Precision poultry feeding
Precision poultry feeding
The growth of the world population will dramatically increase the demand for poultry meat and eggs, which are affordable and high-quality sources of protein. Global trends towards more efficient food production have a significant impact on the livestock sector, and thus on poultry production.
First of all, the economy of the production of poultry meat and eggs is looked at, and secondly, the ecological footprint of that production. And finally, animal welfare and health is a growing concern, especially in the Western world. These challenges seem very different and sometimes even contradictory and different solutions are proposed to improve any of them. The concept of "precision poultry feeding" or formulating meals as close as possible to the needs of a particular type and age category of poultry is becoming increasingly popular and could answer more than one of these challenges.
Precision feeding means feeding each animal according to its individual needs. Not just on average, but every day, all day long. Nutrition is the most important environmental factor that affects the development, health, growth performance and profitability of poultry production. Poultry feed accounts for 65 to 75% of total production costs.
Feeding poultry is different from feeding other livestock.
Poultry nutrition differs significantly from that of other livestock, due to the specific anatomy of the digestive tract. Energy, protein, fat, fiber, minerals, vitamins and water are essential for poultry nutrition. Their content in the feed must cover needs that vary depending on the age and type of animal. In the true sense, energy is not a nutrient but a property of nutrients that provide energy, primarily carbohydrates and fats, but also proteins.
These nutrients, when oxidized during metabolism, release adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which serves as a precursor for the synthesis of body chemicals that make up muscle tissue. It has long been known that poultry eat to meet their energy needs, provided that the diet contains sufficient amounts of all other nutrients. The energy level of the diet is therefore a major determinant of feed intake for poultry. Therefore, the energy level of the diet is often used as a starting point in the formulation of poultry feed mixtures.
The importance of proteins and amino acids in food
Proteins in feed mixtures must have an adequate content of 20 amino acids that participate in the growth and maintenance of muscles and egg production in poultry. Ten amino acids are essential for poultry. Lysine, methionine and threonine are the amino acids that are most limiting in practical poultry feeding. The needs of poultry for amino acids are influenced by a number of factors, including genotype, sex, physiological status, environment and health status. In order for poultry to successfully utilize proteins and energy from food, they must be present in the feed in a certain ratio. The supply of proteins to poultry is not based only on the amount of crude protein in the diet, but also on the bioavailability of essential amino acids. It provides the body with the substances necessary for the synthesis of body and egg protein and makes production economical.
Fats contain a higher amount of energy compared to carbohydrates and proteins and are usually included in poultry diets to achieve the desired energy concentration in the diet, but also to improve the palatability of the diet. In most feed mixtures, fat is added in the range of 3% to no more than 5%.
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Minerals are necessary for the formation of the skeletal system, for general health, as components of general metabolic activity, and for maintaining acid-base balance in the body. Calcium and phosphorus are the most abundant mineral elements in the body and are classified as macrominerals along with sodium, potassium, chloride, sulfur, and magnesium. Macrominerals are elements required in the diet in concentrations greater than 100 mg kg ?1 .
Trace elements, including copper, iodine, iron, manganese, selenium, zinc and cobalt, act as components of larger molecules and as cofactors for enzymes in various metabolic reactions. Macro and micro minerals need to be added to poultry feeds because typical grain-based diets are deficient in these minerals. It is generally believed that organic forms of trace minerals have greater bioavailability compared to inorganic forms.
What is the role of vitamins?
The metabolic roles of vitamins are more complex than those of other nutrients. Vitamins are not simple building blocks or energy sources, but rather mediators or participants in all biochemical pathways in the body. Vitamins are generally divided into fat-soluble (vitamins A, D, E, and K) and water-soluble (vitamin B complex and vitamin C). Unlike protein and energy, which have very specific daily requirements in poultry feed, vitamins are added in quantities.
They are sufficient to ensure good supply even when the organism's needs are increased due to several reasons: genetically determined high needs, insignificant microbiological synthesis in the digestive tract (except for vitamin C), large agglomerations of animals kept in conditions that prevent them from independently consuming food rich in vitamins from natural sources, high production, rapid spread of infectious and parasitic diseases, stressful situations, and the presence of specific antimetabolites in food.
All vitamins must be provided by the diet, except vitamin C. Vitamin C is generally not classified as essential in the diet because poultry can synthesize it. However, in adverse circumstances, such as heat stress, the addition of vitamin C to the diet can be beneficial. When preparing poultry feed mixtures, we regularly add as many vitamins and minerals to the feed. Thus, even with lower feed consumption, there is generally no risk of deficiency symptoms.
What about macronutrients?
Of the macroelements, calcium and phosphorus are added to feed mixtures in larger quantities. Calcium is provided through calcium carbonate (limestone), and phosphorus through the addition of mono- and dicalcium phosphate. Table salt is also a mandatory feed additive, and since salt is iodized, it is also a source of iodine for poultry. Microelements are mainly added through mineral-vitamin premixes. Sources of microelements are mainly in inorganic oxide form, and if they are bound to organic carriers, e.g. amino acids – they are called chelates. The advantage of using chelates as a source of microelements is that they are better absorbed, so they can be added in smaller quantities.
There is also evidence that they exhibit greater biological activity at the cellular level after resorption. A disadvantage is their higher cost compared to inorganic sources. Water is the most important nutrient in poultry nutrition. A supply of clean water is essential at all times. Deprivation of even a short period can irreversibly reduce growth rates. Both feed intake and growth rate are highly correlated with water intake. Precise water requirements are difficult to specify and are influenced by a number of factors including environmental conditions and the age and physiological status of the poultry. Under most conditions, water intake is assumed to be twice the amount of feed intake.