The best way to eliminate the risks faced by newly hatched chicks is to properly administer a multi-strain, species-specific probiotic to hatching chicks. Of course, it is critical to give the right probiotic with the right method and applicator. For example, in traditional systems, probiotics are applied to the chicks by spraying them with water at hatching. One of the disadvantages of this system is that the chicks get cold as a result of getting their feathers wet and they are exposed to stress. Therefore, even if the right probiotic is given at the right time, the desired results cannot be achieved due to the disadvantage of the application method, and the investment cost is also wasted.
General Manager
Biokey Gıda, Tarım ve Hayvancılık Ltd. Şti.
Interview: Derya Yildiz
The vulnerability of day-old chicks to harmful pathogenic bacteria is one of the biggest problems in modern poultry farming. The protective beneficial bacterial flora transmitted from mother to chick in the natural environment needs to be provided externally with probiotics in hatcheries in modern production systems. If we wait for this flora to establish naturally after hatching, we can only reach the healthy flora of an adult chicken on the 21st day. Of course, during this time, the chick will not be able to fully defend against pathogens from the outside. It is therefore very important that chicks receive a probiotic containing strains isolated from a healthy hen, such as Poultrystar, as soon as they enter the coop. However, in the past, during the time from the hatchery to the henhouse, chicks were exposed to pathogens.
One of the world’s leading animal nutrition companies, Biomin (Biomin is part of the DSM group of companies), announced gel droplet application as an alternative method for probiotic delivery in 2019. This practice, which is the hatchery version of PoultryStar®, a synbiotic product used successfully in the poultry industry for many years, has been successfully implemented in one of Turkey’s largest enterprises for more than a year. As a result of the method a serious improvement in the intestinal health of the chicks and a healthy growth were achieved. Decreased antibiotic use and mortality… And of course, there is more.
Biokey Gıda, Tarım ve Hayvancılık Ltd. Şti. (Biomin’s subsidiary in Turkey), Irfan Coban, shared with us the details of this successful method that he implemented with his team and of the results obtained.
Mr. Coban, today we would like to talk about the PoultryStar® Hatchery method that Biomin has recently developed. But before we talk about this practice, can you tell us a little bit about the risks that newly hatched chicks face?
As all breeders know very well, the health of newly hatched day-old chicks is of great importance for their future. During the most critical stage in poultry farming, from hatching to henhouse, opportunistic pathogenic bacteria can easily pass to vulnerable chicks and adversely affect their health.
In fact, in the natural environment and conditions, the flora necessary for the health of the animal passes horizontally from the mother hen to the chick, and the chicks become stronger against pathogens. But in modern breeding, this natural transition of flora from the mother hen to the chicks is not possible due to biosecurity requirements. In other words, the right flora that we want cannot settle in the intestines of the chicks immediately, and the intestine becomes vulnerable to pathogenic microorganisms such as Salmonella, E.coli and Eimeria and coccidiosis factors. In fact, in chicks with a sterile intestine at hatching, which bacteria colonize first is vital and can make a significant difference in their development.
What is the traditional way of mitigating or reducing these risks to newly hatched chicks in modern aquaculture? What methods are used for this and what are the advantages or disadvantages of these methods?
The best way to eliminate the risks faced by newly hatched chicks is to properly administer a multi-strain, species-specific probiotic to hatching chicks. Of course, it is critical to give the right probiotic with the right method and applicator. For example, in traditional systems, probiotics are applied to the chicks by spraying them with water at hatching. One of the disadvantages of this system is that the chicks get cold as a result of getting their feathers wet and they are exposed to stress. Therefore, even if the right probiotic is given at the right time, the desired results cannot be achieved due to the disadvantage of the application method, and the investment cost is also wasted.
So what is the PoultryStar® Hatchery method that you offer and in what aspects does it differ from other traditional methods? Can you tell us how this model eliminates the risks faced by chicks?
PoultryStar® Hatchery is a gel droplet application developed by Biomin’s strong R&D team by examining the problems faced by hatching chicks and the challenges of traditional probiotic application methods in the field.
