ISSUE FOCUS 24 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE June 2022 "Birds cannot sweat and must rely on panting to cool down. That’s an inefficient method when you consider their feathers also serve as insulation. Maintaining animal welfare becomes harder during high-heat conditions. Additionally, the drop in performance and egg production can mean economic challenges for producers’ businesses. Producers should take a holistic approach of feed, farm and health management to defend against heat stress." As global temperatures increase, heat stress is becoming a major challenge for poultry producers globally. Since 1980 every decade has seen a temperature hike, and the seven hottest years on record occurred since 2015.1 Different strategies of management practices and diet-based interventions can support flocks during episodic or sustained periods of high temperatures. We caught up with Dr. Narendra Venkatareddy, global product manager with Selko, the Feed Additives brand of Nutreco, to learn more about how heat stress challenges affects poultry flocks – and what producers can do to manage heat stress. He also shared findings from a trial conducted in Australia with the University of New England. The trial found that the type of trace mineral supplied to laying hens can influence quality and performance indicators including egg production, egg FCR (feed conversion ratio) and egg mass. Where are you seeing heat stress becoming more of a problem for poultry producers? Global climate changes have their effect on animal production. Where heat stress used to be an issue for certain regions only, nowadays also areas with moderate climates are affected. The number of days where the temperature-humidity index (THI) exceeds the comfort threshold of the animals is increasing in the northern United States, Canada, and Europe and thus heat stress has become one of the most important ambient stressors in animal production worldwide. What consequences does heat stress present to poultry? Birds cannot sweat and must rely on panting to cool down. That’s an inefficient method when you consider their feathers also serve as insulation. Maintaining animal welfare becomes harder during high-heat conditions. Additionally, the drop in performance and egg production can mean economic challenges for producers’ businesses. For example, in just one country – the U.S. - industry research shows that heat stress causes the nation’s producers about $128 to $165 million in economic losses annually.2 Expert Chat MANAGING HEAT STRESS, AND A RESEARCH POSTCARD FROM DOWN UNDER Dr. Narendra Venkatareddy Global Product Manager Selko Feed Additives - Trouw Nutrition
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==