Feed you brain

Studies show that many instances of diarrhoea in young animals are caused by nutritional shortcomings. This could be prevented by better selection and composition of the ingredients in the diet – with no use of antibiotics at all. Faced with consumer and regulatory pressure, EU producers are now aiming to claim ‘no antibiotics ever’. Outside the EU, various definitions of antibiotic-free (ABF) production are in circulation.

Study finds consistent weight gain in calves fed HP 300 from HAMLET PROTEIN – with no weaning dip. Newborn calves gain more weight in a shorter time when a specialty soy protein is added to their pre-starter feed. At 100 days old, the calves weigh an average 4.7kg more than a control group on a standard pre-starter with soybean meal – giving producers a strong return on investment.

Calf producers face a major hurdle when introducing milk-fed calves to their first solid feed diet. The challenge is the immature state of the young animals’ gastrointestinal (GI) system - and the risk of a weaning dip that brings growth to a temporary halt. Fortunately, by choosing the right pre-starter feed, it is a risk producers can either reduce or avoid.

Oxidative stress emerges when an imbalance between the cell damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS), e.g. free radicals, exceed the antioxidant capacity of the animal. During weaning, piglets are inevitably developing oxidative stress conditions as environmental surroundings, diets and litter sizes are changing, while the young piglet is undergoing a rapid physiological transformation.

Formulating feed for piglets is a challenging task, involving numerous considerations to make sure that the piglets eat the feed and grow efficiently. Nutrient digestibility – and especially protein digestibility – is a primary concern as most published values for ingredient digestibility have been determined in heavier growing or finishing pigs. Current formulation practices use these digestibility values when formulating diets for piglets, which, consequently leads to overestimated digestibility of raw materials when used in smaller animals.

The most bioavailable nutrients give the best return on investment One of the most important parameters when evaluating feed ingredients is the digestibility of the nutrients they contain. Published in nutrition guides, these digestibility values are often used in research projects to verify published data or shed light on new hypotheses – and they are of key importance when formulating feed for each stage of an animal’s life.

The gut is the single largest immune related organ of the body and is the primary barrier between a bacterial milieu and the body per se. This barrier balances the need to support entry of nutrients through the gut wall while blocking the entry of microbes. This balance can be affected both positively and negatively by the composition of the diet along with the exposure of the body to pathogenic challenges

Efficiency is key to success in broiler production, and the importance of a good start in life is discussed for all species. In the case of broilers, the first three to five days actually represent a very significant proportion of a broiler's life – around 10 percent. The principle is therefore that what it eats during this time can impact its future performance.