“Organic chicken,” “free-range chicken” and “antibiotic-free chicken” are now popular terms in the food supply chain. As consumers become more conscious about their health and animal welfare, the poultry industry has been working hard to address their concerns.

There has been a particularly strong drive for antibiotic-free (ABF) chicken. As a result, producers, retailers and restaurants have started to offer ABF choices. Governments have also created stricter regulations to prevent the misuse or overuse of antibiotics in animal feed.

Why has there been such a strong adjustment from various stakeholders globally around this issue? It all started with consumer concern about antibiotic resistance.

Antibiotic resistance is predicted to kill more people than cancer by 2050. This blog post reveals how reducing antibiotic usage in agriculture is being demanded by consumers, required by governments and led by big brands to help prevent this global health threat.

For poultry producers, ensuring good animal gut health is important for preventing the disease challenges that come with antibiotic reduction on the farm.

The push for antibiotic-free chicken has come from consumers due to health concerns.

The majority of antibiotic resistance has resulted from human misuse and the overuse or abuse of antibiotics. However, the public is worried about antibiotic use in agriculture for several reasons:

• Antibiotics used in farming have also been used in human medicine.
• Animals can pass resistance to humans through live contact and/or environmental contamination.
• Meat, milk and eggs from contaminated animals (for example, poultry meat that contains antibiotic-resistant E. coli) can pass resistance to humans.

Why is antibiotic resistance scary?

Let’s rewind to 1945, when Sir Alexander Fleming won a Nobel Prize for his discovery of penicillin. In his acceptance speech, he warned even then that bacteria could become resistant to drugs. That means that some bacteria meant to be killed by antibiotics can adapt, survive and replicate. Sometimes, they pass this characteristic to other bacteria present in the gut. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is dangerous because it makes treatments fail when people or animals get sick.

Fast-forward nearly 80 years and AMR is one of the biggest threats in global health, food security and development today, according to World Health Organization (WHO). In 2019, almost 1.3 million deaths directly resulted from illnesses caused by drug-resistant bugs, according to a report released by the Lancet, a medical journal, on January 20, 2022. The large-scale use of antibiotics could lead to the death of up to 10 million people by 2050, meaning that one life will be taken every three seconds. In other words, superbugs could be a bigger killer than cancer, as projected in the chart below.

These alarming statistics reveal an urgent need for sweeping global changes to tackle antibiotic resistance on every front, from the healthcare industry to the agriculture sector.

Governments have introduced policies to prevent antibiotic resistance from agriculture.

Farmers began putting antibiotics in chicken feed in the 1950s after observing lower mortalities and faster body weight gain associated with their use. While the 1950s and the 1960s were the golden era of antibiotic discoveries, progress slowed down in the following decades, and new antibiotics are not currently being discovered. Meanwhile, bugs have evolved to resist many of the antibiotics available to both humans and animals. Consequently, regulatory boards have become stricter about antibiotics in animal feed.

Currently, the main uses of antibiotics in poultry productions are to treat disease, prevent disease or promote growth. The first use must exclude medically important antibiotics for humans in many countries now. The second and third uses are being increasingly restricted, as shown in the timeline below.

Denmark is a pioneer in this area and has established creative ways of following up on regulations. For example, Denmark’s government introduced a card system to name and shame drug abusers. This is done by listing the top veterinarians and farms by drug usage, then visiting those farms to ask why they are using so much.

With other countries following suit and creating their own rules, the focus on reducing antibiotic use in feed continues to grow globally.

Many producers, retailers and restaurant chains have developed ABF food products and menu items to respond to consumer demand.

The table below illustrates some examples from the U.S.

A holistic approach to ensuring poultry performance and producer profitability with a reduced reliance on antibiotics.

Many producers have been successful in making the transition to antibiotic-free production or antibiotic reduction, despite the inevitable challenges. To prevent disease in poultry and promote growth for broiler chicken, it is important to make both the outside and internal environments as beneficial and comfortable as possible for the animal.

For the outside environment, it is helpful to have a nutritionist evaluate any environmental factors, such as drinking water and air quality. Biosecurity, farm management and vaccination programs also play an important role in keeping the flock safe. 

The internal environment is related to gut health, which is directly linked to immunity and growth performance. A complete gut health program like Seed, Feed, Weed (SFW) aids in reducing antibiotic usage in poultry by:

1. Seeding the gut-favorable organisms (i.e., probiotics)
2. Feeding them and maintaining a proper environment in which they can survive
3. Weeding out the unfavorable organisms before they colonize the intestinal tract

This helps prevent pathogenic bacteria from binding to the epithelium and works to maintain microbial diversity, which improves the animal’s natural defenses.

In conclusion, with alarming predictions on what antibiotic resistance could do to people’s health and livelihood, the poultry industry is taking steps to reduce antibiotic use in animal feed. Many companies and farms have successfully switched to antibiotic-free production or antibiotic reduction in recent years. This shows that alternatives to antibiotics are available to help producers maintain their businesses. Additionally, a sustainable poultry production can also help companies reach a new market and gain a competitive advantage.

