Biochemical profiles could help veterinarians balance the effects of changes in nutrition, ingredient prices and management on the welfare and efficiency of poultry production methods.
“Good managers would not make economic decisions without spending money on accounting and computers. The same goes for good health and welfare managers, Daniel Venne, DVM, Veterinarian, Couvoir Scott ltée., said during the Virtual Poultry Tech Summit 2020. “Biochemistry is a powerful tool in flock health management.”
Biochemical profile
A biochemical profile is a blood test that assesses the functional capacity of several critical organs, such as the liver and the kidneys, in poultry. It can be used to evaluate several parameters, including metabolic pH, blood gas homeostasis and more.
“On farm biochemical sampling reduces errors. By bringing the tool to the barn instead of bringing the birds to the lab, you get a closer look at the environment on bird physiology, you reduce sample alterations during transport, you don’t need as many samples because you get less variation between them and you can directly measure the effect of the treatments you are using,” Venne explained.
It’s all about the data
To create the biochemical profile of a flock, the veterinarians analyze the blood samples of 4-5 birds in a flock and compare the results to the data of a healthy flock using artificial intelligence. Deviations are automatically flagged, allowing producers and veterinarians to find a solution before mortality occurs.
“The technology will help veterinarians that want to use it. As humans, we are sometimes limited in the amount of information we can process at once,” said Venne. “Artificial intelligence can help us see the things we haven’t thought about, but it’s very dependent on what we put into it.”
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