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Importance of flock uniformity How can we improve it in broilers?

by Torben G. Madsen, Evonik Industries, Health & Nutrition feed additives, Singapore and Jacob R. Pedersen, Lantmaennen Danpo A / S, Denmark

DL-Methionine

It is well recognized that broiler uniformity is benecial for optimal performance on farm. With a better homogeneity the nutrient requirements for the individual birds are less variable and less safety margin is needed to meet the requirements of all birds. Therefore, feed cost can be saved and performance improved. However, it is not only on farm level that less variation in bird weight improves eciency. Today, a large part of broiler meat is purchased by retailers and fast food chains. These customers have rather tight specications for their purchase and failing to meet these specications impairs the value of the output from the processing plant. As discussed by Cosgri (2008), the lower value is related to several stages in the slaughtering and processing of the broilers. It is estimated that the value of carcasses out of spec decreases by more than 40 %. Thus, poor broiler uniformity can be a very costly matter. In this article some of the reasons for broiler variation will be discussed and recommendations will be given to reduce the impact of feed on broiler ock homogeneity. Additionally the actual measurement of homogeneity will be discussed as it is important to be able to detect when homogeneity on farm level is less good in order to actively improve it. Factors affecting broiler uniformity The main reasons for ock variation are related to the breed, sex of the bird, and farm management. For years, one of the major breeding goals has been to improve uniformity by selection of pure lines. This practice has led to much higher homogeneity in genetic potential of todays broilers. Regarding the sex induced variation it can of course be eliminated by sexing the birds but this practice is quite laborious and costly. With modern broiler breeds the dierence in growth pattern of female and male birds up to a certain age has been reduced to a level where most broilers farmers operate with as-hatched grow out programs in whole-bird production systems. The main reason for poor uniformity today is related to the very broad term management. One of the major factors within management is of course feeding practice and in the following we will discuss how that can have an impact on ock uniformity.

Effect of feed homogeneity on flock uniformity As genetic potential sets the upper limit for performance the expected variation will decrease when actual performance gets closer to this limit and the further away the actual performance is from the genetic potential the higher the variation can be expected. Thus, all nutrients should be present in sucient quantities to cover requirements for optimal growth. As variation in nutrient intake can occur due to inconsistent feed composition caused by poor dosing accuracy or incomplete mixing of feed ingredients, it is likely that these two factors aect performance of broilers. However, there are not many studies exploring this eect of feed homogeneity on broiler performance and ock homogeneity, but the few studies that have been conducted clearly show an eect of poor feed homogeneity on performance. Ciftci and Ercan (2003) showed how improved feed homogeneity reduced the variation of slaughter weight in female and male broilers (Figure 1), and Duncan (1989) reported lower performance in broiler starters when feed homogeneity was decreased (Table 1).

Figure 1

Effect of feed homogeneity on uniformity of broilers at slaughter (Ciftci and Ercan, 2003).
Homogeneidad en el peso del pollo (CV), %

11 10 9 8 7 6 30 12,6 8.7 Homogeneidad del alimento (CV), % hembras


c

machos

It has been argued that poor feed homogeneity mainly aects early life growth like it was shown by Duncan (1989) where feed intake per chick is relatively low and that broilers to a large extent can compensate impaired

Evonik Degussa GmbH | Importance of ock uniformity How can we improve it in broilers? | April 2010

growth in the starter period during the grower and nisher phase. However, with the constant reduction in days to slaughter the starter period in modern broilers will account for a higher share of total lifespan. This makes the period for compensatory growth shorter and shorter over time and it has been shown in a number of studies that impaired broiler performance in the starter period due to lower amino acid content will aect overall performance. Thus, impaired performance in the starter period is likely to have a negative eect on nal weight, i. e. poor homogeneity at end of the starter period can be expected to persist until slaughter.

Compared under equal production conditions in the eld, almost 40 % of all CVs applying dry additives were good (CV < 5%) and almost 80% were good or fair (CV < 10%). On the other hand, just 22% of all results for liquid applications were good and almost 50% were poor (CV > 10%). Thus, using liquid products for amino acid supplementation in feed production can be regarded as a risk factor for proper feed homogeneity. Effect of essential nutrient supplementation levels As mentioned it is well documented that decient levels of essential amino acids will have a negative eect on performance in broilers. This eect will be most pronounced for methionine or sulphur containing amino acids as they are regarded as rst limiting. Basically, the response in animal performance to methionine concentration in feed follows the law of diminishing returns, which means that increasing levels of methionine in feed will yield ever smaller increments in performance until reaching a maximum which is determined by the genetic potential of the animal and the prevailing environment and management conditions. Using the respective response curves the optimum dietary amino acid levels for maximizing weight gain or breast meat yield or for minimizing feed conversion can be derived. However, these calculations are normally based on the dietary eects on average performance of a ock but not considering the eects of dietary amino acid imbalance on uniformity of the broiler ock. A trial was therefore conducted where we looked at the eect of graded levels of dietary methionine on variability (CV) for body weight and breast meat yield as a measure for uniformity (Table 2). As the results show there were strong eects on average performance of live weight and breast meat and interestingly the ock uniformity was also strongly improved by the supplementation of DL-Methionine.