I want to learn more about poultry nutrition.

Antibiotic-free poultry production has been a hot topic in recent years. Many countries have banned the use of antibiotics in animal feed as growth promoters due to concerns about antimicrobial resistance. In other countries, antibiotics that are medically important for humans have been voluntarily or regulated to be removed or significantly reduced in poultry production. There are also places where veterinarians prescribe antibiotics, and sick poultry can still be treated if a veterinarian deems it necessary.

With the reduced use of antibiotics in poultry production, many countries have decided to allow the use of chemical and ionophore anticoccidials to help offset some of the common challenges that arise in poultry production. Chemical and ionophore anticoccidials help manage a common and costly parasitic disease in poultry, coccidiosis.

Some restaurants and retailers have chosen to only use antibiotic-free poultry (e.g., “raised without antibiotics,” “no antibiotics ever,” etc.), in which no antibiotics can be used during poultry production.

Whether antibiotics are reduced or eliminated in poultry production, producers who manage poultry in these systems share the major goals of:

1. Ensuring good intestinal health in poultry to optimize growth performance as well as prevent poultry diseases, such as necrotic enteritis and coccidia.

2. Producing safe, healthy food for the growing global population.

How are antibiotics used in global poultry production?

The three main programs regarding antibiotic use in global poultry production are:

1. “No antibiotics ever” or “raised without antibiotics”: Poultry that has never been fed any antibiotics (including ionophore anticoccidials). Products from these systems are clearly labeled to differentiate them from other production systems.

2. Reduced antibiotic use: Allows antibiotics not used in human medicine (e.g., chemical and ionophore anticoccidials), excluding medically important antibiotics. This type of production may label the meat in some countries, while it may be the standard production system in others. 

3. Antibiotics used as growth promoters (AGP): Some countries still use antibiotics at lower levels with the intent to support poultry growth. However, if producers from these countries are exporting to markets with reduced antibiotic use/“no antibiotics ever” production policies, then they must meet those specific criteria.

Why is antibiotic-free poultry production becoming increasingly popular?

Consumer concerns about antibiotic resistance:

Decades after the invention of penicillin by Sir Alexander Fleming in 1928, antimicrobials came into wide use in the global poultry industry in the 1940s to treat parasitic diseases and specific bacterial infections, as well as to improve growth and efficiency.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals accelerates the process.

Antimicrobial resistance can impact both animals as well as humans. Antimicrobial resistance (to anticoccidials and antibiotics) can be found in the poultry flock and create issues when managing or treating an illness within the flock. There is still a debate as to whether antibiotic resistance in agriculture or companion animals strongly influences antibiotic resistance in humans. 

There is an acknowledgment that human medicine is the primary driver of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. However, “no antibiotics ever” poultry production in many developed countries has become increasingly popular due to a consumer perception that antibiotic-free produced poultry is superior to conventionally raised poultry, even if that poultry is raised with reduced antibiotic use.

Recent regulations to ensure human safety:

From a regulatory standpoint, many countries across the globe have introduced policies regarding AGP due to antimicrobial resistance concerns.

Some countries brought in overall regulatory change for all poultry production practices; several have made some regulatory changes, while in other countries, the industry voluntarily made changes. Some retailers and restaurant chains around the globe have chosen to produce or purchase poultry meat raised with reduced or no use of antibiotics. Overall, these examples show that the poultry industry continues to do what is needed to meet consumer demands. 

What are common challenges of antibiotic-reduced or antibiotic-free poultry production?

Common challenges that poultry producers face when switching to antibiotic-free are poor gut health, reduced bird immunity and a decrease in growth performance.

1. Gut health

One of the producers’ top concerns about not using AGP is leaving the birds more susceptible to gut health issues. A healthy gut is more than just the absence of clinical diseases; it is about sustainably producing birds to reach their full genetic potential.

Below is an infographic of a healthy gut that efficiently absorbs nutrients (top image) compared to an unhealthy gut (bottom two images).

2. Poultry immunity and growth performance

Another challenge when considering switching from traditional to antibiotic-free poultry production is poultry diseases, especially enteric diseases such as coccidiosis and necrotic enteritis (NE), caused by species of Eimeria and Clostridium perfringens, respectively. Consideration must also go to viral challenges, which may lead to secondary bacterial issues that take advantage of the weakened immune system. 

In addition to disease, overall poultry health, growth and immune function can be negatively impacted by other stressors, such as feed, water, environmental and behavioral. These stressors, if significant, can themselves create issues. But problems can also develop if there are many small stressors, especially if these are combined with a low, moderate, or high disease challenge.

