Good or bad, bacteria are always present in the gastrointestinal tract of the bird. Some microorganisms can lead to disease, leaving poultry integrators with high treatment costs and losses in production; while other bacterial communities can be beneficial, colonizing the gut at the expense of pathogenic organisms. When it comes to a healthy flock, it’s the good bacteria and gut health that can make or break a successful poultry operation.
This is the approach global animal health leader Alltech has taken with their new Gut Health Management program, which uses the Seed, Feed, and Weed approach to support animal performance by promoting good bacteria, building natural defenses and maximizing growth and efficiency.
The Seed, Feed, and Weed program developed by Dr. Steve Collett, University of Georgia, is an alternative approach to gut heath that:
- Seeds the gut with the right bacteria by introducing the proper microorganisms
- Feeds the good bacteria and maintain a proper environment for them to survive
- Weeds the unfavorable organisms before they colonize the intestinal tract
When paired with effective bio-security measures, this approach allows the animals to have the best chance for optimal productive performance, even without antibiotic growth promoters.
“As with people, ensuring a good start in life can have a major impact on the future health of young birds,” said Paulo Rigolin, global poultry director for Alltech. “This is why the first step of our program is to give young chicks and poults the right start by introducing the proper microbes in the hatchery.”
Many integrators find the main difficulty in upholding a successful gut health program is ensuring a proper bacterial balance through the life of the birds. Alltech’s program is a combination of feed technologies, technical support and analytical tools to confirm the correct intestinal environment is maintained from hatch to finish. One of the services included is True CheckTM, a unique tool developed by Alltech that helps producers see how effective their feed is at providing nutrients for digestion. Utilizing samples of feed, True Check uses a system that replicates each section of the digestion process, and provides integrators with real diet performance and recommendations to help maximize nutrient release.
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