Many factors contribute to stress in animals; among them are management or husbandry practices, nutrition and environment. In tropical countries, high environmental temperatures are a major stressor especially to poultry. In general, the ideal temperature for broilers to obtain an optimum body weight is around 10-22 ºC, while in layers a temperature range from 10-30 ºC is required for optimum egg production. Above this ideal temperature, chicken performances will respond negatively.

1. M
anyfactorscontributetostressinanimals;amongthem
are management or husbandry practices, nutrition and
environment.Intropicalcountries,highenvironmental
temperatures are a major stressor especially to poultry.
In general, the ideal temperature for broilers to obtain an optimum
body weight is around 10-22 ºC, while in layers a temperature range
from 10-30 ºC is required for optimum egg production. Above this
ideal temperature, chicken performances will respond negatively.
However, there are ways to control or alleviate effects of heat stress
to chickens and one of this is by imposing proper nutrition and feeding
in the farm.
Depressing the feed intake is one of the main causes of poor
performance at high temperature. Adjusting the feeding practices
such as “wet- mash feeding”, using pellet or crumble, choice feeding
of calcium source and frequent feeding can help increase feed
consumption. Moreover, manipulating the nutrient status of feeds can
also help to reduce the effect of heat stress to poultry chickens. You
can achieve this through supplementation of considerable amount of
fats in the diet, which can enhance birds’consumption.
Adiet with low protein but with a balance of limiting essential amino
acids is more beneficial during a hot period than a diet containing high
protein. Supplementing with additional electrolytes prevents alkalosis
and a drop in feed intake that is caused by heat stress. In addition,
vitamin supplementation may help improve bird performance in high
temperatures. Vitamin A is poorly absorbed at high temperatures
whereas Vitamin E boosts animal resistance and protects cell
membranes and B-vitamins boost feed intake and improve nutrient
metabolism. Hence, we can see that adjusting the chicken’s nutrient
intake during hot periods is of great importance.
Zagro, being committed in providing solutions to the needs of
farm animals, has developed an innovative range of products that
can help the animals counter the effects of stress. With the help of
these products, birds can maximise their performance even under
stressful conditions. These products include ZagrosolAD3E, Zagrosol
Aminogen, Zagrosol Minpro, Amilyte and Nilstress.
Zagrosol product lines are nutrient supplements via drinking water
in liquid form. These oral liquids are innovatively manufactured
in such a way that the bio-available nutrients like vitamin oils are
completely miscible in animals’ drinking water even without further
mixing needed. The Zagrosol AD3E contains a significant amount of
fat-soluble vitamins, which can improve reproductive performance,
improve fertility, hatchability and bone formation of broiler breeders.
Zagrosol Aminogen is a blended liquid form of concentrated
multivitamins and amino acids, which is a good supplement in
improving uniform growth of flocks, weight gain and feed conversion
ratio especially in broilers. Zagrosol Minpro on the other hand is an
oral liquid supplement containing dietary trace and macro minerals
and amino acids. It can help improve reproductive performance such
as eggshell quality, hatchability, and maintain bone health.
For farms that prefer using powder forms, Amilyte and Nilstress
can be the option. These powder supplements are highly soluble in
water and won’t just settle down on the drinkers.Amilyte contains the
essential nutrients vitamins, electrolytes and amino acids. It is a good
fluid therapy to replenish nutrients lost due to stress and avoid further
weight loss. Nilstress is a specially formulated anti-heat stress water-
soluble supplement with exceptional solubility. It contains powerful
combinations of a well balanced key vitamins and electrolytes needed
especially at extreme temperature. At times of stress, Amilyte and
Nilstress improve the birds’ state of hydration and get them back on
feed.
Chickens will always tend to suffer from stress on each day of
their lives, thus countering its effect will economically improve their
productivity. With Zagro essential water supplements, birds’ potential
can be maximized.
www.zagro.com
HOW
FEED AND
NUTRITION
CAN
COMBAT
HEAT
STRESS
by Zagro Technical Specialists
64 | May 2016 - Milling and Grain
F