Perstorp Group hosted a panel discussing its experiences in combating no-antibiotics-ever (NAE) production, during its "Cracking the code to NAE" roundtable event at the 2019 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE). Held at the Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) in Atlanta, Georgia, Feb. 12-15, IPPE is the world's largest annual poultry, meat and feed industry event.
The panel included Everton Krabbe, Ph.D., researcher in animal production for biotech for the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corp.; Phillip Smith, Ph.D., nutritionist at Tyson Foods; Sam Rochell, Ph.D., assistant professor in poultry nutrition at the University of Arkansas; and Chuck Hofacre, Ph.D., owner of Southern Poultry Research and professor emeritus at the University of Georgia.
“Over 50 percent of the domestic (poultry) industry is NAE,” Smith said. Successfully running this kind of production should be credited to good management practices, he said.
Hofacre added that going NAE is really a cultural shift within a company, even if you are only taking out the critically important antibiotics for human medicine.
“It is imperative for success that the veterinarians, the live production managers and the nutritionist work together,” Hofacre said.
Producers often think NAE is great through the first growout, but Horacre said usually it is the second or third growout before companies see difficulties associated with NAE, such as coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis.
The key is to keep coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis down. Smith said these are the two biggest issues associated with NAE production, and they need to be properly managed.
Nutrition is key
Good management may include but is not limited to good hatchery sanitation and nutritional practices such as making a good digestible feed that is reasonably low in protein. Quality ingredients, including a course grind corn, are also important. It is important to get the gizzard working, Smith said, adding that feed additives like essential oils and organic acids may also help.
“We try lots of these things,” he said.
Chemical coccidiostats with additional products help reduce the number of cases of coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis, Smith said.
Hofacre and Krabbe said producers see a difference in feed conversion with NAE. Hofacre said it may be associated with subclinical necrotic enteritis.
“The training you give to your service techs so that they can recognize those subtle increases in mortality and begin to use products in the water to try and hold that down is a big part of your success,” said Hofacre.
Rochell offered a university researcher’s viewpoint: “From a collaborator's perspective, when we are working with the industry, we don’t design trials like they had been for the last 30 years in nutrition with Bio-Cox and bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD) in the feed. Everyone wants to do work that applies to this shift,” he said.
Precision feeding, accurately meeting nutrition requirements and estimating nutrient levels in ingredients, are no longer just an economical factor in bird production, they are also important to bird health because producers are trying to minimize what gets to the lower end of the intestine and reduce pressures there, Rochell said.
“As we get more about nutrition and get more data that is suited for these types of programs, we can make better decisions,” said Rochell.
Other practices to consider
Krabbe noted that, in addition to proper nutrition, it is important for producers to understand that this transition should be done very slowly. Time between flocks is very important.
"You need to extend the empty period,” he said, suggesting the barns be empty for 14 days between flocks.
In addition to proper nutrition, NAE production should include good litter management, air control, temperature and good water quality.
