The articel is a profile of Heinz Lohmann by Harm Specht, who recently retired as board member of the PHW Group and sketched the history of the group of companies in Cuxhaven which emerged from early initiatives of the founder Heinz Lohmann and continue today as members of the PHW and EW Groups, respectively.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

No poultry disease in history has caught as much public attention as bird flu, and there is continued demand for factual information. M. Voss, head of the LTZ Veterinary Laboratory, presents the essentials under the title "A Manual for the Control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)". The important message is: the risks of H5N1 infections have to be minimized by rigorous application of current knowledge until vaccines become available.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

The improvement of egg shell quality has been on the agenda for primary breeders of laying hens for decades, and the choice of the measurement techniques determines the rate of progress. The article by Wiebke Icken, M. Schmutz and R. Preisinger (LTZ) "Dynamic stiffness measurements with the crack detector" describes a new method to improve egg shell strength and compares estimates of genetic parameters from a recent generation with previous publications.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

If you search the internet for information on poultry genetics and welfare, you may find references to undesirable consequences of increased juvenile growth rate in meat-type poultry, but little information on how primary poultry breeders are overcoming negative correlations. We have reprinted an article by D. K. Flock, K. F. Laughlin and J. Bentley from World’s Poultry Science Journal 61: 227-237 (2005) “Minimizing losses in poultry breeding and production: how breeding companies contribute to poultry welfare”. Along the same line, J. McAdam presented new data in his plenary lecture at the recent European Poultry Conference in Verona, demonstrating that genetic progress continues in desirable directions, despite negative correlations.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Under the title "Performance changes in poultry and livestock following 50 years of genetic selection", Prof. Gerald B. Havenstein reviews the impressive improvement in the efficiency of meat, egg and milk production. The application of quantitative genetic science in poultry and livestock breeding not only enabled the industry to keep up with the growing world-wide demand, but is also a significant contribution to minimize the impact of animal waste on the environment. The author recently retired as head of the Poultry Science Department at the North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC, USA, which is recognized internationally for its strong research program on animal waste management.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Prof. Jean Noblet looks at feed efficiency under the title "Energy evaluation of feeds for pigs: consequences on diet formulation and environment protection". The author has published extensively on this subject and gave a review at the LAH meeting in November 2005. The proposed NE system provides an energy value which is as close as possible to the "true" energy value of a feed. While its applicability in practice may be discussed, it should help in predicting animal growth and feed conversion more accurately and in evaluating the energy of feed ingredients in terms of requirements of animals for efficient production.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Rape seed has long been considered as undesirable in layer feed, because some brown-egg hens may produce eggs with "fishy" taint if rape seed or other critical components are included in the ration. Based on the recent announcement of Lohmann Tierzucht that this problem has been solved by identifying and eliminating a causative gene from its brown-egg strains, nutritionist Mr. Robert Pottgüter investigates how feed formulation can benefit from this development. The paper "New prospects for using rape seed (canola) in layer rations" includes practical examples for feed formulation with RSM and RSC which may reduce feed cost by 1-3%.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)

Bone fractures in laying hens during their productive lifetime, especially at depopulation, have been the subject of many investigations. Recommendations to reduce their occurrence have focused on optimal nutrition and more exercise in alternative housing systems. In his paper "Towards the genetic improvement of bone quality in laying hens", Dr. R. H. Fleming, Roslin Institute, reports results of a project in cooperation with Lohmann Tierzucht, which indicate that genetic improvement is possible. Selection for low vs. high bone strength in a highly productive White Leghorn line based on a "bone index" yielded highly significant differences in the incidence of osteoporosis.

published in No. 41 / 2006 (ISSN-number: 1617-2906)