New nutritional solutions in heat stress management
Heat stress (HS) compromises animal productivity, reproductive performance, health and welfare, thus lowering profitability of livestock production. New nutritional solutions are presented here to help animals cope with the negative impact of HS.
BY DR TOBIAS STEINER, PHYTOBIOTICS I A
2000 2100 2200 2300 2400 2500 2600 2700
B
10 15 20 25 30 35 40
0 5
Control IQs
n today’s production systems animals are exposed to various types of stressors that usually occur simultaneously and have an impact on animal health, welfare and performance. If the impact of stress exceeds the ability to maintain homeostasis, the animal has to
compromise productive functions. High environmental temperatures and humidity due to the changing global environment are becoming increasingly important. There is a wealth of evidence that heat stress (HS) compromises productivity, reproduction, health and welfare, and therefore lowers the profitability of livestock production in many parts of the world. Furthermore, there is evidence suggesting that HS increases the risk of contamination of animal products with food-borne pathogens, thus representing a food safety issue. Measuring the effects of HS in animals is not straightforward due to the complexity of physiological processes mediating the stress response. Rather than measuring a single parameter, it is mandatory to investigate several end points.
Figure 1 - Effects of botanical feed compounds on (A) performance and (B) serum stress (corticosterone), inflammation (IL-6) and gut integrity (FITC-dextran) markers of broilers under HS.
Live weight
2647 *
2428
1.70 1.75 1.80 1.85 1.90 1.95 2.00 2.05
Corticosterone Control
34.7
28.4 *
IQs
0.00 0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20 1.40 1.60 1.80
FCR 2.00
1.89 *
3000 3200 3400 3600 3800 4000 4200
Control IL-6 0.25 1.54 0.20
1.05 *
0.15 0.10 0.05 0.00 Control IQs Control
Adapted from Kikusato et al. (2021) *significant difference vs. Control group (p < 0.05). HS conditions were 33°C from 14 d onwards. All measurements at 42 days of age.
IQs
0.17 *
IQs Feed intake 4008 3777
Control FITC-dextran 0.23
IQs
46
▶ HEAT STRESS | MAY 2021
ng/ml
g
mRNA expression
µg/ml
g
PHOTO: PHYTOBIOTICS
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