The Effect of Mycotoxins and the Use of Binders for Rearing Turkeys
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Issue
Mycotoxins are a highly diverse group of secondary metabolites of molds (fungi) which, when consumed or otherwise contacted, exert negative effects on the growth, performance, and/or health of both animals and humans. Mycotoxins can be carcinogenic (contributing to cancer), mutagenic (causing genetic mutations), teratogenic (causing birth defects), and immunusuppressive, and can be specifically toxic to skin, liver, kidneys, the digestive system, the reproductive system, and the nervous system. Strategies to mitigate mycotoxin effects on livestock include prevention, mycotoxin detoxification in feed, and inhibition of mycotoxin absorption.
What Has Been Done
Corn with naturally occurring aflatoxin (AF), wheat with naturally occurring doxynivalenol (DON), and barley with naturally occurring zearalenone (ZEA)
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were used to make rations for feeding turkey hen poults to six weeks of age. Control rations with equal amounts of corn, wheat and barley were also fed. The control rations did contain some DON, while both sets of rations contained ZEA. There four treatments within each grain source — the control ration + three rations, each having a different feed additive, all evaluated for their potential to reduce any mycotoxin effect on bird performance and physiology.
The additives were: (1) Biomin BioFix (2 lb/ton), (2) Kemin Kallsil (4 lb/ton), and (3) Nutriad UNIKE (3 lb/ton). The mycotoxin rations reduced poult body weight and increased poult feed conversion. |
Feeding poults mycotoxin-containing feed also resulted in physiological changes typical of feeding dietary aflatoxin, although the possibility of a combined effect of AF, DON and ZEA should not be dismissed.
The feed additives had little effect in the rations with the lower amount of mycotoxins (controls). In the test rations, the birds fed the additives had reduced feed consumption and improved feed conversion, compared to birds fed mycotoxin-contaminated feed without any feed additive.
The only observed physiological effect of feeding the additives was to lessen the increase in relative kidney weight for the birds fed the mycotoxin feed. It is possible that a longer feeding study might have resulted in additional, observed, effects. The authors conclude that the feed additives used in this study did alleviate the effect of dietary mycotoxins to some degree. An additional study of longer duration is warranted.
Impact
The information generated by this research will be disseminated to the poultry industry, so that farmers and company managers can make informed decisions when determining feeding strategies to lessen the negative impacts of potential feed-borne mycotoxins.
Funding Source
Ag Provisions, LLC
Biomin America, Inc.
Kemin AgriFoods North America, Inc.
Nutriad, Inc.
Contact
Jesse Grimes, Department of Poultry Science, N.C. State University
Visit Dr. Grimes' Web Page
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Nutrient & Byproduct Utilization:
Turkey & Broiler Health
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Issue
Efficient dietary nutrient utilization, gut & skeletal health, and cost per unit of saleable product are important to the sustainability and profitability of the North Carolina poultry industry. Rising grain prices due to the national bio-fuels initiatives has put a focus on achieving better energy and protein efficiency in the poultry industry. In response to public concern for food safety, many companies are eliminating the use of antibiotic feed additives and searching for natural alternatives to control enteric pathogens that may adversely affect animal welfare and food safety. Broiler chicks and turkey poults, genetically selected for rapid growth, are most susceptible to enteric disease during the first 2 weeks after hatch, primarily because of compromised feed digestion and malabsorption. Early gut health account for about 5% of the total flock mortality, and it may have lasting effects on disease resistance until the birds are harvested. Skeletal abnormalities can account for up to an additional 5% of the flock mortality, mostly affecting birds near market age. Nutrition during the perinatal period can have a great influence on enteric health, nutrient utilization, and skeletal development. Feed formulation strategies can influence the microbial ecosystem of the gut, feed digestibility and nutrient absorption and facilitate optimum growth and development. Moreover, as dietary nutrient utilization is improved, the environmental impact of mineral emissions from concentrated poultry operations will be reduced and cost per unit product produced is often reduced.
What Has Been Done
Research and Extension education efforts were conducted to both develop and demonstrate nutritional strategies which improve the efficiency of dietary nutrient utilization and enhance enteric development of young poultry.
