Maximizing the benefits & minimising the negatives of smallholding family flock Oluyinka A. Olukosi SRUC Leading the way in Agriculture and Rural Research, Education and Consulting
Talk outline Challenges of the big (& small) systems Stress in poultry impact and alleviation Reducing environmental impact of animal production Enhancing products Improving the gut health
Pressures on agriculture
Change or Alternative feedstuffs Better understanding of role of feedstuff as more than just feedstuffs Exogenous enzymes Surviving a post-antibiotic era Making customers happy
Stress impacts production Olukosi, 2013. FAO AHP Paper 175 Scenario 2 decreased production Scenario 3 increase feed cost
Stress - causes Management (heat/cold, noise etc) Aggressive behaviour (especially in hens) Disease (sub-clinical diseases) Nutrition (abrupt change of diets)
Feather pecking issue Provision of adequate protein Animal protein vs. vegetable protein Provision of fibrous feedstuff (hulls for laying hens) All-in, all-out rather than mixed flock
Environmental burden Lake eutrophication real problem in many parts of the world
The noxious phytate Cereals and oil seeds may have up 67% of total P in the form of phytate Do the math 1 tonne of soybean meal = 6.2 g total P Birds can use only 2.5 g of the total P In 2007, EU used 31.23 million tonnes of SBM for pigs and poultry feed alone 31.2 million tonnes of SBM = 193 tonnes of total P Animals can use approximately 77 tonnes of the P 116 tonnes of P wasted
What is done in the industry Use of exogenous PHYTASE Phytase sources Plant Microbial (bacteria) Fungal Yeast
Power in those seeds Phytate prevents leaking of phosphorus prior to seeds needing them Germination activates phytase and releases phosphorus
Feed formulation strategy Mix of seeds with high and low-phytase concentrations High: wheat, barley, rice bran (small), wheat by products (v. high) Low: maize, beans, sorghum, oat, peas
Other methods Soaking Fermentation Pre-germination of seeds The methods used in human nutrition
A lot of other side benefits Inactivates other anti nutritive factors e.g. protease inhibitors Good management (drying) to avoid growth of harmful fungi Wet feeding works very well for pigs
Maintaining optimal health Post use of antibiotics etc Focus on the gut health The gut utilises huge proportion of energy Can affect productivity Influence shedding of pathogens
Creating optimal environment Growth of good bugs inhibits the growth of bad bugs Competitive exclusion Providing optimal environment to enable proliferation of good bugs Feed the good bugs
The problem? Non starch polysaccharides Enclosing Cell wall Starch granule
The consequences Poor nutrient utilisation and flock uniformity Poor product quality e.g. dirty eggs Poor gut heath proliferation of bad bugs
What s done in the industry Use of enzymes Use of probiotics/ prebiotics/ eubiotics / synbiotics Other additives and phytogenics
Scaling down the approach Starving the bad bugs Common feedstuffs are high in non-starch polysaccharides They act as cages reducing nutrient use by animals Undigested feed in farther part of digestive tract feeds the bad bugs
Generating the enzymes Fermentation can initiate the breakdown of the complex carbohydrates Soaking can acts both to activate enzymes & reduce caging effect Various mushrooms can provide the enzymes
Generating your prebiotics Prebiotics provide the optimum medium for probiotics to grow Prebiotics are less complex carbohydrates The previously described steps will help break down the complex carbohydrates thus generating the prebiotics
Other inexpensive tools Phytogenic feed additives Substances derived from plant Help provide optimal gut environment altering ph of intestine and ceaca Help improve nutrient utilisation Increase energy and protein digestibility
Effect of some phytogenics 69.0 68.5 68.0 67.5 67.0 66.5 66.0 65.5 65.0 64.5 64.0 63.5 Protein use, % Control Garlic meal Turmeric meal 880 860 840 820 800 780 760 740 Weight gain over 21 days, g Control Garlic meal Turmeric meal
Points to note The additives were purchased in local Tesco Additives added at 1 or 0.5% of the diet Combination of the additives more beneficial There were positive effects on development of digestive tract
Enhancing products
What is done in industry Carotenoids added to feeds to enhance egg yolk colour Also used in part of the world to change skin colour of broilers Costs pretty pennies
Simple choices can alter products Capsicum (hot peppers) rich in carotenoids and have many health benefits for birds Changing from white maize to yellow maize provides good source of carotenoids
Use alternatives Alternative feed ingredients Sea weed protein and mineral rich Algae rich in protein Legumes faba beans, lupin, etc Co-products of oil extraction, e.g. canola
but understand em first Most modern varieties of plants are generally safe Can not completely replace well-known feedstuffs without adequate knowledge of their chemical profile Most have maximum tolerable levels in feed Use reputable sources of information
Leading the way in Agriculture and Rural Research, Education and Consulting