The Charles C. Miller Jr. Poultry Research & Education Center at Auburn University is one of the premier poultry research and teaching facilities in the country. As part of the College of Agriculture’s Department of Poultry Science, the center integrates state-of-the-art research, student training and industry collaboration to address the evolving needs of the world’s most important protein sector.
Our focus areas
The center supports applied and basic research in areas such as poultry housing and management, nutrition, health, processing and environmental sustainability. Faculty and students work with industry partners to develop science-based solutions that improve efficiency, welfare and profitability in poultry production.
As a hands-on learning environment, the Miller Center gives students practical experience in every stage of poultry production and research. From undergraduate classes to graduate-level projects, students learn in real-world conditions that prepare them to excel in industry, research and academia.
The center was designed with input from poultry companies, ensuring its facilities reflect the needs of today’s producers and processors. Collaborative projects and training programs make Auburn a hub for innovation and workforce development that strengthens the poultry sector across Alabama and beyond.
Our facilities
A 30-acre, integrated “farm-to-fork” complex north of campus, the Miller Center houses a suite of premier research and education facilities: modern poultry houses, a large-scale feed mill and animal nutrition building, replicated floor-pen labs, a 20,000-sq-ft processing plant, a hatchery, a Biocontainment Research Facility, and an administration and classroom building that includes the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame. Our complex is also home to the National Poultry Technology Center, a national industry resource for equipment testing.
The Alabama Poultry and Egg Association Feed Mill and Animal Nutrition Building is a state-of-the-art facility uniquely designed and positioned to advance feed manufacturing and technology in the Southeast and beyond. The facility aims to:
- Enhance Auburn’s Teaching Mission by Providing Hands-on Experiences for our Students
- Increase Process Control to Meet Research Needs Well into the Future
- Expand Auburn’s Extension Mission via Industry Educational Courses
This mission strongly complements our other departmental teaching, research, and extension efforts to serve all phases of the poultry industry. With this mission to serve the industry in mind, we have utilized a modular design for our feed mill. This approach, along with the use of equipment that meets industry standards, greatly enhances our research and educational programs.
The Administration and Classroom Building, is the fifth facility within the Charles C. Miller Jr. Poultry Research Center, which opened in spring 2019. The building serves as the center's major support and education hub and gateway.
The building features a 1,700-square-foot meeting and collaboration space for educational and training programs. The building’s 1,200-square-foot visitors center features installations honoring the Charles C. Miller Jr. family as well as members of the Alabama Poultry Hall of Fame for their roles in building Alabama’s largest agricultural industry.
Two “floor pen” facilities, MC-1 and MC-2, opened in 2017, in which highly replicated broiler trials related to nutrition, performance, management, etc. can be conducted. Both facilities are enclosed all-metal structures to provide precise environmental control and strict biosecurity.
MC-1 has two identical ends that can accommodate 72 replicated pens each, while MC-2 has one unit capable of accommodating up to 96 replicated pens. Both facilities offer superb support areas to accommodate a wide array of research needs.
The National Poultry Technology Center’s (NPTC) mission is to improve bottom line profitability of the live production sector of the US poultry industry by providing timely applied research and education that contributes to increased efficiencies in housing, equipment, energy and environmental control. The emphasis of the NPTC will be on improved efficiency, effectiveness, and economic viability of poultry production facilities.
Areas of Focus
- New energy sources for and improved energy efficiency of facilities.
- Equipment advances for environmental conditions in facilities for optimal growth of birds.
- Improved structural adequacy and longevity of facilities. Engineering-related environmental quality issues.
- Possible interactions between engineering issues in the production phase and food safety of poultry products.
