Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • June 2025
    • 2025 Innovation supplement
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. June 2025
    2. 2025 Innovation supplement
    3. May 2025
    4. April 2025
    5. March 2025
    6. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    7. February 2025
    8. January 2025
    9. December 2024
    10. November 2024
    11. October 2024
    12. September 2024
    13. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    14. August 2024
    15. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    16. July 2024
    17. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    18. June 2024
    19. 2024 Innovation supplement
    20. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    21. May 2024
    22. April 2024
    23. March 2024
    24. February 2024
    25. January 2024
    26. December 2023
    27. November 2023
    28. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    29. October 2023
    30. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    31. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – June 2025 issue

    By Chloe RyanJune 9, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – June 2025 issue

    June 9, 2025

    Poultry Business – 2025 Innovation supplement

    June 9, 2025

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    May 15, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
Genetics

Genetics: Innovations to feed a growing global population

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanMay 13, 20204 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

Joice & Hill managing director Nick Bailey reflects on the impacy of small improvements on food production

The global population is projected to increase by two billion people by 2050. This is a dramatic increase of 25% within 30 years. Feeding 9.6 billion people will require innovation and collaboration throughout the food chain. Joice and Hill is the UK distributor for the layer breeds of global breeding company Hendrix Genetics, a company at the forefront of R and D and innovation in multi species animal breeding.

Animal breeding is about continuous incremental improvements. Innovative measuring techniques, research, implementation of data science and the right selection of mating candidates are delivering an average 1% improvement with each pure line generation. It may seem a small margin, but a 1% improvement in performance of pure lines has a big impact on global food production. Here are some of the projects driving these improvements in performance, sustainability and welfare.

Advancing animal welfare through sensors and AI technology

Advancement in vision, sensors, and AI (artificial intelligence) technologies offer a crucial opportunity to develop new methods to automatically detect and analyse animal behaviour. Better understanding of social interactions between animals in social groups will result in reduced instances of harmful animal tendencies, such as feather pecking in laying hens.

To address these issues, Hendrix Genetics have joined the IMAGEN (AnIMAl Group SENsor) project, a multi-faceted, long term study combining animal breeding with advances in sensing and AI technologies to help in the transition towards sustainable livestock production.

By combining sensing and AI technology with animal breeding and genetics, this project aims to improve the health and welfare of livestock and reduce the ecological footprint of our food production.

Using neuroscience to improve the health and welfare of laying hens

Hendrix Genetics is one of 20 partners working together to study poultry stress in response to various environments, including the impact of housing systems and feed programs. The goal of the project, named ChickenStress, is to provide information on the best welfare conditions for laying hens, while maintaining optimum egg production. An international team of 14 PhD students, under the supervision of global experts, will study how genetics, their rearing environment, and production environment impact chronic stress.

This project will train future leaders in a range of scientific studies and help egg producers attain the best possible welfare standards for chickens. This project has received €3.9 million investment from the EU Marie Curie Fund.

Revolutionary Kipster layer farm

The Kipster Farm in the Netherlands is probably the most innovative and pioneering farm in the world. Hendrix Genetics is one of the partners in this project and is providing the first Dekalb White laying hens to be housed at the groundbreaking farm.

Joice & Hill pic 1 Kipster farm

Multiple innovations on one farm

  • This farm concept is designed around the instincts and needs of the chicken
  • 1,100 solar panels make the farm energy-positive
  • Fuel emissions are limited to an absolute minimum using energy systems not used in the agricultural sector before
  • The facility includes an area for visitors and a centre for education and information
  • The chickens eat newly developed feed made from surplus foodstuffs from the food industry which minimizes the environmental impact and do not compete with food for human consumption

This project is truly unique as it involved numerous parties including animal welfare and sustainability organizations in the design phase. The end result is a farm concept that is future proof, flexible and scalable.

The Eggxaminator

Accurate data collection is at the heart of breeding programmes. Data on an individual or family level enables the calculation of genomic breeding values that deliver enhanced performance traits for egg producers.

Eggxaminator

The Eggxaminator is a brand-new piece of technology that will enhance egg quality data collection even further than before. Created in collaboration with Hendrix Genetics Innovations and a technical partner from the Netherlands, the egg robot uses Machine Vision technology to examine and collect data on exterior egg phenotypes with a high amount of accuracy and consistency.  

Machine Vision generates even more accurate data on our exterior egg phenotypes, removing the possibility for human error and subjectivity. Each evaluation is completed with a high amount of measurable consistency. 

The world’s most efficient protein producers

Laying hens are the world’s most efficient protein producers. Each hen converts 2.0 kg of feed into 1.0 kg of edible protein. On average, a hen lays 350 eggs in a lifetime. Constant innovation and balanced breeding have led to breeds that can happily lay more than 500 first quality eggs per hen housed. This means that the same amount of laying hens, across the world, could lay 43% more eggs.

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous ArticleGenetic innovation for enhanced health and welfare
Next Article MPs urged to speak up for food and farming during crucial Agriculture Bill debate
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

News

Mixed picture for poultry in Defra’s latest farming income report

June 9, 20251 Min Read
Feed & Nutrition

Choosing a probiotic for your flock

June 9, 20252 Mins Read
News

Poultry industry urged to support planning applications amid activist opposition

June 6, 20251 Min Read
Latest News

Hygiene audits critical to pathogen control in hatcheries

June 13, 2025

Comment: My verdict on the EU reset and US trade deal

June 12, 2025

Broilers – a summer saga

June 12, 2025
Sponsored Content

Navigating Sustainability in Egg Production: Practical Steps for Producers

June 1, 2025

Maintain stable and continuous coccidiosis control amidst stocking density reductions

November 1, 2024
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.