INTRODUCTION

A trial was conducted in Colombia to evaluate the capacity of intestinal optimizer pronutrients to control the presentation of coccidiosis (E. tenella and E. acervulina), in week 21 of life in hens, during the rearing period. To evaluate the efficacy of these pronutrients, they were administered to a group of birds and their effect on the productive parameters was observed and compared to those of a control group (without pronutrients).

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The trial was conducted in a farm in Antioquia, Colombia, located at a height of 2,400 meters above sea level and with an average temperature of 16ºC.

The hens, of the Hy Line Brown breed, were divided into two different groups:

• Control group: 10,198 chickens with their normal diet.
• Pronutrients group: 10,200 chickens that were fed their normal diet supplemented with intestinal optimizer pronutrients in doses of 0.5 kg per ton of feed, from week 19^th to 22^nd and throughout the productive stage.
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EVALUATED PARAMETERS

The following productive parameters were evaluated:

• % Mortality
• Average weight
• % Production: rate egg/hen/year

RESULTS

Mortality

Mortality is decreased in the group treated with intestinal optimizer pronutrients comapred to the control, this decrease is seen from week 23^rd to week 49^th.

Average weight

There is also an improvement in the average weight of the hens treated with pronutrients compared to the control, from week 23^rd to week 49^th.

% Production

An increase in the production rate was observed in the group treated with pronutrients, starting from a 0.8% increase from week 23^rd to a 3.9% increase after week 49^th.

The graph shows the results of production in terms of Hen-Housed Egg Production (H.H.E.P): there is an improvement in the group treated with pronutrients, compared to the control group in weeks 40^th and 49^th of life.

CONCLUSIONS AT THE END OF THE TRIAL

• No lesions compatible with coccidia were found in the group treated with intestinal optimizer pronutrients, while the control group suffered from coccidiosis at week 21^st and received a treatment with Toltrazuril (high cost)
• Mortality of the group treated with pronutrients was lower than in the control group (- 44.2% at the end of the trial).
• Average weight of the hens of the group treated with pronutrients was 42 grams higher than the control group, which corresponds to a 2% increase.
• The production percentage of the batch treated with intestinal optimizer pronutrients was 3.9% higher than the control group, and with a difference of + 3.6 eggs per housed hen (H.H.E.P) (Expected H.H.E.P: 192.3).

This product based on intestinal optimizer pronutrients is commercially available under the name Alquernat Zycox.