but farmers must meet the regular standards of 67 square inches per chicken. This means that there is often no shade from the sun or barricades against cold winds and the flock may never utilize their access to the outdoors.

Laura Bluck, a teacher of Agricultural Production at Olds College, says when the free-range chickens do take advantage of their outdoor pass, their eggs tend to be a little more orange than others due to ingestion of bugs and dirt that free-run or caged birds would not have access to. Hence, a major issue for producers of free-range chickens is biosecurity. When allowed outside, exposure to diseases such as Newcastle Disease or Avian flu carried in wild bird droppings increases.

Within the barns, chickens have nesting boxes where they can lay their eggs privately; a natural tendency for laying hens. They also have increased mobility around the barn contrary to a battery cage, leading to the occasional hen laying eggs on the ground. "Ground eggs" cannot go to market, and thus production costs increase. This increase in costs are the why 97% of eggs are from chickens housed in battery cages.

There is also no finite proof that the nutrient content of the eggs is any different when comparing free-range/free- run eggs to those from caged hens. The main selling point of free-range/free-run farming focuses around the welfare and treatment of the birds. Susan Gall of the Alberta Egg Producers says "A lot of time and money has been put towards bringing to the forefront how the chickens are raised. PETA being a huge driver in this agenda, more so in Ontario than Alberta though." And despite higher production costs, Gall states the "reasons for changing an operation are to follow market signals and pressure from activist groups and graders."

An additional problem found within an open-concept barn is that chickens have been bred to live within battery cages. The environment within the barn can be highly stressful if the producer does not create an adaptable atmosphere. In some cases high stress levels have lead to low growth rates and cannibalism.

Although there are various housing styles for poultry, animal welfare is taken into account no matter how the chickens are raised. And no one can deny how good it tastes to have a healthy egg in the morning whether it’s from a free-run chicken, a caged hen or a free-range chicken.

-Mark Lyseng, Chelsea Geiger, Heather de Boer and Charissa Scott

Can you match the feces to the species?

 

By Lynda Forsyth, Jayden MacPherson, Chase McGowan, Elizabeth Moran and Danielle Tolley

 

What's with my double-yolked breakfast?

 

by Lauren Alston, Yiran Cao, Jordan Peterson, Hao ran Wu and Yi Zhang

If roosters have internal testes, how can they produce viable sperm?

 

by Pierre-Mare Alexandre, Philip Auer, Kaitlyn Jonk, Yiming Liu and Shane Wagstaff

Why are some rooster combs more attractive than others?

 

by Marie-Laure De Witte, Xiaojun Gao, Greg Glenn, and Shuhuai Li

How much is that KFC Chicken Popcorn in the Window?

By Ileana Berezanski

 

How much is that Chicken Pot Pie in the Window?

Produced and created by Jennifer Jette, An Sc 200 student:

  

At what point can our super animals not get any more super?

 

by Laura Gruber, Julisa, Hui, Alyssa Larson, and Nicole Mudryk

Do broilers grow so fast because of hormones?

 

by Jordan Bremmekamp, Chad Haas, Jesse Hunter, Curtis Rollins, and Danae Naclia

How can a broiler farm be green?

 

by Matthew Holoiday, Shelagh Paton, Kelsey Peyto and Bailey Teitge

Is Polyface the new face of farming?

 

by Jayme Hiller, Brad Hurst, Lane Salmon, Maaike Van Kuilenburg and Hillary Whiting

Why aren't we sexing poultry semen?

 

by Jeff Douglas, Marie Eriksson, Any Jaikaran, Natalie May and Cara Noble

Who has more invested in egg nog?

 

by Hillary Dalton, Shivani Sandhu, Brett Moore, Yiran Li and Luning Zhou

If people get chicken pox, do chickens get people pox?

 

by Katarina Purich, Hannah Raikles, Josephine Natterqvist, Amy Weleschuk and Sara Vogel