Optimising bird productivity during heat stress
Heat stress is an annual challenge that continues to plague the poultry industry. Having a negative effect on bird health, performance and profitability for the poultry sector. Interventions using nutrition can be an effective way to reduce the negative impacts of heat stress.
BY DR ALEXANDRA DESBRUSLAIS PHD AND RICARDO NETO, DVM W
3000 3100 3200 3300 3400 3500 3600
a,b (p < 0,05) 12 ▶ HEAT STRESS | MAY 2021
hen heat stress occurs the bird redirects ener- gy away from growth and/or production in fa- vour of maintaining thermal homeostasis. The reduction in performance can be substantial,
significantly affecting production profitability. Heat stress has also been implicated in the aetiology of numerous other wel- fare, health and production problems including a compro- mised immune system and inflammation (higher expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IFN-γ and TNF-α), which may contribute to tissue damage through inflammatory processes and oxidative stress. So, what can we do to support birds through heat stress situations?
Nutritional solutions that are beneficial In addition to management manipulations such as reducing stocking density, adjusting the lighting regimen to encourage overnight and early morning feeding when ambient temperature is lower, there are a number of nutritional solutions that are beneficial. It has been well demonstrated
Figure 1 - AMEn with Lysoforte Extend in reformulation compared to a control.
AMEn Kcal/kg 3514b
that the digestion of some nutrients creates more body heat (heat increment) as a by-product of digestion than others. Protein has been found to produce more body heat per calorie of feed energy, compared to lipids. Therefore, the simple act of increasing the proportion of fat/oil in the diet (energy remaining constant), will reduce the production of body heat. Likewise, increasing the digestibility and optimising the physical properties of the ration can have similar effects. Feed that is easier for the bird to digest requires less energy consumption, thereby reducing both heat production and the magnitude of performance loss from reduced feed intake.
Using a nutrient absorption enhancer This of course creates another problem. Good quality, highly digestible raw materials, fats and oils can be highly costly. Increased feed costs, in combination with reduced performance, is not a recipe for profitable production – particularly when we consider the recent increases in raw material costs! This is where a nutrient absorption enhancer such as Lysoforte Extend can provide a cost-effective solution. Rather than increasing the fat content of the diet, using a nutrient absorption enhancer that can reliably increase fat digestibility, reduces the need for additional fat whilst still gleaning the benefit of reduced heat production from digestion. Lysoforte Extend is a lysophospholipid based nutrient absorption enhancer that has a proven matrix,
Figure 2 - Effect of heat stress and Aleta supplementation on a pro-inflammatory cytokine, TNF-α on the different groups, negative and positive control, Aleta at 100 g / t and Aleta at 200 g / t.
TNF-alfa (pg/ml)
+293b Kcal/kg
3221a
130 140 150 160 170 180
Control Lysoforte Extend a,b (p < 0,05) 175a 171ab 159b 148b
Negative control
Positive control
Aleta 1
Aleta 2
Kcal/kg
pg/ml
PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK
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