Depending on the challenge levels, the bird’s natural immunity will not be enough to manage the threat. Because of this, it is always better to work on a preventative rather than reactive basis. Prevention must be a holistic approach that considers feed, water, environment and bird management, as well as an implementable feed additive program. Typically, in antibiotic-reduced or antibiotic-free poultry production programs, a combination of non-antibiotic additives are included in the feed or water as alternatives to antibiotics.

Examples of alternatives to antibiotics: non-antibiotic feed additives

• Probiotics (“direct-fed microbials,” “viable microbial products”): Live microbial supplements with defined microorganisms that beneficially affect the host by improving its intestinal microbial balance.  
• Enzymes: Substances produced by a living organism that help convert a less digestible component of feed (e.g., sugar, fiber, protein) into a more easily absorbed form for animals to utilize.
• Prebiotics: “A selectively fermented ingredient that results in specific changes in the composition and/or activity of the gastrointestinal microbiota, thus conferring benefit(s) upon host health” (ISAPP, 2008). 
• Yeasts: There are 1,500 different yeast species, with a few being used as agriculture feed additives. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can be used in many different forms, including a whole live yeast, the outer yeast cell wall, the inner yeast cell wall and the yeast extract.
• Mannan Rich Fraction (MRF): A second-generation form derived from nutrigenomics analysis of Saccharomyces cerevisiae mannan oligosaccharides. Research has demonstrated that MRF can support immune defense, gut microbial health, gut function and development.
• Organic acids: Acids with weak acidic properties that do not separate completely in the presence of water. Some examples of organic acids are citric acid, short-chain fatty acids (e.g., acetic, butyric acid) and medium-chain fatty acids (e.g., lauric, caproic acid). Each type of organic acid has unique properties and can be used for different purposes in poultry production.
• Inorganic acids: Mineral acids that contain no carbon atoms and break down completely in the presence of water (e.g., phosphoric acid). Often used to make the pH of water or feed more acidic quickly.
• Phytobiotics: Plant compounds and extracts from herbs and spices with multiple benefits, including antimicrobial, anticoccidial and immune support.
• Postbiotics: Soluble, non-viable metabolites produced by a bacterial or probiotic metabolic process that can reduce the gut pH, prohibit opportunistic pathogen proliferation and enhance host health (Aguilar-Toalá et al., 2018).

How can producers address the challenges of antibiotic-reduced or antibiotic-free poultry production?

Reducing antibiotic use with the Seed, Feed, Weed concept

Imagine sowing seeds of crops you want to grow, fertilizing the crops for optimal growth and weeding out other plants that may prevent your crop from growing optimally.

Applying this concept to poultry, the Alltech Seed, Feed, Weed (SFW) program aids in reducing antibiotic usage by:

• Seeding the gut with favorable organisms for improved performance in young poultry. It is crucial to first seed the intestine with the correct bacteria as soon as possible after hatch.
• Feeding a favorable environment to provide a competitive advantage to favorable bacteria, which are tolerant to acidic environments, unlike most pathogens. Once a beneficial microflora community and intestinal ecology are established, the villi will flourish. The healthier the villi a bird has, the more efficiently nutrients are absorbed, which leads to a better feed conversion rate.
• Weeding out unfavorable bacteria by selective exclusion. The gut can also contain harmful pathogenic microbes, which can damage the villi. It is necessary to weed them out before they can attach to the gut lining and replicate enough to cause disease. 

While antibiotics still have a crucial role in disease outbreak incidences, effective gut health management using the SFW program has been shown to reduce the need for antibiotic use in many commercial flocks, as well as enhance performance across several measures. Ultimately, the SFW program helps ensure poultry producers achieve more efficient, profitable and sustainable production.

As some producers have demonstrated, focusing on gut health is the foundation for performance and profitability in poultry production.

Paired with effective biosecurity, bird, water and farm management, the Alltech SFW solution helps producers get one step further on the path of improved performance and reduced antibiotic use.

References are available upon request.

I want to learn more about poultry nutrition. 

Aggressive behavior in pigs — whether it is tail-, flank-, ear- or vulva-biting — is a frustrating management problem, leading to costly losses.  Incidents of tail-biting, in particular, are among the top behavioral problems in gilt development units (GDUs) and grow-finish pigs that can lead to economic losses due to reductions in gain, secondary infections, death or carcass condemnations.

What are the causes of tail-biting in pigs?

Studies have shown that pigs are attracted to the taste and sight of blood, and if a pig draws blood from accidentally biting a pen-mate’s tail, doing so could elicit the negative behavior in that individual pig or even spread to the entire group of pigs. However, natural behavior is only one piece of the puzzle. Numerous other factors can increase the prevalence of tail-biting, such as environmental stressors (e.g., temperature variation, lighting, ventilation, etc.), dietary issues and health challenges.

