The 2025 Western Poultry Conference is just around the corner! The conference takes place on February 24, 2025, from 9 am – 4:30 pm at the Red Deer Resort and Casino, 3310 50 Ave, Red Deer, AB. For more details and to register, click here.
For the last three months, PIP has featured each of the three keynote speakers who will appear at the 2025 Western Poultry Conference. Below is a quick review of the speakers and their topics – click on their names to read the article and get to know them before the event! Then read on to find out what happens in the second half of the conference!
The program opens with Dr. Carla Prado: Animal Protein for Muscle Health: Supporting Healthy Aging and Recovery in Cancer and Beyond. Dr. Prado is followed by Lowy Gunnewiek, presenting Integrating Solar Thermal Air Heating into Poultry Barn Operations. The final keynote speaker is Dr. Gigi Lin, presenting Managing the flock you have, not the flock you hoped to get.
In addition to the Keynote speakers, there are two student presentations by Muhammad Farooq and Awais Ghaffar, both PhD students from U of C. They will share a short overview of their ongoing research projects. Participants will enjoy a delicious lunch, followed by the inaugural presentation of the Cutting Edge Feather Award for Innovation. This award goes to a poultry producer who was nominated by his peers for his forward thinking and innovative approach to farming, his leadership on farm and in community and his contributions through mentorship, advocacy and service.
One of the ongoing missions of the WPC is to present information of value to producers in all commodities. This has been a guiding light in the selection of topics and speakers since the inception of the conference. In 2025, organizers decided to go a step further and create commodity specific Breakout Rooms for the second half of the day. There are breakout rooms for Turkey, Hatching Egg, Table Egg and Broilers and each room has a designated speaker(s) who will address issues that are current and relevant for those producers. The presentations are followed by Q&A, lively discussion, input from other experts in the field and peer-to-peer sharing of experiences. We are very excited to launch this new initiative.
Turkey Breakout: Avian Metapneumovirus- A US update presented by Dr. Ben Wileman, Director of Veterinary Services. Avian Metapneumovirus (AMPV) has swept across the United States, with two different strains occurring simultaneously, AMPV type A and AMPV type B. Morbidity and mortality are widely variable but are typically most variable and most severe in turkeys with more minor issues in chickens. Dr. Wileman will cover the current situation, show examples of clinical signs and then discuss various control measures for the disease and answer any questions.
Hatching Egg Breakout: Solving the Puzzle of Translucency and Eggshell Quality presented by Dr. Raquel Burin, DVM Zinpro Corporation. Unhatched eggs represent the biggest nominal loss in the broiler industry, with 3 to 4% of eggs lost due to infertility, and another 6 to 8% eggs lost due to eggshell quality issues. Zinpro has developed the ZinproBlueBoxTM, which assesses shell translucency and helps identify opportunities for production and nutritional improvements and ensures that breeder and layer programs are driving toward strong profitability. In addition to the presentation and discussion, there will be a demonstration of the BlueBox at the breakout.
Broiler Breakout: Condemnations: What can farmers do about it? with Dr. Gigi Lin, Poultry Veterinarian. Dr. Gigi Lin will delve into practical strategies to help broiler farmers reduce the occurrence of condemnations. Drawing on real-world case studies and tailoring her insights to the unique conditions in Alberta, Dr. Lin will provide actionable recommendations that farmers can implement on their farms. This session aims to empower producers with the knowledge and tools needed to improve bird health and minimize losses due to condemnations.
Table Egg Breakout: Take over control of coccidiosis cycling with on farm dosing presented by Dr. Denis Carrier, Veterinary Services – Poultry. Pullets are usually vaccinated against coccidiosis at the hatchery. After exposure to the coccidia from the vaccine, parasite’s eggs (called oocysts) are excreted in the feces. To develop protection against the disease, chickens need to be exposed to the coccidia parasite about 3 to 5 consecutive times, depending on the specific type of coccidia and this exposure has multiple complicating factors. To address these challenges, a new vaccination method has been tested. The vaccine contains already sporulated oocysts, so it doesn’t require the chickens to have access to droppings or the right environmental conditions needed for the oocysts to become infectious.In addition to the speaker presentations, the breakouts will include conversations about biosecurity, some hands-on demonstrations and lots of discussion. It promises to be an exciting deep-dive into the most pressing issues for poultry producers at this time. Come and learn from the experts and your neighbours and colleagues at the 2025 Western Poultry Conference. It’s not too late to register – click here.
Dawn has an MMUS from Northwestern University and worked from 2017 - 2021 as the U of A Heritage Chicken Program Coordinator. With extensive experience as a newspaper and magazine writer and editor, Dawn is the scribe for the PIP team. Duties include transcribing minutes, creating action lists, organizing team ideas and projects, editing, writing articles, and interviewing subjects for the People of Poultry series in the PIP newsletter. Dawn also assists in PIP tech transfer initiatives.
