About

Gregory Archer is a Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Poultry Science at Texas A&M University. His areas of expertise include poultry management, stress physiology, health, behavior, and welfare. He is involved in extension activities related to poultry science, providing expertise and support in these fields. Archer is affiliated with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, and other related organizations, contributing to research and outreach efforts aimed at advancing poultry science and supporting the poultry industry.

Research topics

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Animal science
• Endocrinology
• Food science
• Biochemistry
• Immunology
• Internal medicine
• Medicine
• Materials science

Selected publications

• The Effect of Duck Targeted Lighting Programs on Productivity, Health, and Welfare

  Animals · 2026-05-08

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  This study evaluated the impact of a dynamic LED lighting program specifically tailored to Pekin ducks (DDYNs) compared to a conventional commercial lighting program (CON) on growth performance, health, stress, and fear responses. A total of 960 Pekin ducks were reared across two replicates. Production parameters including body weight, average daily gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were recorded. Health was assessed via tibia breaking strength, bone ash content, complete blood cell count, and villus height to crypt depth ratio. Stress was evaluated through physical asymmetry, heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and plasma corticosterone concentration, while fear was measured using tonic immobility and inversion tests. No significant differences were observed in production or health parameters between treatments (p > 0.05). However, ducks reared under the DDYN program exhibited significantly lower stress indicators, including reduced corticosterone (p = 0.011), lower heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratios (p = 0.045), and decreased asymmetry (p = 0.015). Fear responses were also significantly reduced under DDYN lighting (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that species-tailored dynamic lighting programs can meaningfully improve Pekin duck welfare without compromising production performance.

  PublisherDOI

• Differentiate moderate woody breast from normal chicken breast using monofilament needles

  Applied Food Research · 2026-03-18

  articleOpen access

  • Moderate woody chicken breast (MWB) and normal chicken breast (NB) is evaluated by monofilament needles. • Contact pressure between chicken breast fillets and monofilament needles is expressed through the needle’s buckling indentation depth. • Compared to NB, monofilament needles buckle at significantly lower indentation depths in MWB. • SVM-derived buckling indentation depth decision boundary can differentiate MWB and NB with 94.1% accuracy. The poultry industry is experiencing increasing concerns over meat quality defects associated with the rapid growth of broilers, particularly woody breast myopathy, which negatively affects texture and reduces consumer acceptance. While severe woody breast conditions are often visually detectable, moderate cases remain challenging to identify reliably and objectively using existing manual palpation approaches. To address this challenge, we developed a novel detection approach inspired by the Semmes–Weinstein monofilament examination commonly used in clinical diabetic diagnostics. A programmable indentation system was constructed to apply monofilament needles to broiler breast fillets and to identify moderate woody samples based on the elastic buckling response of the needle. Six types of monofilament needles were selected through mechanical modeling to ensure sensitivity to the contact pressure between the needle and chicken breast tissue. During testing, each needle was incrementally indented into the cranial region of the fillet, and the buckling depth was visually recorded. Two of the six needle types demonstrated satisfactory classification performance, achieving 94.1% accuracy and F1-scores above 92%. These results indicate their suitability for evaluation. This study represents the first integration of beam buckling mechanics into meat quality assessment and introduces a low-cost, objective alternative to traditional woody breast detection methods.

  PublisherDOI

• Differences in the relationship between tibia breaking strength and ash in two fast-growing commercial strains of broiler

  The Journal of Applied Poultry Research · 2026-04-28

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Leg problems are one of the biggest welfare and financial challenges in chicken farming. When researchers want to check how strong a chicken’s bones are, they typically use one of two tests: they either physically snap the bone to measure how much force it takes to break (breaking strength), or they burn the bone in a furnace and weigh what is left to find out how much mineral it contains (bone ash). It is generally assumed that these two tests give similar information — that a bone with more mineral will also be harder to break. But is that actually true across all breeds of chicken? To find out, we looked at bone data from over 5,700 broiler chickens across two popular commercial breeds, measured at 21 days and again at 42 days (roughly market age). We found that the two breeds started out quite differently — Breed A had stronger and more mineralized bones at 21 days — but by 42 days the gap had largely closed. More importantly, we found that the relationship between the two tests was not the same in both breeds. In Breed B at 42 days, knowing how much mineral was in the bone told us almost nothing about how strong it was. In other words, the two tests were giving completely different answers by market age in that breed. This matters because researchers and farmers often rely on just one of these tests to judge bone health. Our results show that using only one test — especially without knowing which breed is being assessed and how old the birds are — can lead to misleading conclusions. To get a full and accurate picture of leg health in broiler chickens, both tests should be used together.

