(02/26/25) HOMER, La. — With H5N1, also known as avian influenza or bird flu, on the rise a recent LSU AgCenter hire is bringing a set of skills to his research seldom seen in the field of poultry science — a mechanical engineering degree.

Will Strickland started at the AgCenter at the end of July and he has already made his mark at the Hill Farm Research Station in Homer. To say the Georgia native didn’t take the traditional path to his current career would be an understatement.

“I did my undergrad at the University of Georgia in mechanical engineering and then my master’s there in poultry science,” Strickland said. “I kind of blended engineering and poultry science together and I really kind of fell in love with the extension side of things.”

Strickland said he enjoys going to farms and participating in on-farm projects to help poultry producers improve their operations. He became interested in the field when he moved onto a dairy farm that also had two broiler breeder houses.

“I was two years away from finishing my engineering degree and was minoring in dairy science, thinking I might want to make robotic milkers,” he said. “But I figured out that, as a design engineer, I’d mostly be behind a desk.”

It was around this time Strickland met his mentors, UGA extension engineer Mike Czarick and extension poultry scientist Brian Fairchild, whose joint lab he worked in while pursuing a graduate degree in poultry science.

Upon graduation, he took an extension agent position with the AgCenter and shortly thereafter began working on a project that utilized both his undergraduate and graduate degrees — retrofitting ventilation in broiler houses.

“We retrofitted one of our houses with a different style of ventilation inlet that's supposed to reduce air leakage and improve air mixing in the house to hopefully save fuel and energy costs,” he said.

Strickland said improved ventilation could result in drier litter, which may improve bird welfare by decreasing issues such as footpad dermatitis while also potentially saving money for the producers. With the current breakouts of avian flu, his work at the research station must be meticulous in its safety measures.

“The birds we have on the research station are contained in environmentally controlled houses, so if there is any kind of breakout, it is likely to spread quickly,” he said. “While we want to take the best care of all our birds, the fear is that we will have extremely high mortality in a very short period.”

According to Strickland, while the 2015 bird flu outbreak made the stakes high to the industry and growers, many of the biosecurity practices are not necessarily due to avian influenza. Researchers battle other infectious diseases such as avian metapneumovirus and infectious laryngotracheitis, where biosecurity practices such as dedicated footwear are critical to protecting their flocks.

“There's dry, powdered bleach foot bath that you step in to disinfect your boots, then your next step is immediately into the chicken house to try to not bring in any foreign material, he said. “For example, our service tech disinfects the tires of his truck before he pulls on to the farm. There’s a lot at stake.”

The 25-year-old Strickland said he hopes to continue with ventilation, energy conservation and housing management work. He is grateful for the reciprocal gratitude he’s received from Louisiana producers and industry members he’s worked with in his extension capacity.

“They’ve all been very supportive, especially since I'm young and this is my first full-time position,” he said.

Poultry expert Will Strickland was hired by the LSU AgCenter last summer. He received an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering before studying poultry science as a graduate student at the University of Georgia. Photo by Olivia McClure/LSU AgCenter