Four tips on how to prevent tail-biting in pigs

1. Start with the basics: Feed, water, ventilation, temperature and stocking density  

• Feed: Providing ready access to feed is essential for optimizing average daily gains. Conversely, restriction of or inadequate access to feed will cause slower growth and can contribute to aggressive behavior, such as tail-biting. Feed restriction is most commonly caused by out-of-feed events that are the result of equipment malfunctions, feed bridging or feed management errors. The second-most common cause of feed restriction is feeder settings being adjusted too tightly.
• Water: Just as with feed, it is important to provide ready access to drinking water. Restricting the water intake of pigs can lead to reduced feed intakes and may also contribute to aggressive behavior. Make sure all of the pigs have enough water access points and that the flow rate is adequate enough to meet their water needs.
• Ventilation: Poor ventilation, especially in the late fall and winter months, can quickly induce aggressive behaviors. Make sure the ventilation is adequate enough to at least remove pit gasses from your facility. Poor air quality in barns irritates animals and is a major catalyst accelerating aggression in pigs.
• Temperature: In warmer months, heat stress is of great concern and is something that barn managers and employees should keep an eye on. When pigs reach their upper critical temperature, they begin to experience heat stress, which can trigger negative behaviors, such as tail-biting.
• Stocking density: Overstocking induces extra stress in animals due to the increased competition for feed and water resources in the pen. As such, it is critically important to relieve stocking density by evenly distributing pigs throughout all of the pens. Limited space in pens is a common trigger for tail-biting.

2. Provide balanced nutrition

Nutritional imbalances or improperly balanced diets are contributing factors that can increase the likelihood of aggressive behavior. Under-budgeting and/or under-formulating lysine for high lean growth genetics can lead to vice behavior by restricting the genetic growth potential of the animal. Inadequate sodium in the diet can also lead to aggressive behavior.

3. Look for signs of health challenges

Significant viral challenges, like PRRS and the flu, can lead to increased incidences of aggressive behavior in pigs. Consult your veterinarian on the best course of action to relieve any health challenges in your operation.

4. Keep calm and entertain

Pigs are naturally very curious animals that utilize their mouths as a means of exploring and learning more about their environment. As such, providing enrichment that is stimulating and that biologically relieves stress is crucial.

The AllBite block, from Hubbard Feeds and Alltech, is a molasses-based block designed to discourage tail-biting and other aggressive vice behaviors. AllBite adds a new stimulus to the pigs’ environment, thus allowing pigs to exhibit foraging behaviors and to bite and chew on the block instead of their pen-mates. 

AllBite combats aggressive behavior through two mechanisms: it contains biologically active calming agents that reduce stress within the pen, and it is delivered in a form that provides a sensory stimulus to a group of pigs. Researched and tested in the field, AllBite has a 93% success rate in reducing or stopping tail-biting. The key is early identification, followed by the introduction of AllBite into pens where tail-biting and other aggressive behaviors are occurring.

While changing diets to mitigate negative behaviors is a common practice, dietary changes are often not implemented early enough to effectively prevent those negative behaviors from manifesting. Also, most vice behaviors only affect a small group within a larger population, so changing diets can sometimes become costly. With its unique delivery system, AllBite addresses both issues, since blocks can be placed in pens as soon as tail-biting occurs, and the blocks are only supplemented in the pens where pigs are exhibiting vice behaviors.

During a tail-biting outbreak, it is important to try and identify the biters and treat and/or remove the bitten pigs to prevent the behavior from spreading to other pigs. The root of vice and aggressive behavior is multi-factorial, and the mechanisms of this behavior are not fully understood. However, a quick response is key to helping prevent or stop vice behaviors in pigs. Tail-biting is a universal concern, and, as animal caretakers, maintaining the welfare of our pigs is our daily responsibility.

I would like a free poster about tail-biting in pigs.

Luther:                        Dr. Kayla Price is the poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada. In addition to sales and technical support, Price engages in research and is an avid follower of the constant changes taking place in the poultry industry. Thank you for joining us.

Kayla:                          Thank you very much. 

Luther:                        First question out of the gate: Why is gut and intestinal health in birds so important? 

Kayla:                          Whenever I think of the bird, I always think of it as a gut with lots of stuff attached to it. For the bird to do anything in terms of performance, the gut must be working to access all the feed ingredients — the nutrition — that you’re putting into the bird.  

                                    Nutrition must be absorbed so it translates into either kilos or pounds of meat, if you’re talking about meat birds such as broilers or turkeys. On the egg side, gut health must translate into egg production.

                                    For broilers, gut health must translate into egg production and, ultimately, hatchability. Really, the question for me is, why isn’t it important? Gut and intestinal health are extremely important.   

Luther:                        What issues do antibiotics pose to the gut and intestinal health of birds? 

Kayla:                          That’s a loaded question. With antibiotics, it’s not necessarily that they pose issues. They’re an incredible invention; an incredible innovation in the treatment of birds. When they’re very sick, they really need to be treated with antibiotics to become healthy.

                                    At the same time, when we’re using antibiotics at low-level preventative measures, they do the same thing as when they’re administered at high treatment levels: They’re looking to kill bacteria. The problem, or the conversation or debate, happens because antibiotics are killing any bacteria, good or bad. Antibiotics don’t decide whether bacteria are good or bad. They just kill them because that’s their job.

