Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 3 April 2021

ISSUE FOCUS 32 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2021 Pushing the limits of poultry production with SEED, FEED, WEED “The ‘Seed, Feed, Weed’ concept is a comprehensive programme developed in order to improve the gut health of birds, whether breeder, broiler or layer. Improved performance has been measured across all types of birds, however if good gut health can be established in the breeding population this will provide the biggest benefit to chick and hence bird performance.” G ut health is the limiting factor in poultry production, regardless of species. Improving gut health will directly impact performance, and, as a result, it should be at the forefront of producers’ minds. The gut is the first portal of entry for a vast array of pathogens, and it interacts with all other bodily systems. As such, there is no silver bullet for improving gut health status; management, genetics, nutrition and additives can all play a part. THE SEED, FEED, WEED CONCEPT Profitability is key when discussing implemen- tation of any changes on farm. Conscious of the parameters facing commercial operations the ‘Seed, Feed, Weed’ programme has been designed in order to be sustainable, holistic, farm specific and cost effective. Results obtained are measurable, ensuring benefit can be quantified. The concept can be visualised us- ing crops as an example, sowing seeds of the crops that you want to grow, fertilising the crops for opti- mal growth and weeding out other plants that may prevent your crop growing at its optimum. SEEDING THE GUT WITH FAVOURABLE ORGANISMS In a natural environment, the chick’s gut would be seeded with the microorganisms from the mother’s GI tract through vertical transmission. Also due to nest hatching, they would spend their early life in an environment containing the mother’s faeces, allow- ing transfer of her microbiome and colonisation of the chick’s gut. Modern farming practices remove eggs and place them into an artificial environment for hatching, reducing the opportunity for transfer of microbio- ta to being transovarial or due to shell contamina- tion. Many studies have shown that even low doses of favourable bacteria can significantly improve re- sistance to pathogen colonisation. ‘Seeding’ the day- old chick’s gut with a probiotic ensures that a diverse population of microflora is able to develop, creating the framework for good gut health to build upon. As the egg shell contaminant is the first seed stock for the chick, the importance of vertical transmission cannot be overlooked. Altering the microbiome of the breeder stock is the first opportunity to influence Emily Marshall Poultry Technical Coordinator Alltech Europe