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Diets containing DON levels like these impair broilers performance
BY DR REGIANE SANTOS, MYCOTOXINS RESEARCHER AT SCHOTHORST FEED RESEARCH A
1 T1
T1
T1 Source: Santos and Molist (2020) T2 T2 D28-37 a T2 D13-28 b a
mong the mycotoxins affecting livestock production, the Fusarium mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) appears to be one of the most important ones. Many studies show the negative impact of DON in broiler chickens when the level
of this mycotoxin is far above what is recommended by EU guidelines, i.e. 5,000 µg/kg (EC 576/2006). More recently, it has been demonstrat- ed that dietary contamination with 2,500 µg/kg DON is enough to impair bone mineralization in chickens (Keçi et al., 2019). Also, in a longitudinal study, Kolawole et al. (2020) showed that more than 50% of diets used to feed broilers contain the DON derivatives 3-Acetyl- DON (3-Ac-DON) at mean concentrations of 42.1 µg/kg. Both 3 and 15 c-DON are often found in feedstuffs contaminated with high DON
Figure 1 - FCR of broiler chickens fed diets
D0-13
levels because 3+15 Ac-DON is produced by the same Fusarium which produces DON. The maximum acceptable levels of DON in ce- reals and cereal by-products used for feed production is 8,000 µg/kg, while for maize by-products it is 12,000 µg/kg (EC 576/2006). There- fore, under realistic conditions, a maize-based diet prepared with a high inclusion level of such a contaminated grain will have a final DON level of approximately 4,000 µg/kg or less. To properly deter- mine the risks of losses and action that needs to be taken, it is neces- sary to evaluate the effects of naturally contaminated diets contain- ing DON levels close to those observed in practice. In a recent study performed by SFR, broiler chickens were fed diets naturally contami- nated with DON and its derivatives at three different levels (~ 1,700, 2700 or 3,500 µg/kg for DON; and ~ 30, 45 or 65 µg/kg for 3+15 Ac- DON). During the starter period, the worst FCR was observed when broiler chickens were fed the diet containing ~2,700 µg/kg DON, but it is important to note here that during this period birds have a lower feed intake and therefore consumed a small amount of the diet. Most importantly, diets with the highest tested level, i.e. ~ 3,500 µg/kg, combined with 3+15 Ac-DON caused the most deleterious impact on the FCR of broilers chickens during the grower period. Al- though no differences in FCR were observed in the finisher or overall feeding periods, one must bear in mind that related economic losses cannot be excluded. For in- stance, other sources of stress in the gut could result in a negative impact on birds’ performance.
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▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 28, No. 9, 2020
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