                                    Some bacteria are naturally resistant. They have those resistant genes no matter what. Other bacteria become resistant because they “learn” to become resistant. As antibiotics are injected, they kill bacteria that can be killed but leave the resistant bacteria. It’s those resistant bacteria that are really the problem, as they potentially move along the food chain. That’s what people are concerned about.

                                    We want to be able to prevent that resistance from going up and down the food chain. We want to reduce the potential for drug-resistant bacteria that show up in hospitals. It’s a complicated issue. There are a lot of sides of the debate, but it’s an issue that needs to be talked about. 

Luther:                        It sounds like it isn’t the antibiotic itself; it’s the application, the use or overuse, or the fact that it does leave antibiotic-resistant bacteria behind.

Kayla:                          Yes.

Luther:                        That said, what is the future of antibiotic use in the poultry industry?

Kayla:                          You have some people saying that poultry should only be raised without antibiotics in production. But at the end of the day, I think there’s still room for conventional production. Again, we’re not looking to completely get rid of it.

                                    It’s important to have a choice in the marketplace. Consumers should have the choice to get something that is raised without antibiotics if that is what they choose to purchase, and if that is what the retailer chooses to sell.

                                    On the other side, there’s also the importance of the ability to choose good-quality, antibiotic-residue-free, conventional meat or eggs that are still very good for you and are affordable.

                                    You’ll see in the marketplace that some options lean more toward poultry that is raised without antibiotics, but there are still more conventional options.

                                    Understanding where antibiotics fit within the system is important. Again, we still need to be able to treat our birds if they need to be treated, and we also need to be able to have that choice in the marketplace.

Luther:                        What are the key questions and items that should be considered before pursuing an antibiotic-free program?

Kayla:                          I talk about it from the producer level. But from an integrated perspective, we look at things from a grand integrator level. I think one of the first things to start thinking about is your plan moving forward, and the need to have a plan. Understand what you can do when things go wrong, because inevitably, as much as we’re trying to do everything perfectly and well, something will still go wrong.  

                                    You need to have a line for birds that can ultimately be treated with antibiotics — and they will still provide good meat — and to also have a line for birds that are antibiotic-free. Then, understand what needs to happen within your system as you integrate with antibiotic-free, or “never-ever” free production, as it’s called in the U.S.

                                    I always think of it as a holistic approach: moving from the breeder system into the hatching system and then ultimately moving down to those market birds. Think of that whole system and then, depending on where you fall in the system, consider the details. Go back to the basics of actual poultry production and rethink the details, whether you’re focusing on management in the barn, feed going into the birds or even water in the barn. 

Luther:                        What are mycotoxins, and how much of an issue are they for birds?

Kayla:                          Mycotoxins come from fungi. As grain is grown, there is the potential for fungi to form on it. As the fungi start growing, they release mycotoxins. As we grind grain for feed, mycotoxins get into the feed and ultimately get into the birds.

                                    When we’re talking about poultry production, I think one of the biggest misconceptions is the potential impact that mycotoxins can have on poultry, especially on short-lived poultry such as broilers, or even turkeys, to an extent. There’s a misconception that mycotoxins do not really have much of an impact. But mycotoxins are gut irritators. You have something at a very low level that’s irritating the gut and that you, as the producer or as the technical manager, may not recognize initially.

                                    Longer-living birds such as layers and broiler breeds are also affected because they’re potentially exposed to mycotoxins for much longer.

Luther:                        What are the effects on the broilers and turkeys, specifically? There are side effects from mycotoxins. What are those side effects?

Kayla:                          There’s a long range of side effects from mycotoxins. When people think about indicators of mycotoxins, the initial tendency is to only consider visible side effects. Those may include huge lesions on the mouth, the side of the mouth, on the tongue or inside of the mouth. Other visual indicators appear as scabs on the combs or the wattles or could show up as lesions, erosions or ulcers along the intestinal tract.

                                    People often overlook indicators of low-level irritation. Those indicators may be less visually obvious but may emerge as lower weights in broilers and turkeys, for example. Or, the gut irritation may create an environment for other problems. You may see another disease or another problem happening in the bird without necessarily relating it to a mycotoxin issue.

                                    Side effects can really be a whole range of things that you may or may not see visually in the bird.

Luther:                        It sounds very similar to human beings, where you’ll see symptoms but not the root cause. In this instance, the mycotoxins could be the root cause. They’re causing some of these downstream symptoms.

Kayla:                          Yes, exactly.  

Luther:                        What about layers and broiler breeders? What effects do mycotoxins have on them?

Kayla:                          Many people don’t think of layers, broiler breeders, broilers and turkeys as being similar. It would be an overgeneralization to say that they are similar, but they may show similar reactions to mycotoxins. The look of mycotoxins in layers and broiler breeders could be very similar in the sense that birds get mouth lesions, erosions, ulcers all the way down the gut and then impacting the liver.