Table 1

Effect of feed homogeneity on broiler performance at 28 days of age (Duncan, 1989) Feed homogeneity (CV*), % control Weight at day 28, g Feed conversion ratio, g / g 773 1.74 10 716 1.82 20 706 1.86

* CV: coefficient of variation in %

Dosing and mixing of dry amino acids is favorable for feed homogeneity Flock uniformity is not only determined by the nutrient specications used for feed formulation but also by how evenly the nutrients are distributed in the feed mix. The question is therefore how we make sure that feed is homogenous and that the amino acids are evenly distributed in the feed mix. The following diagrams (Figure 3) illustrate the results of AMINOBatch tests which determine the coecient of variation in feed mixtures, comparing the performance of dry versus liquid amino acid additions. Figure 3

Table 2

Effect of graded levels of DL-Methionine on live weight and breast meat yield in broilers (d 1-42) (Lemme, 2003) DL-Methionine supplementation (g / kg) 0 Live weight (d 42), g CV, % Breast meat (d 42), g CV, % 1831 16.8 362 18.5 0.4 2452 11.1 543 14.3 0.8 2646 9.5 630 11.7 1.2 2836 6.7 707 8.7

Effect of supplemental amino acid source on homogeneity of active substance distribution in feed mixes (AMINOBatch test results, Evonik 2009) 37 % 24 % 31 % 47 %

22 % 39 % Dry amino acids addition 5 % CV 5 10 % CV Liquid addition of amino acids or hydroxy-analogues > 10 % CV

Evonik Degussa GmbH | Importance of ock uniformity How can we improve it in broilers? | April 2010

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In addition, the body weight distribution curve was calculated for the four levels of DL-Methionine supplementation. As shown in Figure 2, only a very small fraction of the birds was actually within the target range of 1700 to 1900 g when they received feed without DL-Methionine supplementation. In contrast, the fraction within the target range improved considerably at the highest methionine supplementation level. As mentioned above the improvement in ock uniformity will have a huge impact on the value of the broilers when processed to the nal product.

Figure 2

Effect of dietary methionine content on body weight distribution (Lemme, 2003).

overcome. However, there are now some promising experiences from the Danish broiler industry with photometric imaging of broiler carcasses showing that it is possible to assess carcass size and composition for individual birds at the slaughter house (Pedersen, 2009). The system is based on equations that predict the carcass size and composition based on photos of individual broilers taken from dierent angels. Currently the robustness of the system is being evaluated, but according to the project manager Jacob R. Pedersen the results have so far been promising. A full implementation of this system will allow to pay farmers based on actual ock uniformity, upon which it is believed that all partners involved in the process chain will focus more on improving homogeneity. The additional value that can be captured through that is to the benet of all partners in the broiler production chain. Conclusion Poor ock uniformity in broilers can have a huge eect on protability. Improving feed homogeneity and increasing nutrient levels in the feed as well as using easily mixable nutrient sources can improve broiler uniformity. In this context, monitoring carcass uniformity using a photometric system to determine broiler carcass conformation in the slaughtering process has shown promising results.

1000

1200

1400

1600

Body weight, g

1800

2000

2200

2400

2600

Basal diet 0.04 % DL-Met

0.08 % DL-Met 0.12 % DL-Met

Measurement of broiler homogeneity

References
Ciftcy, I. and A. Ercan (2003). J. Anim. Feed Sci. 12:163 171

Although everybody can agree that uniformity is important it has been dicult to measure and consequently dierentiate between farmers that produce broilers with good ock homogeneity and those with less good results. When ock homogeneity is not considered in the payment schemes the experience tells us that it is very dicult to improve. This has and still is a major hurdle to

Cosgrift, B. (2008). Poultry International, June issue p. 16 22 Duncan, M. S. (1989). In: Recent Advances in Animal Protein Production. Monsanto Latin America Technical Symposium Proceedings pp. 31 40. Lemme, A. (2003). Evonik Degussa GmbH, Facts & Figures No. 1529 Pedersen, J. (2009). Evonik Degussa GmbH, Pre-VIV Symposium presentation, Bangkok.

Evonik Degussa GmbH | Importance of ock uniformity How can we improve it in broilers? | April 2010

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