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In ovo feeding (IOF) — administration of nutrients into the embryo amnion — was invented and refined to improve enteric development, growth, performance, and disease resistance of |
young poultry. IOF forumations were optimized and validated using focused array gene technology, demonstrating that IOF significantly up-regulates poult energy metabolism and physiological development, both at hatch, and subsequently.
In cooperation with North Carolina biotechnology and poultry production companies, robotic machines were demonstrated to deliver IOF formulations into the amnion of over 95% of broiler and turkey embryos without compromising hatchability. In ovo feeding improves the yield of quality poults and chicks at hatch, advances enteric development and digestive capacity by two or three days, and increases appetite and early growth rate by 3-10% over controls.
Focused gene array analysis showed that IOF accelerated development of an energy metabolism which favors survival both during and after hatch, promotes digestive capacity maturation, and enhances innate immunity. Moreover, IOF promoted skeletal and muscular development during the first few days post-hatch. The positive effects of IOF are associated with accelerated enteric development and enhanced hatchling energy status, both of which benefit the welafare and growth performance of chicks and poults. In ovo feeding is technologically feasible for commercial poultry production. An economic feasibility study and global patent licensure for intellectual property held by NCSU are being pursued.
Three studies were conducted to evalute the efficiency of dietary enzyme supplementation to improve dietary energy utilization in turkeys and broilers. In the first study, commercial turkey toms were fed diets with and without 15% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and supplemental phytase [a digestive enzyme] alone or with a carbohydrase. The objective of this study was to determine dietary enzyme supplementation's uplift effect on energy and phosphorus availability, which drive feed costs. Dietary phytase and/or carbohydrase supplementation significantly increased body weights by 3% over controls without effect on feed conversion ratio.
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Dietary inclusion of DDGS on the basis of digestibility had no adverse effects on turkey growth, but significantly reduced the manufacturing efficiency for low-energy starter feeds and also reduced high-energy finisher feed pellet durability. The addition of phytase and/or carbohydrase resulted in an apparent uplift of over 150 kCal ME/kg and replaced the need for dietary fat and phosphorus inclusion, regardless of DDGS inclusion.
In a second experiment, commercial broilers were fed diets containing 10% DDGS supplemented with commercial enzyme products rich in xylanase or a blend of pentosanases.
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Dietary enzyme supplementation improved both male and female body weights by approximately 5% by market age. Feed conversion during the first 2 weeks improved by 11.4% and 4.7% with enzyme supplementation in low and high energy diets, respectively.
In a third experiment, supplementation of beta-mannase in corn-soy diets was evaluated in commercial turkey hens. The enzyme was able to provide about 150 Kcal ME/kg uplift without compromising growth performance or feed efficiency, and caloric efficiency improved. This research thus demonstrates that dietary enzyme inclusion results in a marked reduction in feed costs and energy efficiency per unit of broiler and turkey meat produced.
Information from this research program was disseminated to the poultry industry by field demonstrations, county- and state-wide meetings, workshops, conferences, and the popular press.
Impact
NCSU research on in ovo feeding resulted in industry development grants exceeding $2 million over the past five years. These funds will help lead this IOF technology towards commercialization, making it available to greatly increase the efficiency and economic competitiveness of the poultry industry. Moreover, knowledge gained from the in ovo feeding project has resulted in changes in hatchery management and breeder nutrition which enhance broiler and chick survival. If adopted for even half of the global poultry population currently receiving in ovo vaccines, the technology would have a $1.2 billion impact worldwide, and a $10 million impact in North Carolina, alone.
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As poultry feed costs continue to rise due to market constraints on energy resources, the need to improve energy and protein utilization efficiency is more critical to the sustainability and competitiveness of the poultry
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industry than ever before. Dietary inclusion of enzymes can significantly reduce feed costs by at least $15/ton, while moderately improving growth performance. Considering the 40 million turkeys and 400 million broilers in North Carolina, this research has resulted in potential savings of approximately $45 million/year.
Funding Sources
USDA
North Carolina Agricultural Foundation
DSM Nutrition, Inc.