                                    On the low-level side, again you’re seeing gut irritation. These birds can’t translate nutrients into eggs, so your peak production could come down. Your eggshell quality could also decline.  

                                    Layers and broiler breeders are vaccinated quite a bit, so perhaps their immune system is suppressed or decreased. Then they’re not able to respond to the vaccine as they should.

                                    In broiler breeds, you have an added factor of impacting the chicks. Then you’re dealing with a range of health issues for them.

                                    With low-level toxin challenges, those are some indicators you may not have considered initially, but they could potentially lead to other diseases as the immune system is weakened.  

Luther:                        Since we know that mycotoxins cause issues downstream — some of them obvious and some of them subtle — what can farmers do to take a holistic approach with a multilayered program to control the risks of mycotoxins?

Kayla:                          On a prevention level, whether you’re talking about low-level, moderate or even high challenges, it’s important to have a mycotoxin absorbent in the feed. Specifically, the mycotoxin absorbent you want is an inner yeast cell wall, which has a very strong static bond and a large surface area. This combination allows for relatively low levels of product — or technology —to be used to bind a very large amount of mycotoxin. You’re able to eliminate or at least greatly reduce mycotoxins in the feed. Using something like a mycotoxin absorbent is very important, as these birds run into low, medium, or high-level challenges.

Luther:                        So, that’s all part of what you’re calling a multilayered program.

Kayla:                          Absolutely. I’m talking specifically about mycotoxins, but we can’t forget that they are only a small snippet of the picture of poultry production in general. When I say multilayered, we’re not just considering potential mycotoxin challenges, whether they’re low, medium or high, but also taking into consideration all components. We’re considering management, biosecurity, feed, water and so on. You take all these factors into consideration to make sure you have the best production and most successful production.

Luther:                        You’ve talked about considerations for mycotoxin management and going all the way back to the source; making sure that you have high-quality ingredients, high-quality feed. It sounds like how you handle the feed is also vitally important.

Kayla:                          Absolutely.

Luther:                        Can you address that a little bit?

Kayla:                          Let’s say you have feed coming into your production system. If we’re talking about feed processed by a feed company, their manufacturing is highly controlled. This is a low-level challenge. However, toxins may still appear in the feed later. For example, if you place feed in a bin and there’s a humid spot for some reason, now there is a potential for fungi to grow. Suddenly, that little challenge becomes a big challenge.

                                    It’s important to understand how feed is handled early, either at a manufacturer or feed mill, and then how it’s handled throughout the barn or facility itself. All those components can really influence how well birds of any feather perform.

Luther:                        What consumer demands have influenced or made significant changes in the industry?

Kayla:                          Consumers want to understand more about production. Maybe not necessarily at the farm level, but about the production process overall. More and more companies are moving in the direction of responding to consumer inquiries. In Canada, for example, A&W has made “raised without antibiotics” part of their retail strategy. Chick-fil-A has done the same in the U.S. As more groups promote chicken without antibiotics, it brings up more questions and people are more curious about certain aspects of their food. It can be debated one way or the other, but it’s certainly something that’s happening and something we must address, regardless.

Luther:                        Last question. What’s the favorite part of your job?

Kayla:                          That’s a hard question to answer! I think my favorite part of my job is being able to work with producers. Understanding how proud they are of what they do and being able to learn about their process is so exciting.

                                    I also get to travel across Canada from the East Coast to the West Coast. A farm on the East Coast could have issues or successes similar to a farm all the way out in Alberta or even in my hometown of Ontario. The farms may not necessarily be able to converse, so I get to be this middle person saying, “I saw that somewhere else; maybe you should try this…” or “I’ve seen this problem somewhere else and this is what they tried.” Being that conversation starter is a wonderful thing. I get so much out of it, and I think the farmers get so much out of it. I enjoy being able to help them improve and be successful. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.

Luther:                        Kayla Price is poultry technical manager for Alltech Canada. Thank you very much.

Kayla:                          Thank you very much.

Dr. Kayla Price spoke at ONE: The Alltech Ideas Conference (ONE17). To hear more talks from the conference, sign up for the Alltech Idea Lab.

Antibiotic-free is a hot topic these days, but have you noticed the discussions mainly center on poultry? What about pork, “the other white meat?”

If pork intends to align itself with poultry in the minds and preferences of consumers, it’s time for the industry to pay heed to the consumer demand for protein produced without the use of antibiotics. Many areas around the world, including the European Union and the United States, are already legislating the judicious use of antibiotics, but some consumers have pushed even further for “no antibiotics ever.” While some consumers’ demands may emanate from misinformation, it doesn’t require a crystal ball to understand that change is at hand for traditional production.

