Feed International - July/August 2012 - 11
| 11 feed conversion. Furthermore, phytogenic feed additives work to decrease ammonia emissions through improving protein utilization and hence decreasing the loss of nitrogen in the manure. FIGURE phytogenic feed additive onon live Figure1:1:Effect Effectofofaacommerical commercial phytogenic feed additive weight broilers fed standard or re-formulated diets liveofweight of broilers fed standard or re-formulated diets 2450 2400 Due to the high genetic potential of modern broiler strains, such birds tend to be susceptible to any decrease in protein and energy levels. In addition to their efficacy in improving productive performance, phytogenics can be used to decrease the risk in feed formulation due to improper mixing, variation in nutrient composition within feedstuffs or inadequate ingredients. This effect is very significant because manufacturing errors are quite difficult to observe and can cause severe loss in productivity and, hence, profitability. Many studies have proven that phytogenic feed additives have positive impacts on different health parameters, where feeding birds such compounds has led to lower microbial content in the digestive tract, lower levels of toxins and ammonia production, improved immunity and lower mortality. Grams Positive health impact 2350 2300 2250 2200 Standard formulation Standard formulation + Phytogenics Re-formulation Re-formulation + Phytogenics 42 day live weight The low-density diet resulted in about a 2 percent reduction in live body weight, while the phytogenic product showed a clear compensation effect. FIGURE 2: Effect of a commerical phytogenic feed additive on feed Figure 2:ratio Effect a commercial phytogenic feed additive on conversion ofof broilers fed standard or re-formulated diets feed conversion ratio of broilers fed standard or re-formulated diets 1.82 Problems with high-density feeds Impact of phytogenics in the diet To investigate the growth compensating effect of phytogenics and also the impact of down specification of diets with or without a commercial phytogenic product, an experiment at Novi Sad University was performed where birds were assigned into four treatment groups as shown in Table 1. Figure 1 shows that offering the lowJuly/August 2012 | WATTAgNet.com 1.81 1.80 1.79 Rate There is a positive correlation between metabolic diseases and high-density feed. It has been shown that sudden death syndrome and ascites can be controlled via feed optimization. Furthermore, chronic stress can be induced by high nutrient feed that increases birds' metabolic rate. This can be avoided by offering lowdensity diets. The target behind the combination of nutrient-sparing and phytogenic feed additives is to pool their advantages with a modern feeding program that can meet modern broiler performance and, at the same time, limit the effects of high feed prices. 1.78 1.77 1.76 1.75 1.74 1.73 Standard formulation Standard formulation + Phytogenics Re-formulation Re-formulation + Phytogenics 42 day feed conversion rate The feed conversion ratio of the 4th group was the lowest among all groups, which proves the efficacy of phytogenics as digestibility enhancers. density diet resulted in about 2 percent reduction in live body weight, while the phytogenic product showed a clear compensation effect as group four had exactly the same live body weight as the control group. Surprisingly, the feed conversion ratio of the fourth group (reformulated with the feed additive) was the lowest among all groups (Figure 2), which proves the efficacy of phytogenics as digestibility enhancers.
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