ISSUE FOCUS 40 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE September 2024 during their first week(s) of life show great difficulties to assimilate Vit. E from their diet. Next to reducing disease susceptibility and fertility issues, such phytogenic bioactives will also allow a higher integrity (i.e. less oxidative damage) of systemic body cells in general and thus save metabolic resources. By doing so, much more nutrients will become available for egg production and will not be redirected or lost to the repair of injured cells for body maintenance (i.e. homeostasis). Therefore, under stressful field conditions, these polyphenolic types will contribute to keeping the bird’s metabolism in a balanced state by efficiently closing the ‘antioxidant gap’. Given the reduced endogenous antioxidant capacity of breeders as they age, this particularly will be the case during the critical Phase 2 of lay (highest sensitivity to oxidative stress). INCREASED EGG LAYING PERSISTENCY In this article, an interesting broiler breeder trial is described. ELIFE®, a synergistic and concentrated blend of carefully selected natural extracts – fully complying with above polyphenolic criteria -, was evaluated as a possible dietary antioxidant solution. Two identical laying houses each containing ± 20,000 hens (and ± 2,000 roosters) of Ross 308 genetics were selected in a commercial farm setting (Belgium, 2023). Each house represented 1 treatment group (i.e. Control or ELIFE® on-top supplementation at 1 kg/t), therefore no statistical replicates were available. Both houses had an equal average hen body weight, egg laying- and mortality rate at the start of the supplementation trial (i.e. week 26 of life). During the supplementation trial, all birds had restricted access to both water and commercial mash feed (i.e. wheat-maize-soy based diet) and received 13 hours of lighting per day. During Phase 1 of lay (up to 44 weeks), hen-week egg production (%) was similar for both groups, however, during Phase 2 of lay (week 45 till 62 of life) it was consistently higher for the antioxidant treated flock compared to the control (Figure 1). On average, the ELIFE® supplementation during this later period elevated laying rate substantially by 1.5 percentage points (Table 1). Therefore, the phytogenic blend increased laying persistency of the breeder hens while aging (i.e. extending their productivity). Both treatment groups showed an equally low hen mortality at housing of the birds (into the laying unit) up to the onset of the antioxidant supplementation (i.e. week 20 till 26 of life). However, throughout the subsequent trial period (37 weeks long), the ELIFE® group demonstrated a consistently higher hen survivEgg laying rate (wk 26-62) Age (week of life) % 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 Phase 2: + 1.5 % pts Control ELIFE® 1 kg/t (introduced as from wk 26) Age (week of life) Hen mortality (wk 20-62 cum.) 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 % 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 44 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 Control ELIFE® 1 kg/t (introduced as from wk 26) -0.6 % pts Figure 1. Time course of hen-week egg production (%) throughout the supplementation trial (no replicates and thus no statistics possible). Figure 2. Cumulative hen mortality (%) during the supplementation trial (no replicates and thus no statistics possible).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==