Rapid intestinal transit in broilers, also known as accelerated gastrointestinal transit, is a common problem in poultry production that can have significant negative consequences in terms of performance and profitability. This disorder is characterized by rapid movement of food through the digestive tract of birds, resulting in inadequate digestion and absorption of nutrients.

There are several causes that can trigger rapid intestinal transit in broilers. These include genetics, feed quality, disease, and environmental stressors. Some broiler genetic lines are predisposed to have faster intestinal transit, which can hinder the absorption of essential nutrients. In addition, a diet low in fiber, the presence of mycotoxins and bacterial contamination in the feed can contribute to the development of this disorder. Intestinal diseases, such as necrotic enteritis, can also trigger accelerated intestinal transit, as can stress factors, such as heat, humidity or improper handling.

Consequences of rapid transit

Rapid transit is very common in birds because when they live in nature they have an accelerated metabolism, necessary to maintain a high body temperature and produce large amounts of energy for the muscles related to flight or, in the case of chickens and hens, to grow and produce eggs.

However, these physiological adaptations make sense in the wild, but not on factory farms where food is always available. The consequences of rapid intestinal transit in broilers are diverse and directly affect poultry production. One of the main negative effects is the decrease in feed efficiency, which translates into an unfavorable conversion rate. Due to the rapid rate of passage of feed, nutrients are not adequately absorbed, resulting in less utilization of nutrients for bird growth and development. This is reflected in lower body weight, growth retardation, and increased variability in broiler size within the same flock. In addition, rapid intestinal transit can favor the development of intestinal problems, such as dysbiosis and diarrhoea, which further affect the welfare and performance of the birds and can trigger problems such as wet litter.

Natural solution for the effective resolution of rapid transit

To deal with this problem, a product based on specific activated diatoms has been developed and has proven to be effective in reducing the consequences of rapid intestinal transit in broilers.

Diatoms are exoskeletons of algae with a cell wall made of silica. Its structure presents pores on the surface and gives it adsorbent and absorbent properties, making it an ideal agent to regulate intestinal transit. In addition, they have the ability to slightly acidify the intestinal environment, the water in the intestine dissociates and originates H+ and OH-, the hydroxyl groups (OH-) react with the silicate molecules, joining the oxygen at the ends and decreasing intestinal water and the protons (H+) remain free in the intestinal lumen, which favors the digestive processes, improving the digestibility of the food.

Promotes a slower rate of passage of food through the digestive tract of birds. Thanks to a longer contact time with the villi, this allows greater digestion and absorption of nutrients, improving feed efficiency and favoring faster and more homogeneous growth of broilers.

In a trial carried out in collaboration with a university on the American continent, this product has obtained the following results:

A trial in which 440 broilers were distributed in 4 different treatments:

• T1- Group of control females only fed with standard basal diet (SDB)
• T2- Group of control males fed with DBE
• T3- Group of females fed with DBE + supplemented with product based on diatoms at 0.5kg/t
• T4-Group of males fed with DBE + supplemented with product based on diatoms at 0.5kg/t

The increase in intestinal transit time had a positive impact on parameters such as final weight (+110g/bird in the female group and +74g/bird in the male group), feed conversion rate and homogeneity.

These positive results support the efficacy of this product as a tool to counteract rapid intestinal transit losses in broilers and improve overall poultry production performance.

For every million broilers, a farm that uses Alquerfeed Diatom obtains a higher production of 92 t  and in turn generates a saving of 224 t of feed.

Conclusions

In conclusion, rapid intestinal transit in broilers can cause significant losses in poultry production, affecting body weight, feed conversion rate and intestinal welfare of the birds. However, the use of a product based on specific activated diatoms has proven to be an effective solution to mitigate these negative consequences. The addition of specific activated diatoms in the broiler diet helps to regulate intestinal transit, improve feed digestibility (for example, protein digestibility by +2.35% significantly), promote healthy and uniform growth. In this way, it is possible to optimize the productive performance of the poultry farm, improving both the profitability and the quality of poultry products.

The product based on specific activated diatoms is called Alquerfeed^® Diatom, it is available on the market and is developed and marketed by Biovet, S.A. It is available in premix format.