Faculty Overview

Ferket, Peter R

Prestage Department of Poultry Science
peter_ferket@ncsu.edu
919-515-5409
919-515-7070 fax

My extension program deals with issues related to nutrition and feeding practices of commercial poultry, with an emphasis on meat-type turkeys and broilers. Educational nutrition programs include the Carolina Poultry Nutrition Conference, the Poultry Nutritionist Workshop, the Feed Technology School, and feed science workshops, the poultry production workshop, and various short courses, workshops, and seminars about poultry nutrition and feed formulation held periodically throughout the state and abroad. Topics include feed formulation, feed manufacturing technology, quality and nutritional value of ingredients, efficacy of feed additives (coccidiostats, antibiotics, probiotics, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals, etc.), and nutritional factors that affect enteric development, health and meat quality. A considerable effort is focused on in ovo and early nutrition, the evaluation of supplemental enzymes to improve nutritional value of feed, the evaluation of feed additives that improve enteric health, and the utilization of animal and plant processing co-products as added-value feed ingredients. My research interests complement my extension activities: applied nutrition research of commercial meat-type poultry and utilization of agricultural co-products as feed ingredients for poultry. Most of my research is done with turkeys, broilers, and some fish species (Tilapia and Stripped Bass) in the following areas: 1) nutritional factors that affect immune function, skeletal development, enteric development, growth characteristics, and meat quality; 2) Use of supplemental enzymes to improve feed digestibility and gut health; 3) The study of in ovo and neonatal nutrition on development and epigenetic responses; 4) Evaluation of alternatives to anti-coccidials and antibiotics in feeding programs; 5) The effect of feed manufacturing on nutrient utilization and gut health; and 6) The effect of nutrition and feed formulation on the microbial ecosystem of the gut.

Expertise:
Extension | Animal Feed and Nutrition | Animal Physiology | Poultry Production

Research Focus:

I devoted much of my research efforts on nutritional factors that affect growth and health of meat poultry. I am recognized for my work on perinatal nutrition and development, skeletal development and immune function, enteric health, pro-nutrient feed additives, nutritional factors that affect the yield and quality of meat, nutritional value of food industry co-products, and nutrient management.

Language(s):
Dutch | French | German

Sabbaticals:
Sabbatical - Netherlands
Year: 1996
Country: Netherlands
Institution: Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR), Netherlands

Projects:
CREdO Tilapia and indigenous vegetable-value chains Development project
09/03/2021 - 12/31/2026
Funding Agency/Sponsor:
Institutional Partner:

Improving the cost effectiveness, sustainability, and income opportunities of farming fish in the Philippines Development project
01/01/2007 - 12/31/2012
Funding Agency/Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Institutional Partner: Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Philippines

Georgian Feed Mill Design and Construction Project Development project
01/01/2005 - 12/31/2008
Funding Agency/Sponsor:
Institutional Partner:

Improve broiler production efficiency by developing in ovo nutrients for mass delivery to broiler chickens. Research project
01/01/2004 - 12/31/2007
Funding Agency/Sponsor: U.S. - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD)
Institutional Partner: Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), Israel

Enhancement of development of broilers and turkeys by in ovo feeding Research project
01/01/2002 - 12/31/2007
Funding Agency/Sponsor: U.S. - Israel Binational Agricultural Research and Development Fund (BARD)
Institutional Partner: Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), Israel

Effect of dietary amino acid balance on the growth and carcass characteristics of turkeys reared in temperate and hot environments Research project
01/01/1996 - 12/31/2002
Funding Agency/Sponsor:
Institutional Partner: Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR), Netherlands

Project Collaborations:
Development of captive breeding, larval rearing technologies and management practices for African Lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus)
01/01/2017 - 04/01/2018
Funding Agency/Sponsor: U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Institutional Partner:
Nutritional Analyses and Intervention in the Captive Woolly Monkey
01/01/2004 - 01/01/2007
Funding Agency/Sponsor: Smithsonian, USA
Institutional Partner: