PHOTO: ALLTECH


PHOTO: ALLTECH


GUT HEAL ▶▶▶TH


reach the small intestine and provide maximum benefit. As colonisation of the gut wall with favourable bacteria contin- ues, organisms attach to the epithelial gut lining to form an interlinked mat over the surface thereby creating a barrier which prevents pathogens gaining access to attach and colo- nise. With reduced pathogen colonisation there will be re- duced disease pressure and so the need for antibiotic usage is also reduced.


Weeding out unfavourable organisms Through using ‘Seed’ and ‘Feed’ we can establish a healthy population of micro-organisms in the gut, however through- out the life of the bird there will be stressors which cause slight alterations to the gut environment, for example after vaccination, post thin or coming into lay. It is vital to maintain favourable gut conditions with the correct balance of micro- bial species throughout the life of the bird to prevent chal- lenges causing a decline in performance. Balance is main- tained through the ‘Weed’ principle, feeding with a selective exclusion product, such as an MRF, which removes unfavoura- ble bacteria. For a pathogen to cause disease it first needs to adhere to the gut epithelial lining. It does this via type-1


fimbriae projections which recognise specific carbohydrate molecules on the gut cell wall. Once attached the pathogen is able to replicate which can then lead to inflammation, altera- tion of villi structure and a reduction in absorption in the bird. By binding to the type-1 fimbriae, MRF products are competi- tive inhibitors of pathogenic bacteria which prevents the pathogens from binding to the epithelium. The agglutinated bacteria are then excreted. MRF products have also been shown to improve absorptive capacity through increasing villi height and surface area and improving villi to crypt ratio, en- abling improved absorption of nutrients and thus improved performance. ‘Weeding’ programmes, such as those using MRF products, can play an important part in reducing antibi- otic usage while also maintaining microbial diversity and pro- moting good gut health. Historically antibiotics have been used to remove unfavourable organisms from the bird, how- ever their non-specific nature meant that while pathogens were ‘weeded out’, other beneficial organisms were also re- moved. As the gut is recolonised post antibiotic use, microbi- al diversity is greatly reduced leading to the issues discussed above which arise from a lack of diversity.


A section of intestine from a bird fed on MRF product, the intestine shows opti- mum structural integrity.


A section of intestine from a bird in the control group. 10 ▶ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 1, 2020


Comprehensive programme The ‘Seed, Feed, Weed’ concept is a comprehensive pro- gramme developed to improve the gut health of birds, whether breeder, broiler or layer. Improved performance has been measured in all types of birds. However, if good gut health can be established in the breeding population this will provide the greatest benefit to the chick and bird perfor- mance. Breeders can typically struggle with gut health issues, partly due to the way in which they are fed to maintain viable hatching eggs. High volumes of protein-rich feed entering the bird’s digestive tract can lead to undigested nutrients reaching the hindgut. This can then act as a substrate for un- favourable bacteria to replicate causing dysbacteriosis and other gut health issues. The changes in the microbiome which occur as a result leads to the chick inheriting an unbal- anced profile of micro-organisms, giving them a poor start. Feeding MRF products to breeders will help to alleviate these issues and ensure that the chick gets the best basis for its gut health (see photos). A bird exhibiting good gut health is one that can make the most efficient use of its feed with a minimum of disruption to production when subjected to any form of stress. While anti- biotics still have a crucial role to play in incidences of disease outbreak, effective gut health management using the ‘Seed, Feed, Weed’ programme has been shown to reduce the need for antibiotic use in many commercial flocks, as well as en- hance performance across a number of measures. Consumers will continue to push producers to do more to reduce antibi- otic use while the demand for poultry products will also con- tinue to grow. The key to success is likely to lie in new ideas, but ensuring gut health is vital and will certainly help.


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