Act with nature to deliver sustainable animal care


Sustainable livestock performance and high standards of animal care are essential components of the world’s most profitable and productive farming systems. Animals which are beset with health issues, stressful conditions and poor management invariably suffer a decline in performance, often resulting in rising morbidity and increased livestock mortality rates.


BY LIN WANG AND MOHAMMED MAMMERI, GLOBAL PRODUCT MANAGERS AT PHILEO BY LESAFFRE


E Piglet survival rate (%)


83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90


Control 10


ven under well-managed conditions, it is vital to en- sure that farm animals are maintained in the best possible health, boosting their capacity to withstand disease outbreaks, environmental challenges and en-


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hancing their welfare. Working with nature to improve all aspects of animal care is fundamental to current research and development activities at Phileo by Lesaffre, where the potential to advance livestock health and welfare through nutrition plays a central role in product discovery, innovation and use. An increasingly common cause of depressed health and performance in farm animals is heat stress, a condition which has become a major challenge for farmers globally, even in locations where high summer temperatures and extreme levels of humidity used to be relatively rare. While building and ventilation


Actisaf Sc 47


adjustments may help alleviate heat stress factors, to a limited extent, research shows that good nutrition, involving yeast-based solutions, can help improve the capacity of animals to cope with the


▶ SUSTAINABILITY AND WELFARE | OCTOBER 2020


impact of high temperatures and intense humidity. Studies involving swine, poultry, and dairy cattle, have repeatedly shown the benefits associated with yeast-based solutions when given to each of these species under heat stress conditions.


Swine The impact of heat stress on sows, for example, can have severe consequences for stock health, welfare, reproductive performance, and profitability. A key distress factor seen in sows is that, when faced with the combination of high temperatures and humidity (THI), they redirect blood flow away from their ovaries, focusing instead on skin and mammary tissues in an attempt to cool down. This has a negative effect on the quality of the follicles and the status of the uterus, leading to potential pregnancy problems. As a result, farmers can be left to cope with a reduction in litter sizes, lower piglet weights at birth and higher disease rates. To help address such impacts, a trial using yeast probiotic, was carried out in Vietnam in 2019 under background conditions in which temperatures reached 35°C during the day with humidity levels climbing to 85%. Working with 80 sows, half of which were given the yeast probiotic Actisaf SC47 at 5 g per sow per day, while the other half received no dietary supplementation, records were kept of comparative performance details. End of trial results (Figure 1) showed the supplemented sows with more weaned piglets than their control counterparts (11.3 vs 11), a higher survival rate (89% vs 85%), and a higher total weaning weight per litter (72kg vs 70.6kg). Supplemented sows also suffered less from diarrhoea than control sows and achieved a treatment return on investment of 15:1, as a direct result of their improved health status.


Dairy cows Yeast-based solutions have also been proven to help alleviate the impact of heat stress in dairy cows, where non- supplemented stock can suffer rumen dysfunction, intestinal damage, and suppressed levels of immunity. Heat stress in milking cows can also negatively affect feed intake and efficiency, milk yield and quality, reproductive efficiency, and overall susceptibility to disease. Combating these factors with yeast-based products, however, such as yeast probiotics, yeast parietal fraction and selenium


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