According to a recent study by Feed International, 57 percent of respondents report more than half of their company’s production is antibiotic-free. The study was not specific to production animal species, but it’s clear that the antibiotic-free movement isn’t slowing. It’s coming down the pipeline fast, and pork producers would do well to prepare for their customers’ expectations.

It is probable that consumers will soon turn their eyes to pig production with the same scrutiny and expectations they have had for poultry.

Pork’s majority in stomach share

Pork has the greatest stomach share among meats in world consumption. The Alltech Global Feed Survey 2017demonstrated an 8 percent increase in feed for pork production in 2016, and that growth is expected to continue its rise, particularly as the population increases. In the U.S. alone, pork is projected to have a 3 percent growth, according to Rabobank’s 2016 fourth quarter report.

Despite its top position among meats and its growth, pork has not contended with the same level of consumer-driven scrutiny as the poultry industry, which has been pressured to remove antibiotics from production as much as is humanely possible.

The antibiotic-free pork pack leaders

In dealing with the demand for antibiotic-free poultry, some retailers and major restaurant chains have already anticipated the shift in attention to pork.

Here is a list of a few that have made their plans regarding future pork sourcing public:

Chipotle and Panera Bread: Both have made claims to commit to sourcing some of their meat from antibiotic-free livestock.

Subway: Intends to transition to antibiotic-free pork once it completes its chicken and turkey transitions. 2025 is the approximate date.

Walmart and BJ’s: Currently have some antibiotic-free pork meat available.

Whole Foods: Began offering antibiotic-free food products in 2010.

Chick-Fil-A: Aims to be “No antibiotics ever” by 2019, but their commitment has been specific to their chicken. Will the bacon and sausage be next?

As retailers begin to pull from the supply chain, we might see a domino effect toward wider adoption of antibiotic-free production within poultry.

Suppliers such as Country View Family Farms and Niman Ranch provide antibiotic-free pork according to strict standards. Last year, Tyson announced its Open Prairie Natural Pork produced by pigs raised without any added hormones or growth promoting substances, minimal processing, an all-vegetarian diet and no antibiotics ever. Earlier this year, Smithfield launched an antibiotic-free line of fresh pork products under its Pure Farms brand, which designates pork minimally processed with no antibiotics, steroids, hormones or artificial ingredients.  

Where else is the pork label turning “antibiotic-free?”

Antibiotic-free pork production is flourishing in Denmark, for example. In 1995, a program known as DANMAP was established by the Danish Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and the Danish Ministry of Health for “surveillance of antimicrobial consumption and resistance in bacteria from animals, food and humans.”

For over 15 years, Danish farmers have only relied on antibiotics to treat illness in their herds. The program they follow allows for this therapeutic use and, when combined with other management techniques such as delayed weaning, it has shown to be just as effective as traditional production. Interestingly, according to an article in the New York Times, it would only cost U.S. farmers $4.50 per head to follow a Danish model.

What makes antibiotic-free pork more challenging for producers?

What’s holding pork back from capitalizing on the antibiotic-free movement?  First and foremost on producers’ minds is the risk of decreased profitability. Animals that do not receive antibiotics are more prone to sickness, and, of course, mortality. On several occasions, Dr. Rodger Main from the College of Veterinary Medicine at Iowa State University has cited a 2011 study in which the cost of producing an antibiotic-free pig was $11 per pig, increasing to more than $15 if one incorporates the overall risk that only 70 percent of the herd will survive production. This is significantly higher than the more recent New York Times estimate, but this range illustrates how exact production costs are highly variable and may vary daily based on feed costs.

Another worry is decrease in production weight. This adds to higher production costs and, together with the threat of mortality, can account for the pork industry’s slow adoption of antibiotic-free production, especially given that antibiotic growth promoters have proven their ability to increase animal size and weight.

Additionally, certification of antibiotic-free pork can be costly and time-consuming. Transitioning one’s herd from traditional use of antibiotics requires strategic planning and the implementation of counteractive measures to minimize the effect it can have on the operation’s bottom line.

What has made antibiotic-free poultry successful?

The poultry industry has been finding success in their transition to antibiotic-free production by following practices such as good husbandry, fewer birds in pens, feeding vegetarian diets, increasing downtime between harvesting flocks, etc.

Differences in pig production make implementation more challenging:

1. Pigs live longer, increasing the likelihood of an illness within their lifecycle.
2. There is less time to clean and disinfect between herds.
3. Weaning is particularly stressful for piglets and can impact their immune system.

However, there are some ways these issues can be addressed. There is evidence that pigs can not only be less susceptible to infectious risks, but may in fact thrive when certain natural feeding supplements are added to the diet.

For information on how Alltech can support your swine operation in reducing antibiotics or transitioning to antibiotic-free production, visit www.alltech.com/antibiotic-free or contact your local Alltech representative.