  PublisherDOI

• A Novel Combination of Postbiotics and Essential Oil Compounds Supports a Consistent Improvement in Broiler Performance

  Animals · 2026-01-10

  articleOpen access

  Recent innovations in poultry feed technology have emphasized the role of postbiotics and phytogenics as promising strategies to strengthen gut health and improve overall performance in broilers. Within this context, the current study evaluated the effectiveness of Biostrong™ Dual (Cargill Inc., Cedar Rapids, IA, USA), a novel product that integrates Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation-derived postbiotic products (SCFPs) with a proprietary blend of essential oil compounds (EOCs). The objective was to determine whether this dual formulation could consistently enhance growth, feed efficiency, and carcass quality across multiple production phases. To test this, three independent trials were conducted using commercial broiler strains. Birds were allocated to either a control group (CON) receiving a basal diet or a treatment group (DUAL) receiving the same diet supplemented with 0.4 kg/MT of Biostrong™ Dual. Each trial employed a randomized block design with 24 replicates per treatment and 16–25 birds per replicate. Results consistently demonstrated that DUAL improved (p < 0.05) body weight and the cumulative feed conversion ratio (cFCR) at 42 days. Pooled analysis revealed body weight gains of 5.5%, a cFCR improvement of 5 points, increased feed intake, and a 0.86% rise in breast meat yield. Additionally, one trial showed reduced footpad lesion scores. Collectively, these findings highlight Biostrong™ Dual as a valuable nutritional intervention to optimize productivity and carcass quality in poultry production and further research is needed to understand the mode of action of the product.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comparison of application rate of three commercial litter amendment products on litter pH, ammonia volatilization, and broiler paw scores during the brooding period

  The Journal of Applied Poultry Research · 2025-06-17

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The objective of this study was to evaluate the duration of effectiveness of 3 commercially available litter acidifying amendments during the brooding period when chicks were housed at either half- or whole-house stocking densities. The treatments included control pens with no litter amendment product applied, PLT® (Poultry Litter Treatment, Jones-Hamilton Co.) and Poultry Guard® (PG; C&S Chemicals) at 0.49, 0.61, and 0.73 kg/m 2 , and Al+Clear® A7 (A7; Chem Trade Logistics) at 0.81, 1.02, 1.22 L/m 2 . In Experiment 1, broiler chicks were housed at 0.08 m 2 /bd (whole-house density) and at 0.04 m 2 /bd in Experiment 2 (half-house density). Both experiments utilized used litter from a commercial broiler farm placed into 5 pens per treatment in an experimental poultry facility. In Experiment 1, broiler chicks were reared in the pens for 15 d while chicks were reared to d 10 in Experiment 2. Data collected included litter parameters of moisture and pH, ammonia flux and bird performance. In both experiments, the application of PLT and PG resulted in lower litter pH than A7. All treatments also reduced litter ammonia flux compared to control (P < 0.05) in both experiments. In both experiments, PLT maintained a lower ammonia release compared to the other treatments through the end of each experiment. No differences (P > 0.05) in litter moisture, BW or FCR were observed between treatments in either experiment. PLT and PG at the highest application rate did improve average paw quality scores at d 15 in Experiment 1. These data demonstrate that at both stocking densities the 3 litter amendment products evaluated were able to reduce litter pH and ammonia flux compared to control.

  PublisherDOI

• Effect of Exposing Layer Chicken Embryos to Continuous Green Light During Incubation and Vaccination Method on Early Life Basal Stress and Humoral Immune Response

