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In today's poultry production, nutrition is one of the most important factors influencing the efficiency of poultry production. As a result, there has been an increased demand for scientifically balanced nutrition because it ensures that all birds are growing in a healthy manner and utilizing their feeds efficiently. As there is more of a demand for antibiotic-free poultry production systems, the use of poultry feed additives in diets has become key to improving bird performance and gut health. Feed additives include several different types of substances including enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, plant-derived compounds (phytogenics), antioxidants, and toxin binders, all of which help birds use their food more effectively as well as supporting the overall health and production.

In poultry production, feed additives are becoming increasingly important because they enhance feed efficiency, stimulate the immune system, and reduce chronic stress levels and avoid pathogen exposure in poultry.

About Poultry Feed Additives

A feed additive is a non-nutritive but functional substance added to feed in small quantities to enhance total feed quality and improve bird health. Feed additives do not provide nutritional value; they enhance a poultry's digestion, metabolism, or normal physiological responses; therefore, enhancing production efficiency.

Multiple types of poultry feed additives are currently being used in the poultry feed industry, including:

Exogenous Enzymes

Certain enzymes added to feed help maintain a healthy gut in poultry by making it easier for them to digest nutrients and decreasing the negative impact of feed ingredients

Benefits of Exogenous Enzymes:

1. Reduction in the viscosity of intestinal digesta

2. Increase in the amount of metabolizable energy available from the feed

3. Reduced amount of nutrients being passed into the hindgut

4. Decrease in the risk of enteric disorders

Probiotics

Probiotics are live microorganisms that support and help to maintain a balanced population of good bacteria in the poultry gut. Common strains of probiotics used for poultry include Lactobacillus, Bacillus, Enterococcus, and Saccharomyces.

The benefits of probiotics are:

1. Suppress growth of harmful bacteria

2. Enhance immune response

3. Improve digestion and absorption of nutrients

4. Improve growth and feed efficiency

Probiotic supplementation in poultry also improves the appearance of the intestinal tract and increase the strength of the mucosal barrier.

Prebiotics

Prebiotics support the healthy development of beneficial gut bacteria and increase their population. Examples of prebiotics are: mannan-oligosaccharides, fructo-oligosaccharides, and β-glucan.

Other benefits of prebiotics include

1. More balanced intestinal microbiota

2. Decrease in the population of harmful bacteria

Combination of prebiotics and probiotics form synbiotics, which enhance the growth and activity of non-pathogenic bacteria in the digestive system.

Organic acids

Organic acids such as citric acid, butyric acid, formic acid, and propionic acid, etc., are often used instead of antibiotics by poultry nutritionists. They provide multiple beneficial effects as below:

1. Decreasing the pH levels in intestine

2. Prevention of growth of harmful bacteria

3. Enhancing the activity of the digestive enzymes

4. Improved digestibility of feed and performance

Phytogenic Feed Additives

Herbs, essential oils, and plant extracts that contain phytogenic compounds are becoming more popular for creating antibiotic-free poultry.

Some examples include:

1. Oregano Oil

2. Garlic Extract

3. Thyme Oil

4. Turmeric

Most of these compounds have antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory effects and possess many free radical scavenging properties that benefit gut health and performance for birds.

Antioxidants

Antioxidants are bioactive substances that prevent cellular damage and oxidative stress in cells by scavenging free radicals produced during normal metabolic process.

Common sources of antioxidants used in the poultry industry include:

• Vitamin E

• Vitamin C

• Selenium

• Carotenoids

• Polyphenols

Antioxidants provide the following benefits to poultry:

1. Reduction of oxidized tissue damage

2. Improving immune response

3. Increasing the yield and quality of meat from poultry products.

4. Improvement of overall health and productivity of poultry

The addition of antioxidants to the diet increases the activity of endogenous antioxidant enzymes that enhances their cellular defense systems while simultaneously offering protection from oxidative damage to lipids, proteins and DNA.

Toxin Binders

Toxin binders are used to reduce the harmful effects of mycotoxins that are found in feed ingredients. Fungi like Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Penicillium produce mycotoxins, may produce mycotoxin contaminants in feedstuffs that are harmful to poultry health, as well as negatively affect their immune systems and production. Adding toxin-binders such as aluminosilicates, bentonite, zeolite, hydrated sodium calcium aluminosilicate, and activated charcoal, to the diet can benefit poultry in the below ways:

1. Adsorb and Scavenge mycotoxins in the GI tract

2. Protecting the liver function and Immunity

3. Improving optimal production and feed efficiency

4. Promoting gut health by decreasing the toxicity of mycotoxins to the intestinal tract

Factors to consider when selecting poultry feed additives include bird age, stage of production, type of ration fed and climate.

Benefits of Adding Feed Additives to Poultry Feed

Adding feed additives to poultry feed has many benefits including increased production and improved health.

1. Improved Feed Efficiency

Since feed is the largest portion of the overall production cost in poultry production, using feed additives such as enzymes or probiotics improve the digestion or absorption of nutrients from feed, therefore allowing for better feed conversion ratio (FCR).

2. Intestinal Health

An animal's intestinal tract plays a major role in the efficient use of feed, poultry feed additives promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the intestine and the prevention of growth of harmful bacteria through the use of prebiotics or probiotics.

3. Improved Immune System

Certain feed additives such as phytogenic compounds and yeast-based products contain immunomodulating characteristics, therefore, enhancing poultry's ability to resist disease.

4. Reduction of Oxidative Stress

Antioxidant based feed additives help prevent oxidative damage to the body and enhance overall physiological stability and productivity.

Practical Uses in Commercial Poultry Farming

Feed additives in commercial poultry production are used for many different nutritional and management-based reasons. Enzymes are often supplemented in the diets to make it easier for the body to break down non-starch polysaccharides found in cereal-based feeds. Phytogenics (herb and plant extracts) have a similar benefit as they aid in creating palatability and increasing the potential of digestive enzymes. Finally, organic acids assist in maintaining the pH of a bird's gut and controlling the growth of pathogenic bacteria. There is an increased interest in natural poultry feed additive sources for improving non-antibiotic poultry production methods.

Conclusion

Adding feed additives to poultry diet has become an essential part of modern poultry nutrition. They play an important role in improving the feed efficiency, supporting gut health, enhancing the immune response, and alleviating the effects of stress and disease.