ARTICLE 70 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE October 2023 The key to successful use of lower energy diets lies in prediction of change in feed intake and corresponding adjustment to all other nutrients in the diet. FLEXIBLE COST OF DIETARY ELECTROLYTE BALANCE (DEB) When first introduced in the 1970s, maintaining DEB around 250MEq was seen to optimise broiler performance, especially leg condition. There is now less emphasis on this, perhaps because of genetic selection for skeletal integrity. DEB, however, may be important during heat stress to stimulate water intake and control manure moisture. Formulating to fixed DEB levels always adds costs. Instead, Dr Leeson suggested to focus on sodium and chloride at a ratio of 1:1.3. OPTIMISE FEED TEXTURE (PELLETING) The first consideration is to make a good quality pellet, then worry about pellet size, noted Dr Leeson. He also added he was “a big fan of sunflower meal – it’s great for pellet quality.” When given a choice in particle sizes, birds invariably show a preference for the largest particles. This situation becomes obvious when ‘fines’ accumulate in the feeder pans over time. As shown below, as pellet size increases, so does the bird’s need to consume fewer pellets. As a result, they need to spend less time at the feeder. Naturally, this idealised pellet size must be balanced against the willingness of mill managers to accommodate the necessary changes in pellet die size. Matching pellet size to bird age becomes critical as stocking density increases. In the end, cost mitigation should not require complex mathematics. Nutritionists should be able to play with several types of improvements without affecting health and performance. EW Nutrition’s Poultry Academy took place in Jakarta and Manila in early September 2023. Dr. Steve Leeson, an expert in Poultry Nutrition & Production with nearly 50 years’ experience in the industry, was the distinguished keynote speaker. Dr. Leeson had his Ph.D. in Poultry Nutrition in 1974 from the University of Nottingham. Over a span of 38 years, he was a Professor in the Department of Animal &Poultry Science at the University of Guelph, Canada. Since 2014, he has been Professor Emeritus at the same University. As an eminent author, he has more than 400 papers in refereed journals and 6 books on various aspects of Poultry Nutrition & Management. He also won the American Feed Manufacturer’s Association Nutrition Research Award (1981), the Canadian Society of Animal Science Fellowship Award (2001), and Novus Lifetime Achievement Award in Poultry Nutrition (2011) Pellet Size (diameter) 3 mm 4 mm 5 mm 6 mm length 390 220 140 Impact of pellet size on pellet number consumed by a 30-day-old broiler 580 330 210 4 mm length
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