  Poultry · 2025-08-08

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  To determine if exposing embryos to light during incubation affects antibody titer and corticosterone immediately following hatch, we incubated layer eggs and exposed them to light or darkness and vaccinated a subset of each treatment against Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) using in ovo administration on ED 18, spray application at hatch (d 0), or not at all. There were six treatments: light incubated and non-vaccinated (LNV), light incubated and in ovo vaccinated (LIV), light incubated and post-hatch vaccinated (LPHV), dark incubated and non-vaccinated (DNV), dark incubated and in ovo-vaccinated (DIV), and dark incubated and post-hatch vaccinated (DPHV). Plasma corticosterone (CORT) and NDV antibody titers were measured on d 0, 7, and 14. Light-incubated chicks had lower (p &lt; 0.05) plasma CORT on d 0. NDV titers did not differ (p &gt; 0.05) between light- and dark-incubated chicks on d 0, 7, or 14. However, LIV chicks had higher antibody titers than LPHV on d 14. Exposing embryos to continuous green light during incubation may reduce stress during the early post-hatch period. Vaccination method, rather than exposure to continuous green light during incubation, may have a greater impact on humoral immune response post-hatch.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Comparison of Impacts of Essential Oils, Green Tea Powder, Betaine, Probiotics, and Other Dietary Supplements on Growth and Well-Being of Heat-Stressed White Pekin Ducks

  Animals · 2025-11-22

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  = 48 birds/treatment) reared for 35 d and exposed to ambient temperatures from d 0 to 35 or heat stress (32 °C-35 °C) for 12 h/d on d 20-35. The basal diet (CON) was supplemented with 0.5 kg/MT seaweed extract (SE), 2.0 kg/MT betaine (BET), or 1.25 kg/MT yeast fermentate (YF) in Experiment 1; with 0.25 kg/MT mannanoligosaccharide (MOS), 0.5 kg/MT green tea powder (GT), or 0.55 kg/MT Poultry Star synbiotic (PS) in Experiment 2; or with 0.09 kg/MT Essential Oil #1 (EO1), 0.5 kg/MT Essential Oil #2 (EO2), or 0.5 kg/MT Microsaf probiotic (MS) in Experiment 3. Heat stress reduced body weight and feed consumption (Exp. 1-3) and negatively affected measures of stress (Exp. 1 and 2) and at least one measure of intestinal health (Exp. 1-3). Intestinal morphology was improved in birds that were fed EO1, EO2, and MS, and some measures of stress susceptibility were improved in birds that were fed SE, YF, MOS, GT, BET, or PS. Essential oil supplementation may be best used in combination with another of the supplements tested to optimize health and welfare in Pekin ducks. Further research could clarify which combinations are ideal for supporting both intestinal health and stress susceptibility in ducks.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• 67. Investigation of poultry manure removal efficiency and volume estimation on grooved-floor panels

  Animal - science proceedings · 2025-10-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Ability of Yeast Based Post Biotic to Alleviate the Negative Effects of Broilers Exposed to Prolonged Heat Stress

  Asian Journal of Animal Sciences · 2024-01-15

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Effects of a Novel Consensus Bacterial 6-Phytase Variant on Growth Performance and Bone Ash of Broilers Fed Complex Diets Highly Deficient in Minerals, Digestible Amino Acids and Energy through 42 Days of Age

  Animals · 2024-05-25 · 2 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  (PhyG) in broilers fed complex diets highly deficient in minerals, dig AA, and energy. Diets were a nutrient-adequate control (PC); a nutrient-reduced control (NC) formulated with a reduction in available P (avP) by 0.199%, Ca by 0.21%, crude protein by 0.72-1.03%, dig Lys by 0.064-0.084%, Na by 0.047%, and ME by 87.8 kcal/kg, respectively; and NC supplemented with PhyG at 500, 1000, and 2000 FTU/kg feed. BW was decreased and FCR increased in the NC vs. PC, while the PhyG treatments were similar to the PC. Carcass yield and bone ash were also maintained with PhyG supplementation. Phytase provided economic benefit on a feed cost per kg of weight basis for 1 to 35 d; the cost reductions equated to USD 0.006, 0.016, and 0.02/kg BWG at 500, 1000, and 2000 FTU/kg. In conclusion, this trial demonstrated that supplementation with a novel consensus phytase variant in diets highly deficient in minerals, dig AA, and energy maintained growth performance and provided economic benefit, with production benefits being maximized at inclusion levels of 2000 FTU/kg.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Eric B. Sobotik

  25 shared

• Joy A. Mench

  University of California, Davis

  21 shared

• Jill R. Nelson

  17 shared

• Gabrielle M. House

  Texas A&M University

  13 shared

• A.M. Stiewert

  Texas A&M University

  9 shared

• T.H. Friend

  Texas A&M University

  7 shared

• Y. Dersjant-Li

  International Flavors & Fragrances (France)

  7 shared

• Leon Marchal

  6 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Poultry Science

  Texas A&M University

  1990

• M.S., Poultry Science

  Texas A&M University

  1986

• B.S., Poultry Science

  Texas A&M University

  1984