Danisco Animal Nutrition, Inc.
Contact
Dr. Peter Ferket, Department of Poultry Science, N.C. State University
Visit Dr. Ferket's web page |
Issue
Improving hatchery management: There are hundreds of thousands of metabolically active embryos growing in the incubators of a hatchery. The environment to which these eggs are exposed needs to include optimal temperature, humidity, oxygen and carbon dioxide conditions as well as correct egg orientation. However, the hatchery environment is highly variable due to egg shell properties, embryonic metabolic rate, hatchery building physical constraints, and the management process imposed on the eggs within the incubators themselves. Additionally, recent genetic selection for specific processed broiler attributes to meet specific market needs also challenges the hatchery manager.
What Has Been Done
Research was conducted at NCSU to determine the physiological response to temperature, humidity, oxygen and carbon dioxide and egg orientation. Research results demonstrated that increased selection pressure for economically valuable traits means that conditions used to incubate hatching eggs needed alteration. Dr. Michael Wineland's group demonstrated how organ system maturation, which affects overall performance, can be altered with manipulation of incubation parameters. Information derived from these trials was used to develop educational materials used in the NCSU Hatchery Management workshop, as well as in other educational efforts across the state and in the United States. The research direction is now focused on examination of initial incubation temperatures, as well as of how eggs attain incubation temperature.
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Impact
This research effort provides the hatchery worker with an improved understanding of how management affects embryo and subsequent hatchling physiology and so ultimately influences how the hatching performs in the field.
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The educational programming derived from this research allows the hatchery workforce to understand what is happening to the egg with regard to the developing |
embryo, and allows them to use the data they collect to take appropriate action to improve the quality process when results fall outside expected standards. The research consequently facilitates the needed change in hatchery management.
Funding Sources
NC Cooperative Extension Service
U.S. Poultry and Egg Association
Chick Master Incubator
Contact
Dr. Michael Wineland, Department of Poultry Science, N.C. State University
Visit Dr. Wineland's web page
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Evaluation of Partial & Full House Brooding for Broilers
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Issue
The brooding phase is a critical one in the life of chickens. Broiler growers normally conduct reception and brooding in a small section of the broiler house. This brooding zone is generally 1/4 or, or, at most, 1/3 of the whole house. This confinement helps reduce energy costs because only a small area needs to be heated.
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The broiler flock normally remains in this area for 10 to 12 days until broiler size is attained and feeder and drinker space becomes insufficient for the chicken population. Growers gradually provide more space to the flock as broilers grow, but flock distribution in the house is often not uniform. Unfortunately, not all growers have the time and care to make these changes on a
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timely basis, even when recommended by companies. This mismanagement normally lasts for two or three days during the second week of life; however, its detrimental effects have important effects at processing age on flock uniformity, final body weights, leg problems, foot pad dermatitis, and possibly in many other health issues. This problem is observed year-round by broiler integrators in farms and processing plants.
What Has Been Done
A project was conducted in association with a poultry integrator for an entire year. Initially, one farm with two houses was selected. Day-old chickens of similar strain and breeder flock age were placed. |
In one house, chick reception was conducted in a central area comprising 1/3 of the house, following traditional management, and in the other, whole house brooding was employed. These two management practices were evaluated in three experiments to determine the most adequate way to raise broilers during the first two weeks of age. This research project provided comprehensive information about utilization of whole house brooding under commercial conditions, compared to the traditional partial house brooding.
Improvements in live performance, flock uniformity, footpad dermatitis reduction and carcass condemnations in the processing plant were observed.
Impact
The experimental results demonstrate that implementation of this practice may have major benefits in broiler production on farms whose houses have good insulation, designed to receive chickens in the whole house.
Funding Sources
NC Cooperative Extension Service
Gift funds for broiler production research
Contacts
Edgar O. Oviedo-Rondón, Assistant Professor/Extension Specialist, Department of Poultry Science, N.C. State University
Phone: (919) 749 7288
email: edgar_oviedo@ncsu.edu
Visit Dr. Oviedo's web page |
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