ISSUE FOCUS 40 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE March 2025 “Maintaining the gut health of broilers is key to getting optimum performance and feed efficiency, helping the chicken to utilize the feed provided to it and reduce its carbon footprint. The modern broiler has huge genetic potential to convert feed into growth with outstanding efficiency. As a producer, the job is to reduce production challenges and stressors that can negatively affect the gut health of the bird, which could prevent birds from reaching their genetic potential.” With chicken meat being a great source of protein and one of the most readily available to the human population, broiler producers perform an essential role in meeting the increasing global demand for animal protein. Chicken is one of the less expensive types of meats, meaning that broiler chicken producers are already doing a great job in the fight to produce more from less. However, the increased demand for protein comes along with increased awareness of climate change and the impact that agriculture has on greenhouse gas emissions, meaning there is a drive for more sustainable chicken production. PRODUCING MORE PROTEIN FROM LESS Global warming is proceeding at such a rate that it is undeniable that human activities have produced gases that are trapping the sun’s energy, leading to more intense weather events, reducing biodiversity, and disrupting humans’ current way of life. Therefore, as the poultry industry works to meet the increasing global demand for animal protein, it needs to simultaneously reduce its impact on the environment. 65-75% of the carbon footprint of a broiler production system comes from feed; therefore, effective poultry nutrition plays an essential part in decreasing carbon emissions. By using innovation and technology to find solutions to improve feed efficiency, we can enable chickens to use less feed to achieve the same output, improving both environmental and economic sustainability. One of these solutions in broiler diets is the use of Mannan rich fraction (MRF), which has been developed to improve the productivity, profitability, and sustainability of broiler production. OPTIMUM POULTRY GUT HEALTH Maintaining the gut health of broilers is key to getting optimum performance and feed efficiency, helping the chicken to utilize the feed provided to it and reduce its carbon footprint. The modern broiler has huge genetic potential to convert feed into growth with outstanding efficiency. As a producer, the job is to reduce production challenges and stressors that can negatively affect the gut health of the bird, which could prevent birds from reaching their genetic potential. IMPROVING BROILER POULTRY EFFICIENCY AND DRIVING SUSTAINABLE CHICKEN Dr. Harriet Walker Poultry Specialist Alltech
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