References

http://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/animal-health/us-pig-farmers-celebrate-progress-antibiotic-stewardship

http://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/animal-well-being/transitioning-antibiotic-free-pig-production-change-your-expectations

http://www.nationalhogfarmer.com/animal-well-being/4-factors-consider-when-raising-antibiotic-free-pigs

Little Pig Farm. “Swine Terminology.” 2017. http://littlepigfarm.com/swine-terminology/

Estabrook, Barry. April 3, 2015. “Denmark’s Drug-Free Pigs.” https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/03/opinion/denmarks-drug-free-pigs.html?_r=0

Iowa State University. October 2002. “Minimizing the Use of Antibiotics in Pork Production.” https://www.ipic.iastate.edu/publications/ipic8.pdf

Have a question of comment?

There is a global movement to reduce antimicrobial use in livestock production. Antimicrobials have historically been, and are still, used extensively to address gut health issues in piglets, and a major challenge is finding alternatives to antimicrobials in order to support the gut during the period when it is developing. The goal to reduce antimicrobial use should be modified and instead viewed as a goal to produce healthy production systems that support the animal in all stages of production.

In-feed prophylactic antibiotic use in pig production is not used to treat sick pigs — it is used to treat suboptimal production systems. In the Alltech Antibiotic Reduction programme, the first step is therefore to optimise the health of the production system, which will make systematic prophylactic use redundant. Such an approach will not result in increased disease and loss in productivity; on the contrary, productivity will most likely increase, and the reduced expenditures on antibiotics can be invested in other areas in order to optimize the overall welfare and health of the pigs.

A healthy gut is key to a healthy animal, and, increasingly, emphasis is being placed on optimising gut health in our production animals. A healthy gut is not only a gut without disease; a healthy gut is an effective digestive organ that can mount a good defence against disease and easily cope with change. Immunity is the body’s internal defence against pathogens. The presence of disease-causing microorganisms in the gut is not sufficient to cause disease; disease occurs once the pathogen breaks down the gut’s defence. When the gut commensal microflora is out of balance, dysbiosis occurs between the beneficial microbiota and potential disease-causing organisms, and it becomes easier for pathogens to damage the gut’s structures and functions. Prebiotics, probiotics and mannan-oligosaccharides can assist the gut in adapting and minimising dysbiosis.

The establishment and maintenance of good gut function are vitally important in reducing neonatal morbidity and mortality. Neonatal nutrition is a critical component in the establishment of normal gut function, from digestion and absorption to barrier function and the development of the immune system. It is therefore important to ensure good colostrum and milk production in sows as well as good creep feeding.

Weaning disorders are one of the most common, and damaging, problems in pig husbandry, resulting in antibiotics being used post-weaning to protect the stressed gut and immune systems of the piglets. In a healthy production system, it is essential to do everything possible in order to help prepare the piglet for weaning as early as in the farrowing unit. Furthermore, at the time of weaning, it is important to minimise stressors such as transport, comingling of litters, large weaner groups, diet, poor air quality and unhygienic conditions.

Mycotoxins are toxins produced from moulds that cause serious health problems in pig production and can result in severe economic losses worldwide. Due to current climatic conditions and production systems with long distribution chains of feed, the risks associated with mycotoxins in feed and bedding material are high. Intestinal cells are the first cells to be exposed to mycotoxins, and often at higher concentrations than other tissues. Mycotoxins specifically target cells, such as gut epithelium, that have a high protein turnover and protein-activated cells. In order to improve the overall health status of the herd, appropriate measures need to be taken to minimise the exposure of pigs to mycotoxins, particularly in terms of feed storage, feed sourcing and the inclusion of good broad-spectrum mycotoxin binders in the feed.

The aim of the Alltech Antibiotic Reduction programme is to create a consistently healthy pig and make prophylactic and metaphylaxis antibiotic use redundant. This programme can assist the farmer in developing an action plan. Various feed additives and nutritional solutions are valuable tools for gut health in pig production, but these supplements alone are not sufficient for a healthy production system. Many times, there are more difficult steps that must be taken than simply feeding additives, including updates to management routines and resource allocation and needs.

The programme is for pig producers who are interested in achieving higher levels of health in their herd and are committed to taking steps to achieve these goals. Audits to establish the baseline current situation and recurrent audits to monitor progress are important in order to stay motivated and continue a steady rate of progress. The Alltech team assesses the weaknesses and strengths of the production system and sets up an action plan. In addition to gut health and nutrition components, the Alltech Antibiotic Reduction programme audits include evaluations of performance, pig welfare, pig respiratory and systemic health, reproductive performance, management, housing, antimicrobial use, biosecurity and the cost-effectiveness of production. Recommendations include nutritional solutions, management, antimicrobial use strategy, biosecurity measures, reproductive performance and productivity goals in order to optimise pig health at all stages of production. Through this program, producers have not only achieved increased productivity and reduced antibiotic use, but have also found it rewarding to be part of the global action plan to use our valuable antibiotics responsibly in order to ensure their viability for future generations.

To find out more about the Alltech Antibiotic Reduction programme, please visit go.alltech.com/antibiotic-reduction.