Perdue Foods LLC is the 4th largest broiler producer in the USA, producing approximately 13 million broilers per week. Perdue is the 6th largest US turkey producer, growing over 8 million turkeys per year.
Student will shadow and assist experienced poultry veterinarians and assist poultry production personnel in their daily duties. This will include visits to hatcheries, broiler farms, processing plants, and poultry diagnostic laboratories. Student will attend meetings where poultry diagnostics, health program planning, regulatory, and poultry production planning topics are discussed. Student may assist in sample collection in hatcheries and on farms. Student may assist with poultry vaccination or vaccination audits. Student will learn the company's detailed poultry welfare program and the detailed biosecurity requirements. Student will perform and/or assist with poultry necropsies. Student may assist or perform poultry welfare or biosecurity audits. Student will interact with poultry farmers. Student will learn about standard vaccination programs for both broiler breeders and broilers, as well as anticoccidial programs for broilers. Student will learn about NAE (No Antibiotics Ever) broiler production and Organic broiler production. Student will learn how to properly prescribe antibiotic treatments for commercial broilers. Student will learn to review diagnostic lab reports with regard to making subsequent veterinary recommendations. Student will learn how to collect and analyze complex production statistics and evaluate their relevance to poultry health. Student will be exposed to emergency preparedness (HPAI, LPAI, weather, etc.) as it relates to large integrated poultr operations. Student may spend time with non-Perdue poultry veterinarians in the area as well, performing the aforementioned activities, depending on scheduling. Student is required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement.
Perdue LLC employs 4 full-time board certified poultry veterinarians, as well as another 5 consulting veterinarians. They supervise poultry production in 16 US states. The student's supervisor will be the Director of Veterinary Services, based in Salisbury, Maryland. Perdue has 2 NPIP authorized laboratories for serological and antigen testing of a variety of important poultry diseases as well as extensive diagnostic bacteriologial capabilities, including PCR and ribotyping facilities. The Perdue Delmarva location, where the student would work, makes extensive use of the Maryland Department of Agriculture Laboratory in Salisbury, MD and the Lasher Laboratory in Georgetown, DE, both NAHLN-certified laboratories.
40-60 hours per week.