Coccidiosis is a disease of great importance in the poultry sector due to its impact on the productivity and welfare of the birds and the economic losses derived.

Intestinal optimizer pronutrients are molecules of plant origin capable of stimulating the local immunity of the intestine, so that the animal can eliminate the parasite from the intestinal cells, preventing its multiplication.

This trial aimed to evaluate the efficacy of intestinal optimizer pronutrients in combination with a commercial coccidia vaccine in broiler chickens challenged with Eimeria.

Experimental design

For this trial, 1800 Ross males were distributed in 3 different treatments:

• T1: No treatment
• T2: They received live coccidia vaccine at day 1 of age*
• T3: They received live coccidia vaccine at day 1 of age* and intestinal optimizer pronutrients in the grow and finishing diets, from 15 to 42 days of age.

* The vaccine contains: E. mivati, E. tenella, E. acervulina and E. maxima.

All birds were challenged with different Eimeria species (E. tenella, E. acervulina, E. maxima), administered in the feeder of each pen at day 22 of life.

Results

Vaccinated groups (T2 and T3) obtained a better feed conversion (FCR) than the control group (T1), before and after the challenge (Table 1). Group T3 had a worse FCR on day 15, compared to T2. At the peak of the challenge (day 28), T3 overcame T2 group regarding FCR (graph 1).

Regarding coccidiosis mortality (graph 2), group T1 was the most affected. On the contrary, mortality was 34% lower in the T3 group, with pronutrients, compared to the group only with vaccine. Group T3 (pronutrients group) had the lowest oocyst excretion (OPG) at day 28 of the cycle (graph 3), which obtained 19% lower OPG than group T2 (only vaccine).

Conclusions

Vaccinated groups obtained better productive results than the control group, before and after the challenge.

Pronutrients group (T3) obtained the best mortality records (reduction of 66% compared to the control and 33% compared to group that only received vaccine) and the lowest OPG (reduction of 84% and 19% compared to the control and the group with only the vaccine, respectively).

The group that combined vaccine and pronutrients (T3) obtained better FCR, coccidia mortality and OPG compared to the group that only received the vaccine. No negative interactions were observed between vaccination and pronutrients.

These results demonstrate that intestinal optimizer pronutrients can be combined with the vaccine to achieve better productive results during a coccidia challenge, especially during the peak of the infestation (when the challenge is the greatest).

Intestinal optimizer pronutrients are marketed by Biovet S.A. under the name of Alquernat Zycox.