Poultry Extension Collaborative

The Poultry Extension Collaborative (PEC) is formed by a cohesive group of poultry welfare experts from the University of Arkansas, Purdue University, Virginia Tech, and University of Georgia. The PEC focuses on developing and disseminating science-based information to guide poultry welfare decisions in practice. The PEC’s mission is to advance poultry welfare through research, education, and outreach. We develop educational and outreach materials containing science-based information to guide poultry welfare decisions We identify the needs of the poultry producers, large and small, and conduct research to meet these needs, with outcomes incorporated in educational and outreach materials. Our intended audience is broad, including people with small backyard flocks and people running large commercial farms. Furthermore, our work can be of interest to educators, extension agents, and fellow researchers. PEC is the first group of its kind to collectively advance poultry welfare through a formalized extension group consisting of scholars from four different universities. We bring timely research to poultry producers - we are on top of current research and can disseminate to a wide audience. We have expertise covering all major poultry species that are commercially produced: turkeys, ducks, broiler chickens, and laying hens. We benefit from (1) close geographic proximity to major poultry producers, plus small-scale poultry owners, and (2) we cover a wide geographic area, with the PEC experts located in four different U.S. states (Indiana, Arkansas, Georgia, and Virginia).