Raw fibre concentrates could be a powerful tool to control the wet litter syndrome. When applying feedstuffs with a high raw fiber concentration to poultry feeds the risk of reduced performance is certainly a legitimate worry, but according to trials described in literature there is no risk of reducing performance in poultry when supplementing a raw fibre concentrate with up to 0.8%. Raw fiber concentrates may even have positive impact on animal performance.

Head Business Unit Animal Nutrition
J. Rettenmaier & Söhne GmbH + Co KG
Today modern poultry flocks are pushed to their performance limit therefore house management is critical. In poultry houses ventilation, water supply, litter moisture, air quality and temperature control are of particular importance. Often litter moisture reaches irreversible levels in broiler houses during the 4-5 week housing period, causing economic and ecological problems (feed path lesions, breast blisters, ammonia…). Hence, in order to reduce productivity losses and to avoid environmental as well as animal welfare problems in poultry production it is necessary to control litter quality, especially the moisture content is of high priority.
In Europe, until now, litter quality is merely an issue in broiler houses. Especially the high energy costs during the winter housing period make it nearly impossible to provide sufficient ventilation. These conditions cause wet litter. In the near future cages for layers will be banned in Europe, suggesting litter quality will be an issue in alternative housing systems for layers as well.
RAW FIBRE CONCENTRATES – WHAT ARE THEY BASED ON?
The term “raw fibre concentrate” describes fibre sources with a crude fibre content of at least 60%. Commercially available raw fibre concentrates are based on lignocellulose. The products are free of mycotoxins and deliver very thin and quite long particles (200 µm long).
RAW FIBRE CONCENTRATES AND THEIR IMPACT ON LITTER QUALITY
The impact of crude fibre on litter quality has been discussed in detail in papers from Hartini et al. (2003) and Pottgüter (2008). In order to have impact on faeces consistency a product with a high reversible water binding capacity is required. Additionally, the product should be not fermented in the intestinal tract.
Lignocellulose is an insoluble fibre source that fulfills the requirements mentioned above. A further characteristic of insoluble fibres is that they accelerate the intestinal passage rate. Due to a faster passage rate bacteria and their toxic metabolites cannot accumulate in the intestinal tract. This explains the positive effect of lignocellulose based raw fibre concentrates on intestinal health and subsequently on the litter quality.
UNIVERSITY TRIALS
In a recent trial at the American University of Beirut Dr. Farran evaluated the effect of a commercially available raw fibre concentrate (ARBOCEL, JRS Germany) on the litter quality and animal performance related parameters. The experiment was conducted using 1200-day-old male broiler chicks of the Ross 308 strain. The animals werde divided into a trial group (0.8 % raw fibre concentrate) and a control group (0.8 % wheat bran), with six replications per group (100 chicks per group allocated to 12 floor pens).
At the end of the 38-day fattening period humidity of the litter was determined. The effect of the different treatments on selected parameters is shown in table 1.
The results in table 1 concerning the impact of raw fibre concentrates on litter quality are confirmed by a trial that was recently published in the world poultry science journal (2011, 90:2008-2012). In a broiler trial the authors observed a reduction of litter moisture by about 10 % after the application of a raw fibre concentrate.
A major concern in poultry feeding is that the use raw fibre concentrates (which deliver almost no energy) might have negative impact on animal performance. However, these concerns are unnecessary, according to many on farm and university level feeding trials the use of raw fibre concentrates even has positive impact on performance. Professor Dusel from the University of applied science in Bingen (Germany) observed a significant improvement in FCR and daily weight gain due to the use of a raw fibre concentrate (ARBOCEL, JRS) in broiler feed. A trial conducted by Monika Boguslawska from the University of Technology and Agriculture Bydgoszcz; Poland provides an explanation for improved performance after the application of a raw fibre concentrate. She investigated the activity of digestive enzymes and observed a significantly increased activity of the proteolytic enzymes Trypsine and Chymotrypsine in broilers.
CONCLUSION
Raw fibre concentrates could be a powerful tool to control the wet litter syndrome. When applying feedstuffs with a high raw fiber concentration to poultry feeds the risk of reduced performance is certainly a legitimate worry, but according to trials described in literature there is no risk of reducing performance in poultry when supplementing a raw fibre concentrate with up to 0.8%. Raw fiber concentrates may even have positive impact on animal performance.
Literature is available on request.
About Dr. Manfred Pietsch
Dr. Manfred Pietsch graduated in human nutrition (dipl. oec. troph) at the Justus- Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, in 1992. He received his doctor’s degree at the institute of animal nutrition, Justus-Liebig-University in 1996. Between 1996 and 2008, he worked as product and pig application manager for several feed additive suppliers.
Dr. Pietsch, who joined the JRS in 2008 and currently serves as the head of animal nutrition department, is author and co-author of several articles dealing with fiber in farm animals in journals like Asian pork.