Job Description

Research Office Location: Newport, Shropshire TF10 8NB
Salary: As per advert
Post Type: Full Time
Contract Type: Fixed Term - 36 months funded
Closing Date: 23.59 hours BST on Sunday 08 June 2025
Reference: RD-PHD-01-VP-MH-25Refining the feeding value of rye for broiler chickens (PhD project)Primary supervisor: Professor Vasil Pirgozliev, Department of Agriculture and EnvironmentNon-academic partner: The Silcock FellowshipProject Title: Refining the feeding value of rye for broiler chickensProject description:The studentship covers the current Home Student (UK, Isle of Man & Channel Isles) tuition fees plus a yearly stipend. For 2025/6 this equates to xc2xa320, 780 per year, with potential increases each academic year in line with UKRI.International applicants would need to be able to fund the difference between home and overseas fees (xc2xa311, 382 for the 2025/6 academic year) with a proportion being paid in full before Visa documentation can be issued.The National Institute of Poultry Husbandry at Harper Adams University is a purpose-built research facility designed to conduct high impact research investigating solutions towards improving poultry production, nutrition, health and welfare; whilst safeguarding animal, human and environmental health.The candidate is expected to have a good knowledge of animal science, nutrition, physiology and biochemistry. It is desirable that the candidate has good practical abilities with handling and managing poultry, however, technical support and training will be provided.The annual rise in the price of dietary ingredients keep poultry industry under constant pressure how best to allocate its resources for economically viable and sustainable poultry production. Maize and wheat are the most common energy sources used in EU and UK poultry diets. To keep up with feed demands, alternative energy sources, including barley, sorghum and rye have also been investigated. Rye (Secale cereale L.), one of the most relevant cereal crops in Central Europe, is also grown in the UK. Hybrid rye is resistant to fungal diseases, has a high tolerance to low temperatures, droughts and irregular soil pH, requires lower nitrogen input and delivers nitrogen and agrochemical savings without compromising yields. Due to the relatively high non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs) content, rye was traditionally used in a very small amounts, about 20%, in broiler diets compared to wheat, which can be the only cereal in diets. However, modern hybrid rye varieties have been developed with a lower content of NSPs. In addition, dietary NSP degrading enzyme supplementation reduces the negative effects of NSPs on poultry performance. Locally sourced ingredients are becoming more prevalent, challenging some of the traditional enzyme strategies in regard to substrate presence and ultimately, optimal efficacy. Partial substitution of wheat, other cereals, with rye in broiler diets may be a more sustainable approach in dietary formulations, bringing environmental and economic benefits, thus research on the incorporation of rye in broiler diets is required.This PhD project will continue the research on rye from the ongoing PhD project xe2x80x9cUnderstanding and improving the feeding value of rye for broiler chickensxe2x80x9d. The aim of this PhD is to refine the feeding value of rye for broiler chickens during different feeding/growing phases. The use of exogenous NSP degrading enzymes will also be studied. The project will assess the impact of diets on health, welfare and growth performance of chickens. The project will involve a series of in vivo poultry experiments and supporting downstream analysis, including laboratory based and statistical data analysis.Harper Adams University is one of the premier UK Higher Education institutions focused on the land-based and food supply chain sector. With around 2,800 undergraduate students, plus those completing postgraduate, research and CPD programmes, Harper Adams University is the UK's largest single provider of higher education for these subjects. Programmes fall into eleven broad subject areas xe2x80x93 but none operate in isolation. Community and collaboration are key at Harper Adams, meaning everyone, including staff, students and industry partners, benefits from a close network of knowledge and opportunity exchange. Situated in Shropshire, the campus and the surrounding area provide an excellent working and living environment for staff and students alike.Harper Adams is consistently positioned highly in a range of national ratings, performance measures and league tables. The University has been the highest performing modern university in The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide for the last four years, climbing to 17th place in the overall league table. In the 2020 guide Harper Adams was named Modern University of the Year and runner-up University of the Year. In the 2019 Whatuni? Student Choice Awards, based on student reviews, Harper Adams won the Student Support category for the fifth time xe2x80x93 the only university to have taken the title since the awards began - and won the category for best job prospects for a fourth year running. In the 2020 QS World Rankings for Agriculture and Forestry published in March 2020, Harper Adams was ranked first in the UK for academic reputation and second in the world for its reputation with employers.Harper Adams University is internationally recognised for the quality of its research, as evidenced by the In order to maintain and uphold the high standards of our research, we continue to undertake initiatives to ensure that integrity, ethics and excellence are at the core of our research activities and fully embedded in our research culture.Find JobsSearch Jobs:LoginPlease note: Javascript must be enabled to use this website.Email / Username:Password:I accept cookies

Harper Adams University