Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 3 April 2021

ISSUE FOCUS 36 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2021 Copper supplementation in grower/finisher production SOURCE, SOLUBILITYAND LEVELS FED MATTER Trouw Nutrition researchers found that adding hydroxychloride copper (IntelliBond®) to swine diets could help improve growth performance and reduce negative interactions between copper and added vitamins or enzymes. The use of high levels of copper also was found to limit the overgrowth of unwanted bacteria helping to manage gut health, increasing average daily gain (ADG) throughout production and improving hot carcass weight. T he primary goal of adding trace minerals to swine diets is to fulfil animals’ nutritional requirements. Feeding the optimal amount of trace mineral allows animals to maintain positive homeo- stasis supports good performance. Trace minerals are required for important functions, such as optimal fertility and immunity, and are therefore essential nutrients to ensure optimal growth and performance. A poorly balanced trace mineral supply can have an increasingly negative influence on performance, etc. It is important to remember that the animal will choose how it utilises the nutrients it takes in, and therefore if there is a trace mineral deficiency, the animal’s sys- tem will divert the remaining supply to the ‘most vital’ body functions. Therefore, the first visual signs of a deficiency may be ‘less vital’ functions such as growth, reproductive performance and skin integrity. When supplementing diets with trace minerals, the source matters. Mineral supplementation has evolved since the use of oxide-based trace minerals in the 1930s. Sulphate-based trace minerals were in- troduced in the 1940s followed by the development of organic trace minerals in the 1970s. Organic trace minerals improved mineral bioavailability and effec- tiveness but remained expensive. As it was not always economically viable to replace all sulphate and oxide forms, many producers only partially replaced the use of inorganic mineral sources. Hydroxy trace miner- als, developed in the 1990s, provide a concentrated, bioavailable trace mineral source, and offer a way to entirely replace the use of inorganic mineral sources. SOURCE OF COPPER AFFECTS VITAMIN STABILITY Copper is a catalyst of several important enzymatic reactions taking part in the antioxidant defence of the body, such as Superoxide Dismutase (SOD). The nutrient supports the functioning of macrophages focused on combating infectious elements, and helps with the formation of collagen and elastin. However, the source of the copper added to diets can influence both its availability to the animal and the availability of other dietary nutrients. More soluble trace mineral sources (sulfates based trace minerals) can have a negative influence on vitamin stability in feed. Alice Hibbert Programme Manager Trace Minerals Selko, the Feed Additive brand of Trouw Nutrition