Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    • May 2025
    • April 2025
    • March 2025
    • 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    • February 2025
    • January 2025
    • December 2024
    • November 2024
    • October 2024
    • September 2024
    • 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    • August 2024
    • 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    • July 2024
    • 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    • June 2024
    • 2024 Innovation supplement
    • Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    • May 2024
    • April 2024
    • March 2024
    • February 2024
    • January 2024
    • December 2023
    • November 2023
    • Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    • October 2023
    • Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    • September 2023
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
  • FREE Email Newsletters
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact Us
Twitter LinkedIn
Podcast
Poultry News
  • Production
    • Broiler Production
    • Ducks
    • Egg Production
    • Game
    • Hatching
    • Housing
    • Turkeys
  • Processing
  • Business & Politics
    • Business
    • Economics
    • EU & Politics
    • Marketing
    • People
    • Training & Education
  • Welfare
    • Environment
    • Food Safety
    • Vet & Medication
    • Welfare
  • Feed
  • Genetics
  • New Products
  • Magazines
    1. May 2025
    2. April 2025
    3. March 2025
    4. 2025 Feed and Nutrition supplement
    5. February 2025
    6. January 2025
    7. December 2024
    8. November 2024
    9. October 2024
    10. September 2024
    11. 2024 Building for the Future supplement
    12. August 2024
    13. 2024 Poultry Health supplement
    14. July 2024
    15. 2024 National Egg and Poultry Awards finalists supplement
    16. June 2024
    17. 2024 Innovation supplement
    18. Pig & Poultry Fair 2024
    19. May 2024
    20. April 2024
    21. March 2024
    22. February 2024
    23. January 2024
    24. December 2023
    25. November 2023
    26. Processing Equipment Supplement – Nov 2023
    27. October 2023
    28. Building Supplement – Sept 2023
    29. September 2023
    Featured

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    By Chloe RyanMay 15, 2025
    Recent

    Poultry Business – May 2025 issue

    May 15, 2025

    Poultry Business – April 2025 issue

    April 8, 2025

    Poultry Business – March 2025 issue

    March 12, 2025
  • Jobs
    • Browse Jobs
    • Post a Job
    • Manage Jobs
  • Events
    • National Egg and Poultry Awards
    • Poultry Fair
    • Webinars
Twitter LinkedIn
Poultry News
Feed & Nutrition

Gut feeling

Chloe RyanBy Chloe RyanApril 12, 20194 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email

How to maximise birds’ gut health to exploit genetic potential

By Diane Bristow

Gut health in poultry is critical in a whole range of performance issues, from eggshell quality to building resilience against disease with the aim of minimising antibiotic usage. Gut health was the common theme throughout the various presentations during the poultry sessions at Alltech’s European Technical Summit in Dublin in March.

At the conference, Dr Kayla Price, poultry technical manager at Alltech Canada, explained that gut health, alongside optimum trace mineral nutrition, are key to maintaining a healthy bird and high quality egg. 

“There’s a whole host of factors, including age, management, environment and genetics, that impact on eggshell quality. But, taking as many steps as possible to improve gut health is something I’d strongly recommend,” she said.

“The structure of the gut wall controls the absorption of vital nutrients, and balances good microbes and potentially ‘bad bacteria’. Therefore, in order to successfully transfer nutrients into performance and a high quality product, the gut needs to be working efficiently.”

She highlighted the importance of trace mineral nutrition on bird performance and specifically eggshell quality.

“While the role of trace minerals such as copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn) and selenium (Se) in positively improving bird health and performance is largely understood, the form in which they are supplied makes a big difference.

“For example, organic minerals in a chelated form resemble those found naturally and therefore have better bioavailability, stability and movement across the gut compared to inorganic minerals. This results in greater uptake and absorption, allowing birds’ to utilise them more efficiently, which in turn supports bird health and performance, including improved eggshell strength,” she said.

This was reinforced in a trial that specifically looked at eggshell quality. “As part of the trial, two groups of birds were fed two diets, one contained inorganic minerals and the other included the addition of chelated organic minerals,” explained Dr Price.

“Eggshell strength was measured, using an eggshell force reader, from 20 to 80 weeks of age. The results showed that feeding organic minerals improved consistency in eggshell strength across the 60-week period, with a variance of 1.01 kg of force in eggshell strength, compared to 1.14 kg of force for birds fed inorganic minerals. There was also an increase in uniformity of eggs and a decrease in undergrades.”

Continuing on the theme of gut health, senior research scientist at Alltech European Bioscience Centre, Ireland, Dr Aoife Corrigan, highlighted the role of nutrition in rehabilitating the microbiome.

“Birds are faced with many challenges during their lifecycle, such as viruses, ‘bad bacteria’ and poor hygiene, which will affect the stability of the microbiome. This in turn can impact gut health and the birds’ natural ability to fight off disease,” she explained.

If not managed adequately, performance and the overall financial success of poultry businesses will be negatively impacted. And, with pressure on the industry to reduce reliance on antimicrobials, Dr Corrigan said that producers need to look to non-antibiotic alternatives.

“Feed supplements, which focus on stabilising the gut microbiota are a viable option. For example. the inclusion of a feed supplement that contains mannan-enriched fractions (MRFs), isolated from the yeast cell wall, work by binding and limiting the colonisation of gut pathogens, providing support for immunity and digestion. This drives improvements in both feed conversion and performance.”

And while there is no single option to replace antibiotic use in animal production, producers should focus on taking proactive steps to maximise gut health, as this will pay dividends long-term.

Dr Eilir Jones, international poultry consultant, recommended that the poultry sector takes a holistic approach to production in order to maximise success.

“Being the best in class is not all about buildings and technology. When it comes to broilers specifically, there are various factors that affect production. These include health and immunity, genetics and chick quality, environment and husbandry, and nutrition and feeding.

“A shortfall in one area cannot be overcome by excellence in another. World-class performance and profitability therefore need excellence in all areas. A team approach with a supportive culture and common goal is key to future success.”

 

Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email
Previous ArticleFarm bodies welcome Brexit delay
Next Article Inquest into Banham deaths adjourned
Chloe Ryan

Editor of Poultry Business, Chloe has spent the past decade writing about the food industry from farming, through manufacturing, retail and foodservice. When not working, dog walking and reading biographies are her favourite hobbies.

Read Similar Stories

News

Red Tractor owners appoint Alistair Mackintosh as Red Tractor Chair

May 23, 20252 Mins Read
News

APHA to use genomics to boost disease surveillance in £10m project

May 19, 20252 Mins Read
News

Reflections on my first month leading the BEIC

May 15, 20253 Mins Read
Latest News

Red Tractor owners appoint Alistair Mackintosh as Red Tractor Chair

May 23, 2025

Total UK poultry meat production falls

May 22, 2025

EU broiler price rises again

May 22, 2025
Sponsored Content

Maintain stable and continuous coccidiosis control amidst stocking density reductions

November 1, 2024

How to improve your forecasting accuracy

October 1, 2024
© 2024 MA Agriculture Ltd, a Mark Allen Group company

Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Terms & Conditions

  • Farmers Weekly
  • AA Farmer
  • Farm Contractor
  • Pig World

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.