In this application, it is aimed to vaccinate the chicks with the intestinal flora of a healthy chicken as soon as they hatch, thereby supporting intestinal health. For this, the product is offered with an equipment that allows the gel droplets to be automatically thrown onto the chicks in the hatching line. PoultryStar® Hatchery, a multi-strain synbiotic application containing the beneficial bacteria necessary for poultry gut health, as well as the prebiotics that constitute the food source of these bacteria, is given to day-old chicks in homogeneous gel droplets to initiate and accelerate the maturation of the immune system. This method of administration minimizes post-vaccination stress in chicks and both stimulates early feeding behavior and meets water and food needs, especially for long-distance animals. Meanwhile, it should be noted that the application of probiotics with the gel increases the number of effective application droplets swallowed by the chicks by 30%.
In addition, follow-up applications with PoultryStar® products in feed or drinking water during the rearing phase, following PoultryStar® Hatchery in the hatchery, have been proven to increase body weight and survival rate in the first week.
As far as we know, last year you launched a successful PoultryStar® Hatchery application in one of the largest enterprises in Turkey, which will also be an example for the world. Can you share with us the details of this application you started?
Yes, last year we launched the PoultryStar® Hatchery application in one of the largest integrated facilities in Turkey. This application, which is still successfully continuing, has been considered a success story around the world, as you mentioned.
As you know, reducing the use of antibiotics has become one of the main goals of broiler breeders all over the world, especially in Turkey and Europe. We, too, have identified integrations and breeding businesses that are sensitive to reducing the use of antibiotics in Turkey as the target audience. We have been in contact with customers who use PoultryStar® in both feed and drinking water, and these customers have seen the effects of PoultryStar® in the field. When we told them about the advantages and effects of our new product, PoultryStar® Hatchery, they were also warm to this application and so we started our work.
First of all, application and installation training was provided to Biokey personnel by the Biomin team. After that, the necessary equipment for the application was brought to Turkey. The installation of the PoultryStar® Hatchery gel application system was carried out by the Biokey team, and the hatchery team of the enterprise was informed about the application system and information about the application and maintenance. Since it is a system that is easy to use and does not need electricity, it has started to be used easily by the hatchery team.
With this applicator, which works with air pressure and pulverization method, the application is made in such a way that the gel droplets are evenly distributed over 80 chicks in each hatching box passing through the band. At this stage, it is important to correctly adjust the amount of product given to all chicks by gel droplets. Therefore, the applied product must be atomized and pulverized.
So what are the results obtained from this application? We know that there are some important results such as the absence of cases such as coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis, and a decrease in mortality. What can you share with us in more detail about the results?
The main goal of the integration with which we started the PoultryStar® Hatchery application was to reduce the use of antibiotics. Our customer stated that in addition to the successful results in antibiotic reduction after PoultryStar® Hatchery application, there were no cases of coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis, and mortality was significantly reduced. In addition, another important result that makes us happy is that the PoultryStar® Hatchery application has become an important link in the Salmonella control strategy in one of Turkey’s largest integrations.
You stated that this practice reduces the use of antibiotics? Can you explain this a little more?
It has been scientifically proven repeatedly that early antibiotic use adversely affects the intestinal microbiota and immune development of the poultry. Short-term oral perturbation of birds with an antibiotic at an early stage affects microbial colonization and intestine immunity, resulting in disruption of the gut microbiome at a young age. Early microbiota colonization, particularly in the intestine, is an important driver of immune development and/or immune programming.
Early application of PoultryStar® as an alternative to early antibiotic use has been shown to greatly improve the health of day-old chicks. This practice inoculates beneficial bacteria into the intestines creating competitive exclusion against opportunistic bacteria and allows their immune systems to mature. Thus, it significantly reduces the possible need for antibiotics.
Is the PoultryStar® Hatchery application already being tried in other businesses? That is to say, are there any other experimental studies and applications that give the same results?
Recently, we have established and started working on another PoultryStar® Hatchery application in one of the important poultry integrated facilities in Turkey. Currently, we have had two customers implementing PoultryStar® Hatchery in Turkey. We are still negotiating and experimenting with some of the important companies. The number of our interested customers is also increasing.
Finally, what else would you like to add?
I would like to say that as the Biokey team, we are proud to implement PoultryStar® Hatchery in Turkey’s largest plants, to plan and realize every stage of the project, and to see the successful results. It was also important for us to present a pioneering application such as PoultryStar® Hatchery to the knowledge of the Turkish poultry industry, due to the benefits it provides to a very critical problem in terms of both animal and human health, such as the reduction of antibiotic use, and the role it plays in preventing the most important poultry diseases. I would also like to thank the Biokey team, who are working with faith in this project, very much.
