- Posted by Anitox
Three Ways Feed Sanitation is Key to Improving Broiler Performance
Optimizing gut health in antibiotic-free poultry production requires producers to search for innovative ways to extract maximum nutritional value from feed to improve broiler performance.
Learn More About Feed Sanitation Impact on Broiler Performance
Controlling variable microbial loads in feed improves overall feed quality and mitigates microbial challenges to the gut. Effective feed hygiene programs and the use of feed sanitizers can reduce microbial loads and prevent recontamination, protecting feed quality and promoting efficiency. Research suggests that animals consuming feed with reduced microbial loads exhibit improved performance and efficiency.
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1. Improves Feed Microbial Quality
Feed sanitation programs have been found to reduce microbial loads in broiler feeds. Pathogen prevalence and microbial loads in feed vary depending on the type of ingredients and season. These microbes cause stress to the broiler digestive system, hindering performance and predisposing them for other enteric diseases.
Sanitizing feed is crucial in producing high-quality animal feed, and it reduces microbial loads and pathogen prevalence.
Feed sanitizers are solutions that prevent contamination in animal feed for an extended period of time, for at least 14 days, by killing bacteria. A study conducted in 2013 found that a formaldehyde-based feed sanitizer significantly reduced Salmonella contamination in feed and prevented recontamination. A more recent study by the Animal Plant and Health Agency discovered that a formaldehyde-free feed sanitizer was more effective in controlling Salmonella at 1 kg/MT compared to organic acid blends treated at 6 kg/MT.
2. Jumpstart Early Broiler Health and Performance
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Recent research resulting from a broiler breeder trial at the University of Georgia shows that Termin-8 effectively reduces feed microbial loads. Hens fed sanitized feed in this trial produced cleaner eggs and chicks more likely to receive a “Grade A’ ranking. Reducing the amount of pathogens that come from feed during early broiler gut development and during ration changes may help decrease the stress on their digestive system, aid in the growth of beneficial microorganisms, and lower the likelihood of intestinal diseases negatively impacting broiler performance.
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3. Promotes Broiler FCR
Preliminary data resulting from collaborative efforts of Anitox and Dr. Dan Moore, CQR, show that feeding sanitized diets to broilers can mitigate the impact of Necrotic Enteritis under challenge conditions. Broilers fed sanitized feed prior to receiving a NE challenge demonstrated lower mortality and reduced lesion scores, suggesting that reducing feed microbial loads during critical windows of gut development could enable broilers to better counteract to performance-limiting diseases. Furthermore, results show that using Termin-8 to sanitize feed throughout the entire trial duration leads to improved broiler performance, lower mortality and better feed conversion.
Implementing feed sanitation to effectively reduce microbial loads in feed can mitigate pathogen transmission to the gut via feed and lead to improved enteric health and broiler performance. Sanitizing feed is a highly effective tool used by the poultry industry to reduce microbial loads and pathogen prevalence. True feed sanitizers effectively reduce microbial loads and pathogen prevalence in feed while providing continued protection against recontamination, ensuring that feed remains clean until the point of consumption.
To learn more about feed sanitation and effective feed pathogen control programs, contact your clean feed expert today.
Learn More About Feed Sanitation Impact on Broiler Performance