ISSUE FOCUS 34 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2023 ation of butyric acid. Trials in broiler chickens confirm the role in intestinal development, but moreover show the contribution of proper intestinal health towards zootechnical performance. In a floor pen trial with 720 Ross® 308 male broilers, supplementing a control diet with coated calcium butyrate (Butifour® CCB) resulted in a significant improvement on final body weight. Simultaneously, it was shown that the birds had a better intestinal health status, for example a higher villus to crypt ratio in the duodenum part of the small intestine. LAYING HENS Moreover, older animals like laying hens can also benefit from gut health additives. Genetic improvements have led to increased egg production and prolonged production cycles. Commercial egg producers have set new targets, reaching 500 eggs at 100 weeks of age. However, keeping flocks for such a long time is a challenge for most egg producers. As the hen ages, persistency of lay and eggshell quality tends to decline faster than desired. The gradual decrease in eggshell quality is partly due to the fact that the amount of mineral deposition remains almost constant during the production cycle while the egg weight increases slightly with the age of the hen and due to failure in the proper intestinal absorption of calcium. Hence products that could stimulate nutrient absorption and facilitate intestinal health are beneficial for improving layer persistence. A trial with Hisex® brown layers confirmed the benefit of supplementing 1kg/T of Butifour® CCB in a commercial diet. This trial started with laying hens of 55 weeks old and lasted for 4 periods of 30 days. During this trial different performance parameters were evaluated like egg production, egg mass and feed conversion ratio. It was shown that birds fed calcium butyrate had a 4 % increase in average laying rate during the 120 days period. Moreover, it was demonstrated that the control group decreased its initial laying rate after week 58, while butyrate was able to prolong the initial 90 % laying performance with 60 days. Thanks to the higher productivity of the laying hens, egg mass and feed conversion ratio was significantly improved during the trial period. CONCLUSION Concluding from the above-mentioned trials, a well-developed and functional gut is essential for animal performance across multiple species and ages. Nutrition plays a big factor in reaching a stable intestinal balance. Indeed, it can be source of different challenges but also of functional ingredients and feed additives with major impact on intestinal health. For example, organic acid blends or butyric acid sources are well known solutions to enhance or support the digestive system of livestock. Supplementing such additives together with an optimal feed formulation allows us to have an efficient and sustainable production of meat and eggs. Figure 4. Course of laying rate during the trial period. (a, b at p<0.05) About Arno Duchateau Arno Duchateau is a master in bioscience engineering who graduated in 2019 at the University of Leuven (Belgium). Since 2020, he worked as Global Product Manager in the specialty feed additives division at Impextraco focusing on gut health and mycotoxin solutions. Here, he provides technical support to business partners, customers and colleagues as well as managing different product brands from development to marketing and sales.
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