Sustainable conventional and revitalized traditional production of poultry meat and eggs with added value

The object is to define the technology of production of poultry meat and eggs with added value, by introducing new rearing programmes, revitalising traditional production and new programmes of nutrition. The significance of the type and thickness of litter for broiler welfare will be determined by direct assessment of their movement ability, as will the incidence of foot pad lesion, hock burns, feathering and air quality. Research on varying incubation factors and factors during the neonatal period will be continued. The impact of increased temperature during incubation on development of myoblast will be determined. Using slow-growing hybrids and autochthonous breeds, an optimum fattening programme will be determined, from rearing period to slaughter, with proper nutrition system and quality of eggs and meat. The use of new soya bean cultivars, dry nettle, flax, sage, betaine, mannan-oligosaccharides, Se and plant additives in production of meat and eggs will be investigated. Management capacities of broiler producers will be established and their impact on production interpreted. The importance of management capacities and ways of measuring them will be pointed out, as will the main specificities of management in alternative production systems, and the main elements of successful production. Analysis of factors influencing consumer preference in purchasing eggs will be continued, and potential differences in consumer and producer attitudes pointed out.